The LS400 is basically a classic now... is it time to buy a parts car..
03-02-18, 08:05 AM
#16
the thing about the az cars is that there using the ac 80% percent of the year, which puts a strain on the engine and ac components, on top of that sun damage to the paint and interior. Cars from oregon and washington are your best bet.
03-03-18, 01:42 PM
#17
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
"they look old, smell old, and even feel old"
. . . . . . . I beg your pardon:
There is a decent 1990 parts car in Mobile AL just over from Pensacola at the Pick Apart. It is black with grey cloth interior. Someone has already butchered the engine compartment (cutting off battery cables and breaking some of the engine cover plates I will hunt them down and execute them), but it has good seats and door mechanicals and dumb little parts like the wood and interior light switches and lenses. I already snagged the taillights, but there are others front turn signal lenses? Decent. Grill surround chrome, decent. If you just love those directional 14" wheels, they're there.
Colin
. . . . . . . I beg your pardon:
There is a decent 1990 parts car in Mobile AL just over from Pensacola at the Pick Apart. It is black with grey cloth interior. Someone has already butchered the engine compartment (cutting off battery cables and breaking some of the engine cover plates I will hunt them down and execute them), but it has good seats and door mechanicals and dumb little parts like the wood and interior light switches and lenses. I already snagged the taillights, but there are others front turn signal lenses? Decent. Grill surround chrome, decent. If you just love those directional 14" wheels, they're there.
Colin
ive been an LS400 driver since 2001. started with my 1990. at the time the car was 11 years old. totally different driving experience now with one at nearly 30 years old vs 11, nomatter how well its kept.
btw, yours is an absolute gem. examples that clean almost dont exist anymore. you are very lucky to have one that nice. ive been trying to find one like that for several years without luck...
03-03-18, 03:20 PM
#18
Racer
I think it was Hobycat who made the point about how you get the gems.
Ole Fred retires,has a good pension,money in bank,buys his last car.The LS400.Drives it maybe 4,000 miles first year or 2,visits family,enjoys the ride.
Fred has cash,and he has time.He takes very good care of his last car.The novelty wears off,now he takes it shopping,Dr visits,thats about it.Starts racking2,maybe 3000 miles a year.
13 years later Fred dies peacefully in his sleep because he was a good guy who took really good care of his Lexus.Now its Ethyls car.She drives it twice a month.Hopefully she still has good enough reflexes and doesnt wear the glaucoma eye glasses.Otherwise all 4 corners have various dings.She doesnt do any maintenance to car,but fortunately she only put 8000 miles on it.10 years later she dies peacefully in her sleep because she was a good woman who owned a Lexus.
Its estate probate time.Kids dont want a 25 year old antique piece of junk car.Grandkids are in their 20's and dont see the electronics any good car has,they dont want it,very uncool gas hog.Hopefully there isnt a 17 year old grandson around or the story ends here.
Car winds up at a dealer or on Craigslist.Along comes a ClubLexus member with 6-8000 dollars looking for that great car.He/she was patient and waited for just 'that car'.They jump on it like Sally Struthers on a cheeseburger....
And thats where the great cars come from.
Ole Fred retires,has a good pension,money in bank,buys his last car.The LS400.Drives it maybe 4,000 miles first year or 2,visits family,enjoys the ride.
Fred has cash,and he has time.He takes very good care of his last car.The novelty wears off,now he takes it shopping,Dr visits,thats about it.Starts racking2,maybe 3000 miles a year.
13 years later Fred dies peacefully in his sleep because he was a good guy who took really good care of his Lexus.Now its Ethyls car.She drives it twice a month.Hopefully she still has good enough reflexes and doesnt wear the glaucoma eye glasses.Otherwise all 4 corners have various dings.She doesnt do any maintenance to car,but fortunately she only put 8000 miles on it.10 years later she dies peacefully in her sleep because she was a good woman who owned a Lexus.
Its estate probate time.Kids dont want a 25 year old antique piece of junk car.Grandkids are in their 20's and dont see the electronics any good car has,they dont want it,very uncool gas hog.Hopefully there isnt a 17 year old grandson around or the story ends here.
Car winds up at a dealer or on Craigslist.Along comes a ClubLexus member with 6-8000 dollars looking for that great car.He/she was patient and waited for just 'that car'.They jump on it like Sally Struthers on a cheeseburger....
