kuykendc

My '01 GS430 was recently totaled and it's time to get a "new" vehicle. I've narrowed my search to a 98-00 LS400 or an LS430. I'm look at 3 cars and just can't decide which way to go. Was hoping to find someone here who has experience with the LS400 and LS430 to help me decide.

Car 1: 1999 LS400 Base with 82k miles - $9500
Car 2: 2001 LS430 Base with 52k miles - $15,500
Car 3: 2005 LS430 Base with 129k miles - $14,500

All 3 are in my price range, all 3 in great condition, and all 3 very comfy and nice drives. I know that the 04-06 LS430 had some minor improvements over the 01-03 but the low mileage on that 2001 is attractive. As for the LS400 I've heard wonderful things about them and having an extra $5-6k in pocket after the purchase is a nice thought. Then again, I'm sure there are a lot of improvements made in the 01 and 05 vs. the 1999... question is whether the improvements are worth the extra $$$... I just don't know. Any experience/advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

dashan

Buy the 2005 if you drive the car for a long time (say to 270K miles).
Buy the 2001 if you plan to drive the car for a few years only.

xtremex626

iTrader: (3)

the 98-00 ls400's are nice but i've always wanted the 04-06 ls430 but it isn't in my price range. you're lucky to find an '05 ls430 for 14,500 cause that's unheard of here. is it a clean title?

if the previous owner has taken good care and maintained the car regularly, you should have no problems with mileage. toyota engines last forever. plus youre getting it for a good deal.

i prefer the 04-06 over the 01-03 mainly because of the facelift.

Glove81

I drive a 99 LS400 which i bought off a Family member who bought it new. A few years back the sales men said that the LS400 (98-00) was the best model lexus had come out with and the main reason is that in the older models there isnt as much elctronics to go wrong with it. I know in my fathers LX470 the nav unit went out and it was 3k to fix it. So there is something to say about getting a model that doesn't have all the bells and whistles. Also you can use the money you save from getting an older model and mod the car out like you want it.

ThomSinga

^+1 in an already great lineage sometimes less is better.

Kansas

I think it depends on how the cars are equipped, how you are going to use the replacement car and whether you want the technology jump, gazillion improvements including extra the rear seat room and huge trunk of the LS430. When you say these are "base" cars, do you mean bare bones with no options?

If my 2000 LS400, owned since 2003, got trashed and I was faced with the same choice, I would likely pick the 2001 LS430. You can't beat low miles if the car has been well maintained. I'd actually pick an LS430 for the trunk space alone.

Specifications:

1999 LS400: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/1999/1999LSspecs.pdf
2001 LS430: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2001/2001LSspecs.pdf
2005 LS430: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2005/2005LSspecs.pdf

MyRolla

the car that seems to be the best maintained should be the winner i think they're all great cars but most cars tend to get better every year, thats alot of mileage for an 05 but my bro has over 60k on his daily civic cus he drives everyday for work and it runs just as strong as the first day he got it maintenance is everything