Johnhav430

Amazingly, I do. Like today I'm going to have to do a 12 mi. trip at lunch time. If it were my BMW, I wouldn't want the wear/tear, ditto with my wife's. Meaning, I try to get to that place on the way home, and not make an out-of-the-way trip. With my Maxima, no, just doesn't drive like it once did. But with the LS? I look forward to it! I am still amazed having that feeling on a 11 y.o. car. It is the little things in life, huh?

tallcaguy

Can relate. The local hardware store is 1.5 miles from my house. The nearest Home Depot is a 26 mile round trip. I often go to Home Depot to make sure they've got exactly what I need (even it's just a light bulb). Just did a 175 mi trip to visit a friend in the Bay Area. Have another friend in Texas. Haven't seen her for awhile and it's only 26 hours to get there. I've never been to Canada......

Saw another 430 (glossy black) while moving slowly in traffic. Looked at each other and it was a mutual thumbs up.

Gronemus

John, not trying to pick on you but if I owned "The Ultimate Driving Machine" I wouldn't worry a bit about saving it for the next dude. As they say, I would ride it hard and put it away wet. As for the wife, I cannot comment on that one...

As for the original question, YES, all of the time, especially if I'm on the motorcycle. Basically, I just like to drive anything with wheels...

Mobius1

Every Monday and Friday i grab lunch and go alone in my car and keep it idling while i eat for about an hour listening to music.

It's been almost four months and 5k miles but i still adore driving this thing. Even after taking two 4 hour trips in one weekend.

2KHarrier

Even after doing my daily commute (74 miles each way) I'll gladly jump back in the LS and drive across town with my wife to run errands. It really is an easy car to spend a lot of time in.

Johnhav430

I find that I don't need the LS to handle like a 7 Series....although next yr I do want to do the LCAs....maybe motor mounts. I really love having auto dim side mirrors and rain sensing wipers on my DD, also the adaptive HID. Interesting, Lexus chose to allow the driver HID to turn to the left the max degrees per the brochure, whereas BMW is the opposite, more to right, limited to left (I can post a pic of the 335's right headlamp turned extremely to the right).

my excuse yesterday? Got a get $5 when you spend $5 at Sears. Got a West Bend slow cooker for $5.09 incl. tax. Walmart sells it for $24.99. Ridiculous reason to take the LS 24 miles round trip on lunch lol

tallcaguy

I should drive a 7 series one of these days. Having an 04 Sports makes me wonder if I can have the best of both worlds. Right now, mine's still lux comfortable but does handle better than a Base. Not much difference in driving comfort or noise. Am considering some small changes. Swap the wheels (17s for 18s). Buy new 18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports. If too noisy or hard, can change to back to Premiers w/in 30 days no cost. Goal is keep the lux comfort but improve handling a little more without losing that. Keep the quiet freeway cruise but have good manners on a freeway off ramp or in a sharp corner. Yeah and have Lex reliability and lower repair costs.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Yeah my 5series feels like a rattletrap with the stiff suspension compared to my Lexus. I'll decide which ones to take depending on the rode and where I'm going. I should do air suspension on my bmw. The 03-09 7 series you can find really cheap and they are really amazing inside, however they can be nightmares on maintenance. I almost bought a 760li but maintenance scared me off. I may consider a 12+ eventually, but the ls430 is hard to beat for comfort and reliability.

Doublebase

74 miles each way? You're putting 700-800 miles a week on your LS? How many miles do you have on the car? That's a ton of driving, I work with a guy who has a similar commute, he drives a Ford Edge...he's got 134,000 miles on it...I have my doubts that the Edge is the right car to do that kind of commute in. I know the LS is...I drive 600 miles a week and the thing still drives like new.

tallcaguy

Yeah I considered a 7 series but didn't want the maintenance headaches. For years, I was interested in finding a MB SL500. Bought the LS. A year later, I found a gorgeous limited edition low mileage MB. It felt like driving a truck. Hard to find the controls. During the test drive, just kept thinking how much nicer my LS was. If I do the lux 2 seater game, it will be a Corvette.

tallcaguy

Glad your '07 460 is working out well. We've all heard stories about the problems w/ the next gen Lex. I can't imagine commuting in an Edge. Not particularly comfortable and there's the safety issue.

Johnhav430

If you ever see a 7 or X5 and there is white smoke coming out the tail, and you wonder why the owner doesn't fix it, it's because it costs $10k to fix a coolant leak. I believe it's on the 4.4 not the 4.8. Even rich people complain about the cost of repair. What gets me with BMW is they have cheaped out like everyone else, and now free maintenance doesn't include brakes? HUH?

The ABS pump failed on my 335 at 49k, it's a $4,200 repair at the dealer. Thank goodness I could diy. I needed software, the motive bleeder, etc., so it cost around $480. Of course, subjectively, they drive way better than any Lexus. My steering is perfect on the 335i. The F series BMW has lighter steering than the LS430. Even though the brakes are 1 piston floating calipers, they feel perfect. The 6 spd manual has sorta long throws, and the hill holder on the clutch is so annoying. All said, I'm never giving up my 335i. I just don't drive it in the carefree way I drive the LS. Everything about it, is more costly to operate....water pump can fail in the 40's, sometimes 70's, 80's, costs $1,400 at the dealer.

tallcaguy

Thanks for info on repair costs. I'm not going to schedule any test drives. I've driven a GS430. Def more a driver's car. I don't fit in an IS so not an option. LS is an interesting combination of luxury and performance. It's got the soft "no driver input needed" ride but also quick acceleration and very capable brakes.

Scootymad

I'm considering taking a drive out to the next town to hunt for a stolen Datsun 280Z. Will be using the Lexus as my poor old 3S-FE Corona doesn't quite have the bollocks to chase an L28 powered Fairlady around the hills. I'd consider that unexpected

2KHarrier

I've got 139,150 as of this morning. It's an easy car to do that in. I owned a Hyundai Veloster for 5, count 'em, 5 weeks and I couldn't drive it any more. Too small, too noisy and not comfortable at all. I traded that in on the 2005 LS that my wife is driving and I went back to driving the 2001. My goal is 350,000 which at this rate should take 6 years or so...