I have a 2015 Is350 Fsport.I had a BMW 330ci before with the shark injector.I love my IS I always drive it in the sport mode.I also have it tuned with the RR racing set up.I had it for 48k and it has never disappoint.Fun and reliable.

 

I'll give my experience - 1st post here but have used this forum for a lot of great info. I acquired a 2004 GS430 several years ago with 30K miles. It now has 130K and it has overall been a really good vehicle. I do most of my own maintenance and it hasn't been to see a repair shop in over a couple years now - ever since the timing belt change. I have had a lot of things go out, talking about the creature comfort stuff, functional stuff too. I've replaced a majority of the light bulbs, some a couple times. I had to repair the subwoofer cone, the air conditioning airflow directing box thing, 3 of the 4 doors needed the door lock actuators replaced, spark plugs replaced, etc.....

The engine/transmission have given me zero problems but I don't look forward to when the starter goes since that is something I don't think I can do myself.

 

That is interesting as to why they did that.

 

I'd recommend a 2002-2004 LS430, I believe you can find them without air suspension, I believe only the ultras has the air suspension, easiest way to spot one of those is the rear seat controls on the arm rest. If there are a crap ton of controls it's an ultra. I had a 2002 ultra, incredible car. From your initial request the LS430 is what you are looking for. If you aren't in a hurry you can find good low mile examples. They may not be in your neighborhood, I had to ship in a couple more mileage cars I found. Not disappointed with either. When you search cars.com, CarGuru, Carfax do the unlimited miles from your location then filter down. Here is one, not the lowest miles out there but tons let in it.

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/JTHBN30F110018751

In the bigger cities there are companies that will go look at the car for you, kind of an independent look. Then there is shipping, I've shipped from Houston, tx and West Palm Beach to Iowa and was under $1000 each time. The LS430 is exactly what you are looking for. You can even wooden the search to 2001-2006.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

You are giving bad info. I have a 2013 RWD LS460 and it is an 8 speed.

 

• I have owned 6 LS400s. They are beautiful cars with that UZ engine. I think the best of them was 1998,1999 or 2000. These cars have more power, safety features and reliability (newer car). Do your homework: carfax, check everything out. Good luck.

 

He said GS, not LS. The GS RWD got the 8 speed starting in 2014.

 

Maybe GS460 is on the mind. That had an 8 speed back on 08

 

He was replying to a post about the 4GS, which could not be had with the V8. And he was correct, when it debuted for the 2013 model year, it had the 6 speed auto. RWD models got the 8 speed for model year 2014.

 

Forums are the best place to come for that. The only time when there are 3 or more sides to every story!

 

Except that RNM did not give bad info, the poster you quoted just didn't understand what he was saying.

 

I was talking to this kid at work in IT. I got into the secret room where all the computers are imaged, and I saw this nice Dell XPS (saw the consumer version at Costco and it was like $2k). So I made a joke and picked one up and said to another kid, "I'm just gonna take my new laptop with me now, OK?" And the response was, "Yes sir, you can take it." I was only joking it's not mine and I'm not getting a new one I just got a new one, just kidding around, but the kid was just a little intimidated by me. The other kid goes, "You don't want that, aw this whole laptop thing is just a big d*** swinging contest."

Sometimes that's how this forum comes across, lol

 

I was referring to GS350 not LS460.
Please read full post.

 

I agree! When I was shopping for my wife's Lexus in 2011, it came down to these two vehicles. I went with the ES for several reasons, but it was a close call, and I'm not sure I would make the same call if I went back in time.

The ES got better mileage, was faster in the 0-60 (if I recall properly), both due to the ES being FWD. Too it was rated to burn regular gas vs premium (may have been the first year the ES was rated for regular). So all that added up to the ES being more economical to own. I had to take into consideration that my wife drives a lot and has a lead foot! The ES also seemed to have a little less-cramped cabin sans tranny/drive-line hump.

