I agree with what everyone else said:

Fix it yourself - Not too bad at all

Pay someone else - Kiss your retirement savings goodbye!!!

My 95 was pretty neglected when i got my hands on it, but i threw about $1000 in parts and maintenance at it and it cleaned up surprisingly well. Now, If i had paid someone to put those $1000 worth of parts on, it probably could of ran $2500-3000 in total in addition to the price of the car.

 

Thanks for all the great comments. Things to think about going forward on my car search.

So I've decided I'm gonna go and take a look at this car. What should I look for in particular that will either be good signs or red flags?

Someone mentioned the missing engine cover for one, what else? If he is indeed putting power steering fluid in, could that be in itself causing the PS pump leak? Is that a big warning sign.

I've learned to take everything anyone selling a car says with a grain of salt so I'm gonna get a Carfax to see ownership provence. He says never been in an accident. We'll see I guess.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and give comments, its such a big help.

 

I look at driver's seat condition and the autocheck report (carfax has been caught cheating by ABC news 20-20)

If someone has kept the interior and exterior like new, they have likely kept the mechanical parts like new

 

OK I ran the auto check report, and all seems well. Shows proper milage, no title issues and no accidents reported. It even gave the car an auto check "score" of 65. It says similar vehicles score between 15-36.

I also went to the Lexus site and got the service history of the car. Not much work was done at the dealers, should this be something to worry about? I added the history as a pdf is anything in there that looks troubling?

 

The more recent work may have been done at a Toyota dealership or other repair shop.
To lessen the risk, you may want to buy one with good records.
For example, when I was shopping for mine, I was pleased to see that all work was done at a Lexus dealership and that the starter, timing belt, water pump, pulleys and motor/trans mounts had recently been done.
I had to put tires on it, but I knew what they would cost.
Pay soneone to inspect it. Dont take uncle Bubba who "used to fix" his ford pickup. Have a trained set of eyes look it over. He will find alot in a half hour to an hour.

 

Check the tranny and brake fluid color. The PS already has a flag so the neglect of other fluids is highly possible. Bring along an OBD II reader and see if any error codes are being retained.

 

I would say it looks like a "Buy" to me!

you will want to replace the entire ECU with the updated later model (even a '96 ECU would be good - p/n 89661-50303) because the early '95 ECU has issues, then once you have the new ECU, replace the capacitors in it!

and look under the car a lot for rust, as it seems to have spent most of all of its life in Jersey!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be much more informed today when I go and test drive and look over the car.

And BTW, looking at the autocheck, the car actually spend more time in Florida then it did in NJ if that matters any, 12 years to 7 in NJ.

 

definitely could have ECU capicator issues as the heat/humidiity in florida are known killers... per LScowboy...

 

Yea…went to see it, picked it up for $2500. Think I did ok. Car seems good, drove fine; smooth and powerful. Inside and outside looked even better then in the pics.

It's plenty fast, was doing near 90 on the highway and didn't even realise it was that fast.

 

definitely check a few things immediately, if you want continued happy motoring

● power steering leaks (will cost you an alternator, an expensive repair that is completely unnecessarily)
● strut bar bushings
● transmission mount
● change oil and transmission fluid (not flush, just drain & fill with genuine Toyota T-IV, new drain bolt & drain bolt gasket from the Toyota dealership)
● change coolant (use genuine Toyota long-life red & distilled water
● make sure you have absolute documentation when timing belt was last changed, if it has been over 10 years or 90K, then change it now!
● check all four brakes
● check and top up all other fluids
● check under bolt connecting positive battery terminal to positive cable for hidden corrosion
● inspect all coolant hoses, heater hoses, vacuum hoses, and the drive belt

 

Car is 19 years old. Are they expensive to own? Depends on a case by case basis. If you find a clean one that has been well cared for with 160k miles on it no. You will be able to get years of driving out of it without much worry. But really nice ones are damn hard to find and expect to pay between 4-6k for one that is perfect. I paid 4500 for mine but it's absolutely mint. I've 50k on it in about a year and all I've had to do to it so far is put gas and flush the fluids. Now if you get one that's been abused or just not taken care of, and thrashed around as a drift car for a few years, and the owner didn't change the oil for 90k miles then I'd worry. You can get a fair-to-midland one that's been well maintained with high miles but maybe with cracked seats for around 2500. If you want a 95-97 Ls400 the following is important

Check for leaks especially power steering ones
The starter should not grind when turned over
It should run smooth and quiet
Check for a mechanics note for the last timing belt change
Make sure all gauges on the cluster work
Check the front end for any pulls or popping around corners
Check the breaks they should stop the car on a dime without much effort
Check the tranny for hiccups, skipping, etc
Check the lighting make sure none of it dims and brightens when revved
Try to get as much paperwork on the car as possible

There are a zillion other things to look for when looking at Ls400s. I myself use a 161 point inspection that basically mirrors a certified CPO car at my dealership. They are great cars If you find the right one. If you pick the wrong one it can be a DISASTER.