Need Advice On Purchasing A 1990 Ls400...

BDubbya · February 1, 2012

Hi everyone this is my first post ever on the site and I was hoping some of you may be able to help me out. Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. I'm considering purchasing a black 1990 LS400. This is an original Florida car with 125,510 miles on the odometer. But here's the catch, the odometer stopped working at that point so this thing could actually have 500,000 miles, who knows. I ran a Carfax and it stated that the mileage was "exempt" and the title was clean with no accidents reported. So being a Florida car, the paint is fading and the dash is showing some very small cracks. The front leather seats are significantly torn, the carpet is stained, and really it just needs a good cleaning. I had the opportunity to drive the car and it felt smooth; no leaks that I could see, no smoke, and all of the fluids were topped off and clean. Mechanically the car seems fine, but cosmetically it needs a good cleaning, leather repair, and a paint job. Everything actually works on the car and though the car is a 1990, the build quality still impresses me. The owner is asking $1,400 and I was going to try and lowball the guy at $1,000. So being that the car has these issues along with the broken odometer, is $1,000 worth it? This car will be a near-daily driver as I will use it for work and pleasure. Thank you!

billydpowell · February 1, 2012

you need to read about all the problems the 90-94 models have had so you wont be surprised, but $1000 is not too much..

curiousB · February 2, 2012

Well just go into this eyes wide open. A 21 year old car is equivalent to a 107 year old human... Don't expect miracles.

Also while these are are very reliable they are expensive when they need repair. If you are capable doing a lot of repair yourself you can save a bundle but if you are dependent on the dealer I would walk away.

The broken odometer sounds suspicious.

If a daily driver is mission critical for you I suggest getting something newer and maybe not a Lexus. $1000 doesn't buy much car these days. That's particularly true of a former luxury car.

jaswood · February 2, 2012

Hi everyone this is my first post ever on the site and I was hoping some of you may be able to help me out. Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place. I'm considering purchasing a black 1990 LS400. This is an original Florida car with 125,510 miles on the odometer. But here's the catch, the odometer stopped working at that point so this thing could actually have 500,000 miles, who knows. I ran a Carfax and it stated that the mileage was "exempt" and the title was clean with no accidents reported. So being a Florida car, the paint is fading and the dash is showing some very small cracks. The front leather seats are significantly torn, the carpet is stained, and really it just needs a good cleaning. I had the opportunity to drive the car and it felt smooth; no leaks that I could see, no smoke, and all of the fluids were topped off and clean. Mechanically the car seems fine, but cosmetically it needs a good cleaning, leather repair, and a paint job. Everything actually works on the car and though the car is a 1990, the build quality still impresses me. The owner is asking $1,400 and I was going to try and lowball the guy at $1,000. So being that the car has these issues along with the broken odometer, is $1,000 worth it? This car will be a near-daily driver as I will use it for work and pleasure. Thank you!

Unless you consider yourself a highly competent DIY'r....

RUN!

BDubbya · February 2, 2012

Well just go into this eyes wide open. A 21 year old car is equivalent to a 107 year old human... Don't expect miracles.

Also while these are are very reliable they are expensive when they need repair. If you are capable doing a lot of repair yourself you can save a bundle but if you are dependent on the dealer I would walk away.

The broken odometer sounds suspicious.

If a daily driver is mission critical for you I suggest getting something newer and maybe not a Lexus. $1000 doesn't buy much car these days. That's particularly true of a former luxury car.

Hey thanks guys for your input. I do have a few cars on my list, but I really like the LS400. Perhaps maybe a '93-up LS with actual miles. I have heard that these cars can be expensive to maintain but they're still at the top of my list. I think I would feel comfortable driving an LS with 200K + actual miles than one in which the miles are in question. Thanks again.