Jabberwock

Hard drives don't have to be in use to age. Electronic components also age based on steady state exposure to heat, atmospheric corrosion, and oxidation of circuit board parts, wiring, insulation, etc. I am very happy with my base level 06 LS430 and will drive it until I can purchase a fully electric or fuel cell based car.

Personally I would avoid any 07+ Lexus of any model type especially if they have NAV and HD for the next few years. My opinion is that the Lexus replacement prices are absurd for electronic "computer style" components like the HDs and NAV. Consumer level HDs should cost $100 not $1000 or more.

caddyowner

I thought the HDD was associated with the nav for storage of maps and data. I thought the ML radio on the 460 allowed you to plug in a USB drive or other music player and access audio content from that device. Am I wrong? I know Lincoln allows you to load up a HDD with music from your CD library.

CarGuy89

You do bring up a pretty good point here. I was actually just talking with my friends about this whole alternative energy solutions thing at lunch. I am pretty sure that what we are driving now is one of the last breed of big, heavy cars with a large gasoline engine. Enjoy the V8 power while it is still here!

caddyowner

Buying a V8 luxury sedan was one of my goals when shopping for what ended up being my LS430.

Jabberwock

Yep I wanted to drive and enjoy a true full lux Big Daddy-mobile before the time of the big V8 sedans was over. Next stop for me is likely a glorified 800lb golf cart - beep-beep!

V8_Fan

$1K? Are you kidding? Toyota, not Lexus, charges $5K for a replacement nav ECU! Somewhere I read that Lexus charges $11K for a LS460 nav replacement!!!

elite7

So does leather, paint, plastic, rubber, etc. Just because stuff ages doesnt mean its going to break.

My cars got 2 more years of warranty. Im not going to worry about it.
As i said you can pick a LS 460 up without the Mark Levinson and then you won't have a hard drive.

This is why i love having a warranty. Lexus vehicles come with a 4 year/50,000 mile warranty so if anything breaks during that period you get it replaced free of charge. On top of this you can always get a Platinum extended warranty.

Jabberwock

Good point - Given current cars level of complexity and extra gadgets (with ultra expensive replacement costs) an extended warranty is an excellent idea. As long as you have a HQ long term extended warranty in place at least you are protected when an expensive gizmo bites the dust.

scottgolf

Well, this is a tough one. I was all hip on trading my 430 for a 460 but now i don't know if it is worth the extra money, and its big money too. so I have a really clean low mile 05, and it would take 22,000 to get the 460, its an 09. I don't think its worth it.

I know everyone is biased, and they love their own car, and it's easy to say everything else is not as nice as "your car", but I want to give you a NO BS report on what I thought.

The good - the motor has lots of power. the brakes are nice and stop faster than the 430 by a fair amount. The trans is so smooth you can hardly feel it shift.

the bad - I was really let down by the interior and this may be the deal breaker. The center counsel looks like cheapy plastic. not as lush as the 430. Honestly the inside is very similar to the is250. it just doesn't look well built, or as rich of materials as they used to put in the 430.

Also, the 460 may handle a little better, but the steering is not as good as the 430. Also, the ride in the 460 seems a little harder than the 430, not much, but it is not as soft.

So that is it in a nutshell. Honestly, I might pay 5 grand to upgrade, but I doubt it. I know the 460 looks cooler, but I figured it would be a whole lot more car than what it is. It just feels like a is250 on steroids. I may look at the Merc, however I am not going to buy another Merc, they have to many gremlins in them, the lexus is so much more reliable than my past mercs. I also had a stupid phase where I bought 2 cadillacs, boy was i dumb. they fell apart. I thought I had just got a bad car, so I bought another one, and then realized after talking with the service guys that they are all junk.

caddyowner

Ahem...

Alas, though I wish it was otherwise, but after a CTS and SRX I found the same. I believe the DTS & Lucerne are generally better, but many cars I looked at had quality / care issues.

As for the LS430, even Alan Mullaly, the eventual CEO of Ford, praised the quality of the LS430 when he was still at Boeing. Rumor has it that he still owned the LS430 when he joined Ford.

socal3

iTrader: (2)

Well I'm sorry I have to say the oposite I have a 04 LS430 that I do love but my Mom's 460 is so much nicer of a ride and I hate to say this but looks twice as good. I recently drove it to Vegas and got 28.4 miles to the gallon my LS only gets 22, The 8 speed tranny helps out alot in that area. If you have a 05 you could sell it for around 19-25k depending on the condition and pick up a used 460 from 35-40. That's to bad for an upgrade.

Jabberwock

Its amazing that the 460 (17 city 25 hwy) with quite a bit more horsepower gets better reported mpg numbers than the LS3430 (16 city 23 hwy).

As for the LS460 looking twice as good as the LS430... I don't think so, to my eyes the LS460 looks like an LS430 that was partially melted by accident in a microwave oven. But everyone's taste is different. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

Nice to see different perspectives being posted.

CarGuy89

Thanks for the review Scott. I've often toyed with the idea of "what's next" in terms of a luxury car. I know after driving the LS that flagship is something I really want to keep having, even if it is a few yrs old. If we're talking about current gen, I personally like the Merc S550 (or better yet S63/65) the best, followed by the 7 series, then the A8. While the 460 is a great car (it would be ridiculous to say otherwise), it just doesn't move me anywhere as much as the 430 does. I think the biggest issue for me is the styling. The 430 looks unique and bespoke, kinda like a modern W140 Benz. The 460 looks a bit like a big Camary. Just my .02

We had a DTS as a rental car. Got it brand new (less than 100 mi on the clock), and the car was already having squeaks and rattles. The interior noise was definitely more than the 430 and the ride quality was very bad. The DTS managed to be floaty over soft surfaces, but very firm (almost crashing) into bigger sharp bumps. The trans was dim witted and was never in the right gear. The remote engine start thing was the only thing I really liked. After that experience, I didn't even include the DTS in my luxo barge search...

thinkin

I have the same response to the 460 and just can't get beyond its lack of specialness and quality, my two favorite things about the 430. It's most glaring with the interior but poke around and under the car and you'll find a lot of general cheapening from the 430.

I did like some aspects of it and, unlike some, I do dig the styling, but it's just too much of a step down from the 430 for me to feel good about the money involved.

GLIDESUL

I sure would get one if I could. But I tell you its gonna be hard to move up from the ls430. I still want a 2004-2006 s500 I know about the problems but I've had my share with my ls430 as we speak.