Thinking Bout A 96 Lexus Ls400, One Drawback

[venmichaels]

Im really interested in purchasing this beautiful

1996 lexus ls400 asking 5k$$

130k

Clean title

One owner

All service records.. (More about this later)

Car is in mint condition.

The only problem is..

He did not complete the 90k service (timing belt/waterpump)

The car is overdue..

I dont have the money to replace the T-belt and W-pump at the moment.

I can only afford to purchase the car itself..

I was wondering if it was just too big of a risk to purchase this car??

Should I search for something more affordable?

I really want the Lexus.. but I know that if the Tbelt snaps, the car is DONE. (from experience)

I figure 5k is a pretty decent price considering the mileage...

What is your take?

All you fellow 96LS400 owners, please give me your input..

Should I buy it?

[SRK]

Buying any car with your last dime expended is not a good idea, and buying a Lexus with your last dime expended is even worse. Save your money and wait until you can afford the car. Otherwise you'll be sitting on your front porch looking at it, rather than driving it.

Needs and wants are two different things.

[curiousB]

Someone else can comment if this is an interference engine or not. If not then your risk is lower. All that will happen if your timing belt breaks is the car won't run. If it interference then you'll have an engine repair bill more expensive than what you paid for the car.

Probably best idea is to decide if the car is a good deal at $6500-7000 and plan to have TB changed immediately. If you can't afford that then either wait till you can or get something cheaper. Playing Russian roulette with a timing belt may lead to a migraine.

If you're comfortable with car repair there are others who have done it themselves. I would consider it in the advanced to expert level of difficulty. Here's a couple of references.

http://www.lextreme.com/timing2.html

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

[SW03ES]

SRK is 100% correct...

[PureDrifter]

89-94 is non-interference

95-97 & 98-00 is interference.

[venmichaels]

I was hoping to make the repair maybe next year or so..

Gossh I really want the Lexus..

But i dont know anymore..

[t3honion]

I bought my 95 ls400 for around same price, same type deal one owner well maintained full service records, just under 100k on it, never changed belt or anything. drove for a few weeks and i instantly fell in love with it, but i noticed a few little problems here and there. nothing major, after a little DIY and some trips to the dealer , ive spent like 8k, and the car runs like new, (cannot even tell if it turns on sometimes without looking at rpm's .. lol) . These cars are great as long as you are willing to spend a little extra on maintenance .. if the car runs good and has clean history .. its well worth it

[PureDrifter]

I was hoping to make the repair maybe next year or so..

Gossh I really want the Lexus..

But i dont know anymore..

bottom line is that if you can't afford hte repairs reasonably quickly, you end up playing russian roulette every time you run the motor, praying the belt doesnt snap and DESTROY the heads and pistons.

[turbo976]

haha, i just recently purchased a 96 ls with 120k for about the same price as you are considering. and even more coincidently i am going to have to replace the timing belt because i can not figure out if it had been repaired recently or not, kind of a bummer, but i think it will be a good investment since these cars have the ability to go many many miles without huge repair bills. good luck on your decision (do it)

[amcdonal86]

Why would you do it? Not doing the 90k service even 40k miles overdue is a sign of neglect.

[jcrome04]

I'd say it's worth $4g. Use the Extra $1g for the 90k mi service.

If that's not a doable deal. FIND ANOTHER ONE! Even if you find one with higher mileage that's well maintained. These things go forever. Mileage is just a formality B)