nik616

Hello All,

I am new to this forum. I live in Colorado and have ended up narrowing it down to 2 Lexus LS 430 (2004) cars which are priced very closely. Both are Ultra.

First one has very well intact black leather Seats with White Exterior( Corporate Use and very well maintained). Another one is a Black car with Brown (Beige) Interior ( Single user and very well maintained).

The white Car has little over 120K miles on it and the Black one has little over 99K miles on it. That being said, White is clearly a rare combination, but the difference in the mileage is around 25K.

It all comes down to my personal choice at the end, but I've mainly 2 questions:

Which Exterior color( Black OR White), if any, is more popular for Lexus LS 430 ?

Would 25K miles difference matters that much if I am planning to keep the car for a long time or until I pay off the car loan?

Thank you,

nik616

2KHarrier

Hi Nik;
First off, welcome to the club. The two cars are very close in mileage, but you didn't mention price. What about maintenance history? Both are in need of TB service. The timing belt can be a pricey endeavour on this car, so you may want to work that into the agreed price.

I would say Black is the more popular color, although my two LS's are Gold and Silver.

Personally I would go with the White car.

nik616

Hi 2KHarrier,

Thank you for your reply. Both are around $ 12 K ballpark, and as such price difference is really not a deciding factor.

I am not being able to locate the timing belt info yet, but I am going to call dealers to find out if they have any info on that before I spend any dime on third party mechanic for the pre-purchase inspection. I definitely am going to factor that in. Thanks for the valuable input.

I am leaning towards white as well (especially summer time in Colorado, temps go up to 90 F's), but the mileage difference is something keep coming back to me. Thanks again for your input. Much appreciated!​

nik616

realkrs

I wouldn't think that the mileage difference would need to be a deciding factor between two well maintained LS430's. Instead I would focus on the feature/option sets as well as my preferences as to color, both exterior and interior.

Both cars are at or past the timing belt requirement so I think that all else being more or less equal (no real preferences one against the other) a car with the belt completed would have to get my nod.

As a member of the Lexus Driver site I like to copy the VIN of a car I'm considering into my collection so that I can obtain the record of repair or maintenance which was performed at a Lexus facility. It's nice to see that the last (first seen) record was at or close to a car's current mileage and I will request documentation of any claimed work which does not appear.

LS430FL

having just traded in my LS430 (white) in for a LS460 (black), I would never buy another black car. I spend hours cleaning it, trying to avoid swirl marks its awful. I would expect the white one you are looking at with 25K more miles to be cheaper than the one with 99K miles. Both black and white are equally desirable colors for potential buyers.

JffGRY706

the white car is an '04, but the wheels are from an '03 model. looks nice but slightly overpriced. I cannot find a black ultra with brown interior, might be saddle? the saddle interior is special, where is the black car so I can look at it also. I am after the gold custom luxury in Lamar. not an ultra, but .....

JffGRY706

found it, it's not Saddle, but the Black/ Ecru Ultra is nicer.

nik616

Thanks realkrs! I've already requested the documentation from both of them.

nik616

Thanks LS430FL. I've not owned a Lexus LS yet, but so far I've owned Black Honda Accord & White Toyota Highlander (and Lunar Mist Toyota Camry before) and I know what you are talking about when it comes down to cleaning, but I've got to admit though, Black looks better after the Car wash over White.

nik616

Thanks JffGRY706! I wish it were saddle interior, but it's not..

legend921

I would definitely go with the white over black. I have the flint mica with black interior and thoroughly enjoy the black interior since it is easier to keep clean on the inside. If I had a chance I would jump on the combo that you had narrowed down as I prefer that contrast.