I have my finger on the trigger of an 04 LS430 CPO with 38K, Premium Package, Cypress Pearl/Ecru. Asking $24K, willing to go $22.5K. The upsides: low mileage, excellent condition, CPO, one owner with good service record. Downsides: no Mark, no nav (although I have a wide screen Garmin that I currently use).

A couple of questions:

Any comments on the deal?
Is Ecru different than Cashmere (or did the name just change from model year to model year).
Any comments on the non-Mark sounds system?
Would you recommend asking the dealer to remove the CPO to drive the price lower? (This is not a UL, not as many things to break).

Thanks very much.

 

As indicated in the title, I'm trying to weigh this car vs. a ML for $3-6K more, and likely more mileage (no specific car, that is generally the range). Other than the Mark and nav, any significant differences between the Premium and the ML?

Also, what is the difference between CL and ML?

Thanks.

 

Wow, $24K for a Premium seems kind of steep to me. As for CPO, I don't think it's necessary for something like the premium. Nothing of major money that is going to break in the time it hits 100k that's going to exceed the $2K extra you're paying for the CPO. CPO for Ultra I would highly recommend, but not premium. Premium is bascially the basic, with I think heated seats.

CL to ML you can read on forums a plenty, but basically you get headlamp washers, laminated glass, additional leather trim on dash and bottom center console, and of course SUEDE headliner...

 

I was considering premium, until I sat in a premium and ML back-to-back. The center stack on the premium looked too "Toyota-esque". However, like you said, if ML, nav, and backup camera don't really do anything for you, the premium has less to break.

$22.5K for a CPO 38K premium sounds about right, assuming the car is in great shape and all the TSBs & scheduled maintenance have been performed. Remember, it's a green car and it should cost less.

Cashmere was offered on premium and ML trim levels. Ecru was only offered on CL and UL levels. From my observations, ecru leather is lighter in color and the carpets don't match (carpet is darker). Cashmere seats and carpet match.

CL and UL also included laser (or radar) cruise control and power door closers. Neat features, but also more to fail. CL and UL also had required options for comfort leather (ecru or saddle) or semi aniline leather (black).

On thing I've noticed is that if you are interested in getting one of the rarer colors: cypress, briarwood, black cherry, and (less rare) mystic gold, they seem more likely to be on premium level cars. I suppose these lower-option cars were targeted for an older audience with those color preferences.

 

I am probably one of the few Premium package lovers on the board. definitely in the minority. In terms of ML audio versus standard audio, I have always had high end audio in my house, so I am competent to make the distinction - the non ML audio in my LS sounds just fine to me. I love high technology and work in the field but I'd don't love inbuilt proprietary soon to be obsolete technology (touch screens, dvd based Nav, etc) in my cars. I think an inbuilt LCD style touch screen in a car looks ridiculous. 95% of the world thinks its wonderful. I very likely should be ignored : ) Very, very soon all cars at almost evrey price and option level will use touch screens, Nav, and advanced electronics for all displays and switching - it will just be so much cheaper to use this stuff for the user interface. Just like old obsolete generation computers these cars will very quickly look out of style and may be obsolete and impossible to repair very quickly. JMHO

 

In general, I tend to feel that screens are for viewing and switches are for touching. But, the rest of the world has moved beyond my neanderthal ways.

If someone is buying a LS430 for the great ride, reliability, comfort, and class, and they don't really care about infotainment, buying a "less desireable" premium unit provides the best value.

 

Thanks. Very helpful. Do you have any insight with respect to the waiver of the CPO? That is, will/can a dealer take the car out of the CPO program, thereby saving themselves $1000 and allowing a lower purchase price?

 

I've seen dealers do that in their advertised cars. They list them as CPO for a while and then lower the price saying the car is CPO prepped.

 

I seen that green one online. I think thats a very good deal for a NY dealer. The mileage is low and it has the warranty. I would get it if its clean.

 

Thanks. I made an offer today. Will post the result.

 

I agree with the preference for *quality, well-laid-out* switches instead of the annoying touch-screens, and I don't particularly care for the look of a screen (I keep mine switched off unless I need to use it). And I don't like to punch around to get to the function I want -- I like buttons with a single purpose that are always at the ready. And add to that I have little to no use/need for the Navigation feature in a vehicle. Nevertheless, I ended up going with the Nav/ML setup on my LS mainly because in my side-by-side 10-minute comparison the ML system sounded a decent bit better than the non-ML. That, and the fact that I found the exact car I was looking for at my price, so I went with it. If I were planning to keep the car indefinitely, I probably would have considered the non-Nav version even more seriously.

 

My LS430 purchase will hopefully be the final step to break my new-daily-driver-every-year-or-two addiction. I figure if I'm going to drive a car daily for 6 years (unheard of for me), I might as well pick an excellent, timeless vehicle. As you cite above, a non-nav car, though I'm not crazy about the dash, may be a better candidate for my purposes. Then again, maybe not.

 

The most use I get out of my nav screen is glancing over to see the title of a song from an album that I am playing thru by iPod. Attached thru a VaisTech SL2Vi, it is seamless, unseen, and untouched, as it is control by using existing car controls, both on the dash or thru the steering wheel.

That alone makes the nav system worthwhile for me. Couldn't live without it.

 

The nav system in our cars are no more or less reliable than the non-nav screens/dislays that were in all the previous LS's dashes since 89/90. Why not go with something that could make your car more valuable in the long run even if you dont particularly like or use the item. Just as I6turbo said he just leaves it off which in turn i think save some life in thing. You will never know if that nav/bluetooth will save the day for you or some one know one day by simply saving precious minutes. Just my two cents.

 

Thanks to all. I purchased the 04 Premium with 38K CPO for $22,500. Car is in beautiful shape. I drive them into the ground (sorry to give up my 96 Avalon with 198K but its time to move on) so I was not looking at resale value as much as reliability and low cost of ownership over the long run. One of the guys at work just hit a deer with his LS and has to replace the camera in the front grill (presume he means the interactive cruise control) as well as expensive headlamps. I am happy with the Premium package and the price. Thanks again to all for your help. Great forum.