And thats where the great cars come from.
03-04-18, 03:28 AM
#19
Driver
I think it was Hobycat who made the point about how you get the gems.
Ole Fred retires,has a good pension,money in bank,buys his last car.The LS400.Drives it maybe 4,000 miles first year or 2,visits family,enjoys the ride.
Fred has cash,and he has time.He takes very good care of his last car.The novelty wears off,now he takes it shopping,Dr visits,thats about it.Starts racking2,maybe 3000 miles a year.
13 years later Fred dies peacefully in his sleep because he was a good guy who took really good care of his Lexus.Now its Ethyls car.She drives it twice a month.Hopefully she still has good enough reflexes and doesnt wear the glaucoma eye glasses.Otherwise all 4 corners have various dings.She doesnt do any maintenance to car,but fortunately she only put 8000 miles on it.10 years later she dies peacefully in her sleep because she was a good woman who owned a Lexus.
Its estate probate time.Kids dont want a 25 year old antique piece of junk car.Grandkids are in their 20's and dont see the electronics any good car has,they dont want it,very uncool gas hog.Hopefully there isnt a 17 year old grandson around or the story ends here.
Car winds up at a dealer or on Craigslist.Along comes a ClubLexus member with 6-8000 dollars looking for that great car.He/she was patient and waited for just 'that car'.They jump on it like Sally Struthers on a cheeseburger....
And thats where the great cars come from.
Ole Fred retires,has a good pension,money in bank,buys his last car.The LS400.Drives it maybe 4,000 miles first year or 2,visits family,enjoys the ride.
Fred has cash,and he has time.He takes very good care of his last car.The novelty wears off,now he takes it shopping,Dr visits,thats about it.Starts racking2,maybe 3000 miles a year.
13 years later Fred dies peacefully in his sleep because he was a good guy who took really good care of his Lexus.Now its Ethyls car.She drives it twice a month.Hopefully she still has good enough reflexes and doesnt wear the glaucoma eye glasses.Otherwise all 4 corners have various dings.She doesnt do any maintenance to car,but fortunately she only put 8000 miles on it.10 years later she dies peacefully in her sleep because she was a good woman who owned a Lexus.
Its estate probate time.Kids dont want a 25 year old antique piece of junk car.Grandkids are in their 20's and dont see the electronics any good car has,they dont want it,very uncool gas hog.Hopefully there isnt a 17 year old grandson around or the story ends here.
Car winds up at a dealer or on Craigslist.Along comes a ClubLexus member with 6-8000 dollars looking for that great car.He/she was patient and waited for just 'that car'.They jump on it like Sally Struthers on a cheeseburger....
And thats where the great cars come from.
and they can still be found you just have to interswebs and be ready to deal and drive or fly.My brother and I have bought a half dozen plus personal and work vehicles this way. I sold a maxed out 2001 Ford 4x4 f350 Lariat V10 in 2003 to a guy from Erie Pa because
I had ordered it with everything on it, I mean everything, even a engine block heater. Huh? in N.C., yep cause' it was $100-150 also cab lights etc.etc. Ford is cheap when ordering the extras, so I figured get em'. He flew down and bought that truck partially for the engine block heater (Erie PA brrrrr).His banker in PA says, "I don't want to give you this check I don't feel comfortable". It was on autotrader and he was not yet familiar. The buyer says: "You better get on the wagon because this where it's going". We did the deal at the bank. Finito.
03-04-18, 04:50 AM
#20
I think it was Hobycat who made the point about how you get the gems.
Ole Fred retires,has a good pension,money in bank,buys his last car.The LS400.Drives it maybe 4,000 miles first year or 2,visits family,enjoys the ride.
Fred has cash,and he has time.He takes very good care of his last car.The novelty wears off,now he takes it shopping,Dr visits,thats about it.Starts racking2,maybe 3000 miles a year.
13 years later Fred dies peacefully in his sleep because he was a good guy who took really good care of his Lexus.Now its Ethyls car.She drives it twice a month.Hopefully she still has good enough reflexes and doesnt wear the glaucoma eye glasses.Otherwise all 4 corners have various dings.She doesnt do any maintenance to car,but fortunately she only put 8000 miles on it.10 years later she dies peacefully in her sleep because she was a good woman who owned a Lexus.
