General Car Conversation - 2026 Part 1
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,246
Likes: 472
From: Long Island
Hww many S65s are still on the road today versus LS430s? Or S600s for that matter?
Lol I'm guessing farrrrrr more LS430s.
Number vs. number wouldn't be fair bc LS430s sold like hotcakes (gee imagine that), so let's make it numbers of them on the road compared to how many were sold.
Lol I'm guessing farrrrrr more LS430s.
Number vs. number wouldn't be fair bc LS430s sold like hotcakes (gee imagine that), so let's make it numbers of them on the road compared to how many were sold.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,631
Likes: 4,045
From: Maryland
You literally are contradicting yourself, saying the real versions of the other cars are better yet still insisting the LS is the better car.
That's like me saying a 2k11 is a better gun than a Sand viper because more people buy the 2k11, makes zero sense.
Just because you aren't willing to play in the top tier doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
That's like me saying a 2k11 is a better gun than a Sand viper because more people buy the 2k11, makes zero sense.
Just because you aren't willing to play in the top tier doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
S430 compared to the LS430, the LS430 is the better car. Car & Driver and every other comparison review agrees with me. If I'm not buying an S600, the ways in which the S600 is superior don't mean anything to me because the things that make the S600 better...the S430 doesn't have. I'm not sure why this is so hard for you to understand. People have budgets, and they shop within those budgets. Everybody has a budget, whether its dictated by ability or willingness to spend. People looking to spend $75k or so aren't looking at $130,000 cars to compare.
If I was willing to pay $130k in 2004 for an S600, I wouldn't even have been considering an LS430...like I said today....is a Bentley Flying Spur a better car than my S580? Yes...but I'm not a buyer in the $300k range so that doesn't mean anything to me.
Originally Posted by FrankReynoldsCPA
The S600 being the best doesn't mean that the S430 is automatically a better value than the LS430.
If I was buying a 330i, it would be due to the 330i being better than an IS350. It would have nothing to do with the fact that the m340i is faster than an IS500 or that the M3 exists with zero competition from Lexus.
Not everybody is a max prestige/clout chaser. Very few people think the way you do. Buying a 20 year old car and then tearing it down and restoring every part to factory spec is very unusual. Extremely unusual, honestly, especially for anything that isn't a classic hot rod. But then I didn't grow up wealthy with an obsession with having everything be perfect, immaculate, and prestigious.
If I was buying a 330i, it would be due to the 330i being better than an IS350. It would have nothing to do with the fact that the m340i is faster than an IS500 or that the M3 exists with zero competition from Lexus.
Not everybody is a max prestige/clout chaser. Very few people think the way you do. Buying a 20 year old car and then tearing it down and restoring every part to factory spec is very unusual. Extremely unusual, honestly, especially for anything that isn't a classic hot rod. But then I didn't grow up wealthy with an obsession with having everything be perfect, immaculate, and prestigious.
Exactly. If you're a consumer for a 330i the M340i doesn't mean anything to you.
Last edited by SW17LS; Feb 25, 2026 at 03:58 PM.
Lead Lap
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 3,958
Likes: 409
Lead Lap
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 3,958
Likes: 409
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,631
Likes: 4,045
From: Maryland
No lol. The noise at highway speed that seemed like it was the loose insulation is not totally solved, so that’s not the solution. They also left a huge mess all over the carpet in the cargo area they replaced. I mean…how hard would it be to just vacuum it out real quick.
I will take it to another dealer if the noise bothers me. It’s better. If we wind up keeping it I will get it fixed otherwise it’ll be replaced this summer.
I will take it to another dealer if the noise bothers me. It’s better. If we wind up keeping it I will get it fixed otherwise it’ll be replaced this summer.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,246
Likes: 472
From: Long Island
Lead Lap
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 3,958
Likes: 409
the 10 speed ruins it... too frequent shifting and the revs hang too high it's almost CVT like
THISSSSSS is how a V8 mustang should be driven
https://youtu.be/XR9NgejZqu4?t=9
THISSSSSS is how a V8 mustang should be driven
https://youtu.be/XR9NgejZqu4?t=9
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 11,228
Likes: 1,591
From: FL
No lol. The noise at highway speed that seemed like it was the loose insulation is not totally solved, so that’s not the solution. They also left a huge mess all over the carpet in the cargo area they replaced. I mean…how hard would it be to just vacuum it out real quick.
I will take it to another dealer if the noise bothers me. It’s better. If we wind up keeping it I will get it fixed otherwise it’ll be replaced this summer.
I will take it to another dealer if the noise bothers me. It’s better. If we wind up keeping it I will get it fixed otherwise it’ll be replaced this summer.
Hey, at least you got to do a loaner car review so that's cool. Lolol
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,246
Likes: 472
From: Long Island
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,631
Likes: 4,045
From: Maryland
lol
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,422
Likes: 249
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
No lol. The noise at highway speed that seemed like it was the loose insulation is not totally solved, so that’s not the solution. They also left a huge mess all over the carpet in the cargo area they replaced. I mean…how hard would it be to just vacuum it out real quick.
I will take it to another dealer if the noise bothers me. It’s better. If we wind up keeping it I will get it fixed otherwise it’ll be replaced this summer.
I will take it to another dealer if the noise bothers me. It’s better. If we wind up keeping it I will get it fixed otherwise it’ll be replaced this summer.
Sometimes it is not unusual to get a little more road, wind, and engine noise during the winter like this....particularly when the vehicle is still cold and not warmed up inside. At lower temperatures, seals, insulation, and weatherstripping contract and shrink a small amount, don't fit as tightly and expand as they do at warm temperatures, and potentially allow more sound from the outside to pass through into the cabin. I notice a little of that on my Encore GX, even with Buick's noted Quiet-Tuning. All else equal, tires also can make more noise (and give a firmer ride) when they are cold, because the rubber is stiffer....that also applies to the hydraulic fluid inside the shocks being thicker and less-absorbing over bumps when cold. When the cabin heats up and the engine warms to normal temperature, things get noticeably quieter.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,385
Likes: 353
From: Las Vegas
Sometimes it is not unusual to get a little more road, wind, and engine noise during the winter like this....particularly when the vehicle is still cold and not warmed up inside. At lower temperatures, seals, insulation, and weatherstripping contract and shrink a small amount, don't fit as tightly and expand as they do at warm temperatures, and potentially allow more sound from the outside to pass through into the cabin. I notice a little of that on my Encore GX, even with Buick's noted Quiet-Tuning. All else equal, tires also can make more noise (and give a firmer ride) when they are cold, because the rubber is stiffer....that also applies to the hydraulic fluid inside the shocks being thicker and less-absorbing over bumps when cold. When the cabin heats up and the engine warms to normal temperature, things get noticeably quieter.