ScottBass

Hi, just thought y'all might find this interesting.
I have had two Ls 400, 99 and 2000, great cars and decided I wanted to try a 430. In my area prices for a decent one was around 12k.... But after searching I came across a mechanic that had a 2001 sport with 260k miles on it.... But had the most complete service records I had ever seen.... The owner obviously had the money to take care of every single thing over the years. Soooo with an asking price of just over 5k I decided to take the risk.... If it last a year or two without becoming a money pit I think I'll consider it a touchdown 🏁🏁.
So anyway, it's a sport model and it seems to have the rarer mark levenson unit without nav, the unit has his logo on it. Black with tan interior, I'll try to report back on this new thread and let you know how it goes if interested

2KHarrier

Interesting. Do you plan on driving the snot out of it, or will it be a "weekend only" ride? I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't ride that much differently than one with 100K less on the clock, if the maintenance has been kept up. As we know, these cars are, to say the least, sturdy...

ScottBass

I'm going to let the wife drive it as a commuter car, about 30 miles a day so it will get a normal work out.... And yes, the ride is perfect, zero suspension noise, smooth as silk... Actually seems smoother than my ls400 was but it's been a year since I drove it. Anyway 5k seems to be about minimum for any good running car now days, paid 3400 for a civic recently but had to put 1400 more in it, timing belt suspension etc.... The ls430 is perfect today... Timing belt not do for 36k so fingers crossed lol... But could buy 2 more for the same price a dealer wants for models with less than 100k.... I know it's risky.... The Ls series is probably the only car that would be worth the risk IMHO ....the wealth of the previous owner does make a difference haha

ScottBass

2KHarrier

Wow, it is super clean. Nice find. You've got good bones there...

ScottBass

Thanks... Nervous but happy lol

ScottBass

Btw I'm not one that normally parts stuff out but if I ever did run in to major issues I would think I have a shot at recouping a good portion of cost.... It will be a balancing act between normal maintenance and knowing when to buy another.

warminwisc

Yur gonna be fine enjoy the saving to have an LS in the quiver!!!! Ya have alot of help with variouse repairs right here and enough in bonyard now so parts are cheap but it ain't gonna break. Any major work done on it over the years?

2KHarrier

The headlights look clean on it. I call dibs on those when you part it out...

ScottBass

I have a folder full of receipts dating the life of the car but have not gone through them yet but it looks like anything that went wrong they immediately had it taken care of, I remember asking specifically if the struts were replaced and he said no but the control arms were but not sure what else it was a large stack and i inadvertently left them there so I gotta swing by and pick them up monday

charleston

OP. Interested to see how the car has been!

Bocatrip

Looks like the headlights were refurbished.

toddmorr

way to go. These situations are rare but you were wise to jump on it.......excellent maintenance and very high miles. I bet you will see extremely low total cost of operation over the next 100k miles.

ScottBass

Hi, update, .. The car is performing flawlessly, have not had any issues so far, no doubt the first gen of ls430 has to be the best deal out there with maintenance records, looks like most of them in my area are priced between 5 and 8k..... And that's about minimum for any decent car of any make,

2KHarrier

Glad to hear it. The LS430 took the reliability of the last of the LS400s that one extra step and made them better.

Over engineered, for a better tomorrow...