Hobycat

Gentlemen get your wallets out. Only 33,000 miles. I hope I am not being irritating I just want to see members find a keeper.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-Lexus-...25.m3641.l6368

spuds

CELSI0R

I saw this car on Ebay the other day, and I would like to point out a few details in case anyone is considering this vehicle so they can make an informed decision.

The car has been repainted, at least on the lower half.

The first part I noticed is that the lower trim on the front and rear bumpers should be black, since it is pre-1993. Instead, they were repainted silver. Also, there appears to be overspray on the rubber part of the fender moulding:



Here is the rear bumper. This lower area should also be black, but it is not:



The rear bumper may also not have been prepped the best. The clearcoat of the gray paint appears to be peeling at the seam where it meets the chrome, and the black paint looks like it has some overspray on the upper part of the chrome. This could be an illusion from the peeled chrome trim:



The rear bumper chrome has also fully peeled all-around. The paint could have been very faded at one time:



And the rear left center cap has peeled, which indicates the car may not have been waxed as often as it could have:



In addition, the assumption of a respray can be made from the fact that the lower half of the car is a much lighter gray than it originally was. If this car was Black Onyx or Black Jade Pearl, it should be a much darker, deeper gray. The lower mouldings become lighter when they age (clearcoat degradation from scratches or fade), but they still hold a decent gloss on this car. This is what the mouldings should look like:



Also, the wood is damaged, and the vinyl of the dashboard is lifting up at the top of the vents, and sagging on the glove box door. This indicates that the car probably spent a decent amount of time in the sun (which might have led to the respray). The climate control screen suffers from the common failure, too:




Therefore, despite the mileage and the leather being original and looking so nice, I would not consider this car being worth $14,000.

Whether if or not the seller knows of these parts of the car's history, I don't think this is a fair price right now. If someone doesn't mind this and just wants a low mileage car, then this is not a bad buy. Factory panel fitment on this car is excellent overall.

I would personally pay no more than $5,000.

Hobycat

Celsior,
Thanks for the clarification I will be bit more careful of what I post. I had not seen or looked close enough to see those details initially.

spuds

Its fantastic to have experts like Celsior to rip these things apart,thank you C!

Losiracer2

wow Celsior! very in depth review of the faults. You might have saved someone from a big mistake! nice work.

creilly

Without someone else saying it I probably would have put the lower paint color up to difference in light, but it does look much brighter than I remembered. I just recently found out these were offered in that gloss black but I've seen some JZX80 cars painted the same two tone. And I'm all for these cars appreciating but $13.5k for a pre-92 UCF10 with any miles at all seems laughable.

spuds

Not an If,only a when.

CELSI0R

No worries, Hobycat.

I didn't mean to sound harsh or tear your post apart - sorry if it seemed that way. I was complaining about the seller and the car itself

No need to change how or what you post. I should think more about my wording

Thanks, guys. I think I've spent too much time trying to learn as much as I can find about these cars... all of it mostly in an attempt to find out more about my car's history and other cars in general. My car has had parts resprayed, so I've noticed how some body shops can cut corners to save on costs (on labor and materials).

As I mentioned before, I wanted to post about the problems because I want to make sure everyone makes an informed decision when considering this vehicle. I noticed the outrageous price the car was listed with and the very low miles it has. Other notes like "original paint" intrigued me to look over the car.

This is not to say I wouldn't love it if these cars appreciated to $13k right now, either

Hobycat

Not at all. I didn't think of it as a harsh critique. I was impressed, and thank you for the education. I am new to this and learning. As we know, these old new ls400-430's are a real treasure once found and maintained. I purchased a near perfect example for myself and would like to pass these finds on if possible. I cringed when I saw the wood at the transmission shifter you pointed out. That is the first thing I look for at the top of a wood steering wheel, sunlight overexposure. We need more good mentors. I'm sure I'll find another LS and am looking forward to your review.

creilly

Yeah, nobody here would learn anything if everyone responded to this thread with "wow what a beautiful car!" I think this ends up being a good example of a car that presents well initially but has some telltale signs of a questionable history. I know if I saw that out on the road I'd lose my mind, but it's the little details that make these cars.

spuds

Nothing turns me off faster than 'respray', If it isnt done right, $$$$,it looks like junk in 2-3 years.

Stereorob

thats insane. well, you know what they say. theres an *** for every seat. smh.

Hobycat

Wow. Not cool.
I am glad Celsior caught this and let me...us know the score. I hope the buyer gets some satisfaction.

CELSI0R

Thanks, Hobycat. My post was a little too long, so here's a new one. For those who don't know, this car was bought by the seller for $475 and repainted, then sold as "original."

Before and after: