I'm not really sure where to put this, but here's the situation. I have a '99 Camry with almost 300,000 miles and I would like an upgrade. Leaks tons of oil and there are some other problems. I want something extremely quiet, very smooth where you don't feel bumps, and a car with great build quality. Plenty of space would be great as well.

Naturally that would fit the LS models to a T. I don't want overboard tech in my car. No screens. That leaves the LS 400 and 430's. I don't have any 400's of any year to look at in my area. I would only want the 98-00 models since they have the extra gear and quite a bit more power and VSC. The nearest one is over 1,500 miles away from me. I'm taking people's words for it that they fit everything I would want in a car.

What is maintenance like in them as well as the 430's? Some say they have to replace control arms, starters, suspension parts, etc in their LS's whereas others don't. I want my car to last 500,000 miles but I don't like the idea of replacing parts and spending thousands.

I was also fond of the ES 330's. Drove one and it was very nice. Noticeably nicer than the 05 Camry I had for 10 years, so I would almost feel at home with a 330. Plus those are infinitely more common in my area to pick up a clean one.

If you were in my situation, what would you do? I was thinking of flying to somewhere in this country to pick up a 98-00 LS but I think the big thing keeping me is unknown maintenance/repairs. My Camry of 10 years didn't need anything done, just oil changes and a couple sets of brakes. Could have used a 2nd change of tires, because that's why I don't have the car anymore. Wrecked in the snow and it turned out the tires were bald.

 

LS430 is gonna be very costly to maintain.

 

I can’t speak to that but I have an LS460 with high miles and it has not been costly to maintain. The most expensive thing I did was put new tires on the car. Followed by registration fees..

 

I've got two 430s, and I've had very few issues. The problem with luxury sedans is that even the ones that are reliable cost a lot to fix when something does break. But that's just about any car these days that is out of warranty. As the years go by, expect fixes to cost even more.

 

He wants a 21-23 year old car to go 500,000 miles. It will be costly to maintain. Just the thought of timing belts and adaptive shocks is of concern....many other cars out there with no such maintenance areas. He doesn’t want to replace parts

 

This is a kinda hard question to answer when you don't say how much you are willing to spend. If you are looking to get rid of a 20 year old car, and replace it with another 15-20 year old car of unknown history, I don't really see the point.

 

if he doesn’t want to do maintenance he can get an electric car or something.

 

Sure...OP should get the RAV4 EV 1998-2000 model.

 

Those batteries are probably shot by now.

The OP should just get a Camry. It's a simple solution.

 

I'm thinking of a 2004 ES 330. The 05 and 06 has ugly color combinations with that yellowish wood color. Besides, the early 2000's represents probably peak Lexus build quality. I wouldn't mind having an upgraded Camry lol. I very much enjoyed my 05 LE.

 

Same crappy timing belt stuff. That gen ES has adaptive suspension as well. But at least it will be 4-6 newer. What about a 460?

 

The vast majority of ESs of that generation dont have adaptive suspension. It was an option, but extremely extremely rare. Those engines do have timing belts, but they are non-interference. 460s arent cheap to maintain as they age. Like you said, no car that age is.

I still have my 2003 ES300, and we've put plenty of money into it. Not going to do the timing belt again unless it breaks, did it at 90k miles it has 215k on it now.

 

I'd like to keep it under a certain amount. 04-06 430's go for a considerable amount more than the 330's, so I could only imagine what a 460 goes for.

Also heard the 07 and 08's are ones to avoid, which makes sense since they are the beginning of a redesign. So an 09+ would be pretty spendy. The screens in those cars look like crap and since I like the idea of keeping my cars for many, many years, I can't imagine what it'd look like in 15 years. Just better off with buttons, which is another reason the 330's appeal to me.

Oh and a shop a couple hours from me does timing belts with water pump for $800 out the door. So what if every 3-4 years I need that done. Not a deal breaker lol.

 

What is that "certain amount" you're willing to spend?

 

I heard the 300's are non-interference, while the 330's are. Not a big deal to me. I mean yeah it would suck if it broke and ruined the engine, but that is pretty rare if you think about it. I'll take my chances.

Agree about the 460. All that new tech they put in those cars isn't something I want to worry about spending $1400 here and there.

What kind of money did you put into your 2003 besides timing belt/water pump maintenance?