Purchasing A 98 Ls400 ---Very Excited!

[FormerVolvoOwner]

Hello Everyone,

I'm very excited about my next car purchase. I'm going to seal the deal on Monday.

It has 39,000 Miles and the price is 10,600.

It was listed on E-bay. I have to be frank...I know very little about the LS400s.

I owned a Volvo 850 before this and it was a mechanical nightmare money pit. I was VERY active on another Volvo forum...so I have a feeling this may be a great beginning!

Here is the ad for the LS400:

" 39K miles, I bought it from the original owner in Fl, that paid about 60K. She always took it to the same Lexus dealer for service, even bought new tires from them, crazy. I have all the records. She was 84, could no longer drive. I had the timing belt replaced @ 36K, due to it's age not mileage. Garage kept non smoker, smells like new. I have a car fax, clearly shows a FL car all its life.

The Receipts clearly prove the mileage on the car"

Here are all the photos he had in his ad :

Photos of the 98 Ls400

What do you folks think about this car? Am I paying too much? I spoke with the fellow selling the car he is a 60 year old gentleman.

I would very greatly appreciate all the insight and advice you may have.

Thanks so much!

[landar]

Looks/sounds like a good deal to me. Low mileage, well cared for. Good price, IMO. Congrats. You are going to love it.

[1990LS400]

All that matters is that you are satisfied with your purchase.

It looks nice from the photos. It looks reasonably optioned with seat heaters. Doesn't have the optional wood steering wheel and shift lever that was standard on the 99-00 but the leather wheel is really more pleasant to use than the wood. It's best if it has the standard Pioneer radio -- it doesn't say Nakamichi, does it?

98 was the last model year for the LS that options were more individually available without having to buy them in packages. There are pluses and minuses in that.

About the only downside of buying a 98 is that a number of improvements and fixes were done in the 99 and 00 LS. You might check with a Lexus dealer to see if any of the TSIB fixes were done while the car was in warranty -- particularly on the tilt/telescope steering wheel.

I'm a "three time loser" with Volvos (P1800E, 145, 240DL in the 1970s). Your 98 LS is in a completely different and far higher category. You will absolutely love it compared to a Volvo 850.

[SRK]

Great car, great choice. You'll have no regrets at all.

I'm a former Volvo owner and mechanic. Volvo will never, ever, build a car like Lexus does. They are simply incapable of it, like many manufacturers. From this point on, you'll be a Lexus convert.

Congrats on the purchase.

[OmarG]

considering that i just purchased a 2000 with 4.5 times as many miles,(186k) I know for a fact you are going to love the car. They last as long as you want them to. A buddy of mine is a volvo fanatic, but still appreciates the awesome engineering of the LS. The 98-00 models are exceptional and still very modern IMO.

I savored over that exact car for for quite some time. Keep that baby clean!

CONGRATS! MORE PICS!

[Hanging In There]

Hello Everyone,

I'm very excited about my next car purchase. I'm going to seal the deal on Monday.

It has 39,000 Miles and the price is 10,600.

It was listed on E-bay. I have to be frank...I know very little about the LS400s.

I owned a Volvo 850 before this and it was a mechanical nightmare money pit. I was VERY active on another Volvo forum...so I have a feeling this may be a great beginning!

Here is the ad for the LS400:

" 39K miles, I bought it from the original owner in Fl, that paid about 60K. She always took it to the same Lexus dealer for service, even bought new tires from them, crazy. I have all the records. She was 84, could no longer drive. I had the timing belt replaced @ 36K, due to it's age not mileage. Garage kept non smoker, smells like new. I have a car fax, clearly shows a FL car all its life.

The Receipts clearly prove the mileage on the car"

Here are all the photos he had in his ad :

Photos of the 98 Ls400

What do you folks think about this car? Am I paying too much? I spoke with the fellow selling the car he is a 60 year old gentleman.

I would very greatly appreciate all the insight and advice you may have.

Thanks so much!

It seems that the price is pretty close to correct. I recently paid 10K for a '96 LS400 with about 100K miles. Bought the car from a longtime friend who purchased it new in '96. Your new ride looks terrific and she'll give you long and trouble free miles. Congratulations and welcome to the LS 400 family.

[VBdenny]

Your fond memories of your Volvo will quickly fade when you drive your Lexus. Welcome to LOC.

[Marklouis]

I would jump on that so fast. if you don't get it I sure would like to! let us know how it turns out!

[FormerVolvoOwner]

I would jump on that so fast. if you don't get it I sure would like to! let us know how it turns out!

Hey all thanks so much for your generous input :D .

I did buy it.

I seem to have inherited some problems though :chairshot: .

I had a looong road trip back home, just 1100 Miles.

This has given me a great opportunity to test it.

I'll list the problems I've noticed as of yet.

1) Check VSC came on once I pulled into a tight parking spot at a grocery store. It seems to be intermittent though. It restarts usually when I restart the car.Sometimes I get lucky and the message never gets displayed.

2) When I press the brakes I hear what sounds like some springs creaking. I hear the noise only when I am parked and hit my brakes to get into drive or park

3) Speedometer sometimes doesn't work when starting off...but usually starts after a short while... 5-10 minutes.

The first time this happened I turned off the car and restarted it. Speedometer started working again.

Any and all input will be so very greatly appreciated. Should I start a new thread?

My old Volvo forum had some VERY well mechanical versed folks on the forum. I'm kind of excited to see how mechanically savvy you all are. But then again I'm sure thos folks were very well versed because they spent many MANY hours fixing their Volvos.

Thanks very much my new friends!

[Marklouis]

my Speedometer needle sticks also especially on hot days, if I am not mistaken a posted thread on this issue stated that the small amount of grease at the base of the needle liqifies by the heat and causes a vacuum effect with the base. I believe extruding the excess grease off of the needle fixes this, in which you have to remove the instrument Cluster and that shouldnt be too difficult - this is something i am having to fix in the next couple of days so I will let you know how it goes ;)

[turboomni]

quote: 2) When I press the brakes I hear what sounds like some springs creaking. I hear the noise only when I am parked and hit my brakes to get into drive or park..quote

That could very well be swaybar bushings which are easy to replace. I know my 1997 has a groan at times depending on humidity when the suspention is compressed . If you push down on the front end does it do that too? No need to get Lexus bushings as MOOG makes them for 16 buck a pair although i have not used them. Lexus ones are 25 apiece. I am going the urethane route on the front end as described in the Clublexus forum. I will say I installed the ADDCO rear swaybar but your is a 1998 or 99 and I dont know the diameter of the rear bar of your car. The 1997 [mine was about 1/2 inch ]and the car leaned badly and now is much better..

Congrats on your car,,I know I love mine,,,