Why I bought a 20 year old Japanese Land-Yacht as my first car

"TeenageCarNut" (1995lexusls400) 07/29/2015 at 12:51 • Filed to: None

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If you don’t already know about the car in question, please click !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

I had $7,000 (which meant I only $5,600 to spend on the actual car, the rest was going to taxes, titles, and tags) and I wanted something powerful. I wanted something luxurious. I wanted something reliable. But perhaps most of all, I wanted something special. There were quite a few vehicles that I deemed worthy of ownership inside this price point. For your reading pleasure, I made a comprehensive list of all the cars I considered other than the LS400, and wrote the reasons why I did not buy them. Enjoy!

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Cars I briefly considered:

Mustang GT

Why i liked it: reasonably fast

why i didn’t buy it: UGLY, incredibly cliche, solid rear axle, interior made out of recycled happy meals, not all that fast, and TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY SIX horsepower out of a 4.6L V8???

why I liked it: stylish, sporty car with great performance and decent build quality

Why I didn’t buy it: Build quality lower than expected, refinement issues, so-so performance, felt unexceptional

Ford Crown Victoria

Why i liked it: Cheap, rear wheel drive, V8, incredibly reliable, feels solidly built

Why I didn’t buy it: ancient chassis, sub par handling, unimpressive interior, incredibly boring appearance

Jaguar XJR

Why I liked it: Beautiful car, powerful, refined, phenomenally well built

Why I didn’t buy it: One of the most unreliable modern cars ever conceived :( (Had it been reliable I would have bought it 100%)

Cars I seriously considered

Lexus IS300

Why I liked it: Fun, sporty, great looking, reliable package that could be had at a reasonable price, endless aftermarket

Why I didn’t buy it: hard to find unmolested available models, interior build quality lower than expected, still not all that fast nor that great handling, pricier than comparable models

Infiniti G35 Coupe

why I liked it: fast, sporty, decent build quality, capable chassis, reliable, reasonably modern, stylish

Why I didn’t buy it:hard to find a low mileage example for under 7k, extremely cliche enthusiast car, didn’t want to be “that guy” with a G35, and us Jalops prefer to be hipsters (lol)

Ford Contour SVT:

Why i liked it: extremely aggressive styling, high revving V6, solid all around car in build quality, materials and reliability

why i didn’t buy it: too many low quality materials, build quality a step below other performance cars at this price point

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Cars I almost bought

Mercedes-Benz 300 CE

Why i liked it: Extremely stylish old school Mercedes, RWD, decent performer

why i didn’t buy it: Reliability concerns, no aftermarket, slow, sub par handling

Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL

Why i liked it: Beautiful old school Mercedes, stunning interior, legendary build quality, powerful V8

why i didn’t buy it:Reliability concerns, no aftermarket, slow, sub par handling (would have bought if I could find one in good condition in my price range)

Mercedes-Benz S420 (W140)

Why i liked it: Reasonably modern, imposing, powerful,rear wheel drive V8 Mercedes

Why i didn’t buy it: The LS400 did everything better

Lexus GS400

Why i liked it: Stylish, rear wheel drive, V8, performance oriented, reliable

why i didn’t buy it: just a tiny bit out of my price range

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The car I bought

1995 Lexus LS400 Second Generation (UCF20)

Why I liked it: Powerful, stylish, imposing, rear wheel drive V8, incredibly smooth, legendary reliability; everything that embodies the Lexus brand at an incredibly affordable price

Why I bought it: fit nicely inside my budget at $5,600 and had only 82,000 miles.

So what do you think about my decision?

Feel free to tell me what car you would have bought with a $7,000 budget and which cars on the list would make the best and worst first cars. Also which car on the list would you have bought with $7,000? Or is there anything you would have bought that I did not include on this list? Please leave a comment below!

Party-vi > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 12:58

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Lists two very reliable and over-engineered Mercedes models

Cites reliability issues

Bruh

sony1492 > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 12:59

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You didnt consider the sports yacht?

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 12:59

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I think you’ll find that this is the least reliable of all the Mercs you’ve listed actually - the others are pretty solid.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:01

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I love Lexuses too. If I had to get a car with $7,000. I’d either get a 2001 Collector’s Edition Camry V6, or cars you listed up there. The LS definitely aged more gracefully than the GS and IS you had on your list.

That specific generation of GS came out when I first started liking cars. It’s beauty still haunts me to this day.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:01

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I got my e36 with some issues for $1400, and I’ve put about that much again into it. RWD FTW. Are you going to autocross it or track it?

PS9 > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:02

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Teenage mutant ninja car nuts,
Teenage mutant ninja car nuts,
Teenage mutant ninja car nuts,
Heroes in a land yacht. V8 POWER!

