Lexus LS430 Experience

[circuithero]

was in the same boat 2 years ago. Did plenty of research, wanted something very comfortable, sporty enough and reliable as a rock:


http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...mparison-tests


Look at #1: BMW driving fun with Lexus/Toyota reliability. Regularly beat the competition from that era in almost every camparo. Makes an E46 feel like its been put together with plastic clips (I had both at the time). I have also owned a 2004 G35 and this blows it out of the water. I much prefer the V8 to the VQ35, no oil burning issues, more torque and doesn't run out of steam up top. If you find one with the sport and tech package that is what will get you ALL the goodies, pretty impressive tech for the year. Bluetooth, adaptive cruise control, 4 wheel steering, adaptive headlights, navigation, heated/AC seats, 14 speaker Bose...etc, etc.


The LS460 didn't give me that driving enjoyment but it was more isolating if that is what you are looking. My friends GS400 has served him well and reminds me of my car, just slightly more dated.

[gymratter]

in my experience from owning a SC400 and GS300.

1. body panels from older Lexus were thicker.
2. reliability was good, SC at 130k and GS at 180k before selling.
3. the seats were super soft, but over time the leather worn out and ripped here and there.
4. overall the interior on the GS held up a lot better than the car it replaced (528i E39). the dash of the SC held up nicely, but as stated before the seats and door panels went to shit.

moving on, my next door neighbor has both the SC430 @50k and GS430 @80k. so far no mechanical problems. interior still looks pretty nice, but the seats arent as comfortable as my old cars. design wise, the exterior = meh but i dont mind the interiors.

[krayzie]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXSRn_rC-KI"]lexus LS400 test - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZqFI2wtUVU"]Lexus LS 460 Champagne Glass Commercial Recreation - YouTube[/ame]

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by gymratter

in my experience from owning a SC400 and GS300.

1. body panels from older Lexus were thicker.

3. the seats were super soft, but over time the leather worn out and ripped here and there.

Finally somebody else noticed #1 I'm quite impressed about this myself everytime I wash the RX300.

#3 was when Lexus used a single piece of real leather for the seats in their entire line-up, unlike Acura of the time where the side pieces tend to be synthetic leather.

[darthpnoy1984]

Originally Posted by gymratter

in my experience from owning a SC400 and GS300.



1. body panels from older Lexus were thicker.

2. reliability was good, SC at 130k and GS at 180k before selling.

3. the seats were super soft, but over time the leather worn out and ripped here and there.

4. overall the interior on the GS held up a lot better than the car it replaced (528i E39). the dash of the SC held up nicely, but as stated before the seats and door panels went to shit.



moving on, my next door neighbor has both the SC430 @50k and GS430 @80k. so far no mechanical problems. interior still looks pretty nice, but the seats arent as comfortable as my old cars. design wise, the exterior = meh but i dont mind the interiors.

You really have to put care on the leather seats of Lexus's in general but 2 Gen GS for me and the LS430 during that era where really the peak of Lexus's quality in the interior overall. Exterior wise you really need a set of aftermarket wheels to make the car standout.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gymratter]

Originally Posted by darthpnoy1984

You really have to put care on the leather seats of Lexus's in general but 2 Gen GS for me and the LS430 during that era where really the peak of Lexus's quality in the interior overall. Exterior wise you really need a set of aftermarket wheels to make the car standout.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

the GS wasnt that bad for a car with 180k. it still looked decent when i sold it. but the SC was a different story. i tired several different leather product but no luck

[daiheadjai]

Still have a soft spot for the Mk2 GS (the one with 4 headlamps).
At the time, the V8 GS400 was advertised (briefly) as the fastest naturally-aspirated sedan in the world.

[Atropine]

OK, found a nice 1999 LS 400...

It is Black on Black...(that is the color combo I want)

93k miles (pretty low for a car this age obviously)

Blue book has these around $6k this dealership is asking for $9k...but these are not easy to find (like say a 5 y/o Civic takes 30 seconds to find on Craigslist)

I sent in an offer and I am waiting to hear back...but I kinda plan on waiting this out this week unless they take my offer to really think about it.

