Stereorob

ok so now these cars are 10 years old and beginning to spiral down to the buy here / pay here 3rd sketchy owner death rattle age, has anybody seen or bought one as a very tired beat up hooptie / project car? ive seen less than a handful of them but hooptie LS460s do exist. whats the worst one you've seen yet? im talking faded paint, cracked leather, rust, body damage, taped tail lights blown air suspension type stuff. I don't think we will see too many really trashed examples till they hit the $5,000 range in a few years. most of the 400s I see are rolling wrecks and im seeing really tired and hooned out 430s on the road so the early 460s are right around the corner. im predicting that once the LS500 gets here the 07-09 1st gen 460s are going to take a big nose dive in resale pricing which will really open the door to them being cheap, resulting in many of them going to neglectful owners, Mcdonalds workers that want something to look like a hot shot in but wont be able to repair once something goes, and the slam / drift / hoon crowd that just wants something big and fast to play with.

thoughts on the future of these cars? and have you seen any really rough ones yet?

greg3852

I've seen a few of them locally already. People who definitely will not be caring for them like they should. Most times in the beat up parts of the city.

AznRacer

iTrader: (2)

Lowest I have seeing them go for is 9,000. Like you I'm waiting till it hit even lower so I could scope one up and do a heavy modified ls1 turbo swap on it.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

Here in Canada you can pick one up for $10 000 ish , once they hit the 120 000 mile range , but the surprising thing is they are all in pretty clean, decent shape

I don't think they have touched by the hacks yet, but its coming soon....very soon

In some ways its not all bad, because usually that's when more aftermarket support comes in....more exhaust's, headers, body kits and other interesting stuff

Although my 460 is a work horse, daily driver, I choose to spend more and get a low mileage L because that's just what ive been dreaming of for years now , but I was very tempted by an 07 - 80 000 mile - base model for $14k

roadfrog

Whaat??!! That must be an Eastern thing, cuz they certainly arent that cheap here. You can't even get an LS430 for that cheap. I just checked the local listings here in BC and the cheapest LS460 is a 2007 base model for 18k dollars and 180k kms. http://www.autotrader.ca/cars/lexus/...advancedSearch

Junglequac

You don't get much in the way of snow (at least in Vancouver) in BC whereas Eastern Canada gets tons with the attendant salt/brine/et al. That would be my guess for the price disparity.

In the States, cars in California tend to be much more expensive than most anywhere else in the States. For value, I really think the Southeast is where it is at. Atlanta has a killer used car market and snow is honestly a fluke to the point where if an inch of snow is expected folks clear the shelves of grocery stores!

Generally speaking, you pay for what you get. That said, for someone with wrenching skills, a whole world opens up. Only downside is parts tend not to be cheap, but there are used parts out there.

Wandl

Here in Dallas, I've found some in the $9k-$10k range with 150-200k miles. Again the miles don't scare me too bad, but they are at places like "Charlie's Laundromat & Used Tires" which puts me off.

Duck05

Other than a well funded "restro-mod" effort (like swapping in an even more powerful engine) hard to see LS460/600s being targeted for heavy mods; parts and body kits seem a bit too pricey for those 3rd and 4th gen buyers. Unless they plan to take it down a "VIP" route (which is expensive but the results can be stunning) those next round of buyers will likely be folks that are looking for a big, family style car and will be a service vehicle selected over a mini-van or SUV. (my 2cents...)

Junglequac

Might be getting a wee bit ahead of ourselves. The average price of a sub 100,000 LS460 is still over 20k on Autotrader. Perhaps some with branded titles, very high miles, etc, might reach "hooptie" statue, but we are talking about a brand that tends to have some of the best resale values out there.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I think its a Toronto thing

I'm not sure its the snow/salt thing like the above poster said, because ive never seen an ls460 , or even a 430, with noticeable rust issues, but that might have something to do with it as well.

I just think the market is saturated here, with a few million people in such a small area, so many car dealers, so many cars and the big V8 sedans are not the most efficient or practical city cars.

Hondas here sell for top dollar though, which is weird.

Once cars here near the 200 000 kms mark, (which we know is not the end of the cars life) , but for most people feels like the car is a "high mileage" , I notice the cars value take a significant drop and they sit on the dealers lot forever and they end up selling for peanuts.

I sold my nearly fully loaded 03 ls430 with 180 000 kms for $6300 certified and e-tested ,I had to buy brand new tires and front brakes before the buyer would pay for the car as well, so really I got like $5700 for it.

Up until a few weeks ago there was a handful of 460's in the $12-$14k range, and they all seemed to of sold at the same time, possibly to the same buyer

I assume someone shipping them overseas , which is also becoming more and more common

tallcaguy

You're right on the CA and Southeast prices!

roadfrog

Hmmm...well not really, I did a search in Ontario and Quebec and the prices are similar to here. For example, a 2003 LS430 with 325k kms is selling for $13,500 in London ON. A 2001 430 in Brucefield is selling for 12,000 with 190k kms. And there's others as well, but you get the idea.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

Theres a big difference between what some wackos are "asking" for their car, and what they are actually "selling" for

Those ls430's have been there forever , no one is going to buy them, the only ones that come and go are the ones that are either low mileage cherrys or very well priced ones.

And if your 10 second search is proof enough for you that prices are the same all over then that's fine with me

roadfrog

Took more like 2 minutes at least. Point is, I haven't seen anything like what you posted.This isn't a pissing contest.. Furthermore, I'd be inclined to pick up an LS in your area for that price if you can provide me a link or two. I have family in Sault Ste Marie and I'll be headed that way in April. I'd gladly pick up an LS for 10g regardless of mileage. I'm serious.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

Cool , and its ok, It just almost felt like you were saying I'm lying or something

With regards to why there was a few ls460's for so cheap, I posted my thoughts, maybe theres some truth to it and maybe I'm off base, but the fact is there have been some very good deals here for higher mileage 460's (200 000kms +)

If you are serious about wanting another one, just check kijiji and switch the area to "Ontario" up until recently there was 3-4 around the $12k mark being sold by dealers, which could of been had for $10-$11k cash I'm sure

Just keep an eye out , even though I'm not looking for another car I troll kijiji and other classifieds every night just to see whats around