LS430inDE.

What's up gang. It's been a longgggg time since I last posted, or even logged on. I've been well and my 430 has logged 127k miles on her. Paint shiney as hell, interior quiet as hell, engine quiet as hell, car fast as hell, but the 5-star/spoke rims are getting chipped & corroded like hell..lol.

A couple days ago I test drove a 2010 460. it's not AWD, nor is it the long wheelbase. It's color scheme is exactly like my 430 (silver w/black leather). I'm not 100% sure of the option packages it has since I haven't been on the 460 board until tonight.

Anyway...just wanted to drop by and say HELLO to all the 'old timers'..lol. The 460 I test drove has 37k miles, and the GMC/Buick dealership asking $34,500. I told them I would CONSIDER SERIOUSLY if they dropped it down to $34,000 even. THEY DID. Now I'm left wondering what to do! I have been reading on the 460 boards and I have to admit, it seems like they aren't as trouble-free as the 430's!!!!

ps....i copied/pasted the VIN of that 460 into the Lexus driver's website where you can view all the maintenance performed, and the owner (one & only owner) took it to the dealership about every 5k miles for typical routine service. Nothing really remarkable during the 37k miles of service noted from the well documented history.

Maybe I just buy new rims for the 430 and call it a day? I really would like to see the 'black chrome pvd' on the 5-star/spoke rims.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

2009 and up are better then the 08 and 07's. Good choice. You still have another year left of the powertrain warranty. Suspension will be where it could bite you a little. That and brake actuators. I would make sure she is in tip top shape. Your parts will be more then double that of the 430. And labor is more in general on the 460. Harder to work on that car. I like them a lot myself but overall it will not be as reliable. It will cost you more to own vs the 430 but if you like it buy it.

Jabberwock

LS460 has lots more horsepower, more stylish and modern looking, worse gas mileage, higher maint costs and some repairs that can get expensive. If you have the budget and really want a 460 over a 430, I say go for it. Me... I am quite happy to hold pat on the LS430. The car I get after the LS430 will be a super efficient hybrid and hoping that day will be many years in the future.

LS430inDE.

You guys rock. I really appreciate the quick replies and feedback and opinions. The more I think about it, the more I'm now talking myself OUT of it. In all honesty, I'm only looking to buy a car because I'm "kind of tired" of the 430. It's been paid for about a year, and you'd think I'd appreciate no car payment! Surprisingly to me, (but loving every occurrence) coworkers who have never seen my car before (I drive a company supplied vehicle) are impressed when I go to after-hours or work holiday parties in the 430 and routinely make comments like, "ohhh, you are totally being paid too much!" blahblah

It's really disheartening but my perspective of Lexus is, it gradually lost those special things that made them so special in the 90's and 2000's. I also LOVE 80's music. What does that say? haha. Let's not mention tv commercials that are so mainstream and uninspiring, they could pass for Kia or Hyundai or Chevrolet. Bring back the wineglasses balanced on the hood of the 400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Personally, I would wait a little while longer. I am with you in getting a newer model and how tempting it is to just have something new but really cars are a terrible investment. Why no freshen up the 430 a little. Maybe put a nice set of rims and do a little work to the suspension if its feeling its age.

Once the new generation of 460's come out in the next year or so the prices will fall even lower. The ideal time to grab one would be when they are under 25 grand for the 09 and up and the previous owner already replaced all the normal items that are known to fail.

Tom57

Why not buy a low-mileage 2006 LS430 and enjoy it for 10 years (and save yourself some $$ and headaches of the 460)?

airchomper

The 2006 LS430s are pretty pricey. It's not uncommon for a pristine example to trade around 20k, which gets you into less-than-pristine LS460 territory.


And it's not like a 2006 LS430 is going to be substantially better than an '05, which the dude already has.

If I were you (and thank god you're not like me because I'm so cheap I wouldn't even pay 10 cents to get cheese on a whopper) I'd learn to love the LS430, start shopping around for new rims, and trawl car websites for a deal on the LS460.

