Hello, initially I was supposed to pick up an 05 LS but I could save half price and pick up and 01 which seems quite nice.

A few questions..

I understand the fog lights and rear lights are difference, I know I can change out the rear lights to the 04-06, but can I make the front end look like an 04-06?

Also what's the difference between the interiors? Is the wood grain different? (if anyone has pics)

Thanks!

 

Front sheetmetal is different and certainly not worth the trouble or expense unless you happen to have an '04-'06 of the same color sitting around that has been totaled out from the rear.

 

+1 Interior is pretty much the same with backup camera and some extras. Front will not be cost effective to replicate. I went the 2001 route because of the approximately $8,000-$10,000 difference in the price at the time (2 years ago)

 

Exactly what I wanted to hear.

Did you replicate the front yourself?

If so, how much did it cost? Where did you buy the items?

 

I'm pretty sure the rear lights are a difference unless you're planning on changing the trunk for the LED lights. '04-06 will not be a fit correctly on. 6-speed transmission, camera, and 4th Gen Nav are major differences.

 

I left the car original with no changes. Rides like a dream!

 

Front bumper, fenders, hood, headlights, grill are different between the 01-03 and 04-06 models. Also the rear lights, trunk lid, trunk garnish, bumper are different. Interior has slight changes for the UL models the rear seats are heated and cooled on the 04-06 vs the 01-03 are only heated. Also the nav systems are different.

Pretty sure there is a bunch of information in the faq threads about the differences.

 

I don't mind about the interior changes to be honest, just curious to know if it was possible to cosmetically make it look like a 04-06 and how much roughly it would be if the labor was done myself.

I'm getting this 01, the only issue is that he doesn't have all his service records but insists that he got it maintained regularly at a local mechanic. Should I be okay if I get a pre-purchase inspection?

 

New headlights, bumper, hood, grill, fogs, fenders etc. If you have them readily available from a junk yard in the same color as your car then cost would be for parts only. If you dont have that the option is buy new and paint. I would say the later would be around $10k +

 

Damn I wasn't expecting that, lol.

(At least that many cosmetic changes)

I think though if I just change the rear tail lights it would look decent, agree?

 

It would cost about as much to part and labor for cosmetics changes as to just get newer, so why spend the same just to swap cosmetic change?

 

The inner taillights on the 04-06 are different shape. So you would at minimum need a new trunk lid and garnish. Again painting would be required. Rear bumper is also different and because the inner taillights are a different shape there would be a slight gap there. Another issue is the fact the 04-06 taillights are LED they would cause the tail lamp failure to trip. To correct that would require use of the correct resistors or replacing the control module in the trunk. Again the cost would not be worth it for most. You could always just purchase LED taillight from ebay or a vender on the forum.

 

I was thinking of maybe just getting
http://www.luxurymods.com/ls430ledtaillight.aspx

 

I bought my 2002 in June. As far as I'm concerned, the two major differences btwn. an '01-'03 and an '04-'06 are price and the six speed transmission. Styling changes are relatively minor and not worth fretting over.
And $630 just to have LED taillights? I don't think so.

 

Isn't it 315 for the set?

If it's 630 I wouldn't do it either lol but I totally thought it was 315