dragonmilk

I am pretty new to the forum and this is my first post - I am convinced that I should try getting a lexus 430 as our extra car but my daily driver (I work from home, so it's not driving too much) after watching the Car Care Nut channel. In his video he mentions a few problems now that the car is so old. How relatable are these, and how much would they cost to fix?

• Screen completely gone/on the fritz
• Air suspension needing replacement / removal
• Door lock went kaput, particularly on soft closing ones
• Anything else I'm missing? Those were the only 3 pointed out

Still don't have permission to post a "wanted" ad yet so figure I'd use the probation to ask some questions!

Thanks in advance

dragonmilk

And actually maybe also some less common problems:

• Oil leaks (valve cover gasket)
• Wire harness and other connectors
• Power steering resevoir /filter
• Timing belt tensioner
• Mufflers in rust belt
• Exhaust rust
• Headlight light sensor in the rear
• Oil pan bolts

TominPT

Experience of one here, 2005 LS430 at 142000 miles, 3rd owner.
Screen is fine no issues
Car does not have Air suspension - only ultra luxury models have that, probably best to avoid at this age unless you are willing to pay $$$ if it goes south.
Door Locks - all good. Soft close doors on custom and ultra luxury only IIRC.
no oil leaks at all.
wire harness is fine - but the connectors should be handled with care at this age
Power steering - good, no issues
Tensioner on timing belt - good, you replace that and the idlers when the timing belt job is done along with water pump. Should be done every 90,000 miles
muffers - excellent. My car is Arizona and Washington state, totally rust free, Car Care Nut is correct- the rust belt states are hard on exhaust systems and very pricey to replace with OEM compnoents.
Headlight light sensor - no issues
Oil pan bolts- no issues.

In sum, after 142000 miles my car is on the original suspension and basically nothing has gone wrong with it in except for simple repair of the outside mirror controls which I just did. The build quality of these cars is really off the charts. Look for a good, well maintained example AND GET A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION. Many cars at this age will have issues with one or more of the items you mention but a caring owner will have repaired it by now. Deferred maintenance and repairs is a very bad sign in my book.

By the way, my 1998 LS400 is also working like new after 150,000 miles except for cassette player gone bad and one burned out bulb behind the dash, only repairs were valve cover gaskets and upper control arms by a previous owner. Just routine maintenance. Superlative build quality.....

Start looking and fine the best maintained and cleanest example you can find in the color combo you want. Pay a premium for a great example. For a well maintained car 100,000 to 150,000 miles is nothing.


Edit - the cost to fix these issues will depend on whether you can do them yourself, use an independent mechanic, or use a dealer (most costly option). These cars are relatively easy to work on and simple compared to modern cars.

dragonmilk

If I may ask, how did you get comfortable with the first/second owner?

I generally heard it's good to go with 1 owner cars since they know exactly what has (or hasn't) been done to the car?

Haven't bought a used car yet given the market (bought my first car in 2021 and a minivan just this past october, both new) but would definitely be getting a thorough pre-purchase inspection.

TominPT

Regarding first/second owner, the second owner told me he had serviced the car the entire time at a Lexus dealership, as did the first owner. There is a lexus site which stores the vehicle service history of lexus vehicles. I verified that what he was saying was true, everything was there. I also did my own pre-purchase inspection and after driving it for 20 minutes knew the car was good - no strange noises, smooth engine and idle, no vibrations, quiet suspension, everything I tested worked, no oil leaks etc etc.


https://www.lexus.com/My-Lexus
create an account
add a vin number of a car you are considering as "my Lexus"

dragonmilk

Good to know! I assume this only works for lexus dealership servicing rather than independent shops though?

bradland

You mentioned The Car Care Nut only pointed out 3.
Where did these come from?

• Oil leaks (valve cover gasket) NA - 9 times out of 10 tightening the bolts will stop the leak. The bolts use a rubber integrated washer that becomes brittle over time. Replace the washer and you’re good.
• Wire harness and other connectors. NA
• Power steering reservoir/filter. Easily replaced.
• Timing belt tensioner. NA
• Mufflers in rust belt. NA - I’ve never heard of anyone having to replace a 430 muffler.
• Exhaust rust.?????
• Headlight light sensor in the rear. NA
• Oil pan bolts. NA - Give them a gentle 1/8th or quarter turn.

