Playdrv4me

Hi All,

Haven't been around in a while since we got rid of my, and then my brother's Lexuses. I've happened upon a chance at another LS430, this time an '03 and it is being offered to me at 8945 ou the door. It's been a long time since I've been around here, so I'm not sure if this is a good buy or not.

Car has had a good maintenance history overall, but the timing belt is due. This is a silver car with black leather and the upgraded (for 2003) silver wheels. It's a simple, base model car with no frills except for premium package with ventilated and heated seats. Car has 125k miles and a clean title and accident history. After having had our last '04 LS430 with Ultra Luxury, I actually prefer the base model car in almost all major respects except the beautiful top grade leather in the UL.

Does this sound like a worthwhile deal? I have someone lined up for t-belt work already so not concerned about that. Mirror control doesn't work for either side so I'm assuming it just needs the switch cleaned out. Trans fluid and several other fluids were done around 55k.

Thanks.

Bocatrip

If the car gets a clean bill of health, buy this car and run.....it's a steal.

Playdrv4me

Thanks,

It sounded like a nice deal and I wasn't even looking at LS430s but figured this one was worth investigating so I drove it and poked around it before stopping by here to check.

I'll keep you posted.

Jabberwock

Its tough to get a decent 2003 Accord or Camry for $9K. $9k for a 2003 with 125K miles sounds like a great deal if the car has good maint history. If the mirrors are actually broken that could be expensive fix (750 each) if they have to be replaced - if it just a switch then much less.

sajack

Transmission fluid change? It's not required on my '02 LS430. Is it needed on an '03?

This does sound like an extraordinary deal if there has been no paint or body work, if it has not been smoked in, and if everything works but the mirrors.

JSDND1980

I agree! Sounds like a good deal.

Playdrv4me

I'm sure it's probably had paint-work at some point, most cars do. Whatever was done, if anything, was definitely professional, though. It's also a Lexus, not a 911 or a Corvette, so I don't think that has much impact on the future value if there's nothing on the two major reporting services. I think I'd be more in line with that line of thinking if I was on the other end of the spectrum paying a *premium* for this car, rather than what sounds like the reverse. I'm more concerned with the mechanicals so I'm going to give it another thorough once over today.

I believe ToyoLex was spec'ing tranny fluid change intervals at 60,000 miles back in 2003 and very early 2004, so I'm sure it would have been the same for 2002. Even then, I have always personally felt they should be more frequent.

Bocatrip

Of course you might want to give it a once over, but try to strike while the iron is hot. There are plenty out there who may sniff this deal out and ****** if up. There's not much out there for 9 grand, and we are talking about a flagship car with not a zillion miles on it. Good luck.

Playdrv4me

Put my deposit on it today, and will be picking it up tomorrow. Thanks again!

john339

Congrats! You.ll love it like we do.

Dranom

iTrader: (7)

That's a pretty good deal! Congrats!

sajack

Let's see some pictures.

Bocatrip

Good move! Congrats. You'll love the car. Enjoy

Playdrv4me

Thanks, I'll get some quality photos up in the next couple of days. We're dealing with the remnants of Isaac in Saint Louis right now and it's just a sloppy soupy mess out there. Sad too because they detailed the car and everything, and it smelled brand new inside. All the leather is soft and supple and just overall a nice car.

Now on to studying the mirror switch fix (Murphy's law of course won't be on my side with that one, but we'l see), and a tail lamp warning that appears even though all the lamps appear to be working.

tcbted

Well done, Ian.
I checked Autotrader across Canada, and the cheapest 2003 LS430 was $13,900!

In the past, you've flipped your LS' pretty quickly (so have I, regretfully).

If this one turns out to be a decent car, will you likely keep it for awhile?