islandbeef

Yeah, I remember you from the Roadfly 7 Series, E38 messageboards. I've sworn to never go back to the money pit they call a 7 Series.

After watching Robert DeNiro's movie Ronin (1996) and seeing that Nitrous powered Audi S8 tackle those other French cars with ease on the curves, I've always been intrigued with it.

Reliability issues I've read and heard about it have kept me away. I'm waiting for more LS F-Sport lease returns to show up on the lots.

roadfrog

Great minds think alike. LOL

Doublebase

One of the best car chase scenes in movie history (IMO). I like the A8 as well.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

I have always liked the A8's design. Pretty bad reliability once you approach 100k miles.

keegan500

I have owned a few different models of a few different brands across the board and have driven everything. I just got Into the LS about 2 and a half years ago starting with an ls430 and Just got an 07 LS460L with 90k for close to 19 with all the same options. I work at a dealership so I got a good deal. I will never drive anything other than an LS as a daily driver. Ive never had to bring any of my Lexus's to the dealer for any major repairs. (knock on steering wheel or anywhere else you look in the car) This seems steep in price but if its had all of its scheduled maintenance done at the dealer I wouldn't rule it out. I live in Michigan and the winters are terrible but with a nice set of snow tires I have never had an issue since the car is so heavy and the traction control is absolutely perfect even at high speeds. I didnt want to go with an AWD and air suspension due to more things that have the potential to go wrong as well as gas mileage with the AWD. Not that this thread will matter after you get behind the wheel because it'll sell its self! Less maintenance and less depreciation with a Lexus. Good Luck!

enoch861

It's not that the car in inherently unreliable after 100k miles.. It's just that at 100k is where things start snowballing. I mean, the car could be reliable but what I've found with my A6 is that you'll have a steady line of things that go wrong. And then it just snowballs until you'll replaced everything on the car. This is before catastrophic things like timing chain issues and stuff.

If I do purchase it I'll definitely be getting a second set of tires and rims for the winter just like I did with my A6.
The car does seem to have been dealer maintained for a good portion of it's life although I don't see anything about the control arms/bushings being replaced sadly.
I find it interesting that in order to get AWD you also have to get air suspension.. Also I have yet to come across a single one with adaptive cruise. Was it like a feature in of itself? I would have assumed something like self parking would be pretty rare but I see it pretty often.

keegan500

I like the rear wheel drive better. I feel it drives a little bit differently. We have one here in town at my buddies dealership that I have driven and you definitely lose HP. My car just hit 100k and it has not had the control arms or bushings done and they are good as new. Luckily the timing chain in the ls460 doesn't have issues with good care and regular oil changes. I looked for adaptive cruise as well and didnt find one. I think that the car youre looking at has the perfect combo of options and I personally would pay a little more for that. Self parking is a cool feature but only when I have a couple minutes and want to have fun with it. The car is nice.

enoch861

You have no idea how glad I am the LS doesn't have any chain issues. After replacing the chains on my A6, I'm definitely not looking to go through that experience again.. Are the chains on the LS on the back or the front?
It really does have the best balance of options that I'd want. I'm also willing to try out RWD and see how things go (I've never personally owned anything but an AWD vehicle). I've looked all over MN and nothing comes close to the packages that the car has. They all typically have something missing. Can't wait to take a look at it Friday and if the price is right, I'll be driving a new LS.
I guess the other thing I'll try to look for is a warranty.. although I did survive without one on my A6 so I shouldn't need one on this car I hope.

Wandl

Check its service history on Lexus and I'd strongly suggest a PPI to ensure no surprises nonetheless. Let us know what model/features/mileage/price you're thinking we hope to add our 2 cents to your decision, if that is helpful!

yoshirocks

Looks like the chain is at the front

enoch861

I'll definitely try and get a PPI but from the pictures the car looks to be in excellent shape cosmetically.. Hopefully the same can be said mechanically. But as the deal progresses I'll definitely take it to a Lexus dealer and see what they say. Hopefully they allow walk-in inspections..

What I'm looking for is basically: ML, Advanced Parking, Rear reclining seats, adaptive cruise (they're impossible to find), power trunk, and that's about it feature wise. Mileage should be as low as possible and for the price I'm trying to keep it as low as possible with a preliminary cap of 30k. If I truly can't find anything under 30k I might as well go CPO since they have those for around 37k but I'd like to keep costs as low as possible.

