allkingz

I'm looking to get a used luxury sedan and I've narrowed it down to the Legend, GS300, and LS400. I have $10k to spend. Anyone have any experiences with any of these cars? Anything to look for? Are there any alternatives I should consider?

WhiteS2k

The Lexus GS300 is probably out of your price range. According to Kelly Blue Books, a 1993 GS300 (probably the first year for the car) with 90,000 miles has a retail value of $13K. So unless you are lucky to find one from a private party for less, you may have to skip that one. The same site gives $10.7K for a 1993 LS400, which is more in your price range.

The Legend has three trim lines, the Sedan, L and LS. A 1993 LS has a retail value of $10.6K, while the L model is at exactly $10K and the Sedan is at $8.5K. So with the Legend, you can move to a newer car and still stay around $10K. But realize the Legend has stopped production in 1995, so that puts a limit to how "new" you can go.

But do you really want to buy an 11-year old car? Even if you can find a bargain, anything in the price range will at best be 8-years old. I have not owned any of these cars.

One alternative, a 1996 Infinity Q45 has a retail value of $9.5K.

Slamnasty

I've driven a 4-door Legend 5spd. Practically imposssible to mis-shift it, it's so smooth and soft. The interiors are pretty decent too.

Never driven either of those Lexuses, but a relative has a 1990 LS400, bought it new that year, and loves the hell out of it. He says nothing ever goes wrong with it.

The old GS300s are probably just as reliable, but more boring. At least that's what I've heard.

Were you going to buy privately, or buy off a used lot, or go certified pre-owned? I guess I could see them costing $10k pre-owned, but not off a used lot. $13k sounds like way too much to pay for a 93 GS300.

bkw

find yourself a minty 6sp legend coupe. i believe it made somewhere in the area of 230hp.

since those are kinda hard to find, you cant go wrong with the ls.

steve c

I went through the same decision about a year ago when I needed a big car to carry people around St louis on rare occassions.

I could not find any Legends in decent shape. They were all either very high mileage or full of dings and scrapes.

I ended up with an 8k, 102,000 mile 1993 LS400.

If you go the Lexus route, ensure that the car has none of the usual issues which include:
Leaky power steering pump (which takes out the alternator if left untreated.
Bad power steering rack
Bad power steering ECU
Bad climate control module
Bad stereo
Bad window switches
Bad seat motors

The reality is that my LS400 has been a PITA and is in my view a real piece of shit. I should have dumped another 5-10 grand into the pot and purchased a newer car -- because that is what I will soon end up doing anyway.

allkingz

I need a large car to carry people around in and for some "occasional" daily driver duties.

I can spend more than $10K, but I'd prefer to stay at or below that price.

I've considered newer Corolla and Civic models, but they just don't feel roomy enough to comfortably carry 3 or 4 people for anything more than a short distance.

I am also considering newer Camry and Accord models, but I would like something a little more unique.

I've considered domestic models such as the Seville or Deville, but I'm concerned about their reliability.

So that's left me with the Legend, GS300, and LS400. I've found examples of each locally, both private party and on dealer lots, within my price range. Now I'm just trying to gather information on what to look for and what to avoid.

rai

The Chrysler 300 starts at $23K (or so). It's more roomy than any FWD car (I think).

S2000boi

why not an rl? cheaper than a legend

steve c

Err no, the RL came out as the replacement for the legen and is thus more expensive.

allkingz

Do you know if those problems typically exist only in the LS models or all Lexus models of that era?