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Oh, WAIT!!! I also owned, many years ago, one of those little Honda 600 coupes....now THAT car I really really liked. I wish I still had it. I think I enjoyed it because it was powered by a motorcycle engine, and I felt at home with that. True, I had the life expectancy of a Russian solider at Stalingrad, but other than that.....
Should it concern me that this is less than half the asking price of any comparable LS400 I've found so far?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
You know it should...maybe a bargain, maybe undisclosed flood/crash history...particularly flood, given recent events.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Hard to tell. 20 YO complicated car with 176K on it. Seems like a good price to me.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I usually see these selling in clean condition, no accident history, for around $2500 with fewer miles. Occasionally you'll see a very very clean low miler (under 100K) selling in the $3K range.
See this one. I bet you could get it for $2200 and it's got a new engine.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/2590514678.html
Collision in '97 you say? Are there any other details listed? Or just that it was an accident? I could live with just an accident, especially at the price. All other '90-'92 LS400s I've found have 175k'ish miles (oddly enough) and are priced at 2995 or higher.
Actually, there is one other one near my house that has 123k and is priced at $2500. Only one pic and it doesn't look very clean, but I'll probably go take a look to confirm.
Excluding those 2 Lexi, here is the shopping list I have on hand at the moment:
'91 525i 139k $2995 (posted earlier)
'85 735i 98k $3900 (posted earlier)
'91 300SE 136k $2000
'82 380SEL 66k(!) $1975
'87 420SEL 174k $2975
'87 420SEL 169k $3995
'91 LS400 174k $3500
The autoX tomorrow is only 2 miles from the 525, so I'll be popping over there to see that.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
They can rust, so in that region, look it over carefully.
Can I even get parts for that engine?
Wife balks at cloth, but those look so immaculate. Wonder if the miles are for real.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
The car gives me the impression that it sat around for awhile...it's impossible to find that fabric on this side of the pond as it was never sold here (W126 would have tex standard on diesel, leather on all others with special order velour), so it could be all original. When a car hits 30 years old, who knows what the story could be.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Wife keeps saying "blah" to the Lexi, which is pretty annoying since it is most likely the nicest riding and most reliable choice.(?)
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
For the money, if it's a straight and true car, that's a nice ride for the money but about as exciting to drive as running a Prius through a school zone at 25 mph.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Whenever I see a car up for sale that the owner couldn't even shake out the floot mats and vacuum the trunk I was wonder if it was even cared for at all.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
10 Chrysler products, 1 Rambler, 4 Oldsmobiles, 4 Chevrolets, 1 Saturn, 5 Hondas, 5 Fords, 3 Jaguars, and a Mercedes Benz. I bought the first Honda (very low mileage used Accord) because I got a great deal on it, and, had good luck with it. Bought Honda #2 because of experience with Honda #1. Honda #2 ( new Accord) was very troublesome and traded off with 20K on it. Honda #3 and #4 were purchased for my kids to drive to college because they insisted that's what they wanted. #3 & #4 were both low mileage used Civics,and required a fair amount of repairs to keep them going. #3 got sold at 86K because it was burning oil badly and needed some expensive repairs. #4 blew its engine at just over 100K. We put a used engine in it, and, sold it. #5 appeared because wife wanted a little SUV badly and aggravated me to trade my Saturn for it. Along the way, I've had 1 bad Chevrolet, 3 bad Chryslers, and 1 cranky Jaguar ( all bought new) as well. Hence my statement in my original post.
Regards:
Oldbearcat
At 30k I put a set of Yokohama's on it. It did quiet it down a bit, but, still very noisy.
Regards:
Oldengineer
The most severe issues I've ever had were 2 bad head gaskets and a bad tranny. Trans rebuild was on an 11-year old CJ7 3-sped stick. Dad did that in the garage for $150. First head gasket was in a 90k-mile 4runner 22RE. Took me about 20 straight hours over a weekend home from college. Second was an attempt to repair an oil leak in our first 190e. After I realized I couldn't get the pulleys off without removing the whole front of the car, I threw in the towel.
Other than that, everything has been pretty typical maintenance or wear items.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Regards:
Oldbearcat
The 525 was sold.
The 380 and one of the 420s, which were at the same dealer, were both in a sorry state. Apparently he feels leaving the windows open all the time is OK. He also took one of those courses in creative photography. Upon viewing, I had to pull out my printouts and even confirm they were the same cars. And, yes, they were. It was interesting to now notice that his pics managed to JUST cut off any bad areas of the cars. Didn't care to drive either.
Next up was the 300SEL that seemed to be from a private seller. Nope. Curbstoner. Car was in far worse shape than claimed. Didn't care to drive.
Then on to the other 420 at a dealer. Man, was this thing bad. He pulled it out of their garage and I immediately shook my head, as you could see the different colored body panels coming into the light. He then asked me "what don't you like about it?" Really??
We then went for a LONG drive into the bowels of Jersey to see the old 735. This turned out to be a mixed bag. Not quite the condition claimed, but not bad. Zero rust. Paint was fresh, but not paricularly well done. Passable. Had an exhaust leak, it idled a bit rough, the AC was not up to snuff, and the steering was vague. But it had great power, ram through the RPMs strong, and shifted fantastic. Seats were nice and all electrics worked. Not worth what he was asking and I was getting the impression he wasn't going to flex as much as I wanted. BUT, in the end, and what broke the deal, was that it was an ex-smoker's car. Wife sat in it and tried to convince herself she could get past it, but she couldn't.
