1990 Ls400 Test Drive

[Taplin06]

Well I took the 1990 LS400 I was thinking about buying for a test drive. Immediately upon entering the key and starting the car, the battery dies. The salesman assured me he would "take care of it" before it was sold to me, and that he never lets a car off the lot that does not run properly.

Well after he restarted the battery I took a test drive around the block for a few minutes, no high speeds. I noticed that the A/C is out and only blows hot air. When I asked him about it he said it was not a major issue and that I could always replace it.

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So how much would this A/C cost?

Also, I made an offer for $4,500 at first, the dealer just laughed and said no way. So then I got the price down to $5,500 (originally 6,500). I said I only had 4,000 however and he then pulled the price down to 5,250. Is this a good price?

I don't particularly like the color(burgandy/maroon type, not sure) but Lexus' are hard to find in my area.

[90LS400Lexus]

Well I took the 1990 LS400 I was thinking about buying for a test drive.  Immediately upon entering the key and starting the car, the battery dies.  The salesman assured me he would "take care of it" before it was sold to me, and that he never lets a car off the lot that does not run properly.

Well after he restarted the battery I took a test drive around the block for a few minutes, no high speeds.  I noticed that the A/C is out and only blows hot air.  When I asked him about it he said it was not a major issue and that I could always replace it.

__________________

So how much would this A/C cost? 

Also,  I made an offer for $4,500 at first, the dealer just laughed and said no way.  So then I got the price down to $5,500 (originally 6,500).  I said I only had 4,000 however and he then pulled the price down to 5,250.  Is this a good price? 

I don't particularly like the color(burgandy/maroon type, not sure) but Lexus' are hard to find in my area.

What a familair story. My 90 LS400 is also the dark maroon color (which I hate), but same with me- not to many of these for sale in my area. I ended up paying $3995 for my car a few months ago when it had 223K. It now has nearly 230K. I could not talk them down at all on my car. My car also has a non-operating A/C. I knew it before I bought it, but since I bought it in late October and it was not all that hot when I bought it (70s and low 80s), I really did not care much about the A/C at that time. Now that hot and humid weather is here, I wish I had of reconsidered. According to my local Lexus dealer records, my car was taken in my the previous owner before they sold it to have the A/C checked. Lexus quoted a $800. price to fix the A/C. They claim that the evaporator is bad. It think it was $300 for parts and $500 labor. I am NOT paying that. In addition- what if I have the evaporator replaced and then the compressor goes out? Another $500? I just go with the windows down. If it is really hot - 90+, I will drive one of my other cars with A/C. With the problems on my car cropping up (A/C, front end clunks and the 50-60 mph vibration (tires?), I may sell my LS400 soon and buy a newer lower mile Camry or Accord.

You did not mention the miles or other conditions/options, so hard to give a fair price range. I now wish I had of not have paid over $3000 for my LS400, but again, I wanted one and this was the only one I had been able to find locally within a year. - now I wish I had of bought the 98' Camry I was interested in before I bought my car. Not because my Lexus is a bad car- it is not- it runs very smoothly, transmission is smooth as silk and the power is great and even at 230K, there are NO leaks or electrical problems what-so-ever, NO rust (some dings and stratches, but paint still shiny), and the interior is original and in excellent conditions. I also think that the car is "boring" overall. I have heard other LS400 owners say this as well. Handling is not all that great, considering the ride quality. I have even considered removing the struts in order to get a "soft", but very excessively floaty ride. Now I wish I had of bought another, because I am not really impressed with the ride quality of this car, even after new rear struts, but I am guessing the front needs replaced as well and I am hesitant about spending a lot more $$$ into this, as well as the broken A/C, also premium gas prices have me disgusted, but luckily my Lexus gets suprisingly good gas mileage (about 330-410 per tank- depending upon conditions), or at least it does compared to my 92 V6 Buick Park Avenue- which has a smaller engine and slightly lighter car, which only gets about 190-210 miles per tank, with the same amount of gallons.

BTW- the KBB value (private party) for a 1990 Lexus LS400 in good condition with 230K miles is $3900- which is what it values my Lexus at, so I guess I got a good deal, but I have already spent $200 on new rear suspension- which I am still not really pleased with.

Good luck with your purchase- hope this has helped.

[Taplin06]

Well thanks for your analysis! I will take that into consideration. I forgot to say, but the car has 100,000 miles.

[monarch]

taplin06, I believe you are making a huge mistake trying to buy a '90 LS for only $4,000 and also making a mistake trying to buy from a used car dealer. The '90-'94 LS400's are essentially junk if they have not received all or at least most of the required factory preventive maintenance on time and the one you're looking at obviously does not had an extensive written service history. You can't simply buy a poorly maintained LS for $4000, then put $5,000 of repairs into it and expect it to run and drive like new. It won't ever be like new again. The prior abuse and neglect it received has ruined for good.

The right way to buy a '90-'94 LS400 is to purchase a one owner car from someone who kept meticulous service records. And be prepared to spend $7500-$12,000 for such a car depending on the odometer miles. Mechanically, such cars are not badly worn and still drive like a dream. They offer far more ride comfort and quietness compared to any Accord or Camry. The difference is like night and day. Like when I travel and rent 2003 Camry's, I can't wait to get back into my much more refined '91 LS400.

Owners like 90LS400Lexus who complain their LS400's are not vastly superior to Accords or Camry's say that because their particular LS400's were not well maintained by their formers owners and that neglect and abuse wrecked alot of the factory original ride smoothness and refinement.

Bottom line is that unless you've got around $10,000 saved up, an LS400 is out of your reach, financially. Even the best maintained ones still will require some periodic expensive repairs like power steering pump replacement, steering rack hose replacement, lower ball joints, AC system repairs and a few other thing of that nature.

[1UZ-FE]

just FYI,

About 5 months ago i bought a 94 LS for $10,900 from a dealer. My car is in EXCELLENT condition and has quite an extensive service history at the local lexus dealer here in raleigh. Options:heated seats, Nak sound, CD, memory seats, trac control and i think thats it. My A/C blows VERY cold. dont let some dealer idiot tell you that the A/C is "not a major issue." When i bought it, it had about 150,000 miles on it. The BEST thing that u can do is during a "test drive" bring it to your local lexus dealer and get a "pre-purchase inpection". (only costs about $50 or less) This is the smartest thing that u can do. Also have the Lexus dealer give u a quote on fixing the A/C. The lexus dealer will do a THOROUGH inspection of your auto. My dealer even went as far to tell me that the heated seat switch "sticks" sometimes. My car now has over 165,000 miles on it and the only things that i've done to it is spark plugs, throttle body cleaning, and new battery. Dont even think about buying this car without a Lexus technician checking it out first.