The LS460 is definitely a step down in design quality, but they're newer and a lot of their problems were addressed in 2010-ish.

The best advice I ever got was - don't buy the car, buy the deal. Some people get really nice LS460s for right around the 20k mark. Wouldn't you want to tell everyone what a good deal you got?

And if the LS460 behaves like the LS430, they're value will plummet when the new one comes out. In 2006, a 2001 LS430 traded for about 30-35k. After the LS460 came out, the 2001 LS430s traded for 18k ish.

Arguably, now is the worst time to buy a used LS460, their value will plummet in the next few years.

But the LS460 seems a lot more expensive to own than the LS430s. But neither are cheap cars.

Just consider the price of a car payment, say $400 a month. And how great you could make your LS for the price of just a few car payments. 20 inch rims and tires cost as much as 5 months or so of LS460 payments.

And would you really like an LS460 that much more than your LS430?

jimbosr1

car payments SUCK!
if it isnt broke dont fix it enjoy your 430.

LS430inDE.

I wanted to add some more to this story.

So, in my discussions with the used car manager at the dealership several days ago, and viewing the free Carfax, there was an open safety related/fuel related recall. I told them, at a minimum, they need to get the recall performed, and in addition, I want that Lexus dealership to perform a 'pre-sale' inspection on the vehicle. He agreed and said he'd call me in a couple days.

Keep in mind the sticker price was for $34,499. I told them I'd seriously consider a deal for $34,000 even and also after viewing the pre-sale Lexus report, contingent there's not more than $200 in recommended repairs. He agreed.

Which leads us to today and the link on the dealerships website....

http://www.faulknerauto.com/VehicleD...-PA/2480252613

They INCREASED the selling price by $2,000!!!

Unreal! I'm not even going to give them the courtesy of a callback to tell them I'm no longer interested!

2KHarrier

I guess they realized it was nicer than originally thought.....

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Just be glad you did not ask this same question in the 460 section. They would tell you the exact opposite. Bit too proud to admit there really are some serious reliability issues over there but that's OK. Recalls and engines that are loud and burn oil. Problems with the knock sensors engaging because of vibrations in the engine that cause sudden loss of acceleration. It's definitely a different beast compared to the 430. It also has twice as many control arms as the 430 and they last 1/2 as long. And they cost twice as much to purchase. There are many examples of people spending well over 3 grand just to fix control arms. Good times...

I think this is partially because of the large rims and low profile tires. All that abuse from the roads gets transfered to the suspension as the tires don't absorb it. Same thing happens on the 430 as you increase rim size. This is one reason why the suspensions on the 400 last even longer than the 430. It's because the stock wheel size was 16 inch. Brakes also last longer. My LS400 had its first break job at 77k miles. My 430 needs front pads about every 35k.

LS430inDE.

Funny you say that. I thought over and over and over debating which forum I should post my story on: the 430 or 460 forums. I figured the 430 because nobody would consider me a 'newb' and discredit anything I posted. lol

Bocatrip

Not to burst your bubble, but I've heard more than a few times of owners of LS460s actually trading their cars in for the LS430. My neighbor was one example. Sometimes you just can't improve on an over engineered design!

Bob04

I was one of those owners. Had a 2010 LS460L for almost a year and HATED it. Not as quiet. Not a smooth. Stayed in the shop a lot. More hp, but not really noticeably faster. Traded back to another 2004 LS430 and couldn't be happier.

The real kicker was the ticking from the direct injection. When sitting at a stoplight, it sounded like spark knock. Drove me crazy. If silent is valued, you will be disappointed with the 460 vs the 430. Some cars don't have the ticking or it isn't very noticeable. My car didn't have it initially, but it appeared after a few months.

In summary, keep your car. LS430 regret is a terrible feeling. I remember sitting in my office at work one day and thinking how nice it would be if I walked out in the park lot that afternoon and my 460L had burned to the ground or had been stolen. That's how much I hated that damn thing.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

haha............you just cracked me up.

I am one of those who realized the LS430 is king and keeping my 05' for as long as I can.

Some people just suffer the "newer must be better" syndrome