Miguel66

Hey All,
I am new to this Forum and wanted to get more information on a used Lexus that I bought. I want to know more about the car. Any advice or tips about maintenance and what I should be on the look out with my car, would be greatly appreciated. I have researched a lot of reviews online and around the internet and have found that the LS comes highly recommended. My cars in the past have been:

1988 Mercury Marquis
1986 Volvo 760 Turbo
1995 Honda Accord Ex - 2dr
1998 Honda Civic Hatchback
2001 Volvo S60 2.4T
2012 Mercedes Benz C250 Sedan Sport

Again, any advice on ownership would be greatly appreciated.

GR6RR

I had an 05 CL, it was real nice. Now I have this 07 460, it's nice too haha but, have you signed up for this lexusdrivers site? you can input your vin and found out what service records and in what order the logged maintenance was done for the specific vehicle you own.

http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/

get in there!

jimbosr1

welcome,look through the stickies at the top of the ls430 section.they will address most of your concerns.

2KHarrier

Well, first and foremost Miguel, welcome to the club, both figuratively and literally. You'll find LS ownership to be a rewarding experience.

You'll have to share info on the car. Mileage, color, options, price, etc.. We eat that stuff up on here. There really are no achilles heels with the LS, you, buying the 2006, got the final year of production and best of the series. They had all the bugs worked out by then. Timing belt, as with many cars, is the most important thing. If you're near the 100K mark, have it done. They are supposed to be done around 90K, but have been known to last twice that. Not recommended however...

These cars were truly over engineered and you'll see that in your day-to-day driving. Even at 10 years of age, the LS is a better car than many newer cars on the road.

I have 2 LS's. A 2001 base model and a 2005 Modern Luxury model. I drive my 01' as a commuter between Milwaukee and O'Hare airport, which is about 145 miles round trip. Its really a pleasure driving it over that distance. I average 27-29 mpg and it's super comfortable.
The 05' is my wife's car and it has just turned 50K. We bought it back in May with 49K on the odometer. That car is really like new.

So, add some photos and be sure to search for answers to questions you may have. There's a ton of great info on this site and many helpful members.

tradosauru

Go to the Frequently Asked Questions and find most everything you want to know.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html

warminwisc

Oil filters, tires alignments, change fluids every 3 years Run good gas save yur money and repeat. Its a glorified Camry as far as maintenance don't over think it.

OsideTurbo

Hi and Welcome!

I have a somewhat similar ownership history - I owned a couple of Accords from the early and mid-90s and later owned a Ford and Mercedes, and my parents had a mid-80s Volvo. I think you'll appreciate your Lexus a lot. Maintenance/repairs should be similar to your Hondas: change the oil and fluids on schedule and the timing belt every 90K. Brake pads and filters as needed. Then enjoy the trouble-free luxury and quiet ride! Since yours is 10 years old now, you might want a mechanic to look at the fluids and rubber (belts & hoses) if you don't have a complete maintenance history and aren't sure when they were done.

If you have a Mark Levinson stereo, beware of the amp and deteriorating speaker foam. If you have any problems, search this forum for guidance because the ML audio seems to be the one area where Lexus dealers are gouging owners on planned obsolescence - it seems like many of the ML audio systems start failing before 10 years/100,000 miles, whereas the rest of the car is good for 250K+ if maintained properly. Not everyone has problems, so hopefully yours is a survivor.

Miguel66

Thank you, for all the responses.

The specs on my 2006 LS 430. Mileage: 53,819, Color: Flint Mica, Options, Modern Luxury Package (but no Bluetooth), 18 inch wheels, and price: $15,000. I found the deal at a local Jaguar Dealership. The sales man said that the car came in on a trade-in from a 72 year old lady who bought a brand new 2016 Jaguar XJL Portfolio AWD. The old lady was widowed and traded in the Lexus I bought and a 2001 Lexus 430 (that was driven by her late husband) with 62K miles.

I have been driving it around town for about a week now. It's really brought back the joy of driving. Don't get me wrong, I liked my 2012 Mercedes Benz C250, but I had problems with it at only 54K miles. Something about a cam sensor and a stretching timing chain, along with tensioner. Local dealer (that I bought it from) wanted to fix it with good will $$$ from MB North America, but I would have to come out of pocket. Estimate for the work was $4K. There was so much drama with the dealer wanting to do the work (they offered to do the work and then rescinded the offer, not once but twice). All I wanted from MB was time to find out more about the issue, thus they rescinded the offer. I had to get MB North America involved in order to tell the local dealer to re-offer the service with good will. Long story short, about 5 days later when I wanted to schedule the service appointment to get it done (b/c they wouldn't offer a loaner), the service manager and business manager rescinded to do the work (by e-mail) a 2nd time and wished me good luck. You can imagine how I felt after leaving the car to get the work done. I called MB North America for assistance again, but never heard back for an entire week. After all that with the Mercedes Benz, and with this Lexus LS popping up for sale, I decided to make the leap to the Lexus brand.

jrmckinley

[QUOTE=Miguel66;9597024]Hey All,
I am new to this Forum and wanted to get more information on a used Lexus that I bought. I want to know more about the car. Any advice or tips about maintenance and what I should be on the look out with my car, would be greatly appreciated.

Here's my advice- I have had my 2004 for over 8 years and now have almost 240k (I have driven it 170k myself). Don't cut cost on gas (only premium for me) or tires. Be diligent about oil change and tire rotation every 5k. Other than that, do spark plugs when recommended and do the 90k service (timing belt & water pump). Do the transmission service (drain and fill - I don't remember the interval).

Final recommendation: consider finding a Toyota dealer and use them for virtually all repairs as you'll save greatly on the labor rate compared to taking it to Lexus. I am not a DIY guy and I have had every service on my car since it hit 150k miles done at a Toyota dealer (who happens to have an ex-Lexus platinum mechanic) - there has only been 1 time when they had to order a part from a Lexus dealership (something happened to my window motor and it was a Lexus part).

In short, these cars are pretty straight forward. Do the simple stuff, be consistent, and you should be fine. If you do have an issue, post it here- these cars are highly predictable so there's a really good chance someone else had the exact same issue. Enjoy.

Miguel66

Thanks GR6RR! I checked out the service records. Previous owner kept up with the service and then some. She changed the water pump, driver belt and timing belt at 48K miles.

jrmckinley

That's awesome- that means she did it based on years instead of mileage. You scored a gold mine!