I was driving OTR pre covid and needed a vehicle to get me to the terminal 70 miles away and be there when I had home time. My son was now driving our Pilot, my wife her Volvo xc70. No one wanted to deliver me or pick me up when I was ready. I wanted to spend around 5-7k and was thinking a big fat cr

own vic would be fun. My brother said to look for an LS430. I found one at a dealer. 04 ML 170k on the odo. One owner that had started backing into things and dinging corners..it needed some help. Like most have said its that first drive and you realize the comfortable sweet beast it is. Got them to 4k and bought it...2019.
Now in 25' with 216k on odo i have replaced or fixed almost everything. Hubs, ball joints, shocks/struts, oil pan, timing/water pump, radiator, a/c, valve cover gaskets/ spark seals, touch screen lcd, cd player, sub woofer, door seals l, door cards, passenger door, front fender, all fluids, dash board, rebuilt stearing wheel,
i have driving up and down the east coast a number of times, cross country twice. I absolutely love my ls430.
Always on the look out for 430s at pick and pull junk yards. Next I will be painting and tinting windows. Hood, roof and trunk have lost their clear and are fading but she runs like new. And everything still works. I will be taking her up to DC from AtL in 2 weaks and already looking forward to it.
Also would like to thank all of you here. All of the things I have learned and done to my car would not have been possible without coming here first and reading posts and learning from those who came before me. Priceless help, information and know how - or good advice on here. Thank You.

 

Brady - Shes still a decent ride and you put a lot of work into this one - cheers & it looks great for over 200k
I agree - Club Lexus is a great resource and thank you everyone here...
Panther Platform has always intrigued me and I owned a 97 Lincoln Continental that was smooth as steel rails on the highway.
Still one of my Fav's. Continental 97 based on front wheel drive Taurus was a couch on wheels plus the aluminum V8.
I am starting to appreciate JDM Toyota/Lexus and learn something new it seems everyday about Toyota/Lexus.

 

Thanks. Yes I noticed one (either a vic or continental) for sale in someones yard the other day...maybe even a marauder....have to go take a look. Dont think my wife would like another car being taken apart in our driveway though.. *s*

 

Great stories, everyone! Thanks for chiming in. Keep 'em coming.
That is a bummer about the seating in the Q, @Holden53 . I always liked those, but probably would not buy one at this point anyway. Great work on your LS! As I mentioned, height was a big factor for me, and they added an inch and a half of headroom with the 430's over the 400's.
@BradyBunchLS430 , 170k!! I wouldn't be daring enough to buy that high mileage, but I also don't do my own engine work. It got me thinking about my comments on another thread about the LS demise. It made me think about @demark1 's funny comment about sustainability. Toyota seems to be concerned with this, but I don't picture people in 10 years wanting to buy a 170k LS500 V6 Twin Turbo? They seems cost-prohibitive and that will likely send many of those to the junkyards.
I agree with others about this site, and have thanked people several times. I know so much more about these cars now, and while I do not mind helping a mechanic make a living, I have probably saved between $1-2k in labor doing some of the interior things like the amp and nav unit removal and replacement, and saved $$hundreds, maybe more because of the OEM discount sites.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU again to everyone!!!

 

My wife still upset about I sold her 2003 Q45 a few years ago (cost to keep it up was too high). That one was a blast to drive. But the LS430 has a much better build quality.

 

I needed a second car for the household. I already had an LS400 and an LX470. I couldn't find another LS400 that was clean and under 150,000 that wasn't roached out, modified or wrecked. I still wanted something reliable, comfortable, and smooth. If I went with an LS430 it had to be a 2004-2006 model year with no air suspension. I went with a 2005 LS430 in white. My favorite color for this particular model. Unfortunately, I never saw one for sale with the saddle interior, oh well.

 

I had previously owned 2 Acura RLs (KA9), an S320CDI (diesel) Merc, and a couple of large Vauxhall/Opel cars (Carlton/Omega) and I wanted a big, reliable, comfy car for my 6'4", 400lbs, broad-shouldered body.
The Merc was nice but so unreliable it put me off the brand for life.
The Acura's were reliable and well built, but the newer replacements (KB1) were smaller and not as well built, and the KA9s were all getting too long in the tooth.
So, I looked at and tested the VW Phaeton (lovely car, terrible reliability), Audi A8 (pricey but also not that reliable), BMW 7 series (too small inside), Skoda Superb (nice but poor engine choices and cheap interiors), and the LS400/430/460.

Once I had decided on the LS it all came down to the specific car.
If I had found a nice LS400 I would have bought that but all the ones I saw had been neglected and were rough.
The two LS460s I test drove (both 2007) felt "numb" to me and reading the reviews the reliability was not up there with the 400 and 430 and part prices were ridiculous.
I test drove 3 different LS430s and in the end it came down to two (the 3rd was just nasty inside) and I opted for the dark blue one as I am not a fan of silver cars.

I recently went to look at a gold 2004 LS430 with 65k miles on it, but the air-con was not working, the reversing camera had died, and the steering motors didn't work.
At the price it was advertised for it just wasn't worth it, so instead I took the money and spent it on my current car.
Now all it needs is the passenger door re-skinning and the hood repainting and she is all set for another 10 years.

