JUNCTION

wow... this is an old thread. :)

$2400 is decent for a 189K 93' LS, but I would try to go even lower. I paid $3200 for my 198K 91' LS two years ago, but its required/requires more costly maintainence. As these cars age, it dont take no time to sink ALOT of $ into them.

Motor mounts will run you about $200 in parts alone and unless you are a DIY'er, it will not be all that cheap on labor to replace these.

Good luck.

Thanks for the insight, Guru.

Hello.

just joined the forum and hoping to get some insight. Looking at an LS 400 with 189K that has some body damage near the small front headlight.

Owner says it runs great (haven't driven it yet), but needs motor mounts. It does have a current emissions and is a 93 model that has a body that looks between fair and good, but has some nicks and dings.

His asking price is 2400 OBO.

Any advice or suggestions on things I should look for? Is this a good deal or an okay deal?

Thanks!

Deric

Welcome, Charles! :D

Don't pay anywhere near $10k for the car(you can get a car with 110k for that price!)! I just bought a '95 with 224k in Feb. for $6000. My car had no official service records other than the p/s pump at 215k and new front brakes at 210k, but I went for it anyways because it drove beautifully. The best thing to do is drive the car. Do every little test you can think of-go on the freeway(especially feel for vibrations that could be suspension problems), stomp on it at a stand still( it should go like a bat out of hell-I want to say 0-60 in 7.5sec range, right?-and please your ears with wonderful racecar-like sounds!), slam on the brakes, go in heavy traffic, etc. In every situation above, the car should be extremely smooth and stable even with that kind of mileage. You can expect suspension problems(bushings, lower ball joints, etc.), possible p/s leaks, and a burnt stereo LCD; Lexus bushings suck(my LS and ES have this prob.)! My car had a really badly torn driver's seat and console-easily fixed with junkyard parts and a few other common Lexus glitches like the power antenna problems, dead hood supports, and a dead stereo LCD. My car runs(dead silent) and drives like a new car! The only problem with my car is the paint; it's any weekend detailer's nightmare(the Onyx has NO clearcoat. urrr)! Also, check every body panel for official VIN stickers; this will let you know if the car was ever in a wreck if they are missing. Here's my baby at 226.8k(I expect many, many more miles out of this fine machine!) and only $6k--our little secret lol...