Thinking About Buying A 91 Ls400. Have Questions

[Jimmie2512]

Hello,

I am new to Lexus cars and I am looking at buying a 91 LS 400 with 185k miles. From everything I have read this is just the beggining of this cars life. I do have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer for me before I drop the money on it.

All the info I have on the car says it has been taking really good care of and I don't really see any issues with it except the trac light is on and from what I have read that is common. But what concerns me is that it has the electronic suspension and I have read that replacing the shocks on those is fairly expensive. How often do the shocks need to be changed on average?

This LS has every option available that year and is a for sale for a really good price and I REALLY want to buy this car. I just want to make sure I am not missing anything. Any info y'all can give me would be great. Thanks in advance!

[1990LS400]

I wouldn't say that 185K is "just the beginning" but a well kept LS at that mileage can have a lot of life left in it although a number of components will likely need replacing/fixing along the way. My 90 LS looked and drove nearly like new when I sold it in 2003 at 183.5K miles. As of a few weeks ago, the second owner was selling it at 295K miles but the car had started to visibly rust around the rear wheel arches.

Air suspension was a fairly inexpensive ($1,500) option in 1990 but it can cost several times that (exceeding the value of the vehicle) to replace all the OEM air struts with new ones. Many replace the air suspension with aftermarket coil spring suspensions when the OEM air suspension starts to die.

What is the asking price for this car? Any rust or obvious cosmetic defects? Does the A/C work and has it been converted from R12 to R134a? Do all the internal electrics work including all the bulbs and LCD's in the HVAC controller and radio? Do all the gauges including the odometer work? Do the speedo and tach needles still light up? Does the car have heated seats and, if so, do they work? Do all the exterior lights including the fog lights work and are there signs of corrosion around the fuse blocks? Are there complete maintenance records documenting that the car has had regular oil changes and the timing belt/water/pump/idlers, etc. ($1,000+ job) replaced for the second time at 180,000 miles?

These cars can be fairly expensive to own as they age. Based on my experience, at a minimum you should reserve between $1,000 and $2,000 anually for repairs and maintenance. And I'd regard this LS as a "hobby car" - not something to depend on as a daily driver.

I think one reason my 90 LS made it to 295K with its 2nd owner was that it was a fairly basic model with fewer gadgets to break and that both the 2nd owner and I were obsessive about maintaining cars properly. A high spec LS like you are considering will be a greater challenge.

Got any photos of this beast?

[Jimmie2512]

Good to know I can replace those with a cheaper option.

Asking price is $2500. I only had a chance to look at it quickly and wanted to get a little more informed before I went to give it a thurough go through so I would know what to look for. From what I could tell there was no rust and the only real cosmetic defect was the driver seat leather was starting to crack. I am not sure about the a/c and I wasn't told anything about a conversion. All the internals istruments and lights seem to be working, I did not notice if the speedo and tach needles still light up I will have to look for that. I think the seats are heated but I am not positive and I don't know if they work or not I will have to check that too. All of the exterior lights work and I didn't check the fuse block but I will. He does have all the maintenance records and I will be going through them when I go to do a real test dirve and have time to look over everything.

Is there any perticular reason that you would not rely on it for a daily drive? I have a truck that can fill that role but I am just curious.

I tend to baby my cars and also be obsessive when it comes to maintenance so hopefully that would help me keep it going for a while.

No pics yet but I will post some up when I take a few.

[1990LS400]

Is there any perticular reason that you would not rely on it for a daily drive?

Because it is a 21 year old car with 185,000 miles and has lots of gadgets. Other than the air suspension my other main concern would be corrosion in the electrical system. My 90 LS was starting to have electrical corrosion problems that affected the foglights when I sold it in 2003. If the air suspension is still working properly, I think you can count on it failing at some point -- when it fails, the car may not be driveable when the suspension collapses.

The A/C compressors on the gen 1 LS400 had a fairly high failure rate. My 90 LS was on its 3rd A/C compressor when I sold it although the first replacement was covered under the car's original warranty. Make sure the A/C compressor works and that the system has been converted. A new A/C compressor/system conversion will likely cost well above $1,000.

Also check the power steering pump for leaks which can cause the alternator to fail. My 90 LS was on at least the fifth power steering pump when I sold it. Checking for PS pump leaks was part of weekly maintenance on my 90 LS.

Personally, I wouldn't touch an LS prior to the LS430 with air suspension unless it was going to be a fun/hobby car. When I asked someone to search for my 2000 LS400 in 2003 - NO AIR SUSPENSION was an absolute requirement. If you need reliable daily transportation, I'd recommend something newer and cheaper to fix.

My 90 LS didn't age nearly as well as my 00 LS has. At 147,000 miles, my 00 LS has been substantially more trouble free than my 90 LS was at similar age and mileage.

[landar]

Jimmie, You've gotten some good advice so far from Santa Jim. To throw a couple more issues in there, I would mention the possible replacement of rubber bushings throughout that may have rotted over the years. If the car has been a Southern car all of its life, you should be ok on the rust issues. However, many vehicles do spend considerable time in the salt belt and end up in the South. A car fax might show that bit of history. The gen 1's also had notorious problems with the trunk wiring, where one or more wires would eventually break due to the flexing. The car would also be prime for the clock display blanking/blacking out unless it has already been replaced. I wonder how many owners this car has had.

I would ask you WHY you want to buy this particular car? If you think it is a bargain and you can afford it, that's fine. If you can afford to go a bit more money, you might want to consider a newer generation with less mileage. Sometimes a (relatively) small amount of additional money will get you a much better (maintained and/or features) vehicle.

[wyoherbty]

Jimmy, my second car is a 91 LS400 with 279,000 miles on it. I am the second owner since 47,000 miles. It has lived in CT and now FL. I had maintained it with recommended oil changes religiously every 4 - 5K miles and fluid/filter changes as recommended, replaced 2 alternators, several serpentine belts and a tension pulley, 3 timing belts (w/ 1 water pump), tune-ups, and lots of tires. NO engine nor transmission repairs!

It has been and is still a daily driver, but today I have a very short commute of 6 miles round-trip. It is really showing its age at this point. In the past two years failures have occurred with the Nakamichi (I think that its the amplifier), AC leaks, DS upper control arm needs to be replaced, the pair of bushings on the rear spindle need replacement, joint boots need replacement, many in-dash bulbs need replacing, the sunroof leaks, the DS seat leather is ripping, rear seat leather has started to rip out, and rust is finally showing around the DS lower backside of the front front fender. I think that I'll drive it to a natural death or eventually junk it. The engine and transmission are still very strong. It's been a great car, expensive to maintain, but fun, enjoyable and reliable car.

Also note that the 91 LS400 doesn't have a PS airbag!

Good advice from the other posts. It depends on price, history of the car, and whether you can budget for repairs. Good luck!