Looking at pulling the trigger on a LS430 , now would you do a 2004 UL 35000,mi. for $26K or would you do a 2006 with 50,000 $25K ,
reliability wise is there any difference 2004 or 2006 ??
What would you do ?

 

2006 and if it's under 50k mi get the lexus ext plat warranty for about 2k more.

 

I'd go with 2006 also assuming the cars are relatively equivalent condition-wise. Even if the cars are condition identical - the age in years does make a significant difference - the electronics, plastics, leather, wood finishes, rubber seals, belts , hoses - everything on any car ages each year. The 2004 will be 10 years old when the 2014 models come out - not that far away.

 

i would go for the ul. you get the same body style, less miles and "fully loaded".

 

i like the UL

 

Assuming they both are equipped the same (or are of approximately the same desirability to you) I'd go with whichever one is in the best condition. There is nothing about age that insures the older one is in poorer condition than the newer one -- it depends almost entirely upon how they were used and cared for, and where they were kept.

 

x2. I looked at a '06 ML and '06 CL, both w/ 30K mi, before getting a '05 UL, which was mint. The newest vehicle, although still under the original factory warranty, showed signs of abuse. Check the service rec's to see if the owner was the type who had all recommended service done, or the type who refused service to save a few $$.

 

same car and design for those years - mileage is close and should not be a factor in my opinion. The newer one with 50k will be a lot of highway driving, while the 2004 will more likely be in the city. But the 2004 may be better kept maintenance wise, since its really low mileage. I have a 2004 UL and if you generally take other ppl with you its very nice but if its just yourself driving, a lot of the UL features you will not use.

 

My thing with UL is, why should my passenger's get more than me? I'm not your chauffeur, and if I were, all you need is heated seat, no massage, no sunshade, nothing.

BUT, if you were passenger and you had a chauffeur, then I would go with UL.

 

I agree you can't go purely by years. Cars age at different rates in different environments. My car lives in DFW area so no cold, no salt, no harsh weather except stress of summer sun/heat. Cars up North live mechanically rougher lives driving in the snow, ice, salt - rusted parts, etc and the interiors getting trashed with dirty slush, etc and that's even if they are garaged some of the time. The cars that live outside full time - yikes.. I would not do that to an LS.

My cars age very slowly - I baby them, drive like an old man, keep them in a garage, wash them every week, wax every 6 months, keep the interior plastics, carpet, and leather treated and immaculate, perform every required service per the manual.

So you really have to look at the environment that the car has been in and how it was treated to make an informed assessment on condition but as I said all things being equal I'd go for the youngest model.