TominPT

The service history of a Lexus performed at a Toyota dealer MIGHT show up in the My Lexus site. For all non-dealer service Carfax reports shows some, maybe most, service but take their reports with a grain of salt.

dragonmilk

A subsequent car car nut video talking about what to look out for in buying one, haha

Freddy12

Second owner. 138000 km. Excellent condition for most part. 2002 LS 430. Soft close doors all work except front passenger door which closes normally though. No air suspension. Tilt telescopic going so I adjusted to my preference and removed fuse so it stays in position. Full timing belt done and oil gaskets. Also did alternator. All OEM through independent garage. Beautiful dive. Zero rust. No winter driving. I'm in Toronto. Super happy. Owned since September 2020.Oil and Filter every 6 mosno matter the mileage. Also did trunk and hood struts myself. Love the car. Good luck. Hope you get clearance!😃
Also NAV. ML stereo pretty much perfect. Subwoofer was changed by first owner.

white_lx

I think the majority of these problems listed above depend on your location. 300,000 miles on our '02 LS-UL. 80% of our repairs were due to use of road salt. If you are in an area without road salt, you would not see any of these issues:

• doors rotting out around the chrome trim strips (even with Fluid Film application, Tremclad & Bondo for now)
• corrosion around the rear fender (ignoring it)
• corrosion of the fuel tank (had to replace it as it was perforated)
• exhaust & heat shields falling apart (many welds and patches)
• height control sensor linkages get stuck and will damage the control arm attachment points (replaced linkages, attachment tab welded)
• hood release cable seizes (replaced)
• OEM front wheel bearings seems to last around 100,000 miles 'only' in this climate (replaced, rears at around 200,000 miles)

Note: this is for a Canadian vehicle that spend the first 10 winters in FL, so realistically only 11 local winters! I could add that the first 200,000 miles were a lot easier maintenance wise than the last 100,000 miles.

dragonmilk

Noted, my plan is to get one <150k miles that is in decent condition and drive <5k/year for the next 10 years or so.

Fully aware that the OEM parts can be quite expensive so will be spending a decent amount on a thorough pre-purchase inspection after I check for the common issues myself.

BigBoomer

3rd owner, 2004 UL model with 140k miles on her.
Original air suspension still working fine.
Telescopic steering wheel motor is weak and needs replacing. Tilt works fine.
Air-con stopped working 3 years ago but will cost half what I paid for the car to fix, so for now it's still not working. Someday soon I'll spend the $2500 to get it fixed (compressor, condenser, etc.).
There are 4 rust spots along the passenger door trim that need dealing with when the weather warms up.
In the 50k miles since I bought her I have had one O2 sensor replaced, replaced the Sub-Woofer, re-foamed the front door speakers, had the exhaust Y-pipe repaired, had both front wheel bearings replaced (only one was rumbling) and have replaced the reversing camera and a couple of parking sensors.
Other than that she's had regular services, with tyres, brake pads, and other consumables replaced as needed.
For a 19 year old car she is awesome and drives superbly.
For the money, I can't think of a single car I would want to replace her with.

JZZFZZ

2nd owner 2006 ML, bought at 46K miles. Chicago, zero rust because it had never been driven in winter, as clean as my 2022 rust-wise. Everything works. The only imperfection is the steering motors whine when moving. I ordered a pair of ISF LCA bushings from Japan and when I raised the car to install I saw the bushings were like brand new. I ended up not installing them.

i tend to spend more on buying better ones than repairing ones with problems.

Bought it from a dealer, saw its perfect maintenance history on Lexus.com.

usedname

I've had:
door lock actuator (diy motor fix)
valve cover gasket leak (just snugged bolts)
some front seat tears with age (my car sits in the sun)
driver side sun visor malfunctioned causing fuse to blow which blacked out LCD display under odometer - relatively unknown but still seen - solution was disconnecting the electrical connector at the base of the visor