wnyjazz

Been looking for a black on saddle UL, but when I saw this one, I thought I better drive it, plus nice ones around here are rare it seems.

http://rochester.craigslist.org/ctd/5747193858.html

I had also recently driven a very well maintained '99 LS 400 with about the same miles, so it was a nice chance to firsthand see and feel the evolution of the LS. I liked the seats better in that one, and they are great cars too of course, but I can't see myself going back to a LS 400 after driving the LS 430 because the overall package is so much more appealing...for me at least.

My only dislike will be directed at the 18" Dunlop's on the car; but I'm not sure they should get the blame or not. They seemed to give off, for lack of a better word, a little 'niggling' feel. I know 18's obviously firm up the ride, but the little glitch in ride quality still surprised me because of what I've been reading here about the amazing ride of the LS 430.

Other than that, it was a great ride. I liked the handling the 18's contributed to though. Before I drove it, when I asked the owner about the tires, the owner said they were "too firm" for his taste. He said he's a "Michelin man" for these cars.

I will ask him what Dunlops are on the car. There is plenty of tread left, so I get why he didn't swap them out.

So my question is...is that little 'niggling' feel common to these cars anytime 18's are on them, or is it perhaps just these tires; or is something else not quite right?

Thanks.

tradosauru

I have the 2005 LS430 but without nav. I also have the 18's that came with it when I bought it last year.

If all the maintenance has been performed, especially the timing belt, and the condition is excellent I would be all over it.

For the same mileage and year I paid $13,500 for mine last year.

tradosauru

Here is the service history from the Lexus site. I didn't see a timing belt service but check under the hood or in the engine bay for a sticker that says the timing belt was completed.

Jks24

I thought you were saying some rascist **** till i looked up what niggling meant haha. In all seriousness just find a pair of 17 inch enkie rims and tires on tire rack for $1500-$1800 and call it a day it should give you more tire to make it a super cushy ride.

wnyjazz

Agreed, it is a great price. More importantly is the pics don't do it justice.

Right.

Thanks...

jrmckinley

I wouldn't change out the rims- those 5 star rims really give the car the best look in my opinion. Tires- I have had 3 sets of Michelin's on my car and have been very happy. I think I started with the Primacy and now have the Pilots. Ride quality is awesome, car feels safe in rain, and the road noise is very low. It is virtually silent on smooth roads. I get about 50k-60k out of each set.

I had a '96 LS prior to my '04 and agree with you that the seats in the prior generation are more comfortable. But the car you posted looks to be in good shape and is very reasonably priced. As another poster said, if the timing belt and water pump haven't been done you are going to want to do that ASAP as it's over the mileage recommendation and way over the age recommendation of when that needs to be done. You may also need to do the drain and fill of the transmission fluid if that hasn't been done. You're looking at about $2k from a Lexus dealer, probably about $1,200 or less at a quality indy shop or Toyota dealer. Doing those 3 things - you'll effectively have a brand new LS for the next 90k miles.

If it hasn't been wrecked and you don't see any red flags, I'd see if you can negotiate $700-$1k off asking price given the need for upcoming service and buy it in a heartbeat. It's a good looking car- but I'm biased since it looks exactly like my car and I have always loved the '04-'06 in silver with the 5 stars. Good luck,

jrmckinley

I should also add that I added the 5 star rims after I bought my car (it came with the stock 17" rims). I didn't notice any change in ride quality when I went from the 17's to the 18's (drove the 17's for about 25k miles until the tires wore out). I have put about 150k miles on the 18's. I think it's all about putting a good set of tires on the 18's to maintain a plush ride but give the car a sporty look. It's a luxury auto, don't go cheap on things like tires, oil, or gas.

DavidinCT

Where do you get that ? Can you just go to a site and put the VIN in and get history on any Lexus car ?

As I am eyeing a few cars, it would be nice to be able to grab that info....

to the OP, nice looking car, just be careful finding out of the 90K service was done (timing belt and water pump)... This could be a $800-1200 job that really NEEDS to be done.

tradosauru

https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home

Sign up here and input VIN numbers.

wnyjazz

Thanks.

I just talked to the seller. He bought the car at auction and has tried to get in touch with the servicing dealer about the timing belt issue. At this point we have to assume the former owners skipped it.

The Dunlops on it are SP Sports 245/45-18's.

The seller said exactly what you said about the great ride you normally get; on other LS 430's he's owned with 18" Michelins on them.

Exactly.

I hear ya.

Daspyda

iTrader: (1)

That rough ride and squirrelly feeling likely is due to a stiffer sidewall-hence the word Sport. Put some normal tires on there and I'll bet you'll feel a great difference.

I just put some Khumo tires on my car after doing research at Tirerack.com and they are great: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-17-tires.html

wnyjazz

You said it much better than I did with my "niggling" phraseology...lol

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

jrmckinley

Correction to my post- the newest set of Michelins I bought are the Premier A/S. They are 245/45/R18. I know I had Primacy at one point, not sure if the Premier replaced those or not. Either way, have been very happy with all 3 sets of Michelins and don't remember being able to tell a difference between the Premier and Primacy- all of the tires have been quiet and produced a nice ride while giving me long life (50k-60k; I rotate tires every 5k).

wnyjazz

I wouldn't want to characterize it as a "rough ride" and "squirrelly feeling" because that part of it was very minimal, but for me at least, not something I'd want to put up with.

Thanks for that.

Seller (Marc) is a member here he said; maybe he'll chime in. Great guy, was very accommodating in trying to make this work.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

That guy has had a few LS's for sale, so I would assume he's someone who knows the cars, and the ones he sells seems to be in very good shape. I would keep the Dunlops, but I know Northtown Lexus in Buffalo had a 2002 LS430 with only 66K for 8k, may be worth making a call.