airchomper

I was curious to hear your stories about finding your LS430, specifically which options you were looking for and what you ended up getting. And whether anything seems to be strange about your area. And if someone stole your car tonight (heaven forbid) what would you look for in your next LS?



It just seems like everyone finds LSs that other people want more.

I read about a person who could only find white LSs with the saddle interior, which was my preference but I only found dark LSs with black interiors in Minnesota. At least I was fine with the 2001-2003s and the bulk of the cars available in Minnesota were 2001-2003s at the time.

And for some reason, a ton of our LSs are base models with the first upgrade package. I'm too lazy to check my window sticker, but I believe my car is a base with a heated seats, ML audio, sunroof upgrade. The Lexus dealers around here (2 of them, both owned by the same company) must have ordered a lot in that configuration. I didn't want the sunroof but I wanted the heated seats and I don't think I've ever seen a car with that configuration.

KING

iTrader: (1)

Haha that is true, LS's with different combinations pop up every now and then all over the nation. If you really are desiring a special color combo, then your most probably are going to have to travel over to whoever is selling. Our cars aren't the most popular you see, and people with a LS430, their car should be treating them right most of the time, so it's kind of like -- this type of car won't be let go very easily. Owners of this car are in a category of good wealth and good or comfortable area of living.


I've always been a fan of my color combo, even before I bought it, Maroon(Burdeaux/Burgundy + Beige interior) I had an UL silver/cream before. I must say I like both. A well kept LS430 would look great IMO if it was any color than green and black interior. Another combo I like would be Pearl white/beige interior.


If I ever decide to get a 2nd LS430 I'll be looking for a maroon/beige.

Jabberwock

I wanted a "premium" optioned car in white with beige or saddle interior and quickly found out that there were lots of used LS430s avail in DFW area if I was not too picky about condition or amount of miles on the car. My issue was wanting a 15k or less miles car with mint interior and exterior. I looked at apprx 50 LS430s over 9 months or so before finding a mint 13k mile example 800 miles away. By that time I recognized that what color it was was just not that important to me given how few super mint low mile 3 year old LS430s were coming onto the market so I jumped on it and put a deposit down over the phone within minutes of the ad coming up on my internet search. I ended up with black cherry which has aged really well and looks great. When the car is clean and waxed the color is amazing - looks like a custom show car paint job. The only color I did not want is black because the DFW area sun is just too intense for a black car even though the LS430 looks good in black.

2KHarrier

I was looking for an LS without the Nav screen, as I was buying an 01 or 02, and didn't want potential failures from an outdated touch screen system. As far as color, I wasn't set on anything, except I knew I didn't want Burgandy. No red colors. Interior had to be Black or Tan. No Gray.
Service history was a must, but mileage was not top on my list. I was looking at spending no more than 9500.

So, in the end, I found my Silver with Black interior LS for 7350 with 104K on it and a pretty good service history. Still happy after 2 months...

JffGRY706

my story is opposite of most. I was looking for a Japanese car made in japan. I was so burned by a life of GM crap that I would put my 6 foot plus over 200 lbs. in a Honda Fit. I was just about to get a Highlander or something when the LS430 that was 120 miles away and $3,500 over my pre approved loan suddenly dropped in price $4,000. clean carfax that said worth $2,200 over book and now in my strike zone. I called and said I want to buy that car. went and got it and hope it lasts forever. so far in 2 years the value of the car has remained above what I owe trade in. but below retail. just glad not to be up side down. 2005 Briarwood Pearl Premium w/ chrome wheels and smart key. I got it with 72,000 and now has almost 97,000 in 2 years.

toddmorr

yep, seems to be one of the bigger secrets in the used car world. All day long you can find great examples of these cars for not much money that will last for many years providing great driving pleasure and comfort.

ma61

I have been looking for 2+ years for a CLEAN 04-06 Flint Mica/Black with the Custom luxury package, with 60k miles or less.

Have found two matches so far, good enough that I put money down. One had O.K. service records, the other was great, but in the end they both turned out to have a few too many cosmetic flaws. One would have needed to have the bumpers and wheels refinished.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I drove from Atlanta to Raleigh for the one that I wanted. About 16 hours round trip.

