Bocatrip

I've had my 2001 LS430 Base with Nav and ML for almost 6 years. Put about 25,000 miles on it as it started with 98,000 and now is at 123,000. Yes, money has been invested, but not one serious issue and not one break down. Body is perfect and original as well as interior with the best color combo I wanted at the time. Yes I would like to upgrade to the 04-06 with the newer front lights, back up camera, bluetooth etc, but I understand I may be only getting a slightly newer car with things that I will need to fix/replace as I have already done on my 01. I'm a perfectionist, and my 01 has faded front and rear bumpers (due to sun and heat in florida) and a front wheel bearing hub will also need replacement soon. I can guarantee that most 2nd series LS430s will still probably need a rear subwoofer (which I replaced with new OEM)
Am I being unrealistic and just trading in a 1st series LS430 for a somewhat refreshed 2nd series which will ultimately need the same attention for repairs and replacements of parts as I have already done on my 2001? My car runs like a champ and 123,000 is not many miles. Most 2nd series have similar miles and are 4-6,000 dollars more. Should I sit still and be happy with what I have? I've been debating this for the last few years and just know that either series are still very old cars that will be needing work somewhat regularly. What do you guys think? I've been on this forum for years and respect all opinions. Thanks all...

JffGRY706

be happy, except for LED tail lights the 01-03 are just as good as the 04-06. and you cant see the tail lights when you are driving. and the LED are more expensive if you do have an issue.

yoitskenn

iTrader: (4)

The update in the 04-06 is worth every dime to me. If money isnt a big issue, make the upgrade!

Jabberwock

If I had to buy an LS430 from scratch, I'd definitely try to get an 04-06. But if I already had a 01-03 LS430 that was in good shape and reliable, I would most likely stick with it as a known quantity. There may not be enough positive difference between the original LS and update years to justify thousands extra transaction and acquisition cost especially when you throw in the added risk of buying a "new" used car.

However if you are certain you want to be in an LS430 for many years to come, this might be a good time to take the time to find a low mile cherry 04-06 LS to keep for the long run.

Sometimes I think I want another car but when I think hard about selling my LS430, I can't stand the thought of giving up my amazing car to anyone else. I know as soon as I sold it I would miss it and regret selling it.

AandSC

Knowing a well maintained LS will go 250K miles, and seeing that you are putting about 4,000 miles a year on your car, you have about 32 years of use left in your car. It's a known entity and you like it, why risk ending up with a car that might have ire issues than yours? Think of all those years of paying only maintenance costs. No way I would trade.

ryanSC300lover

iTrader: (1)

Agreed

Just the front ends looks so much better than the 01 cars

Not to mention more gears , nicer rear tails etc

To me the 04-06 are best of the LS breed, till you step up to a ls600hL

tkblazer

Thankfully you already have a great car and are not in a rush to find a car. I would just keep an eye out for the perfect example of color combo, package, mileage, maintanence, price etc and make the call then. I scored my 06 last year with only 53k on it and I'm about to hit 70k in a few weeks.

Bocatrip

Good point. No rush here and I can always keep an eye out for something special. I was trying to time the transition so that I don't invest in the respray of the front and rear bumpers and replace the bearing hub if I'm buying another car. Thanks everyone for all the good advice.

Bocatrip

I'm reviving this thread because I have still not been able to find a nice replacement for my 01. I still will be needing a front wheel bearing hub which is getting somewhat noisier, as well as repainting the front and rear bumper covers and restoring my headlights. We are talking about $1600 to the car I've owned for over 6 years and is super reliable. I know everything I've done. The 04-06 willl be an additional expense as well as all the repairs necessary to bring it to equivalent condition to mine. Most of the cars I've seen are rags, and the nice ones demand stupid money (mid to upper teens). I've been holding off but can't find any nice cars up to now. Most are over 100K but are still asking low teens. I know I can get 7500-8500 for my 01 (124,000 miles) which is all original with fantastic paint and interior. Not sure if I should keep looking or just bite the bullet and do the repairs necessary and keep enjoying my car.

jdudeski

If it was me, I'd repair it!

BradTank

I would probably say stick with what you have, especially since you'll get very little money when you sell your 2001. It's going to be almost twice the price to get one a few years newer.

I do like the 04-06 cosmetic tweaks better, but it's still basically 95% the same car. And a 12+ year old car is also going to need money spent on it as well for maintenance and repairs just like your 15 year old car is.

Have you tried something like rubbing compound and an orbital buffer on the bumpers? Might be able to salvage them without a repaint if the primary issue is fading, you can pull off the layer of "dead" paint. Just be careful.

Bocatrip

Thanks BradTank... If you could make my bumpers look that good I will make you dinner for a week straight! Thanks for your help.

Bocatrip

Just came back from looking at an 05 LS430 with 96,000 miles and asking price of $12,995. The car turned out to be an absolute piece of d.g.s..t. Dings everywhere, scratches, no wood left on the steering wheel, ripped headliner. This was a one owner car serviced at lexus. I left the dealer without starting it. It's looking more and more on keeping what I know I have. Once I do decide to replace the bearing hub, I will stop looking and drive this car to the ground.

legend921

Bocatrip, I definitely understand what you mean about looking at that 05 at the dealer. I was going to buy an 05 LS430 UL package in New Jersey without looking at it in person. In the pictures the entire car looked great and I was going to go up there by train to pick up the car. Salesman, said that this is one of the cleanest examples that they had ever seen, and I asked them to double check a lot of things and they kept returning and saying that the car is super clean, no stains in the headliner and what not. I said okay, but my gut tells me that I should just take a three hour trip and drive out there and look at the vehicle before I commit the following day. Low and behold when I got there the car met to my initial suspicion. The door pocket on the front right door was broken, the headliner had a leak around one area of the sunroof corner stain, the steering wheel tilt and telescopic did not work, mirrors, banged up exhaust and a few other issues. I am glad that I didn't decide to take the train up because then I would have been disappointed and had to take the train back. What you have now in the condition that you have would be a better route to go since you know exactly what condition your car is in.

hyperopt

All-new LS is just around he corner and once out, the LS460 price is going nose dive. I am going to drive my 01 LS430 which is acquired recently for a few more years and move to LS460 when the price is right. The 04-06 LS430 isn't much of an improvement over my 01 UL.