Used Lexus LS400 - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive sale for sale in Duluth, MN

Very good condition 1996 LS 400.

Bought this car to turn into my cross country family vacation mobile, had another one that went to almost 300k (before I sold it in still working condition). The last one went to both oceans twice, as well as many trips to CO, the Black Hills, etc. The LS is an awesome cruiser, and when they are in proper mechanical shape (like this one is) you can travel far without worry. Unfortunately, with a divorce and job change I now need to down size. I will list out every little thing about it, just want to ensure proper expectations.

I'll start with the not so good stuff.

While in the process of replacing various parts so I knew I'd be good to go on a 6,000+ mile trip a deer ran straight into the front right side while going about 30mph. The deer walked away but damaged the fender, a little bit of the hood, and the passenger front door. I replaced with a fender from another LS but left the dent in the door and the little ripples in the door (pics included, including before and after of damage). Rest assured, the hood shuts securely and the door does as well. It has a little paint missing from the right rear side of the bumper (like that when I bought it) as well as some slight dings and scrapes. Overall though, it is still a very nice looking car. Interior is good, leather upholstery does have some fading and wear, but still very comfy and no rips. There is some staining on the carpeted floor as well. I listed the title as clean, but the insurance company did "total" it. After I fixed it they continued with the full coverage policy I have on it. Title never changed though. There's also some scraps on the wheel caps, but the wheels themselves are not flaking or anything like that.

Now, people will say these cars last forever. I agree, but yet you still have parts that have to be replaced. That and with so many various control arms and bushings if you want these to ride nicely and not clunk you have to put some time and money into them. I can not say for sure of course, but I highly doubt you will find one of these first gens that has been gone through as much as this one.

Currently has 131,242 miles, I bought it with 115,000. The car first lived in Hawaii, then California, Texas, until I bought it in Iowa. It is not rusty on the underbelly as a result.

Here's what I've put into it since I've owned it. Some things needed attention (like some of the gaskets I'll mention below) where as others I did because I wanted a worry free ride driving all over the country. If you know these cars you'll see that I replaced the most known culprits of issues. I truly would take this car anywhere right now. Also, the steering wheel does have a little flaking. I mainly put on the cover because these steering wheels are pretty slick, and the cover is a faux leather, easy to grip. Also, the steering wheel is cocked a wee bit to the left. After replacing so many bushings at once I gave the guys at the shop a fun job of lining everything back up. They did, and it drives straight and true with no pulling at all, but after a couple tries I left them off the hook with getting the steering wheel dead center. It's not that bad, and it's slight, but again, wanted to list out everything.

New tires, Michelins
Front and rear brake pads
K&N air filter (I put these in all of my cars)
Front lower and upper ball joints
New A/C pump/compressor
Thermostat
EGR Tube
Valve cover gaskets
Transmission mount
Spark plugs
Rear control arm
Front sway bar bushings
Rear sway bar bushings
Timing belt and tensioners
Cam seals
Crankshaft seal
Alternator
Replaced all 4 air shocks with the Arnott coil over conversion, good quality stuff
Power steering reservoir o ring
Power steering valve
Front strut bar bushings
Rear trailing arm bushings (inner and outer)
Rebuilt ECU, directly from LS Cowboy. This one is really important and opened my eyes to how well a car can run with an ECU that's in excellent condition. The old one was okay, but the capacitors were leaky and eventually would have caused it to run poorly. Now it's basically a new ECU, with LS Cowboy's updated "super capacitors". Google him, he's an expert on these vehicles and pointed me to some of the items I replaced in the above list.

I see 400's with more miles and not half of these things done sell for more, but I do need to liquidate some stuff quickly. This car will last for a long time. This was the car Lexus used as their flagship to break into the North American market, made to take BMW, Mercedes, etc head on. Not so much with all sort of fancy features, but to undercut the price and to be highly reliable and of high quality (if you've owned German you know their quality, but not highly reliable). Lexus is the luxury brand of Toyota, just incase you didn't know :-)

Also, has a full size spare on a Lexus wheel, and the Lexus tool kit and jack are still in the trunk.

$4,500 firm.