A neighbor of mine just recently brought his new Cadillac CTS-V and he was jokingly asking me when I was going to upgrade from a 21yr old Lexus. So I just told him a few reasons on why I'm not upgrading:

1. It's a Lexus..period
2. It still runs well
3. It's paid off
4. Insurance is cheaper
5. Vehicle registration is cheaper
6. Fewer things will go wrong with it

After hearing these reasons he wasn't in such a joking mood. I've had my LS new since 1991 just like most of the other memebers have and after 235K miles, it still runs and looks good with the best of them...but I want the CL Memebers to list their own reason on why there LS is a keeper....

 

I pretty much concur with your list as well:

1. I like the looks
2. Older well maintained cars are not super common although we still see plenty of early gen Toyotas and Lexus. That certainly tells how well made they are.

 

well I have had 11 LS400's..... none are keepers... but I will NOT drive anything else... these cars are fantastic.
I like change... I have lived in 19 houses, never rented, always bought, dont even know how many cars I have had, but MANY... until I came up with a Lexus LS.... I may change again, but it will be a Lexus LS...
Oh, only 2 wives... first for 14 years, the last one 44 years..

ps, I bought a car once, (one day) to go look for a car to buy....

I just cant help it..... wish I had all that money NOW.

.

 

@ RA40, I like the look as well..very simple and classy and the engineering is very key as to how well the car runs and how maintenance free it will be...

@BillyDPowe, 11 LS's..my oh my, I wish I had the money too to buy as many Lexus as you did (lol)...I like change as well but if it aint broke don't fix it...as far as your wife(s), well on that note, it might be cheaper to keep her (lol)....

 

The LS400 with a manual transmission and a limited slip differential is exactly what I want in a car, and then some. If I was offered a CTS-V equipped exactly how I want it, for my LS400 straight trade, I'd immediately go for it.

 

Don't get me wrong, but I like the CTS-V, but I'm in no hurry to buy it. I kinda want Lexus to be more sporty, so if I had to upgrade within the Lexus family, I would get the IS-F or the new 2013 GS, but for now I'm good with what I got, but like billy powe said, change is good...

 

To each his own. I'm not going to get mad at anyone for liking different stuff than me.

 

hands down the lexus quality far surpasses lots of other makes out there, plus they are super easy to work with. the engineers def had maintenance combined with performance in mind.

if you look at how they built the LS compared to the current cars now, you can def see the quality was ahead of it's time. though i understand this was a $50k car being sold when the economy wasn't in turmoil, and companies weren't skimping on parts to save a few dollars.

 

I will echo the quality -- you just can't beat the build quality to price ratio of an older LS. Main things I love about this car is the double-wishbone suspension, butter smooth V8 and transmission. I would love a 6-speed CTS-V and may actually end up with one in the future, but the LS is hard to let go of if there are no problems with it.

If I had a shop nearby that would be willing to do the labor of a manual swap, I would seriously consider it. If this car had a 5-speed manual, I can't see any reasons why I'd ever want to sell it.

Stan

 

My LS400 is a keeper because

1. Its been very reliable for the past 10 years I had it
2. I put my sweat and pain into this car
3. My first car and would love to keep it forever
4. Try to reach my goal of having a 5.2L supercharged LS400

 

i got a 92 AND LOVE IT,EVENM THOGHT IT STILL HAD LIL ISSUES ,LIKE THE POWER STEERING PUMP,SEATS ETC BUT ONCE YOU FIZ THOSE PROBLEBS ITS STILL A NIVE DEPENDABLE CAR

 

I've owned 10 cars in my short 16 years of driving experience. My current, 99 LS400, is my first LS and I absolutely love it. It's paid off and to be honest it's the first car I haven't financed since I was 20. It feels nice to just make the $40/month insurance payment. My car is solid...has 140k but will probably go another 140k easy. It drives better than ANY car I've ever had. My son is 11 months old and I tell my wife, I'm passing it down to my son when he turns 16...but by that time it may be a "classic". I may upgrade to a LS460 in 7-10 years but for now I'm totally content.

 

...the CTS-V he is leasing, I'll bet. I like paid for, low taxes, and low insurance. I did the Cadillac lease thing with an SRX. Enjoyed the car, enjoyed the treatment from my Cadillac dealer, but GMAC was a pain to deal with on paying property taxes and I tired of monitoring the mileage allowance. I like the LS400 better.

 

If someone gave me a brand new car for my 21 yr old ls400, i would take it in a heartbeat also. Especially if it is a 60-70k car. Haha

 

Because I just down 8 grand on a 13 year old car....