yeah, they are still insanley smooth and quiet cars even after 20 years of life. they were really something at the time and still were up to the mid-late 00s. sadly technology has caught up. my girlfriends 2014 jeep Cherokee latitude is softer and quieter than even the nicest Ls400 ive driven in recent memory. its slow as molasses, has crummy fit and finish, lacks the soul and character, and is boring as hell to drive, but its got a softer quieter ride. the Ls400 is soft and quiet but still has enough feedback to enjoy, especially as they have aged. the Ls400 is special. the jeep well, is ****. its not even a real jeep. it feels like a minivan compared to the jeeps of yesteryear. i mean, what the hell kind of jeep is a FWD 4 cylinder ?? it went from a rugged SUV, into a awful, confused crossover on a car frame, thats confused and really doesn't know what it wants to be.

with that said, it really doesn't matter how well its cared for, how low the miles are, any Ls400 will never truly feel like it did off the showroom floor unless you literally replaced every damn spring nut and bolt with a new one, and even then it still wont. its just age and gravity. Time is the enemy of these cars now. time.

 

i think that could be because you buy super worn out terrible LS examples and continually beat them up lol, i have driven a 2014ish cherokee and it's definitely not at the level of my LS. no matter what it was that i was just driving, every time i next sit down in the LS it's just like ahhhhhh.... so nice.... the seating position, where the wheel is, where the buttons are, even the position of the armrests are just perfect. like, idk why the LS needed to become any bigger over the years.

the only complaint i have is it seems to thud over small potholes and other stuff a bit more than it should, and you feel some vibration in the steering column. but otherwise is extremely smooth and you really hardly feel the road in the seats or floor, but still some feedback in the steering.

 

[QUOTE=Stroock639;10369958]i think that could be because you buy super worn out terrible LS examples and continually beat them up lol,


yes i have owned some incredibly **** poor examples, but ive had several well kept cherry cream puffs as well, like my imperial jade 00. its absolutely immaculate and was serviced religiously. ive driven plenty of low mile examples here at work as well.

im not saying the ride quality isn't quiet and amazing. hell im probably more in love with these cars then most people here and have been for a very long time. they are the best of the best. all im saying is that no matter how well kept they are, they will never be brand new again, and i know what a brand new one felt like as i got to drive one quite a bit back then. then again that was 20 years ago so maybe im remembering wrong, but ive been chasing the feeling of a new Ls400 ever since. it simply doesn't exist anymore.

 

"Brand new" LS400's still exist but it's extremely rare to acquire now. Last year, I've got lucky & bought a 2000 model w/ only 45K miles in pearl white. The exterior had some dings on the front fender & quarter rear panel so I took it to a friend's body shop & got it fixed. The 2-tone white & grey is outdated so I had him painted the lower half pearl white to match the top. It came out great & I'm glad I did it. The interior is literally brand new as the visors still have the plastic sheets, the CD changer was still in the cardboard box & looks like the passenger & rear seats had never been sat on. What amaze me the most is even after 18 years, the car still smell brand new. My oldest son fell in love w/ the car so I ended up giving it to him. Here are some photos of the car.

 

[QUOTE=Stereorob;10370261]i know, but even religious servicing doesn't prevent the rubber in the bushings from deteriorating (as you know). i've replaced pretty much all the major bushings (most recently front sway bar, which made a very noticeable difference) but i know it'll never be brand new again.

ughhhh to have been rich in the 90s... to have been able to park your new 1999 LS next to your new supra and fj80 land cruiser (w/ diff locks) would've been the s** t! and of course the mclaren f1 and jaguar xj220 would be in the euro section, with the ferrari f40... ok i need to stop fantasizing on what might've been lol...

 

That is a fantastically clean car.

 

this car is absolutely unreal. i mean.. ho lee *** ! that looks as nice as the one i remember riding around in brand new. i guess yeah that probably is close to a brand new one as you can get. but its still almost 20 years old. time and gravity are enemies and with milage that low, idk if id trust it. but wow it is still absolutely amazing. old cars like this, that clean, with such low miles, always have some kind of story. whats the story with this one? btw. im jealous!

 

The previous owner was an elder gentleman. He was in his 70's when he purchased the car. Based on the low mileage & the condition of it, he probably didn't drive it much & always garage kept. When he passed away last year, his son acquired the car but the starter was on its way out. I offered to help by showing him how to fix it but he lives out of state & not a car guy so he sold it to me. In addition to the starter, I also had to replace the bushings on the strut bars (I have a press so didn't have to replace the entire assys). Other than that, the car is practically brand new.

 

yea that really is immaculate... my car was also owned by an old couple (my grandparents lol) which was good in the sense that they didn't beat on it and regularly had the oil changed, but bad in the sense that elderly people (my grandpa at least) can be more oblivious and lacking in spatial awareness, so my wheels got a bit scuffed up and some very minor fender benders happened. also my oil pan has a teeny little dent in it from when they must've bottomed it out at some point lol...

it always worries me a bit when a car is used that infrequently, having to replace the starter at such a low milage is one of those types of reasons. i got my car in 2011 with 79,000 miles on it, and they took it up to maine every year in the summer so it's always gotten out a decent amount throughout its life. also for years they shared the driving with their 1991 (i think) lincoln continental, which my grandpa described as a terrible car that was always in the shop. the lexus was like a breath of fresh air for him, also the first non-american car he ever bought.

i've ridden around in the backseat of each of them a decent amount as a kid, and the lincoln definitely had a boaty ride and cushy seats. as a passenger, especially with how they just puttered around, i never remember thinking WOW the lexus is like way better, but that changed very quickly once i actually drove it a few times. i remember getting home after driving it back for the first time, and going dad... i don't think grandpa realizes what he just gave me, this thing is quick! and sooooo smooth and quiet! i very soon realized why my grandpa said that he got pulled over every so often, being unaware that he was going "too fast" despite him being quite a slow driver generally.

