Help! Love My 400 But Frustrated

[Strack]

Hi,

I've been looking for Lexus information and found your site. I have owned a 92 LS400 for about a year now and while I love it, I am deeply frustrated with all the repair hassle. We bought it from a lot that was closing for just over auction price (it has 121,000 miles). We knew it needed the timing belt replaced and new tires/alignment so we stood firm on the auction price approach. It has its age issues which are expected. Recently, we learned it will need rear shocks (the dealer in Allentown said they were not unsafe, and to wait until they absolutely need replacing because the parts alone are steep), the AC just quit in the last 2 weeks, and also in the last two weeks it has started to have sporadic power failures when in drive, but not while in neutral (the RPMs only rev in Neutral). My regular mechanic, who services only foreign cars, says it is a difficult car to work on and the Allentown dealer is an hour and 15 minutes away. You all seem to love your Lexus vehicles. I would like to keep mine, but am at wits end with upcoming repair. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel, or is this a car I will need a second job and running rental reservation to keep?

Help me before I trade it on a Chevy (I really am at wits end!).

Strack

[1990LS400]

If your regular mechanic says that your 92 LS is difficult to work on, I suspect that it is more because of his level of skill and knowledge. I drove a similar 90 LS400 from new to 183,500 miles and it was like new when I sold it to a friend in 2003 who has driven it to over 275,000 miles. Of course, I had the "luxury" of living near a Lexus dealer and, more importantly, near a great independent repair shop that specializes in repairing Lexus cars.

My 90 LS was on it's original shocks at 183,500 miles and they were no where near worn out. My 2000 LS is at 125,000 miles and it's original shocks are just fine. If your rear shocks really are worn, parts.com has them for $108.43 each.

The early LS400 was not known to have the most reliable A/C system. Mine was on its 3rd compressor when I sold it and I had it converted from R12 to R134a at the 10-11 year mark. The R134a conversion provided enough cold air to "freeze" the car occupants at 100+ degree outside temperatures.

In that last five or so years I owned my 90 LS, I averaged around $1,000/year on maintenance and repairs. I thought that was pretty reasonable for an aging car and far less than a replacement would cost. Lexus LS cars are pretty cheap to maintain compared to a BMW or Mercedes but maintanence costs rise as they age. Although my 2000 LS400 is aging far better than my 1990 LS400 did, I expect that it too will become increasingly more expensive to run.

If you don't have a good repair shop nearby, maybe the best thing to do really would be to punt your LS and buy that Chevy.

[dcfish]

If your regular mechanic says that your 92 LS is difficult to work on, I suspect that it is more because of his level of skill and knowledge. I drove a similar 90 LS400 from new to 183,500 miles and it was like new when I sold it to a friend in 2003 who has driven it to over 275,000 miles. Of course, I had the "luxury" of living near a Lexus dealer and, more importantly, near a great independent repair shop that specializes in repairing Lexus cars.

My 90 LS was on it's original shocks at 183,500 miles and they were no where near worn out. My 2000 LS is at 125,000 miles and it's original shocks are just fine. If your rear shocks really are worn, parts.com has them for $108.43 each.

The early LS400 was not known to have the most reliable A/C system. Mine was on its 3rd compressor when I sold it and I had it converted from R12 to R134a at the 10-11 year mark. The R134a conversion provided enough cold air to "freeze" the car occupants at 100+ degree outside temperatures.

In that last five or so years I owned my 90 LS, I averaged around $1,000/year on maintenance and repairs. I thought that was pretty reasonable for an aging car and far less than a replacement would cost. Lexus LS cars are pretty cheap to maintain compared to a BMW or Mercedes but maintanence costs rise as they age. Although my 2000 LS400 is aging far better than my 1990 LS400 did, I expect that it too will become increasingly more expensive to run.

If you don't have a good repair shop nearby, maybe the best thing to do really would be to punt your LS and buy that Chevy.

Well put If ya can't stand the heat...........................