ceedub53

No, it wasn't worth the trouble as I live approx. 165 mi from where it was being sold. I followed it though out of curiosity for the next few weeks. The dealer dropped the price to $7895, but there were no takers. The dealer ended up moving the car to an affiliate dealer a few hundred miles north for the same price. The car was listed again with AutoTrader, that is how I noticed it. It stayed there for about 2-3 days and then disappeared. It was listed as "Not For Sale Yet, Sneak Peak" when the last dealer had it. Looks like they moved it, reason unknown. I never had good vibes on that car...

ceedub53

I ended up buying a 2002 LS430 with 119k miles. The car has had exclusive Lexus dealer maintenance every 5k miles for it's entire life. Drive belt was replaced at 90k per manual. The exterior and interior are immaculate, hard to tell the car is 12 years old. Drives great. Tires may need to be replaced in another 10k, but I feel good about the purchase, at least so far. Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention the price was $10,500.

Gene01

Was it the drive belt (serpentine belt) or the timing belt?
If the drive belt breaks, you lose A/C and alternator. No big deal - you are warm but have about 15 minutes (longer without headlights) and probably won't do any damage to the engine.
If the timing belt breaks, you get to buy a new engine or get rid of the car. Lexus says to change the timing belt at 90K mile intervals.

ceedub53

It was the timing belt that was replaced at 90k miles. Both Lexus maintenance records and sticker on air cleaner applied by dealer confirm.

Bocatrip

Nice thing about buying the first generation LS430 is that most of the depreciation is already factored in. You can literally drive these cars into the ground and if they are running with a straight body, always get $7000-$8,000 regardless of mileage (under 200,000 miles). The reputation of this car keeps it's value. Second generation LS430s with good miles (50-90K) could fetch 8K more. The good news is that since they have made so many of these cars, even in years to come there should be a good one to purchase.

steelers6

WOWWW 343,000 miles and still running great, CONGRATS,I'm wondering because I'm gonna get an 06 LS430 in the near future,have you had any major problems with the car and to your knowledge was the timing belt ever changed???

Legender

Yeah... and that was 4 years ago... old thread wake up call.

430SLOwner

The miles are okay if properly serviced. But with regard to price; if you were selling a 2001 LS 430 in clean or outstanding condition with 135,000 miles you may expect to receive perhaps $2200 from a dealer. To an individual you may get $3000. A dealer selling a 2001 LS 430 in outstanding condition with 135,000 miles may expect to get perhaps $4400 from a member of the public paying full retail. At $4400 you may still be okay if you plan to keep the car and your own mechanic finds no issues with it. Asking $8600, even for a nearly perfect 2001 Lexus LS 430 with 135,000 miles, is very unrealistic but who can blame the dealer for trying to sell it for $6000 more than it paid if it thinks someone may use emotion instead of logic when making a buying decision. The car, however, still will only have a wholesale value of $2200 or $4400 retail. I would keep looking if the dealer is unwilling to to come down to earth and instead stays with its pie in the sky asking price. If you like the car, and wish to buy it (and your mechanic has given you a green light), a technique you may wish to use is to tell the dealer you have researched the value of the car, you respect the dealer being able to ask whatever price it shall, but you are closer to $4000 on the price. Furthermore, you are a ready buyer and will be looking at another LS 430 for sale if you are unable to make this deal. Walk away if the dealer does not come to your price (I would not pay a dime over $4400 and it would have to be flawless in appearance and operate perfectly). Just walk away. You may wish to call back in a few days if you do not find another one you like and tell the dealer you are still looking and whether it has reconsidered your offer. Remember that many dealers are great actors who may act incensed at your offer, but the dealer is in business to move inventory and is very aware of what the vehicle is actually worth. And while it may not be willing to show it, it will know a $4000 offer is very fair, gives it a nice profit, and it will be smart to take it and double its money. No matter what antics it shows in its attempt to get more of your money for a car than you should be willing to pay, stand firm. Do not overpay.

430SLOwner

The post to which I responded was just below a post made today which I saw. Now I see the one to which I responded is 5 years old. 5 years ago the car had a higher market value than it does today.