Tom57

As others have noted, if you want a specific LS, and the more requirements you have, you may have to both wait for it to hit the national market, as well as travel for it. After actively searching for over 3 months, I found the 2006 Custom Luxury that I wanted (a garage queen) in Portland, OR, negotiated terms and flew there from Chicago, driving it home ~ 2,300 miles over the course of 4 days. Even my CPO '01, I flew from Detroit to Buffalo and drove it home. ma61, you should expand the scope of your search to a wider geographic region.

gebo

I'm driving over 8 hours one way for mine. I did not want NAV and wanted impeccable service records. Color was important but I wanted a white or brown. I seriously investigated around 35 2004-2006's before I found one that met my criteria. I actually lost 2 before I could get back with sellers. I was trying to negotiate and lost both of them. I'm renting a car one way to destination for less than $60.

You have to be patient. Plan on about 3 months minimum for your search.

ma61

I initially had my search set for the entire country, but have changed it to within 500 miles for the most part.

The reason being is that am I really looking for a pampered car, minimal scratches, dents, chips, interior wear etc.

To the majority of dealers, a used car is a used car. They want to sell the car to the average joe who doesnt care if there are a few marks on the bumper, they dont want to deal with my picky *** lol. I have had a hard time getting the info out of dealers about the precise details of a car.

So I dont really want to fly across the country on one persons idea of "clean" since I have found out that my idea of clean is VASTLY different than most people lol.

If I find one that I can tell is truly in nice shape, then I would have no problem going on a road trip to get it.

gebo

ma61 went beyond my search parameters but he probably got a nicer car. I limited my search a 500 mile search on AutoTrader and also searched the Lexus Dealers and Craigs List in VA, MD, NC, SC, GA, AL, TN and FL every other day. Craigs List has a really cool app for the iPhone where you can set up a search for entire states or individual cities in a particular state. The app logo is purple if that helps.

Tom57

I'm the same ma61 - picky. I didn't travel 5,000 miles round trip without knowing for certain the 2006 LS was pristine clean with 56K miles, one owner, all service at Lexus, no accidents, etc. It even still smelled new when I bought. I saw pictures and video (bought it at the very first Mercedes dealer in U.S. with an included warranty). I found that Mercedes and BMW dealers tend to get the LS on trade-ins. They tend to know when they have a good trade-in, and keep them on their lot rather than wholesale them at auction. I know you pay a little more at a dealer, but you get a little more too if you are an astute negotiator.

gebo

Tom57, very interesting...mine came from a MB dealer as a trade in. I believe I would add that option to my search.

BCrews

Bear with me, there's a reason for the quote...
I wanted the elusive Saddle interior, almost regardless of exterior color- but most vehicles listed online don't properly list the formal interior color -ie Ecru probably = tan or white, Saddle= brown etc. I wanted a 2004-06 and really didn't know Saddle is a premium and as such, probably I should be focusing searches on UL vehicles- but NEXT PROBLEM- most posters use the term "ULTRA LUXURY" not as a specific trim descriptor, but as a silly adjective in their ad!

Fast forward- thank goodness I found a few older threads about the LS exterior colors, and one of the members LAVRISHEVO to be exact, mentioned how he LOVED his color combo: Briarwood Pearl exterior/ Saddle Interior.

WHAT? I thought- I don't need to be looking for BLACK or WHITE or the elusive Flint Mica? I can have a sweet woodsy color? (Love, love this combo- you should see my closet with Burnt Oranges and Browns lol- I miss the fall colors of my native midwest)

I did a simple google search THAT NIGHT for a Briarwood Pearl 500 miles radius from Los Angeles just ASSUMING it could be a UL with Saddle, as the 100's of white, black and flint vehicle ads I clicked on to see pics just to find a saddle interior would always result in zero or higher mileage than I wanted. (was hoping for 100k with belt/water pump done).

And THAT search- pulled up exactly that.... 2004 Briarwood Pearl / Saddle UL - a beauty in Bakersfield (only a few hours drive) at the Bakersfield Lexus dealer with about 30+photos that made the car look new and the drivers seat looked so good you'd swear the previous owner weighed only 80lbs. (no signs of wear at all- rest of the car looked like no one sat in it)

I made the deal OVER THE PHONE after the sales guy confirmed it looked great. I never even saw the car when I handed them the check in person the next night.

Kinda dumb in hindsight (but I was told other people were applying for financing and I came that night with cash)- and yeah I wound up finding a few door lock niggles and the sort- but overall, I still think it an amazing car, an OK deal- and most of all- I found my diamond in the rough without having to settle for a different trim. If I had the cash for this vehicle new- I'd have bought it like this one. When I drove away, I opened the accessory drawer to find it wired with an ipod adapter- one less mod I'd have to pay to do.

Lavrishevo - if you're ever in LA, a couple round of drinks are on me pal.