Tall Texan

I am new to this forum. I am considering purchasing
a 1995 LS400 with 60k miles for $22k. I'm sure my next
question has discussed to death so flame away if it
makes you feel better. Does the 1995 LS400 have any
particular weaknesses and what should I have my
mechanic look for in a pre-purchase inspection?
Thanks for any help you can give !

JBrady

Welcome and may I add..."Exellent Choice".

I bought my 96 LS400 (95-97 almost identical) with 52k and it now has 76k. Great car. I did have the front shocks replaced and a caliper replaced. The shocks were ONLY $65 each!!! Need to check my reciepts as I can not remember the cost of the caliper (all done under warranty but price is still shown)

The shocks started creaking and moaning. The brake caliper started making a popping sound. Otherwise, do normal used car inspection: service records in order? VIN check for damage? flood damage? body work? the usual.

BTW, you do know the 95 was the 1st year of the restyle that gained 10hp and lost weight for a combined reduction in 0-60mph of a full second!

zushwa

Welcome to the club!!

I agree with our horsepower hungry friend, excellent choice. Although my LS is a 93, all the LS's share the same reliability. If you read through this site you'll see that all the models are very trustworthy, although certain models have they're little "issues" but nothing major that I've seen.

Please don't worry about flaming. This is a very civil forum, as long as you don't want to put cheap knock-off wheels on your car.

Check out the modifications listing at the top of this forum for upgrade ideas. (thanks again Loule)

Again, welcome.

LOTC

Welcome tall texan,the LS is probably one of the most realiable car you can buy.

You cannot go wrong with it,just make your the car was taken care of.

hlippy4

Hi Tall Texan:

Great car -- but 22k is too much -- I just bought (January) a 1996 Pearl While loaded LS 400 with 58k for 20k -- believe it or not -- on e-bay -- the car is literally perfect -- saved me 10k from dealer price. Terrific deals and the cars have come down since then with the new LS430 becoming more popular.

Good Luck

Hlippy4

New Owner

Welcome to the club Tall Texan!

As a fellow Texan I'd have to agree that $22k might be leaning a tad toward the high side for a '95, although I'd have to say that 60k miles are very low for that car. Typical mileage on a 95 would actually be around 80k, so it sounds like maybe you've stumbled onto a cream puff. If you're buying it from a Lexus dealer, then yes, that's probably the going freight these days. These cars have incredible resale values and it's tough finding a "deal" on one.

I just bought a 96 LS400 with 43k miles for $21.5 from a private seller (estate sale) and am thrilled with mine. These are simply magnificent cars and very few reported problems.

As for pre-inspection, find out if you can where the car came from. Remember, Houston just had a major flood, literally of biblical proportions. You do not want a flood car, not even a Lexus.

If you're dealing with anyone other than a Lexus dealer then you might consider taking it to a Lexus dealership for a thorough checkout. Any Lexus dealership will also have the complete maintenance history of the car on their computer (for all work that was performed at any other Lexus dealership).