Odometer Fraud Is 93 Lexus Ls400?

[venmichaels]

Im getting ready to purchase a 93Lexus ls400 with 130k (pretty low mileage)

The seller has all service records in hand, and the timing belt was replaced at 60k miles back in 2000. (kind of early to replace the timing belt and waterpump isnt it?)

Im pretty iffy on it.

I ran a car fax and it came back clean, but a few years are missing...

Is it possible to tamper with the odometer on the 93 Lexus ls400??

Its pretty outdated technology, and Im assuming that someone might have figured it out back in the day,

Any input???

[curiousB]

Timing belt is scheduled for 90k miles. Maybe water pump sprung a leak and since you have to remove TB to get to water pump they replaced both to reset the 90k interval for the TB. That is low miles for a water pump to fail but random failures do happen once in a while before the more typical wear out failures.

If it has been dealer maintained they have all records online (tied to VIN) if there is a chunk of records missing.

[jcrome04]

VERY unlikely the ODO was tampered with.

[1990LS400]

The timing belt replacement interval is 90,000 miles or 6 years -- it sounds like the previous owner was reasonably conscientious if he replaced it at 7 years instead of waiting until 90,000 miles.

Just about any odometer can be rolled back by a "pro". In theory, the odometer or the entire instrument cluster could have been replaced. The odometer on my 90 LS400 failed and was replaced -- I think the replacement odometer showed about 60,000 miles when I sold the car at 183,500 miles. If I was a dishonest person, I could have represented the 90 as having only 60,000 miles since it looked like a new car when I sold it.

The best you can do is look for documentation that supports the mileage on the odometer. It sounds like you are doing your homework.

BTW, the replacement timing belt on the 93 LS you are looking at is 9 years old and overdue for replacement. But even if it were to break, engine damage would be very unlikely. I'm one of the few who has had a timing belt break on a gen 1 LS400 -- there was no engine damage.

[venmichaels]

thanks for everyones input here.

[VBdenny]

Another popular way is to replace the entire instrument panel. Find one in a wreck with lower miles and switch. Very unlikely. Since my 90 has only 170,000 the odometer is probably original and correct. Many people who bought these cars never drove them very much as they owned several others. Look at the brake pedal for wear.