When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
After years of maintenance free luxury, I regret to say it may be time to replace my LS400. I loved the smooth ride and weight of this vehicle, the handling, engine performance, turn key reliability, long life, and head turning. What newer (not brand new) vehicles match this high standard?
LS430,SC430. Ive been reading up and learning about SC430's,think thats where I will go next time.
Am finding out there arent many Gramma/Grampa SC430's out there,one//two owner,service records rare as can be and commanding quite a premium.A lot of beat up zero maintenance SC430's,seems young racer guys love em,then dont do ANY maintenance.Hooptie city.
LS430,lots in all price ranges,all levels of care,miles,etc.MUCH easier to locate.
I think I just saw it was a 2005 SC430 that JD Powers rated as the most reliable,best built car EVER up to that point.
All I know is,whatever I get it will have an L on the grill.
There are multiple threads comparing the LS 400-430 and 460's to each other. All three sections provide a wealth of owner perspectives for your considerations. The 430 at this stage is going to be a hunt so newer like the 460's will yield better odds of finding samples that meet your general criteria.
My family has grown and I am looking at vehicles like Toyota Sequoia. Perhaps I have mistakenly been thinking the 430s and 460s are less reliable, because the comments I have been hearing from mechanics saying "they lucked out and got an LS400 that was taken care of." Could very well be lip service though.
if you want a bulletproof vehicle that is an SUV, looking into the Toyota land cruiser/Lexus LX line of trucks. great vehicles, similar reliability as the LS400!
My family has grown and I am looking at vehicles like Toyota Sequoia.
My brother-in-law's Sequoia rides nothing like an LS - the ride is jiggly. Legroom is decent in all three rows but headroom is less than 35 inches in all three rows according to the brochure. It feels cramped and I'm only 6 feet tall. An LS430 or LS460 isn't going to be any better than your LS400 for a growing family except for more trunk space.
Sales of 4-door sedans are completely tanking and I now understand why more than I did when I sold my 2000 LS400 after I bought a new Toyota Sienna Limited van in 2014: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...14-sienna.html
My Sienna feels much more luxurious than my 2000 LS400 did. It's got leather seats and driver seat memory. I finally have phone and audio controls on the steering wheel. Reliability has been as good as my LS sedans. It's optional "tech" package includes PCS, DRCC and even VDIM like on the LS460. It has power retracting exterior mirrors, acoustic glass, rain sensing wipers and auto high beam. Its 119+ inch wheelbase gives it a nicer ride and it can carry six full size adults in comfort and a 7th person in the power adjustable 3rd row seats as long as that person is a child or smaller adult. Passengers are surprised that it has ottoman 2nd row captain chairs and wide screen video. The Sienna's HID headlights are at least as good as those on my 2000 LS400 were and I even installed the same headlight washer system that the Sienna sold in Europe has. With all seats occupied, there is almost 40 cubic feet of luggage space - almost three times more than what my 2000 LS400 had and twice what the Sequoia has.
If you want a family friendly vehicle with high tech features, I suggest that you find a 2011-up Sienna Limited FWD with all packages and options.
Kansas,
Do you say FWD Sienna for a reason? Are all those options available on a AWD Sienna?
Prior to the 2018 model year, PCS (Pre-Collsion System) and DRCC (Dynamic Radar Cruise Control) were available only on the FWD Sienna Limited in the Advanced Technology Package. Beginning in 2018, PCS and DRCC became standard on all front and all-wheel drive Sienna and virtually all vehicles manufactured by Toyota including all Lexus models.
I was assuming that the OP is looking for a used vehicle at lower cost. A used 2011-2012 Sienna Limited FWD with PCS/DRCC would probably cost in the same ball park as a similarly nice/mileage 2006 LS430 or 2007 LS460.
PCS and DRCC were non-negotiable features when I bought my Sienna in 2014. Some serious downsides of the AWD Sienna are that it comes with all-season run-flat tires that wear quickly and it doesn't have a spare tire since the rear drive shaft runs through the space where the spare tire is mounted on the FWD version. The AWD Sienna rides harsher, is slower and it gets worse gas mileage. My FWD Sienna gets around just fine in the snow on its Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires.
A van likely doesn't meet the OP's "head turning" requirement although I think more people have asked me about my Sienna in the past four years than asked ms about my Lexus LS cars during the previous 24 years.
Six years ago or so I was considering selling my 99LS and buying a Sienna, but it never happened, partly because my LS400 is worth something only to me
Still have the LS... 250K miles now
My brother-in-law's Sequoia rides nothing like an LS - the ride is jiggly. Legroom is decent in all three rows but headroom is less than 35 inches in all three rows according to the brochure. It feels cramped and I'm only 6 feet tall. An LS430 or LS460 isn't going to be any better than your LS400 for a growing family except for more trunk space.
Sales of 4-door sedans are completely tanking and I now understand why more than I did when I sold my 2000 LS400 after I bought a new Toyota Sienna Limited van in 2014: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...14-sienna.html
My Sienna feels much more luxurious than my 2000 LS400 did. It's got leather seats and driver seat memory. I finally have phone and audio controls on the steering wheel. Reliability has been as good as my LS sedans. It's optional "tech" package includes PCS, DRCC and even VDIM like on the LS460. It has power retracting exterior mirrors, acoustic glass, rain sensing wipers and auto high beam. Its 119+ inch wheelbase gives it a nicer ride and it can carry six full size adults in comfort and a 7th person in the power adjustable 3rd row seats as long as that person is a child or smaller adult. Passengers are surprised that it has ottoman 2nd row captain chairs and wide screen video. The Sienna's HID headlights are at least as good as those on my 2000 LS400 were and I even installed the same headlight washer system that the Sienna sold in Europe has. With all seats occupied, there is almost 40 cubic feet of luggage space - almost three times more than what my 2000 LS400 had and twice what the Sequoia has.
If you want a family friendly vehicle with high tech features, I suggest that you find a 2011-up Sienna Limited FWD with all packages and options.
My Sienna Limited with Hella headlight washers
Thank you so very much. I think you are clearly understanding my need, and I will look at these 2011+ FWD with the TECH package
Yeah my understanding is that Toyota Sequoia 2008 and on is quite a bit larger than the previous years. I looked at the sienna interior photos and roomy but not as big as a Sequoia. Am I mistaken?
07-05-18, 08:48 AM
Replacing a 1998 LS400