Final stop of the day was one of the LS400s. Wife still isn't keen on these, but after all the failures of the day, she at least wanted to take a look. It was another letdown. I knew it would be because I called beforehand and the salesperson was not too chatty about the condition. I just hoped it would be passable enough to warrant a test drive and see if she liked it as a choice of car anyway .... it wasn't passable enough. Good deal of rust over the fenders and some spots of bondo work done by a 5-year-old.
Ah well. Moving on. Have 5 more I found last night that I've sent feelers out for. Couple of 350SDs. What's a good limit on these? One has 220k miles and the other 250. For some reason, the 250 FEELS like its pushing it, but the 220 strikes me as young for such a car. Am I crazy?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I can't even remember, what is the point of this exercise? To get a luxo barge (which I thought the 540 was supposed to be for you)?
I do, however, know where there is a clean. low mile LS400 (90 or 91). But not likely for sale. A friend inherited his fathers car a few years back, and it became his sons HS car (kid is off at college now, not sure if he ever took it with him). I believe it has low (as in 50s) miles on it.
He did have to do one of the expensive repairs on it. Either a gauge cluster, or maybe front end/steering rack. Something that I seem to recall being an Achilles heel of this model.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
So its something to keep the miles off the vehicle we are making expensive payments on. The reason why we are looking at luxo cars is mostly because that's all she will tolerate. It also is mostly because that's the majority of the clean 20-25 year old sedans you will find.
Thanks for the lead on the car that's not for sale. :P
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Have you considered an older Infiniti Q45? How 'bout an old Cadillac?--at least you can get $49 alternators for them at Autozone when they break.
Geez you got a lot of junk out there. I don't even see heaps like that out on the west coast. Well I do, but usually in wrecking yards or on the back 40 of artichoke farms. :P
Too bad about the old 735---those old ones were very good cars.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I don't think you want a high mileage 350SD/L unless it has had a mechanical rebuild or a proven track record of good maintenance, those engines have some known issues (I think head gaskets). I'd want documents.
Sagging rear end (worn hydro-pneumatic compensator
Fiddle with the AC/Heat--if it doesn't work, you got $$$
A diesel engine like this should start INSTANTLY--if it cranks and cranks, y'all got issues.
Filthy engine --- speaks for itself
Here's the wiki for the engines in those cars
We also found a 535 in the same area as one of the 350SDs, so we'll be leaving shortly to visit both. I'd still rather have the bimmer as long as it checks out. Asking price is quite reasonable, too.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I remember the first time I saw a Honda 600. I was at my friend's house around the corner, and it was parked in the driveway of the house next door.
It was like really? REALLY? (Top Gear USA).
Funny thing is, a few years before that the neighbor on the other side showed up with a stainless steel T'Bird.
That was a different sort of 'Really'?
Not a Honda 600 motorcycle.
Ball joints
Front pads and rotors
Valve cover gaskets
The AC doesn't work and the seats have a few rips and stains.
The first three item can be fixed for about $750, the AC might be pricey, maybe $1000 if it can be converted to the new format and a wild guess at recovering the seats with the same type of cloth is $500-1000 (but I really have no idea).
So I'm wondering how far to go with this project. It's a $5k car at best.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I think the most I'd try with the AC (if you really need it) is to recharge it with R12, presuming the compressor still turns and is not seized. If it's seized, no way you do anything about that, just kiss it goodbye, as the entire system is filled with metallic debris.
Yeah, a set of seat covers.
The reason nobody wants an '84 is that it has the old type of fuel injection and there's not much you can do to modify/improve the motor without extensive customization of the FI system. Also does it have the dreaded Doug Nash transmission?
Ignore the valve covers (you aren't going to be putting many miles on, so just carry a quart of oil!) unless they really are pretty cheap, and you don't like drips.
AC? forget it, unless like Shifty said it is just a recharge issue. Just don't drive it when it is particularly hot, otherwise just roll down the windows.
Toy cars don't IMO really need functional AC, especially where you live. Maybe if you live in the desert, but not upstate.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
It's an auto tranny. Shifts fine.
Thanks for confirming what I was thinking. I'll probably fix the ball joints, brakes and valve cover gaskets for sure although the brakes have a few thousands miles left in them so i might wait until next spring. The AC might be functional as it worked somewhat last year when it was purchased. I didn't think you could still get R-12 legally and since it would just leak out again I think I'll just pop the taga top if it gets hot.
I've heard that the CFI fuel system can have problems but the car runs smooth on the road. My indie mechanic knows the system and can work on it.
The seats are just a vanity thing. There is a woman at work who recovers seats as a second job so I might check out prices.
Otherwise I'll just bomb around in it for fun until the kid wants it back.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
535 was SOOOO close. Looked really good inside and out and under the hood. Ran good. I was thinking this was an easy buy .... then I crawled under it. Ugh. At some point, it looks like either something was run over or someone jacked it up incorrectly. There was about a 12 inch stretch where the lower rocker meets the floor that was crushed and had since rusted and rotted. I was able to poke my finger right through up to the carpet. So that did the car in.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Yes you can buy R12. All you need is a license. It's a bit pricey though so you want to make sure the system has no leaks. Shoot, there may be some R12 in there that could be saved.
If your indie guy knows CFI then you should have no trouble with it. Do not let monkeys touch it, however.
These are fun cars and very competent, if a bit rough riding. I hope you don't have a bad back or anything.
I can get in and out with only a few groans but being 6'2" makes riding around in it interesting. My head rubs against the unpadded rough headliner. Another reason to take the top off.
When you say rough handling, that's an understatement. :sick: No problem for my back since I have to drive it pretty much laying down.
Thanks again all for the advice.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S