LexBob2

I remember those early days of the PT. I was surprised that my company offered them for company supplied cars right after the launch. Apparently they had an agreement with Chrysler for a batch of them.

ArmyofOne

Well, I can tell you this. I will be keeping this truck for at least 10, probably 15+ years. Reason? THEY ARE FAWKING EXPENSIVE. $61,000 sticker and it isn't even the top trim model (close, but just couldn't justify another $7,000 for what it had over mine). I put less than 5k a year on my Ram, so no worries about mileage.

My 2002 ES just turned over 185k today. I will be driving it well into the next decade I would imagine. Why? Because its cheap to fix, okay on gas, tires are cheap and if you change the oil every 5000 miles, it will probably never die. Will I get tired of it? sure. Probably right about the time that my daughter (due in July) is ready to learn to drive. My wife's civic will be replaced with an Acura or a top-trim Accord next-go-round. When I do replace the ES, it will be with a late-model used Lexus.

mmarshall

That is something that, with the 3.0L V6, you definitely don't want to push. You're probably already aware of this engine's history, but, if not, it is simply not forgiving of extended drain-intervals. The oil cooling-passages are narrow, the oil tends to run hot, and gelling/sludging was a well-known problem (I saw some examples of it myself in the Toyota service-bays).

mmarshall

Yes, companies, police departments, government agencies, etc....can negotiate wth automakers (usually the American Big Three) for office-vehicles for bulk-purchases, at big discounts on each vehicle. I was in the Federal Government for many years, had a U.S. Government Drivers' License (back in the days when that was a requirement to drive a Federal vehicle), and drove many a staff car around the D.C. area on office-errands. We had fleet-purchases from Ford, Chevy, and Dodge....sometimes for flexible-fuel vehicles that could run on either 87-octane gasoline or propane/natural gas.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

and your daughter will say "HELL FAWKING NO i'm not driving a grandpa car that uses, like, ew, gasoline."

mmarshall

At this rate, when she gets to be that age, cars will probably be driving her.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

agreed!

AJT123

Drove my now 15 year old 430 around tonight in a bad storm, couldn't get over how the thing still just drives like a tank. It feels/drives/looks NO DIFFERENT than it did than I took delivery over 7 years ago. It feels like it could go another 15 years without breaking a sweat. I will drive it until that glorious V8 engine people now are pining after implodes.

Johnhav430

Hope you didn't want a new car over the next 15 years hahahahahahahahaha

What was that one on youtube wasn't it like 983k or something, it rolled into legit street cars in Chicago because of an oil leak.

I'm not really surprised that I bought one in 10/16 with 80k, and to date, nothing has gone wrong in 32k miles that followed, except two park sensors went bad in the left corner. $14 ebay x 2 to the rescue. I looked at this car as cost avoidance, meaning, when I got it, I was going to get either a Golf R or M2. I'll never know if a 2006 A8 could have done the same, it would have been 2k cheaper to start. We're all guessing no, but wouldn't it have been nice to know someone who got a 2006 A8 in 10/16 with 60k miles (baseline), paid $12k for their car, and see what happened over the next 32k.....my uncle pushed 2 used A6s for a lot of miles before getting rid of them....

Johnhav430

My son is too young (5 y.o.) but I've often joked that if he compared his parents' cars to those of his classmates, he may even look down at us (Parker's mom has a new G63 AMG, my dad has a 13 y.o. Lexus and a 12 y.o. BMW--if you add the values of these up, they don't cover Parker's mom's fuel for 3 years!). Honestly? In HS, I wondered my my folks had a Camry and Celica, when my best friends had S classes and 5 series. Which do you think I wanted to ride to the prom in? The benz.

p.s. my buddy got his 16 y.o. a used Versa and she didn't want to drive it. He said good, don't.

AJT123

Audi A8 vs LS430 reliability wise? Well my friend, let's just say I'd go swimming with sharks without a cage before I'd buy a used flagship Audi. Don't think I've literally ever seen a running Audi without a christmas tree display on the gauges lol. There's a reason you can get a $100,000 German car for peanuts after about 3 years.

I honestly have no plans to replace the LS430 in the next 15 years, we will buy other cars over the years of course but the 430 stays right where it is in the garage until it dies. The more time goes on and we see how radically different the new LS is (not for the better IMO), and how sedans in general are dying, V8s dying, the more special the car feels to me, and it was already a special car to begin with.

And yes, I saw the youtube of that LS in Chicago lol. It was leaking like a rusty bucket but they were in the process of driving it cross country, the Chicago thing was just a stop. It still ran, lol. In any case my LS isn't usually my DD anyway and I don't put a lot of mileage on my cars to begin with. I'm at 140k and have a LONNNNG way to go. I drive my LS maybe 2k miles a year if that.

SW17LS

How ever well built a car is, I just have no interest in driving something that old. I mean...in 15 years it'll be 30 years old.

AJT123

I really don't drive much, I live close to everywhere. I may drive 10k miles a year total on all cars. 430 is paid for, it's a "special" Lexus, and it's the last of their rolling isolation chamber ethos. I don't think driving an old pristine LS will ever quite be the same as seeing a pristine old S-Class, but close. More and more as time goes on. I see many 98-00 LS400s around and gawk at how well they've aged and how good they still look. The ones with the two tone paint, I think that still looks great, all these years later.

If I do keep it that long it will be technically a classic car by then.

I don't want a car payment--I would rather our money go to other things, considering like I said I drive to work 2 streets down and the store and that's about it, lol.

SW17LS

I don't really agree with that. My LS460L (and my LS460 before it) are every bit as rolling isolation chamber as my LS430 was. The new ES is a very soft and quiet riding car, as was the outgoing ES. I do agree that the LS500 is not that.

I do too, but I wouldn't want to own one...at least not as a daily.

mmarshall

Agree....though perhaps just a tiny hair stiffer in the underpinnings and/or tires.

In my experience, not with the 45-series ties, which, IMO, ruin it from a ride-comfort perspective. I haven't tried a new ES350 with the 55s, but a more or less similar new 2019 Avalon XLE with the 55s was quite a bit better....almost as smooth as my Lacrosse.