Ran down to the auction to check out a few prospective cars to flip and I saw this 460 sitting in the lot, so I figured I would take a gander. It's a 2008 with 134K on the clock. Has a few dings here and there, front bumper needs a repaint..
I open up the door and first glance the interior looks clean, until I look over at the arm rest!

I haven't looked at that many 460s, but wow... This arm rest to tore up.

The rest of the interior wasn't bad. My 2001 interior looks and has aged better and there aren't any gaping holes exposing foam filler anywhere...

Just one more reason why I'm glad I bought into the 430

 

'Build quality' isn't the right way to describe these differences (how the interior ages) and it's difficult to draw meaningful comparisons between the two cars - the owners are different and the conditions of use are different.

Care and treatment matters so much more than anything else. I owned my car for a 3 years and parked it inside a garage at work and home, the interior didn't age a bit. Now, after a year of keeping the car outside 24/7 (moved to a new place, changed jobs) the interior isn't looking so hot. The leather on the back of the rear head rests is sun damaged, the arm rest on the driver's door is ripped / cracking, the leather on the passenger seat is wearing really unevenly, the dash is warping, and there are cracks in the wood on the steering wheel. But I'll get a few more years of use out of it.

If you want a car with an interior that doesn't age, get something with a simple, cloth interior. A Corolla would do the trick. I bet the average 1994 Corolla on the road has a more intact driver's seat than a 1994 LS400

 

When I first saw the LS430 interior, I thought the quality was very high. When I had to take things apart to replace the cupholder, I have to admit, it wasn't what I had initially thought. The pieces with the wood do not strike me as high quality at all, however, they fit well. So I guess it's what we want. I don't find that the seats in Japanese cars are as high a quality as that of Germans. Then again, the reliability is superior. Again, what is it we are looking for drives what is best for us...my .02

 

Is that the Mannheim Milwaukee facility? How many cars do you flip every year?

 

I agree. I should have called the thread something else other than build quality. That's not a fair assessment. It may have been a heavier driver, or how they drove. Perhaps where the car was stored?? Who knows.. But, yes, build quality was not the best title.

As far as looking for a car, no, I'm not shopping for myself.

 

Yeah, Manheim.. It's a fun place to go try out cars without a salesman staring at me... I only do a couple a year. I usually buy cheap subcompacts that don't need much. I focus on cars that are 10-14 years old that will sell for under 4,000 dollars. That way i can buy em cheap and clean them up and resell them for a little profit. If I do more than 3 or 4 cars, the state wants to know where my dealer license is. So, I keep it to a minimum... It's just a hobby...

 

Had the same problem (no garage). We get hot sun (sometimes 100+) all summer. Solution was a high quality car cover (on whenever not driving) and tinted windows. Kept the interior cool. No problems w/ paint. Yeah it's kind of a pain but worked well. Also mine's not a daily driver so that helps too.

 

I was under the impression that you needed a dealer license just to get into the auction lots to begin with? Not so???

 

What you saw with the 430 wood interior is the same thing you would see with any luxury car. Wood veneer over a plastic or aluminum frame. Solid wood is prone to splitting or warping, so it isn't ideal for automotive applications.

 

Yes, you do need to either be associated with a dealership, or be a dealer yourself. I have a friend who owns a small lot in Milwaukee

 

Is this the dreaded "melting" of the door panel that occurs in the '07-'09 models? Have read quite a bit about that on the 4th gen forum. If the car came from a state with a lot of heat and sun exposure, my guess is that would be partly to blame. It was addressed in '10 and later.

 

That might explain it.. Similar to the bubble that forms on the dash right above the temp display on early 430's I guess?

 

I have it on the pass side, near the airbag in the dash....cousin noticed it the day after I picked up the car, subtle but there.....also I think the gap between the dash and the dash pieces is likely wider today, than in 2006.....no biggie on a 11 y.o. car I guess....

 

Looks to me like this car is suffering from the symptoms associated with the door panel issue that lexus sometimes replaces as well. Ive seen various pictures from peeling to cracking or just stickiness. Mine is a 2011 and feels somewhat tacky in the FL heat. That case is one of the more severe cases I've seen picture of.

 

Sounds interesting. Hope you don't mind my asking: is the money any good doing a flip? There's probably a lot of competition for the 430's and early 460's which narrows the margin. Is the inspection visual or can you do a test drive? I recently bought something at an auction. Key is to figure your price and absolutely stick to it.