Oh...one other thing...I would be spending $450 on a plane ticket to get there to check it out...so I sorta have to commit to buying it sight-unseen.

BTW the dealership is an actual Toyota dealership...which I know that no one likes dealerships, but I rather buy from a legit Toyota dealership rather than "Bob's Cars and Tattoo Parlor".

What do you guys think?

Is that a horrible price, or should I jump on it?

Financially speaking...I am in a position to actually buy a way newer Lexus LS...I just like the look of this generation and they have a really good reputation as far as reliability goes.

[gymratter]

^over priced IMO

if it were me i would take this LS430

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=LS430

[Atropine]

Originally Posted by gymratter

^over priced IMO

if it were me i would take this LS430

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=LS430

That one you listed...has a really bad carfax...so it may be something, or it may be nothing.
The add says 74k miles...Carfax goes up to 343k miles...and then it disappears for 2 years and then pops back up with 74k miles.

The interior does look more like a 74k mile car though.

Though I have found some nice 430's at same price as that one I described and with same miles, but 5-6 years newer.

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...&partner=ATD_W

EDIT:

BTW I agree that 9k is overpriced. I made an offer of $7500, we settled sorta at $8000...but its still for sale for a couple days during their Memorial Day Sale.

I can still walk away, and they can still sell it for more if they can.

It has only been on the market for a little while (4 days), so my leverage isn't great.

I want it really bad...but not quite willing to sell a kidney for it.

[Atropine]

After mulling it over...paying $8k for a car that is $2k over KBB seems kinda bad.

Agreeing to buy a car sight-unseen is also a really bad idea.

I was going to cost me $450 to just fly out that that dealership. If I decided I didn't want the car...it would be another $450 to get home...

So essentially $900 ($1k if you count a hotel room) just to test drive it.

I just can't with a clear conscience agree to that set up.

Also over the phone, the salesman mentioned that the driver door "sagged a little bit". I he claimed it was 1/16th of an inch. I doubt it only sagged 1/16th of an inch, would that even be noticeable?

The idea that the door sagged really scared me off. It might be nothing, or it might be something really bad. What if it made the car leak? What if it made the car loud at highway speeds?

If the car was in town and I could just drive down and check it out, I would for sure go check it out. But with it being a 5-6 hour flight (counting lay-overs) and $450 I just did want to invest those kinds of resources into checking this out (time and money).

The search continues!

[slow86]

I've driven SC300/400's, RX's, and older LS400's owned by my in-laws so was curious about the LS430. I checked out a local listing for a dark blue 2001 LS430 with 300k+ miles. Holy crap, this thing is dead quiet and smooth as fuck!

Only thing that held me back was rust, which was a no no for me. I will probably keep on the look out for one as a daily!

[gymratter]

Originally Posted by Atropine

That one you listed...has a really bad carfax...so it may be something, or it may be nothing.
The add says 74k miles...Carfax goes up to 343k miles...and then it disappears for 2 years and then pops back up with 74k miles.

The interior does look more like a 74k mile car though.

Though I have found some nice 430's at same price as that one I described and with same miles, but 5-6 years newer.

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...&partner=ATD_W

EDIT:

BTW I agree that 9k is overpriced. I made an offer of $7500, we settled sorta at $8000...but its still for sale for a couple days during their Memorial Day Sale.

I can still walk away, and they can still sell it for more if they can.

It has only been on the market for a little while (4 days), so my leverage isn't great.

I want it really bad...but not quite willing to sell a kidney for it.

oh my bad.

this one isnt your prefer color, but i think the price and mileage is good. its not too far from my house so i wouldnt mind taking a look before you decide to fly out.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=LS400

this one has an odd color, but the price and mileage looks good.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=LS430

[Atropine]

Originally Posted by gymratter

oh my bad.

this one isnt your prefer color, but i think the price and mileage is good. its not too far from my house so i wouldnt mind taking a look before you decide to fly out.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=LS400

this one has an odd color, but the price and mileage looks good.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...delCode1=LS430

Appreciate the offers, think I am just going to wait for a more local one to pop. I live in Idaho, but Portland and Seattle/Tacoma are a pretty reasonable flight and drive back.