That Lexus barge I went and looked at...
Discussion
Following on from my other thread titled 'man logic'
Perhaps foolishly and against my better judgement I'm just back from looking at a slightly doggy 1995 LS400. The car is not perfect so I thought I'd post and hopefully get a little advice...
The car has 154K and was purchased by it's current owner 2 years ago, mileage verified by the previous 2 MOT slips but no notable Lexus service history. The owner did show me a receipt for a cambelt change and some brake work approx 1 year ago. it had done around 5K from it's previous MOT. The MOT is short and due in a couple of weeks. He is selling due to the purchase of something completely different.
The bodywork is 'reasonable', I guess that is to be expected at 16 years old. The front bumper has a crack on the lower edge but will be fine providing it does not get impacted again, the rear bumper has maybe had a small parking impact as the paint is crazed on the drivers side corner. Both flanks are straight and with the exception of needing a proper clean and detail has only minor marks/scuffs. Again fairly in keeping with the age of the car. There is evidence of some very minor rust blistering here and there but nothing that worries me unduly. The car needs 2 front tyres (225/60R16) as the sidewalls are cracked with age, the rears are fine and although fitted with budget tyres the car seemed to drive OK on them. The car also needs replacement mirror glasses as both sides were badly scratched, at a guess these are already stick on replacements so at a guess any heated function is now fubar. The electric movement seemed fine, do the mirrors automatically retract on these?
The car did need a jump to start but it had been standing for a number of weeks, the engine is very smooth. The oil is clean and the tranny fluid looks healthy enough, the coolant is the correct Toyota red type (I assume)and the engine has not been dressed up for sale. The test drive brought the engine upto temp with the guage just sitting south of midway on the guage. No smoke, rattles etc. I did note that the bonnet release cable was a little stiff and the hydraulic rams are past there best as they don't support the weight of the bonnet anymore. Unfortunately the owner has only 1 key and the car has had, I suspect, an aftermarket alarm at some point which has been disabled? I would need to see pictures of original keys to know for sure. The engine bay did have a large siren type box on the passenger side bulk head.
The interior did look pretty good with no rips/tears etc and some wear on the seats which I would say is minimal for the miles, a leather feed would certainly bring it up very well. All the dash lights work and the climate display is perfect. The aircon doesn't blow cold though, maybe a regas? The clips on the drivers side window switch panel are broken. The electric steering column works fine as does the sunroof. The electronic seat adjustment is fine but I could not get the memory function to work. The front heated function... doesn't, I did not test the rear although I did notice both rear windows do not work. The sound system is not the nakamichi type but the glovebox mounted changer is 100% as is the tape function. The aerial does not work but this hasn't affected the reception.
The boot area seemed OK with most of the toolkit present but further inspection did reveal a water leak and a small lake under the spare wheel. The boot floor looked OK but I would suspect a good clean up and rust preventative treatment will be needed.
I took the car on a 15 minute test drive, plenty of speed ramps in the area didn't reveal any untoward clunks or groans from the suspension and although I have no comparison never having driven another LS it did feel pretty good. I did initially think the car was reluctant to kick down but switching the gearbox mode to 'pwr' seemed to rectify that. The test drive was inner city and I was restricted to a 40MPH dual carriage way, the car did feel to track straight etc. I was a little surprised that the gearbox lever was marked with 3,2,1 L. I guess a 3 speed with 4th overdrive on lock up? The gearchange seemed to be very smooth.
A bit of a hoke and poke underneath the car showed a good solid exhaust system although I suspect the joint just behind both cats has been gummed up at some point, it had that tell tale white paste stuff. The car looked solid in beneath with a little surface rust on a few bits but all looked solid. No oil leaks although the steering rack gaitors looked as if there may be or have been a small weep of some sort.
So, to some it up. The car seems OK in most of the right areas considering the age and I don't expect perfection but in thsi forums experience is the car an utter dog heading only for big bills and financial ruin? The car was advertised at £900, the owner mentioned £800. Assuming 2 tyres and some new mirror glass is the least it really needs to be road legal (maybe £200) oh and a years tax and ticket, call that another £250. Is it really worth it or should I firmly look elsewhere? I'm tempted to call tomorrow and offer him maybe £500 but possibly £600...
All I need is a reliable(!) 2nd car for when my daily Yaris is too small (think shopping, wife, small child and associated 'stuff') That's why the allure of some cheapo V8 luxury is tempting.
Does the PH population think my head is away with it???
Perhaps foolishly and against my better judgement I'm just back from looking at a slightly doggy 1995 LS400. The car is not perfect so I thought I'd post and hopefully get a little advice...
The car has 154K and was purchased by it's current owner 2 years ago, mileage verified by the previous 2 MOT slips but no notable Lexus service history. The owner did show me a receipt for a cambelt change and some brake work approx 1 year ago. it had done around 5K from it's previous MOT. The MOT is short and due in a couple of weeks. He is selling due to the purchase of something completely different.
