1998 Ls 400

[jimbo409]

I am considering buyinga 1998 ls400 with 105m miles. The car is in excellent condition one owner. It has not had the 90m service,and I am concerned about ruinning the engine. He wants 11,500 firm. How long do you think I could go before I have to have the timming belt and wp replaced. Is this a good deal. I plan on doing it but not right now. maybe in a couple of thousand miles. Do you think the car will last a few more thousand miles before I can have it serviced. Also roughly how much will this cost me. Any reliable independent dealers in the nw suburbs of chicago. Thanks Jimbo409

[LSCINFAMOUS]

I am considering buyinga 1998 ls400 with 105m miles. The car is in excellent condition one owner. It has not had the 90m service,and I am concerned about ruinning the engine. He wants 11,500 firm. How long do you think I could go before I have to have the timming belt and wp replaced. Is this a good deal. I plan on doing it but not right now. maybe in a couple of thousand miles. Do you think the car will last a few more thousand miles before I can have it serviced. Also roughly how much will this cost me. Any reliable independent dealers in the nw suburbs of chicago. Thanks Jimbo409

I am guessing 105m miles = 105,000 miles. If this is correct and the car is in good condition,

I am sure the price is good.

I enjoyed my 91 ls400 until recently and it has 210,000 miles on it.

Timing belt and wp: Don't do it yourserlf unless you know everything.

[SKperformance]

There was a thread with the exact same question for a 98 model year.

Same answer that everyone gave in that one was to buy it.

[akewlguy]

Sounds like a good deal, but I would not pay russian roulette with the timing belt.

Just got mine done with serpentine and WP for 700 bucks.

[93LSOwner]

Here is the thread that Sk was referring to:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=30002

It should answer all of your questions except for the last one.

Beware, this is THE LEXUS owners club, but for that price it seems like a VERY nice deal. Also, this is because I think the 98-00 LS400 are one of the best looking LS.

[rickatups]

I am considering buyinga 1998 ls400 with 105m miles. The car is in excellent condition one owner. It has not had the 90m service,and I am concerned about ruinning the engine. He wants 11,500 firm. How long do you think I could go before I have to have the timming belt and wp replaced. Is this a good deal. I plan on doing it but not right now. maybe in a couple of thousand miles. Do you think the car will last a few more thousand miles before I can have it serviced. Also roughly how much will this cost me. Any reliable independent dealers in the nw suburbs of chicago. Thanks Jimbo409

Hi ... I bought my first Lexus (a 95 LS 400) with the same milage as the one you are looking at .... mine had the 90K mile service done already. May I suggest that you do the 90K service immediately and that you use only Lexus parts as they will go the distance and you will have peace of mind as you drive your car in the years ahead. Yeah .... that sounds like a fair price for the car to me considering the money you will have to lay out for the timing belt and associated parts. If the present owner has neglected to pay for the 90K mile sevice ... what about the the transmision fluid / filter and brake fluids ... have they been done? How about the filters (engine air, fuel, and cabin air filters)? Hmmmmmm ...... these kind of things are what led to me only paying low book when I bought my LS. Well ... tell ya what ..... like I was saying, I would not drive too far on the timing belt the car has right now. If you get the car, you should really consider doing many other service items while you are doing the 90K mile service (like doing the water pump, etc). Why pay for labor again somewhere down the road? Also .... see if the power steering solenoid has been cleaned. It is located on the power steering rack .... I had my independent mechanic do it ... it cost me about $115 which included a power steering system flush (with the correct replacement fluid) .... from what I have read this is a common situation with these cars. I read about this topic here and sure enough, when I brought my car in for this simple service item, it really needed to be done. Glad I took care of it ... it saved tons of needless trouble down the road. This web site is great because you can learn so much about your car ... and also save a lot of cash in the process .....

Is this your first Lexus experience? If so ... your gonna love owning this car .... it is a blast! It cost me a few bucks to get my car in shape ... but it has been so worth it, as far as I am concerned .... spending $$ on this car is more like an investment, I think. There is a reward in owning a car such as this. Good luck with your car ... let us know how it is going for you .....

