Looking To Buy A 94 Ls400

[pearlwhite97ES]

My wife drives a 97 es and I recently found a 94 LS with 135k. I

was wondering if there is certain things to look for? Is there a timing belt on the v8?

She says she's the original owner of it and has all manitence records. I just want to know what to

look out for when I look at this car. It's pearl white and seems to be well taken care of.

Any advice would be helpful.... thanks Dan

oh ya, she wants 7k but that seems a little steep to me

[charlesranderson]

See if the maintenance was done at Lexus dealerships. If so, any of them have access to all records of maintenance done at L dealerships. One of the main services you want to confirm, either from Lexus (and a dealership will generally give you the maintenance background if you can show ownership and supply the VIN--maybe you could get the seller to get it for you--) in any event is the 90k service. That is generally when the timing belt and water pump are replaced, and that will tell you the level of care the car received, insofar as one item could (it can't, of course, but we are looking for quick here).

As for price, that depends on the market where you are. I just bought a fairly immaculate 91 LS400, with most of the maintenance records--including the all important 90k--with 117,000 miles. In great shape, the car seems to go in Texas more depending on the year. I saw a couple of 94's in the $8k range (miles between 72k and 112k). 96's seem to be about 2k more. My 91 was listed at 6 and the seller got close to that.

Other than that, I would say the same things apply for the purchase of any used car. Inspect it closely, try most of the motorized components, take it out for a road test and see how it rides, what the noise level is (should be quiet, of course) and whether the engine seems to have power. If you are favorably impressed, you might have a private mechanic check it out. There are companies out there who will come to the car.

Good luck on your purchase. Did I mention that I love my car!

My wife drives a 97 es and I recently found a 94 LS with 135k. I

was wondering if there is certain things to look for? Is there a timing belt on the v8?

She says she's the original owner of it and has all manitence records. I just want to know what to

look out for when I look at this car. It's pearl white and seems to be well taken care of.

Any advice would be helpful.... thanks Dan

oh ya, she wants 7k but that seems a little steep to me

[flogdpup]

My wife drives a 97 es and I recently found a 94 LS with 135k. I

was wondering if there is certain things to look for? Is there a timing belt on the v8?

She says she's the original owner of it and has all manitence records. I just want to know what to

look out for when I look at this car. It's pearl white and seems to be well taken care of.

Any advice would be helpful.... thanks Dan

oh ya, she wants 7k but that seems a little steep to me

I own a 94 and a 97 LS. Looking at the maintenance records, I would keep an eye out for timing belt change (yes, there is one), water pump change, lower ball joints, motor mounts, transmission mount; it seems that these all have a tendency to wear out within or around the 100,000 mile mark. I would find out where she's had it serviced. Listen to the motor for the famous but harmless ticking sound. Find out how often and where she had the transmission FLUSHED... not just changed.

Also, my personal opinion is to look for the Nakamichi Sound System (well worth it). While you're checking out the stereo, manipulate the balance and fader knobs to listen to each speaker individually to make sure they each work (they have a tendency to go out). Also my opinion, stay away from the air suspension. It is really great when it's all working but the fact is that your air struts WILL wear out and when they do it is expensive to replace with OEM and the cheaper aftermarket options will never do the original air shocks justice. It's just a heartache waiting to happen. I imagine the winters in Illinois could be even nastier than here in Utah, so look for the TRAC button and seat heater selector buttons above the cigarette lighter to make sure you have those options. My traction control kicks in quite often during the winter. Without it I think I would be all over the road. Also push in the cigarette lighter and see if it works, check the antenna mast for function, along with ALL the window control switches and door lock switches. Pay particular attention to the driver door master switch to ensure it operates all the passenger windows and locks. The cup holder cover in front of the armrest has a tendency to break. Check your outside mirror adjustment switch to the left of the steering wheel. Also check the steering wheel adjuster switch on the left side of the steering column; make sure it adjusts up and down, in and out.

Something else you may consider doing if you have about $95 bucks laying around is you can take the car to the Lexus dealership and they will do a 100 or something point inspection on the car and they give you a big list of all the nitty gritty that's wrong with the car. I actually did this with my 94 LS and it gave me a good bargaining chip with the seller because you can show them on paper what the dealer found wrong with their car and it ended up saving me $1000.00 on the asking price that the owner wanted. I knew I was going to buy the car anyway because it was in decent shape and I fell in love with the all black leather interior, so I didn't mind too much paying for the inspection. After buying the car I took the list to my independent mechanic and had him fix what I couldn't.

As far as the asking price goes, I would check out nada.com and KBB.com and compare their estimated retail prices for that car in it's condition in your area. If you can pick it up for anywhere in between the NADA and Kelly Blue Book estimates, in my opinion, consider it a good deal. Personally I believe that NADA benefits the buyer (it consistently estimates vehicle values low) and Kelly Blue Book benefits the seller (it gives a more true to life value). You'll notice that car dealers almost consistently use the NADA values to estimate vehicle trade-in values because it works to their favor but will post on THEIR vehicle price stickers how much below "blue book value" their asking price is. Of course they're still making a huge profit because the person that originally traded the vehicle in got screwed with the NADA estimated value. But I digress...

Oh well... all's fair in love and war and car dealing, right?

Good luck with your LS inspection!

[pearlwhite97ES]

I went today and took it for a drive.. Timing belt was done @ 100k, they only did tranny drain and fills They did'nt

flush it. The motor was taken out for a replacement of some mount. She did'nt know exactly which one. The mustard

color interior was not in the best of shape.Seems that the lady had a cat that like to scratch at leather. The motor seem

to purr but, had a little oil here and there. I drove it for about 5-10 miles and just did'nt get a great feeling about it.

I think I'm going to pass on this for a couple of reasons. The 7k she wants is too high for me. I feel 5k would be fair

and I dont think I would buy it for that even. Thanks for your input and I guess I'll just keep trucking in the 94 maxima.