 

I still think the LX470 is one of the GOAT Suv - ( I think it's a Land Crusier with lipstick ) So if you have that combo in your driveway it's pretty awsome that you are adding an LS430 - quite the lineup even without the LS400 - still one of the favorite YT is here - - Every LS400 I see near me is ratted out like you said...

 

In 1990, in my very early 20's, I convinced my parents to splurge on an LS430 vs their usual Buicks Park Avenues, Lincoln Town Cars, Cadillac Devilles they had bought for years. I saw the raves. They listened and never looked back. My father's DeVille handled horribly, and it wasn't even a 70's boat... It was unsafe around interstate curves! GM had improved, but for a reasonable price, knowing Toyota's reputation for quality, I convinced them to try the LS400, and to get off the trade-a-car-every-4-years treadmill.

They got a 2nd in 1995 that they sold in 2010, getting a new ES350 that they have to this day. They have loved all three, and always bought new.

I loved their Lexus LS400s but found them just a tad small for how they felt. I had a Plymouth Acclaim as a very nice midsize and it served me well from 1990-2019, and was more compact, but as an ultra-Lux, I desired a bit more space in the LS400. Something about the seats and rear legroom just felt a bit tight to me, and I am only 5 foot 7...

2001 rolls around and I simply fell in love with the look and size of the LS430. I saw it live in a parking lot on Wall Street and was amazed. That planted the seed. But when I needed a 2nd car that year, I bought a Buick LeSabre, enjoying a large sedan. No regrets: it served me well until 2017 I was not quite ready for an LS430, as I did not believe in spending that much for a car. And for 1 more reason: my parents could not drive their LS400 in the snow, at all. It had no traction, and they had al0 season tires on it.

In 2005 or 2006 I test drove one used but it felt almost too large. I refused to buy new, but I saw that my parents 1995 was going great at 170k miles. When my Acclaim just finally got too ratty in 2009, I reconsidered. Drove an LS430 and really liked it this time, not just the looks but the experience, I almost failed to buy one because of the snow thing, but my brother-in-law convinced me I was overreacting and could not compare a 1995 LS400 to a 2005 car, etc. I decided to take the chance.

I saw that some had adaptive (radar) cruise, and I thought I really wanted that. That was a fantastic decision, as it remains my favorite interstate/highway feature of the car. But East Coast did not tend to stock the ULs or Custom Luxury packages.. cars.com was well established, and I found my 35k-mile 2005 (was hoping for a 2006) at McGrath Lexus in Chicago. UL, CPO (3 years added at the time). First time I ever shipped a car, and every car since then has been used-still-warrantied or CPO from a distant state to get exactly what I want! The LS430 was 33k, a bit high vs others by 1-2k, but UL CPO so I really didn't argue the price. I figured I'd keep it years and it was loaded and in great shape. Chrome wheels, dealer-installed XM radio too (sadly no longer works: probably the dual-lead antenna went, and they stopped making that a few years ago, but I have never really tried to get an alternate FAKRA antenna). The MSRP 4 years prior had been 75k+.

The car in its heyday was simply beyond belief. Not trouble-free, and the CPO more than paid for itself, esp on the UL (radar cruise computers pattern failure, brake actuator clicking, UL height sensor, etc.) but super smooth, best stereo I have ever heard, and incredible headlights. Everything we all love, but it was better when newer!

The car is a great car today, but no longer as extraordinary. If I keep it a few more years, and fix the damaged bumper, I may eventually indulge in OE air struts from Japan (impex etc.). I don't know that I know the right place to rebuild with non-suso OE parts.
The problem other than high cost is that I am not a mechanic and the mechanics tell me nothing is wrong with the car. It does nor ride like it used to, and the struts are a fortune if I am no sure they are the issue. But control arms, bushings are all fine,I am told. And using my own parts is tricky. So the UL air struts are original, for now.

I will keep this car for years. It is a fantastic local car. I just remember how planted/smooth/tight it felt: no steering wheel vibration at all at 60mph, which I feel today as the biggest tiny issue: just enoug that I feel it a bit, or see a hint of vibration when I let go of wheel on the highway, sometimes. If I actually have the car in a few more years and it has remained affordable, reliable, and not rusted, I can see indulging in OE air struts if priced at Japan prices... not USA dealer prices.

Anyway, I have loved my car, still like it. Got a 3rd last year for kids, a 2021 Lincoln Nautilus, and it is fine for what it is. But letting my kids use it for college. Didn't plan to get the a 2021 luxury nameplate for kids to drive, but they have need and can share it, and I/my wife don't trust the Lexus for 300 mile trips for them (I do for me!). But most of all, despite its very subtle suspension imperfection/wear, I want the LS430 for myself still. It remains perfect for me, if not 100% perfect. I still love driving it. At some point I will overspend on it, and it has never been my least expensive car, even vs other luxury car I have owned. It is just the finest car I have ever owned.

By the way, with all weather tiress, the car is fine in the mild snow we have had. I work from home and except getting stuck on thick ice, I have been fine with Michelin all seasonns (MXV4) and more recently all-weather 3PMSF tires.