Newbie From Colorado - 92 Ls400

[TimB]

Hi All,

My wife's mother recently passed away and part of the estate is her 1992 LS400 with less than 60K miles. This is a 1-owner California car that has been garaged the whole time. My wife and I have decided to take a chance on this car and will fly to LA in the next week or two to take ownership. Not sure what it will take to make it roadworthy enough to drive back to Denver/Boulder, but will assess when we get there. Hopefully not much. I have driven this car a couple of times over the past few years when we visited but never on a long road-trip. The car has never been in an accident and seems to be very solid. Should be an interesting experiment.

I know about the transmission speed sensor problem, the front strut bar cushion, the A/C compressor issues, the fuzzy displays on the climate controls. I figure if the tires are decent, the oil is changed, the brakes are good and the belts and hoses aren't cracked, she should at least be able to make it ~1000 miles in 2 days. Not sure if the timing belt has ever been changed. Will be looking for the service records.

Anything else I should look for in a 20 year-old cream-puff before we begin the journey?

I've never owned a Lexus before but have owned a Toyota pickup. I'm a car-guy who does most of his own maintenance. I look forward to mining this site for help to keep this old girl running for a long time and hope to be able to contribute back to the forum. After all, with only 60K on the clock, she's barely broke in.

Cheers, Tim