 

yup. i bought my Imperial Jade 2000 from the original owner. 88 years old. inside of the car is never been farted in clean, and its 100% mechanically perfect. never beat on and always maintained. however, plenty of nicks scuffs and scrapes because spatial awareness. is what it is. car is still perfect and maintained religiously.

the car this post is about.. also original elderly owners. retired doctor/snowbirds from NJ. had the car from day 1 in 1995 till i got it. was immaculate but after years and years of driving and hooning well. yeah.. read the story at the top of the thread. pretty sure the ONLY reason this car managed to hang on as long as it did with so much neglect and abuse is because it was one of THOSE cherry cream puff cars. now im rebuilding it.

 

The 98 LS400 was my dad's car. When he got it I was 17. He was very generous with it though, and I loved it so I put a lot of miles on it. He leased it for 3 years, and then after the lease he had gotten a VP promotion and his new position included a company car up to $40k. He talked them into buying it out of the lease vs having to downgrade to something else. He traded it in 2004 on an LS430. The only reason he traded it was it was up there in miles (like 175k he was in sales and drove a lot), and his company didn't want to pay for a lot of repairs on an older car with high mileage. He negotiated a better car deal and got the LS430. He retired in 2007 and they sold him his LS430 for $1,000.

Had it not been for the deal with his company I think he would have kept that LS400 for at least a while longer. It was in great shape, and as you know they take miles like no other car.

 

sure it makes sense, but i think today a new dimension of goodness is added when the age of the car is factored in. pretty much any car feels good when it's new, but to still feel this nice after 2 decades is an achievement in itself. i say it's still a nicer car to use than even the more costly E55 that's 6 years newer with 60,000 fewer miles. the acceleration even has a more wafty satisfying feel to it depending on the situation, and the way the transmission quickly and crisply goes through the gears at partial throttle is just fantastic.

true, i still need to drive a RWD 460 for the full apples to apples comparison. and yes the 5 speed gearing is nearly perfect, although a 6th gear could have some benefits since 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th have a decent gap that an extra gear would help with. but at the same time, with the 5 speed and all that VVTi torque, you're never more than 1 gear away from good acceleration. and above 75-80 it just stays in 5th and happily passes all the lesser cylindered cars.

sounds like he was more trusting of you with his LS than my dad was (still is) with his at the time new 2014 E63S, although that's definitely more to do with me than him even the classic "dad, the roads are a bit damp so it'd be safer if i used your AWD car opposed to my RWD car... it's a safety thing above all else..." but he still sees through my ruse, well it's like 95% a ruse since there is some truth to the AWD safety bit lol...

 

No doubt, they take miles like no other car.

The point I'm trying to make is in 1998, new to new the LS400 was a huge step over other cars people around you were driving, it stood out. Nowadays new for new the difference isn't as dramatic. Thats the case with all luxury cars vs mainstream cars.

Yeah the 6 speed in the 430 was pretty good too. Not that the 8 speed in the 460 is bad, its just too many gears IMHO and sometimes it gets confused about what gear it wants to be in.

Oh we was VERY trusting. I took it on trips, etc. I don't know that I will be able to be as trusting when the time comes lol

 

UPDATE.

okay a few things.

1. got the body damage from the wreck fixed. replaced the body cladding, had the dent in the door popped out. thank god the paint didnt crack and that i was able to save it. woohoo!

2. first milestone. ive been driving it pretty much daily since i put all the work into it. however the suspension is still absolutely shot and haven't had time to deal with it. (lots of pops, thuds, and squeaks over bumps, and steering wheel thrashes violently when braking. totally drives me nuts!) but i am still driving it till a few days ago because new problem. the other day i forgot i had an appointment with one of my clients at work up in deland, (about 50 miles from the dealership) for an Enform activation, Bluetooth tutorial etc), had planned to drive my 2000 up there but had forgot the appointment so drove the 95 to work that day instead. here comes 10:30am rolling around and i get a nasty call from my boss wondering why i wasn't with my client at their house for the appointment. -oh ****....
i was already running late and the company shuttle van i normally drive to appointments to was out with someone else, so i was facing the prospect of having to drive the 95 to deland. -the furthest from home since the rebuild. had already been on the highway with it a few times in short distances, which was terrifying with the suspension so bad and i really REALLY didnt want to take it, but i was in a rush, i knew i could get there faster in my car anyway, and i figured yeah a little scary but it would be a good drive for the car. -best thing for an Ls400 is a nice long drive on the highway sustained at around 80-85 mph. didnt wanna do it but figured it was time to grow a pair so i went for it. it actually made the trip just fine and drove better and smoother after 45 mins on the highway! guest actually complimented it -like everyone else does, on how clean it looked. ride back was fine too! way to go '95!!

3. thought all was well but turns out driving 90 mph on the highway probably wasnt the best thing for the rotted out suspension. it has developed a new noise and i dont know what it is, but its scary to the point where i dont want to drive it much till i figure out what the hell it is.