Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and I have been looking at a 05 LS430 to purchase from a dealer. I am not familiar with this model at all, other than what I have read, so any advice is appreciated.. The car is Mystic Gold with the gold emblems. Tan interior with gold maple, so there is a lot of gold. Had one owner, bought and serviced at the same dealer all of its life. Has the Premium option and 18" wheels as listed on the original window sticker. No Nav. I went over it with a fine tooth comb and it is in exceptional condition. 81,000 miles. Asking $13,950. However, when road testing there was an extreme amount of tire noise. It has Michelin Pilot Sport tires with 12,000 miles on them that were installed on 4/25/14, along with a 4 wheel alignment. My 03 4Runner is much quieter on the road. Does anyone have experience with this tire, or know what may be causing the road noise? Tread looks OK, but I did not get a measurement. I'm hesitant to make an offer at this point. Thanks in advance.

Nick

 

No nav? Not that I use mines but the car looks incomplete without the screen. For that price, I'd expect it to have navi, back up cam etc.
As for the tire noise, do you know if they are OEM 17s or 18s. It could be defective tires because the LS should be a lot more quieter than your 4Runner. Is it at high or low speeds. Possibly wheel bearings but highly doubtful.

 

Sorry. Just read that it has the 18s. From what I've heard those are good tired but once again the tires can be bad. Even though it may seem to have a lot of tread left. Tires could be feathered or cupping or has uneven wear.

 

Thanks yoitskenn. I have the full service records form the dealership now, and I see that when the Michelin Pilot Sport tires were installed the dealer replaced the rear lower suspension arms with shorter arms for more positive camber and performed a 4 wheel alignment. So it's possible there is some kind of alignment issue that has affected the tires. It was more pronounced at low speed, it did seem to be more from the rear of the car. It did track nice and straight, though.
Also, I won't pay what they are asking without Nav either.

 

Something to consider is that the Pilots are more performance oriented than others so they are a bit louder. I had the Pilots on my '05 and replaced them with Primacys and they were noticeably quieter. I did enjoy the handling benefits of the Pilots but then again these are luxury cars and a smooth, quiet and serene ride is what its all about.

 

Another consideration unless you are a lover of Gold, this color (not to upset any forum members) is just about the least popular color and it should be reflected in the price. No Nav, Gold, and missing other options should be considered before moving foward.

 

I wanted to say the same thing about the gold/tan color but I didn't want to offend the small percentage that favors the gold.

 

Respectfully agree ... plus it's gold with gold emblems, which really dates the vehicle.

 

Agree gold w/ gold comments. Full disclosure; I have a gold '01 w/ silver emblems. Lightly tinted windows and chrome 17" wheels helps a little. Runs perfectly but plan to upgrade to an '04-'06 in Flint Mica or dark Blue when I find a good one. Just installed Michelin Premiers which are quiet and comfortable. Did Pirellis on my wife's ES300. Better performance, slightly louder.