The bodywork is 'reasonable', I guess that is to be expected at 16 years old. The front bumper has a crack on the lower edge but will be fine providing it does not get impacted again, the rear bumper has maybe had a small parking impact as the paint is crazed on the drivers side corner. Both flanks are straight and with the exception of needing a proper clean and detail has only minor marks/scuffs. Again fairly in keeping with the age of the car. There is evidence of some very minor rust blistering here and there but nothing that worries me unduly. The car needs 2 front tyres (225/60R16) as the sidewalls are cracked with age, the rears are fine and although fitted with budget tyres the car seemed to drive OK on them. The car also needs replacement mirror glasses as both sides were badly scratched, at a guess these are already stick on replacements so at a guess any heated function is now fubar. The electric movement seemed fine, do the mirrors automatically retract on these?
The car did need a jump to start but it had been standing for a number of weeks, the engine is very smooth. The oil is clean and the tranny fluid looks healthy enough, the coolant is the correct Toyota red type (I assume)and the engine has not been dressed up for sale. The test drive brought the engine upto temp with the guage just sitting south of midway on the guage. No smoke, rattles etc. I did note that the bonnet release cable was a little stiff and the hydraulic rams are past there best as they don't support the weight of the bonnet anymore. Unfortunately the owner has only 1 key and the car has had, I suspect, an aftermarket alarm at some point which has been disabled? I would need to see pictures of original keys to know for sure. The engine bay did have a large siren type box on the passenger side bulk head.
The interior did look pretty good with no rips/tears etc and some wear on the seats which I would say is minimal for the miles, a leather feed would certainly bring it up very well. All the dash lights work and the climate display is perfect. The aircon doesn't blow cold though, maybe a regas? The clips on the drivers side window switch panel are broken. The electric steering column works fine as does the sunroof. The electronic seat adjustment is fine but I could not get the memory function to work. The front heated function... doesn't, I did not test the rear although I did notice both rear windows do not work. The sound system is not the nakamichi type but the glovebox mounted changer is 100% as is the tape function. The aerial does not work but this hasn't affected the reception.
The boot area seemed OK with most of the toolkit present but further inspection did reveal a water leak and a small lake under the spare wheel. The boot floor looked OK but I would suspect a good clean up and rust preventative treatment will be needed.
I took the car on a 15 minute test drive, plenty of speed ramps in the area didn't reveal any untoward clunks or groans from the suspension and although I have no comparison never having driven another LS it did feel pretty good. I did initially think the car was reluctant to kick down but switching the gearbox mode to 'pwr' seemed to rectify that. The test drive was inner city and I was restricted to a 40MPH dual carriage way, the car did feel to track straight etc. I was a little surprised that the gearbox lever was marked with 3,2,1 L. I guess a 3 speed with 4th overdrive on lock up? The gearchange seemed to be very smooth.
A bit of a hoke and poke underneath the car showed a good solid exhaust system although I suspect the joint just behind both cats has been gummed up at some point, it had that tell tale white paste stuff. The car looked solid in beneath with a little surface rust on a few bits but all looked solid. No oil leaks although the steering rack gaitors looked as if there may be or have been a small weep of some sort.
So, to some it up. The car seems OK in most of the right areas considering the age and I don't expect perfection but in thsi forums experience is the car an utter dog heading only for big bills and financial ruin? The car was advertised at £900, the owner mentioned £800. Assuming 2 tyres and some new mirror glass is the least it really needs to be road legal (maybe £200) oh and a years tax and ticket, call that another £250. Is it really worth it or should I firmly look elsewhere? I'm tempted to call tomorrow and offer him maybe £500 but possibly £600...
All I need is a reliable(!) 2nd car for when my daily Yaris is too small (think shopping, wife, small child and associated 'stuff') That's why the allure of some cheapo V8 luxury is tempting.
Does the PH population think my head is away with it???
Do it. Doesn't look much different to mine and I paid a lot more.
Every day I use it I like it a bit more.
Edit: actually, it has loads of things worse than mine as everything works here. Hmmm, I still like it but I think you'd have to run it to death instead of tarting it up expensively
Every day I use it I like it a bit more.
Edit: actually, it has loads of things worse than mine as everything works here. Hmmm, I still like it but I think you'd have to run it to death instead of tarting it up expensively
Edited by Garlick on Wednesday 15th June 23:29
Good write up of the test drive. I would not factor in road tax as you will pay that on everything.
Will you be using this Locally or on the motorway? This would be a factor in the type of tyres needed.
If you are going to haggle you might like to use a method I have employed in the past. Do not criticise the car, just say you love the car but expected to find more faults. But your budget is £ xxx
I would take a punt on it
Will you be using this Locally or on the motorway? This would be a factor in the type of tyres needed.