[RCRFAN3]

I also live in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs. I also have a '98 LS 400 with a 122,000 on it, and I've had my 90 thousand service done on it. I might have a name and number for a Lexus Tech that will do it on the side. Where do you live? Jeff

[oohryry]

I am considering buyinga 1998 ls400 with 105m miles. The car is in excellent condition one owner. It has not had the 90m service,and I am concerned about ruinning the engine. He wants 11,500 firm. How long do you think I could go before I have to have the timming belt and wp replaced. Is this a good deal. I plan on doing it but not right now. maybe in a couple of thousand miles. Do you think the car will last a few more thousand miles before I can have it serviced. Also roughly how much will this cost me. Any reliable independent dealers in the nw suburbs of chicago. Thanks Jimbo409

I have a 1998 with about 125000 miles on it. Had my timing belt and water pump replaced at 120000 miles. I would not recommend that you wait though because you run the risk of damaging your engine if your timing belt breaks. I did it because I drove my Camry 120000 miles with no problem and the fact that I drive between 30000 to 40000 miles a year. TB and WP ran about $800.00 at Len Stoler Lexus. But they are cheaper than the other Lexus dealers I tried who wanted a little over $1000.00. Do I think it's a good deal? Well, I haven't seen a picture of the interior or exterior so I can just guess that it's in good condition so I will say yes. I purchased mine December 05 for $16000.00 with 82,000 miles on her. She doesn't have any dents but you can tell she had been in an accident because of the blending of the paint on the door bottoms. My main concern was the engine so that she will last me.

[jimmy1]

I also live in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs. I also have a '98 LS 400 with a 122,000 on it, and I've had my 90 thousand service done on it. I might have a name and number for a Lexus Tech that will do it on the side. Where do you live? Jeff

I also live in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs. I also have a '98 LS 400 with a 122,000 on it, and I've had my 90 thousand service done on it. I might have a name and number for a Lexus Tech that will do it on the side. Where do you live? Jeff

I live in algonquin Please let me know the number of the lexus mechanic you know thanks jim

[92silverls400]

I am considering buyinga 1998 ls400 with 105m miles. The car is in excellent condition one owner. It has not had the 90m service,and I am concerned about ruinning the engine. He wants 11,500 firm. How long do you think I could go before I have to have the timming belt and wp replaced. Is this a good deal. I plan on doing it but not right now. maybe in a couple of thousand miles. Do you think the car will last a few more thousand miles before I can have it serviced. Also roughly how much will this cost me. Any reliable independent dealers in the nw suburbs of chicago. Thanks Jimbo409

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[92silverls400]

The Lexus maintence book states, 90K or 72 month to replace T/B you are over due. I just purchased a 2000 Lexus LS400 platinum series with 75800 miles on it. Same issue as you. I have purchased gold package extended warranty from dealership. warranty and seller have conflicting answer to T/B issue. I asked him if the tech guys stated that My T/B needed to be replaced, would my warranty cover it. he stated yes, I asked him 3 different ways, and he stated yes. but when you read the warranty, it states that if the tech tells you it needs to be replace it will not be covered. it only cover it if it fails, and since the tech told you it needs to be replace, and you don't do it, and it breaks 5 month later it will not be cover at all. Car saleman stated that the T/B would not damage the engine if the T/B broke, who do you believe? :chairshot:

Can anyone tell me what is a Platinum series LS400? thanks

I traded in my 92 LS400 with 173,060 miles had it for 2 years, saleman told me I should sell it on my own, would get more money for it. I got $1800 for it, didn't want the chore of trying to sell it. had been in a accident before I was 2nd owner. Front end had been replaced, the LCD was turning black, but good thing the car was sitting in the sun, and the interior heated up, and LCD was working for that short period of time. :whistles:

[1990LS400]

Can anyone tell me what is a Platinum series LS400?

Here is an old thread which includes a description of the three Platinum Series variations: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...232&hl=Platinum

[jimmy1]

I also live in the Chicago Northwest Suburbs. I also have a '98 LS 400 with a 122,000 on it, and I've had my 90 thousand service done on it. I might have a name and number for a Lexus Tech that will do it on the side. Where do you live? Jeff

Jeff I live in algonquin the nw suburbs. Do you have the name of a good mechanic