Its estate probate time.Kids dont want a 25 year old antique piece of junk car.Grandkids are in their 20's and dont see the electronics any good car has,they dont want it,very uncool gas hog.Hopefully there isnt a 17 year old grandson around or the story ends here.
Car winds up at a dealer or on Craigslist.Along comes a ClubLexus member with 6-8000 dollars looking for that great car.He/she was patient and waited for just 'that car'.They jump on it like Sally Struthers on a cheeseburger....
And thats where the great cars come from.
Ole Fred retires,has a good pension,money in bank,buys his last car.The LS400.Drives it maybe 4,000 miles first year or 2,visits family,enjoys the ride.
Fred has cash,and he has time.He takes very good care of his last car.The novelty wears off,now he takes it shopping,Dr visits,thats about it.Starts racking2,maybe 3000 miles a year.
13 years later Fred dies peacefully in his sleep because he was a good guy who took really good care of his Lexus.Now its Ethyls car.She drives it twice a month.Hopefully she still has good enough reflexes and doesnt wear the glaucoma eye glasses.Otherwise all 4 corners have various dings.She doesnt do any maintenance to car,but fortunately she only put 8000 miles on it.10 years later she dies peacefully in her sleep because she was a good woman who owned a Lexus.
Its estate probate time.Kids dont want a 25 year old antique piece of junk car.Grandkids are in their 20's and dont see the electronics any good car has,they dont want it,very uncool gas hog.Hopefully there isnt a 17 year old grandson around or the story ends here.
Car winds up at a dealer or on Craigslist.Along comes a ClubLexus member with 6-8000 dollars looking for that great car.He/she was patient and waited for just 'that car'.They jump on it like Sally Struthers on a cheeseburger....
And thats where the great cars come from.
03-06-18, 11:30 AM
#21
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
my 95 was senior owned before i got it. original owner. retired Dr. prob had the eyesight thing. has some very minor road rash on the front bumper but you really gotta look to see it. when it was 10 years old with 110k miles it was retired and kept as a condo car in delray beach. was only driven 3500 miles in those ten years. then i got it. took a very very long time of hunting to find that one that was perfect, but i DID find it. sadly i drove it as my DD 5 years, and about a year into owning it i fell on hard times and couldnt afford to keep up with it. couldnt afford a new car and couldnt afford to repair things on it when they went. i had no choice but to just drive it into the ground. very sad. its got a ton of problems now and can barley be driven. once a week i start it and drive it around the neighborhood to keep the engine from locking up and everything on it that still works, working. i limp it to the jiffy lube about a half mile away every few months to get the oil changed and fluids flushed bc im trying to preserve it till i can fix it up.
did that for well over a year. broke right now but saving up a few grand to get her right again. needs more repairs now than its worth and i could buy another 20+ year old LS400 that still drives perfect, but i know my car, what my car needs, and i dont want a strange car thats a quarter century old with who knows what kind of problems. also, even as tired as mine is now from being driven into the ground, cosmetically it is still PERFECT and all the toys still work, which is still impossible to find these days. aside from the drivers seat starting to crack, its still immaculate. hope to have her back on the road by this summer, now that i can finally take care of her.
there are some unexpected issues though, and its simply an age thing and nothing else. the car spent its first 10 years in new jersey. over the last 5 years ive owned it, i saw a few small spots of rust on the underside turn into full blown cancer and the whole underside of the car is rotted with deep cancer. youd never know it was there unless you got under it tho.
did that for well over a year. broke right now but saving up a few grand to get her right again. needs more repairs now than its worth and i could buy another 20+ year old LS400 that still drives perfect, but i know my car, what my car needs, and i dont want a strange car thats a quarter century old with who knows what kind of problems. also, even as tired as mine is now from being driven into the ground, cosmetically it is still PERFECT and all the toys still work, which is still impossible to find these days. aside from the drivers seat starting to crack, its still immaculate. hope to have her back on the road by this summer, now that i can finally take care of her.
there are some unexpected issues though, and its simply an age thing and nothing else. the car spent its first 10 years in new jersey. over the last 5 years ive owned it, i saw a few small spots of rust on the underside turn into full blown cancer and the whole underside of the car is rotted with deep cancer. youd never know it was there unless you got under it tho.
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