If you are going to haggle you might like to use a method I have employed in the past. Do not criticise the car, just say you love the car but expected to find more faults. But your budget is £ xxx
I would take a punt on it
Things to check are front and rear suspension bushes and struts, these cars are very front end heavy....also get the tracking dead right. Rust around the wheel arches, around the boot lid and rear lights and make sure that the gear box oil has been changed. Otherwise these are great cars and I run one with well over 100K on he clock as my winter shed....clad in suitable winter rubber it is great. Headlights are not great, make sure the a/c really works and be prepared for pads and disks sooner rather than later.
v8will said:
Anymore info on how these cars should drive?
Smoothly! Seamless gear changes and silent tick over. Fast enough yet happier wafting.The ride on mine is a bit hard but I blame the DHP wheels for that.
As said, tracking is key and mine needed a complete balance and tracking set up before running correctly
Suspension bushes and ball joints are pretty much the only things you need to look out for on these.
Transmission mount can collapse over time and cause vibration, but again is an easy fix.
Power steering can leak and fry the alternator... easy fix.
Don't worry about engine and gearbox as these will probably outlive the rest of the car, even if abused.
Transmission mount can collapse over time and cause vibration, but again is an easy fix.
Power steering can leak and fry the alternator... easy fix.
Don't worry about engine and gearbox as these will probably outlive the rest of the car, even if abused.
I don't know much about these cars, but I understand their reputation. I think that, if you want to use it for a year or two, spending a few hundred after the purchase isn't unreasonable. I'd have a look at the rear windows myself if it was my car, and fit suitable tyres. You're not going to find a £800 car with £600 worth of tyres on it.
If it all seems reasonably sound, and the interior is good (and the interior can be very expensive to correct), I'd go for it. I don't think it's justified to expect a direct discount in the price because of any faults you find. If you did that, you could probably drive it away for free.
From the pictures I'd offer 7 or 8, and expect to spend 500 over the next few months. It still looks bargetastic for what it is.
If it all seems reasonably sound, and the interior is good (and the interior can be very expensive to correct), I'd go for it. I don't think it's justified to expect a direct discount in the price because of any faults you find. If you did that, you could probably drive it away for free.
From the pictures I'd offer 7 or 8, and expect to spend 500 over the next few months. It still looks bargetastic for what it is.
I'm gonna have a sleep on it although my palms are slightly sweaty at the prospect of have a biggish petrol back on the drive. It's not a great deal of money but I don't need to be buying a major headache
Truth is the plan was formulated on the way home to, if the car was reasonable, buy it and park it up for a couple of months until the missus is off maternity leave. That'd give me time to ebay for a few parts and go over the electrical niggles with a multi meter and a bit of common sense.
One mustn't expect much at this price level
Truth is the plan was formulated on the way home to, if the car was reasonable, buy it and park it up for a couple of months until the missus is off maternity leave. That'd give me time to ebay for a few parts and go over the electrical niggles with a multi meter and a bit of common sense.
One mustn't expect much at this price level
I bought one of these as a non-starter, just needed a crank sensor so was purchased and up and running for under £500. The aircon didn't work though and it turned out to be a seized pump which would have hit me for high hundreds so it never got done.
Shame as the rest of the car was pretty good but it's annoying to live with a luxury barge with no aircon
Worth getting the pump checked on this one before you bid.
Shame as the rest of the car was pretty good but it's annoying to live with a luxury barge with no aircon
Worth getting the pump checked on this one before you bid.
Against some advice I've had here and elsewhere I'm taking a punt. (and finally warrant my V8 forum name!)
I've made a bid that I'm comfortable with and sometime tomorrow I'll be picking the LS up. Just have to buy some insurance tomorrow to get the old girl home. As a Brucie bonus the tank will be fully brimmed too
I'll be doing as Garlick suggested and running this on a budget. 2 cheapo stick on mirror glasses and 2 cheap tyres to get it through MOT and I'll live with/deal with the rest at my leisure. Maybe it'll be great and maybe it'll bite me in the ass but it's only money and the past few years have taught me that you only get one chance at life to worry too much about these things. Certainly a helluva lot more interesting than a 10 year old Golf/Focus etc.
I guess a budget LS400 thread will be popping up in the readers cars section sometime soon.
Now, where'd I leave me funny pills...
I've made a bid that I'm comfortable with and sometime tomorrow I'll be picking the LS up. Just have to buy some insurance tomorrow to get the old girl home. As a Brucie bonus the tank will be fully brimmed too
I'll be doing as Garlick suggested and running this on a budget. 2 cheapo stick on mirror glasses and 2 cheap tyres to get it through MOT and I'll live with/deal with the rest at my leisure. Maybe it'll be great and maybe it'll bite me in the ass but it's only money and the past few years have taught me that you only get one chance at life to worry too much about these things. Certainly a helluva lot more interesting than a 10 year old Golf/Focus etc.
I guess a budget LS400 thread will be popping up in the readers cars section sometime soon.
Now, where'd I leave me funny pills...
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