THAT'S how you design a chain driven engine! I don't know if Germans really think when they design something or not. At least in this case if they ever go bad, it's not an engine out service compared to Audi's.. And these seem really reliable unlike my A6 where every time you turn on the car you secretly pray and hope you don't hear rattling haha. But I've gotten used to it.

enoch861

Quick update:
I test drove the car and it was wonderful. Everything worked and it looked almost like new.. very well taken care of. But apparently the dealer is a "No Haggling" dealer so no negotiation on the price of the car. I decided to just leave it to marinate and see how low they can bring it on their own.
On the flip side, I came across this fine example: http://www.waconiadodgechryslerjeep....97b557cf78.htm
Looks clean although a bit higher mileage. It has 6 pages worth of records on the My Lexus page so it looks to have been taken very good care of especially with 5k service intervals. At 97k that's where the records stop.
What do you guys think of this car?

Wandl

I like it. Good color, nice chrome wheels, this has rear seat recline package (comfort plus) as long as it mechanically checks out it should be a fair deal. Have it inspected for control arms, brakes and suspension? If it passes, that is a fair price.

Gbp

I'm in a similar situation to yours, OP. In my case, I'm coming from a 2004 VW Passat with 92K, and, while I admire the looks and features of the Audi A6 refresh in 2012, as well as the Jaguar XF and the current XJ generation, I'm concerned about their reliability compared with the LS460's. To me, the XJ (and to an extent, the XF) has a definite presence and distinctive, very sporty look that the LS lacks.

Nonetheless, the LS460 has a good-looking, if understated, exterior. I'm OK with understated, and prefer its sleeker, more streamlined look to the more boxy look of the previous LS models, giving it a hint of that "sportiness" I seem to like. (I actually mostly prefer the interior and exterior of the LS460 before its 2013 refresh. Not to mention the earlier years are easier on my wallet. <g>).

Although I appreciate the simple, yet refined appearance of the A6 interior and the opulence of the XF and even more so the XJ interior, the LS460's interior combines that opulence and refinement, while appearing more comfortable and spacious, especially in the rear passenger compartment, than the Audi or Jag. This is even true of the SWB LS460, whose slightly shorter length I prefer to the LWB's. I wish more SWB's came equipped with pre-collision/dynamic radar cruise control!

My search is somewhat similar to yours, OP. In my case, I'm focusing on the LS460 SWB 2008 - 2010 MY's, with the Mark Levinson upgrade, Comfort Plus package, and the very elusive pre-collision/DRCC option. (A 2007 LS460 with those features might be acceptable, but the laminated front side glass for the SWB was standard in 2008 after a certain VIN.) Ideally and somewhat arbitrarily, I'd prefer under 80K miles. And if I could afford it, a 2009 or 2010 CPO would be great. I like that the 2010 Comfort Plus package seems to include semi-aniline leather trim.

Sorry to hijack your thread, OP. I too like the Waconia car. It has one of my favorite color combinations, smokey grey exterior/black interior. (I've driven a silver black car for years and want something different -- well, except for a gold-like exterior.) For me, the mileage is a bit high, the year not in my ideal range, and it lacks pre-collision/DRCC. The price is very good to great, though. Best of luck with your search, OP.

enoch861

Very good range of features. I was not aware the SWB came with rear reclining seats.. First one I've found in my search.
I'll definitely have it checked out and if those things check out good, I'll be driving home in that car hopefully by Monday. I'm still waiting to hear back from them after my initial inquiry.

The MY 2012 re-design of the A6 is indeed striking. And the MY2016 mid-cycle refresh is even more beautiful. But I couldn't justify spending more. Also it looks like the Supercharged 3.0 engine they use is pretty bomb proof actually, so it should be a reliable vehicle as far as German cars go.
The Jags do have presence but are lacking in reliability although they've been getting better.
Good luck finding a SWB with DRCC. I've found it extremely difficult to find an LS 460 with that specific package. You can find fully loaded ones with 4-zone climate and all other bells and whistles but no DRCC. They're like unicorns.. I believe I've only come across one that had it and it was a CPO at around 50k (I've been looking around a 250 mile radius).
The Waconia car does have the features I wanted and it's an SWB which I didn't know came with reclining rear seats, so that's a plus, otherwise for that feature alone I was looking to go LWB. Color looks great although I wish the interior was lighter in color.
I would have gone for the first car I posted since it was practically perfect but issues with my current car's title (due to a mix-up at the CU, my title says mileage not actual) my trade in value has been significantly affected so I'm trying to minimize my losses by going for a vehicle that is listed below retail. With fantastic financing from my CU, I'd like to finance it but they only cover 100% of the NADA retail value and that car is below so hopefully they're willing to go a bit lower and that way I can offset my losses. Correcting the title might also be an option but I haven't had the time to visit the DMV. Mileage is a bit higher and the year is a bit older than my preferred year also (2008+) but it seems to be priced very well as per NADA retail values compared to the 2008 model I was looking at.
No worries! You didn't actually hijack the thread since we're all talking about acquiring a new to us LS. Good luck with your search though! You guys out there in CA seem to have better pricing on LS's than we do in the Midwest. I wouldn't mind buying a car out of state but I imagine a trade makes things a bit more difficult.