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > Party-vi 07/29/2015 at 13:02

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Can you beat Toyota reliability though? I mean the 1UZ is basically bulletproof. I'd say he did well

MultiplaOrgasms > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:03

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Why is built quality both pro and con on half of these cars.

Captain of the Enterprise > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:05

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I agree with pretty much everything you said and might have made the same choice but I almost never see any ls400s in my area.

Party-vi > BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE 07/29/2015 at 13:06

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Not so much comparing Mercedes reliability to Toyota, but that he cites reliability concerns over two of the most reliable and tank-like cars ever built.

BrownMiataDieselWagon > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:12

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Why I like it: It’s an old reliable Mercedes

Why I didn’t buy it: Reliability concerns of said Mercedes

???

jkm7680 > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:17

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“why I liked it: stylish, sporty car with great performance and decent build quality

Why I didn’t buy it: Build quality lower than expected, refinement issues, so-so performance, felt unexceptional”

You just contradicted yourself. More than once.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:27

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This picture of a Mustang along with the title about a Japanese Land-Yacht had me very confused at first. Made me think of the Tokyo Drift Supra powered Mustang.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:28

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Of your list I would have bought the CTS, but only if it had the 3.6L V6. Maybe the IS300.

I’d personally buy (and might actually if I ever sell my E36 M3) an E46.

Straight 6, RWD, BMW driving dynamics, nice interior, they really aren’t as unreliable as said to be.

As for your Lexus, I think it makes a really good first car. Toyota reliability in a luxurious package with a good V8 under the hood.

Amoore100 > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:31

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I got an ‘05 Volvo V50 2.4...my criteria was pretty specific though, under 15 years old, Volvo, wagon, 5-cyl, and under $5k...so unfortunately no T5 but the engine still makes some nice noises...

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > MultiplaOrgasms 07/29/2015 at 13:33

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Talked up quality vs. Real life quality.

Slave2anMG > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:49

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One thing the Lexus has over the more, um, sporty cars you listed is that it’s gonna be cheaper to insure...

RazoE > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 13:54

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Maurader bits and police grille? I like it!

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:01

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A ST185 Toyota Celica Alltrac. Because Rally and Manual transmission.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:02

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It has 82k miles, my only question is...

IS THAT MATT FARAH’S MILLION MILE LEXUS?!!!

TELL ME GODDAMNIT!!!!

MultiplaOrgasms > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 07/29/2015 at 14:18

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Oh I know that. My family has owned quite a few french cars, all of them were vastly better in terms of quality and reliability than common wisdom suggests.

vondon302 > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:27

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The solid rear axle comment on the mustang cracks me up. All i hear about mustangs is nice car too bad its got a solid rear axle. Nobody says that when you look at a camaro. Now what are auto writers gonna bitch about now oh yea weight but i do agree on that.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:28

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Don’t scorn me or judge me, but I have always liked the Kia Amanti. And the Ford Five Hundred. But I don’t think your budget would have allowed either of those.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:35

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Friend of mine just picked up a 2004 GS430 for about the same price as yours. Granted it has almost exactly twice the miles, but it’s in fairly good shape.

Schaefft > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:36

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You could get an XJR of this gen for 7k$? Where do I sign?

Schaefft > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:41

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W140 S500 would have been my choice if you could find one with lowish miles in good condition(I can’t imagine that XJR being driveable for much longer in that price range).

Apart from that I like all of your choices. Personally, I would have done what I actually have, buy an E39 528i and a Lincoln Mark VIII.

V12 Jake- Hittin' Switches > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:42

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Nice choice, an LS would have been my second choice after the S class. But for that price I would have gone with the 420 SEL. Either way, awesome first car !

StoneCold > TeenageCarNut 07/29/2015 at 14:43

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Maxi Cooper ¯\_()_/¯ > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 07/30/2015 at 00:56

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I think it was actually a RB26DETT-powered Mustang with an engine that had been swapped from an R32 GT-R into a Silvia, and then out of the crashed Silvia into the Mustang.

AlexTheSeal > TeenageCarNut 09/01/2015 at 01:40

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No argument from me. I went from an ‘87 300D (same chassis as the 300CE you looked at, just with four doors and a surprisingly rev-happy and torquey diesel six) to a ‘99 LS400.

I miss the firmer seats in the Mercedes on long trips, and the slightly less floaty handling on long highway sweepers (I had 500E sway bars on mine). I don’t miss spending every other weekend tracking down electrical and vacuum gremlins, or both at once in the case of the demented design of the automatic climate control in ‘70s-’90s Mercedes.

And, oh, the sound of that Toyota V-8 through the factory dual pipes when you wind it out on a back road in 3rd gear with the sunroof open! It’s like if Zeus had a sewing machine powered by lightning.