Brutus213

Hello all,

my first post on the forums...owned a 2002 TLS for about 5 yrs and now thinking of joining the Lexus family. I have loved the LS ever since I was a kid...and this 2002 LS 430 caught my eye.

here is the link...

http://wwwa.autotrader.ca/a/Lexus/LS...howcpo=ShowCPO

it is for sale in Toronto, Ontario.

I believe the price is a little higher than probably what it would be in the U.S. but cars are pricier here in Canada.

My concerns are with longevity of the car and dropping over $10K on an almost 11 yr old car. I do need it to last at least 5-6 years. I won't be driving it more than 20-25K kms per year. I'm also concerned with how dated the technology may be at this point given that this is a 10 yr old car. Fuel economy is also a concern although I have heard that it is not bad for a V8 and from estimates I think that it might surprisingly give me as much mpg as my 2002 Acura TLS.

Can you please tell me if you think this is a good buy? Are there any problems with the car that I should know about? Sorry to bombard you with questions but I am fairly confused with making this decision.

Thanks.

Kansas

IMO that would be quite a good price in the states in US dollars and even better if paying with CN dollars.

100,000 miles/162,000 km isn't all that much if everything is in working order and the car has been properly maintained. My first LS (1990 LS400 purchased new) was at nearly 300,000 miles when it was sold by its second owner. My 2000 LS400 is in stunningly great condition at 169,000 miles. Both cars, however, were obsessively maintained.

The technology is not all that dated and I think it is a plus not to have built-in nav on an 11 year old car.

That 02 LS has four of the five safety features of Toyota's "Star Safety System" on current cars. If you want nav and Bluetooth handsfree you could buy an inexpensive Garmin GPS. $150 or less will buy a 3.5mm aux-in adapter so you can stream music from a phone or MP3 player though the car's audio system. Another $25 to $75 will get you Bluetooth A2DP audio streaming though something like a Blackberry Bluetooth Gateway.

I'll attach the 2002 Canadian LS430 brochure so you can figure out which options and packages this car has.

ls430lover

hi i looked at the ad, they mentioned 2 available, i would be careful of two things if you buy a car thru a dealer, number 1 the service records they advertise its been maintaned verify, number 2 and most important take it after you put a deposit down to a auto body shop verify it wasnt hit or painted.. i bought an 02 fourth owner and got lucky probably one of the finest autos ever made. 02 happens to be a good year for the most reliable of all years. it doesnt have the 6 speed auto and the new looks for the 04. as far as tech the car if it has ml sound and nav interface are good not outdated dont expect alot from sound system its a little better than average. i tell everyone if they expect to buy these without spending 1500 year there kidding themselves. so if this fits your criteria for a used car buy it if its not hit and maintaned if not lease a 14 honda accord and get 35 mpg

ls430lover

by the way i am familiar with tis and although a good car this car is a completely different auto and perfected in every way compared to the tis, so if you enjoyed the tls you will love this car. if the car is maintained, use the analogy razor blades in gillette razor, the car will last forever if you continue to service it dont worry about longevity worry about tires, brakes, batteries that will go

Gene01

Holy hotcakes, Batman!
CDN$ 100,000 MSRP (give or take a few ha'pennies) for the 2002 Ultra Premium ???
Dam near blew my eyebrows off & certainly makes me appreciate US prices (relatively, anyway).
Kansas, you don't happen to have the Canadian 2005 LS430 brochure, do you?

OP, one thing you might do to check on maintenance is to log onto Lexus.com (assuming that it works the same way as it does here south of the border), register the VIN, and check the dealer service records.
I believe that the instructions are in the stickies, but post here if you have difficulties.

sajack

We drive a 2002 LS430. Everytime I get into this car the quality of materials and workmanship astounds me. At 93,000 miles everything works and feels the same as the day it was built. Occassionally we think about getting an LS460, but we absolutely can not part with car. I feature it serving us at least until 2020.
We are getting ready to take this car on a 3,000 mile trip. I wouldn't drive anything else when a sedan is needed. The only thing that could take this car out of service would be a wreck.
$11,900 is not much money for a car of this caliber.

Kansas

Do you mean .... like this one?

Gene01

That's the one! Thank you very much.