That said, I have often pined for the longitudinal engine layout of the GS for maintenance purposes. Too, while my wife couldn't care less about handling, I miss the rear wheel drive experience when I drive it. The GS styling is nicer and the car generally has more features, but I tend to lean toward practicality, so the less expensive operating cost and lower purchase price of he ES won out.

You won't do bad with either, but I have to say the ES never fails to impress me with its acceleration and low cost of ownership. In 10 years of ownership, I have only had one small issue. The middle brake light went out. The LED array was $350 list, but I found a used one for $85 and it was a cinch to install. Other than that, not a single problem outside of normal maintenance, i.e., brakes and scheduled preventive maintenance!

 

Jeez this thread has gone all over the place.

Generally speaking the Lexus vehicles are super reliable, solid cars. If you want a cruiser (especially for long trips) a sedan is probably preferable to an SUV or coupe.

If the car is more than 5 years old the condition and maintenance history probably trumps any intrinsic deficiencies in the design of the car.

On a high level I'd classify them as:

Nice: Lexus ES. Based on the Camry/Avalon these are super reliable and easy to fix as the core platform is shared with numerous Camry generations and have common parts that are easy to source and straightforward to service. As the cars progressed they moved to the larger Avalon platform which provides near LS levels of room. One could argue that a high end Camry is close to an entry ES and vice versa but they are different cars; drive both and see for yourself. Both very nice cars.

Sporty: GS. A bespoke platform these cars are still solid (although Steve's observation about noise in early 3GS models is correct). These will be smaller inside than the ES but more fun to drive due to the rear drive platform. Unless you need the AWD for the 3GS models avoid it as it's a common source of noise. These are the drivers cars.

Luxe: LS. The largest of the Lexus sedans they are also the quietest and most refined; these were the genesis of the brand and made the Lexus name in the US. They will also have the most gadgets as Lexus commonly introduces new tech on these cars. Large, quiet and fast these are the limousines.

The IS may be a consideration but it's smaller and more like a 3 series than a 5 or a 7; think of it as a mini-GS as the drive-trains and some platform bits are shared. The CT and HS are kind of one-offs that are good cars in some ways but force you into trade-offs that the three above will not.

Each of these cars may have a couple known issues, especially with early examples of each generation; browsing these forums is a good way to isolate any known issues that you can watch out for and plan to fix or live with. But in the car universe (especially the luxury car universe) these cars are pretty bulletproof; google "BMW N63 valve seals" and witness the number of $8k+ repairs needed on a 70k mile car (which BMW doesn't usually pay for BTW).

That said, bear in mind that the more gadgets and gizmos the car has the more possibilities you have for things to break; but I have 2 top spec LS cars (430 Ultralux and 600h Exec w/APCS) and the only 'gizmo' type thing that has died or worn out over the last 21+ car-years of ownership were the tilt and telescope motors on the LS430 which I consider a wear item on a 20 year old car. I also did lock actuator motors and oxygen sensors but those parts would also wear out on a Camry or Accord of that age.

I've only done a PPI once for the 3 Lexus cars I own, I had the seller take the LS430 to a Lexus dealer and run the Lexus CPO inspection which turned up 3 minor issues; 2 of which I later fixed. With the Hybrid I had a mechanic on the phone and they told me what to look out for; I also had the full maintenance history and the car only had 40k miles on it. The SC was a total roll of the dice (I had a friend drive it to make sure it was real) but I factored in $1000 into the budget for misc issues which turned into money well spent. Critical IMO is the service history as missed oil changes, missed timing belt changes etc can lead to far more costly and annoying maintenance items than anything inherently wrong with the design of the car.

But again a owning a car is more than spreadsheets and repair estimates; you have to LIKE it. So in that vein I would recommend looking for a few (maybe 5) of the above cars that have 70k miles or less and go drive them; then come back to us for advice on specific cars. Fortunately I don't think there is really a terrible choice here.

Good luck!

-J