landar

Thanks for the replies so far. The owner had the oil changed at the dealer sometimes and at other times, he took it to Jiffy Lube. Not sure who changed it last, but you raise a valid question. Perhaps I am reading too much into the low level and the lube shop just short-changed the fill. If the low level on the dipstick indicates only one quart low then its not such a big deal. The asking price is $14.5k, but no takers thus far. The book value looks to be $12k to $14k. I like $12k better ;-). If there is an engine problem though, I think I would pass.

I am looking at a 98 LS400 (4.0L V8) with 62k miles. It looks very clean and is a one-owner vehicle. As I performed an inspection of the car, everything seemed pretty much normal. I opened the engine compartment and pulled the dipstick to check the oil level. To my surprise, I found the oil level at the 'L' position on the stick indicating that it was perhaps several quarts low. In addition, I saw brown-colored varnish on the dipstick which usually indicates an overheated engine, maybe even sludge. The owner was completely clueless about all this and said that he will take the car to the dealer for an oil change and explanation as to why the oil was low. Although he did have records of dealer visits, he did not recall when the oil had last been changed. Now, I liked the car and it drove nicely, BUT this oil incident is setting off alarm bells for me. I know Toyota had some oil sludge problems with their engines a while back. Has anyone else had oil consumption/sludge with their LS400? Should I steer clear of this car?