shmi

Hey everyone. Just picked up an LS430 last month, and figured I'd introduce myself, and the car.

I've been lusting after an LS for well over a year. Finally tired of making excuses and denying what I wanted, I just went for it. Started shopping around and found a 2003 LS430 at our sister dealership (I work at another Penske-owned Audi dealership.) As luck would have it, my former coworker and good friend left our dealership to take up a position at the selling dealership as the used car manager, so everything went super smooth. My girlfriend and I drove over and picked it up a couple weeks ago.

2003 LS430
1-owner vehicle
173,000 miles
Platinum Blue Pearl
Ivory interior

Stickered for $7650, dealer knocked it down to $6750, then OTD for $7500 after tax, tags and processing fee. I will also get $300 back in the mail for buying from a dealer group I work for, so not bad at all!

Clean Carfax aside from a small rear-end collision a few years back with no mechanical repairs done, just paint work and rear bumper cover work. One owner, all maintenance done on time at a local Lexus dealer including timing belt at 93k miles. Needed a couple things, like a door lock, a speaker, and another timing belt service, so I did those recently too.

Some pics I snapped on purchase date:




Some dealer pics:





The color is great, it's a very dark deep blue and just looks great IMO.

Plans? Maybe some 18" 5-spokes from the later models, and some other odds and ends. Suspension will stay stock... When it comes time to refresh it I'll look into adjustable coilovers with adjustable damping, as maintaining that swanky ride comfort is mission #1. No plans for body stuff but I will be getting 20% tint all around in two or three weeks, then I plan on dropping it off at a detail shop to have it detailed and paint correction done.

Last week I did some maintenance work to get it where it should be in tip-top shape - timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, thermostat, coolant flush, brake flush, spark plugs, air filter, transmission drain and fill, rear differential drain and fill, left front door lock and speaker, and an alignment.








In any case, I love it so far. I can't say enough good things about it, it really is just plain pleasant, comfortable, and great to drive, I turn into a whole other person driving this car hahah, much more relaxed and easygoing. The other cars are a 2004 Honda Accord (girlfriend's daily I bought for her) and a 2014 Fiesta ST (my fun car/semi-daily, it was my daily for 2 straight years). I'm looking forward to owning the LS430 for a long while, I am going to treat it right and hope it returns the favor.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Very clean - welcome to CL!

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on the car! I have the same color leather. It really is such a great car to drive, especially when you are on the highway and just gliding along.

shmi

Thanks!

Thank you. Yeah gliding down the highway in quiet and comfort is a pleasure in this thing, the car eats up the miles with no problem. Love it.

Tom57

Welcome to CL. Nice find.

If "ride comfort is mission # 1" think twice about 18" wheels. There is a noticeable ride difference between the 17" wheels you have and 18" wheels. There are threads on this topic. Perhaps drive a LS with 18" wheels before switching.

shmi

Hmm. Good call. I figured with enough sidewall the ride quality difference would be negligible, but I'll have to test drive one to see what I think. Thanks.

Tom57

I've driven 16", 17" and 18" wheels, and the 17" is the best combo / compromise for ride comfort, firm handling and overall appearance - IMO. Consider adding the rear sport sway bar (with sport bushings) if you want a little stiffer body roll control in corners and expressway driving.

jpv7774

She is hot dude.......Love that color combo. I am impressed with your mechanical skills....u saved a ton of money by doing the maint your self. I see you are in VA.......are u at the Audi dealership in Chantilly by any chance? Looks like you have plowed through several of the common tinkering items that our cars need.......have u checked for tilt and telescope functions of steering wheel? Loose center console lid? Mirror adjustment switch?

JPV

shmi

Good info, thanks. Where can I find more info on that sway bar? Like a part number or place to purchase? Is it from Lexus or aftermarket? Thanks in advance.

Yeah the Audi dealership in Chantilly is correct haha. Yeah I read up on buyers guides and through forums for a while so I already knew to look out for the steering column, luckily it works great and the service records for the car shows it was replaced at around 60,000 miles. Hopefully it died and they replaced it with a revised unit that fails less, but either way, it works fine. Debating having the Lexus dealership turn off the self-retracting feature. Center console lid is fine. Mirror switch works most of the time. I think maybe once or twice in the 10-12 times I've used it, it didn't move the mirrors, so maybe I'll replace it or try cleaning the contacts on it.

jpv7774

Hey SHMI
Ya we bought our Q5 from that dealership. I live just down the road from there. Personally I love the steering wheel retract feature and would never disconnect.....it makes it easier to get in and out of the car. The mirror contacts are easy to clean but not a 100% fix every time. I have an 04 so if you ever want to compare the two cars let me know and I will stop by. I drive by your dealership every day.

I run 17" stock wheels with Pirelli P7s plus tires for comparison..

shmi

haha, nice! I do like the retracting feature, I'm just worried it'll cause extra wear and tear and break again down the line, and I really don't want to fix it. Not sure what I'll do yet. Thanks for the offer to compare! Might take you up on it sometime. How do you like the P7s? I'm due for new tires in a couple months.

ryanSC300lover

iTrader: (1)

Yours doesn't come with the rear seat ceiling drop down vanity?

On mine that is a big hit everyone uses

jpv7774

SHMI

I have a thread that is about 35 pages long regarding the Pirelli P7 plus............There are a few other threads where the Michelin guys chat about their tire vs the P7s......Just do a search on the site for Pirelli P7 and read up.....bottom line is that they are a great tire for our car. If u buy make sure u buy the P7 " plus "
If u drive my car and feel the P7s u will buy them

Tom57

The sport rear sway bar: 48812-50130
The sport rear sway bar bushings: 48818-50020

The sport rear sway bar is 1 mm thicker than standard, but it makes a subtle, but noticeable difference in handling.

Here's a thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...reviews-2.html

shmi

Nope, didn't even know that was an option! But in any case there's rarely anybody back there so no big deal to me.

Yeah I might look into those. Going to read some reviews and comparisons and see what I want to do. Thanks!

Awesome, very helpful thank you! I'll take a close look at that.