New here, coming from the 4 runner world so we are loosely related. I have always loved the LS430 and I'm at a point of giving my old 4 runner to my almost 16 year old daughter, kill me. I found a very low mile (55k) 2003 with the Ultra Luxury package. All maintenance done at the dealer before it was due and the car looks to be in good shape. My concern is having so many bells and whistles on a 13 year old car no matter how well maintained it is. Do the UL packages hold up pretty well or should I be looking for something with out nav, adaptive suspension etc.

Great forum you guys have, thanks for helping a new guy get up to speed.

 

Welcome! I think many avoid the ultra luxury because it costs $1k per corner to repair.....I ended up with a modern luxury, but if I could do it again I'd like to shoot for a custom luxury. The custom luxury has headlight washers and laser cruise, and also side laminated glass. Just me I would prefer an '05 or newer, there seems to have been a mid year '04 tranny update, and the '04+ have the new headlamps and I think LED tails. So just a little newer and it looks newer....I think in retrospect, regardless of miles, all LS430's should have a timing belt/water pump job done based on age, so if not done, I would want to deduct from the selling price....the going rate seems to be $800 at a indie, and $1400 at a dealer....good luck. People seem to love their 4Runners and Tacomas....and Tundras....guess it's a Toyota thang!

 

Welcome aboard Bryan.
Yes, there are some added costs to the Ultra model if the struts fail, but beyond that they're very reliable cars. There are a few good threads discussing the air struts on here, and alternative repairs if/when they fail. We have many Ultra owners who love their cars, so make sure to research and don't take to heart any single opinion about the Ultra.
If you are a DIYer, you can save quite a bit of money on repairs, and there are many great threads here that discuss the most common problems the LS encounters.

Remember, they're like buses. If you miss this one, another will be coming along soon.

 

Correct me please, but I dont think the Ultra has a through hatch for skis or fishing poles. I think theres a cooler.

I take my boys fishing so we always use the back seat hatch to set the poles through.

 

If you do a thorough search for the UL and now after so many years, most will agree, that now once these great cars are aged, it's best to look for a base model or anything other than the UL. Great when new, but not these days Good luck with whatever you decide to buy.

 

I would not be scared off by a UL. Let me explain, I sold my '02 UL with 170k after acquiring a pristine '03 with 65k, Nav and ML audio. The most important thing is mileage, maintenance and overall condition. Once you find that, learn to live with whatever option package it comes with. All things equal, I would have gotten another UL if a suitable example presented itself.

That said, here's what you need to know. The air suspension on the UL will eventually fail. It does not pay to fix it. Used air struts can be bought on ebay for $300 apiece, etc but they will eventually fail as well. Just plan, somewhere down the line to replace the system with a conventional suspension. If you do the work yourself, parts will be about $1000 to $1200. If you have it done, plan on closer to $2,000. Some members throw $50 to $100 a month into an envelope to cover the expense when it arises. While the expense seems high, it is insignificant if you like the car, drive it a long time and enjoy it. Use this when you are arriving at a price.

The UL has many other features that are not needed but delight their owners. The extra leather trim, quiet double pane side windows, soft close doors, auto sensor cruise control, and separate rear seat air conditioner to name a few. All of the advantages and disadvantages of the UL package have been discussed in this forum. Search and you will find.

Remember, these cars are like lakefront property. They are not making them any more and low mileage well maintained examples are getting more difficult to find. If that car happens to be a UL, don't be so quick to dismiss it.

 

The UL shock are a hit or miss. Drove my 01' ultra luxury until 175K miles when I traded it in and it still had original shocks. It wasn't until about 160K miles the dealer finally told me left front shock was leaking. Up until then it was just as reliable as my 06' LS430. I had heard about air shocks when I got the car as well. But the thing to do is plan for worst possibility you save a few thousand and if they do go bad you replace with regular LS shocks instead of air shocks again. Unless you are specifically buying the UL for the air suspension.

 

Lose the UL.. Get a Base Model LS430 or start looking for a LS460. Our cars (LS430) are getting older by the day... Time is moving on.

 

+! go for it from here.. lol

 

Custom luxury is the way to go. The best features of UL minus the air shocks. Also, 04+ gets you the 6spd tranny, updated lights on both ends, bluetooth phone, and IMHO looks better than the 01-03.

 

You are correct. CL is the way to go. Your analysis assumes low mileage, well maintained CL's are readily available. The reality is, they are not. Mileage, maintenance and condition should come before option packages.

 

You might just have to be willing to travel to find one. I drive 8 hours to pick up mine almost 3 years ago with less than 80k on it.

 

I spent several months looking for my most recent LS. Never saw a CL for sale. Agree miles, service and condition are higher priority. The UL package on a new LS would have been great. Too many potential problems now that our cars are much older. Beside the cost, it's a headache to deal with repairs. Indie vs dealer. Back up car while the LS gets fixed (if it's an Indie). Do air or replace w/ conventional struts. Etc etc

 

While the 01-03's are nice cars, the 04-06's have the above features. I don't know if the SmartKey was available for earlier generation but it's a lot of bang for the buck. The manual shift option on the 6 speed is handy. The 04-06's are also a little faster and get better gas mileage. JMO

 

Let's face it....most here either DIY or have an indie, without that, it would likely not be worth it to deal with a car 11 y.o. as far as repairs go (just drive it). Look at those packaged services every 5k, and what they cost--every other thing is check this, inspect that. The superfecta on any 11+ y.o. car that rolls into a dealer for a multipoint is going to be, LCA's, shocks, motor mounts, and water pump/timing belt. This is if the records do not indicate that they were done, they don't even have to look. Kapow! (my hunch is someone who is by the book trades in their '06 at this point and let's the dealer give them $8500--many people do what the dealer recommends and don't like driving a car where service was recommended and they don't do it.) That's about $5,500 at the dealer right there. Now how good of a deal was a 2006 for 12-14k? Heaven forbid the indie I've found decides to retire (he's been open since 1983, do the math....). I'm still likely to buy at least one new car in my lifetime and I'll just save for it like a squirrel for the next 15 years....

edit p.s. meaning, "Japanese specialist" doesn't really mean much when the owner was born 1996. You want someone who has worked on LS' and various Toyota V8's in his prime and is now older, like the cars...and still working on them. Not someone who knows someone who knows someone's dad who is pretty familiar with them

edit#2 what is also interesting, is the dealer will recommend to the customer to do the superfecta to get the car back up to snuff. They'll take it in trade, turn around and list it for $17k because it only has 60k, but they won't perform said services when reconditioning it for sale. Now that's a good business model! My point is that even cars with perfect service histories, likely got disposed when they came up upon $1500+ jobs, as said jobs are never part of the so-called 5k services. A person who can buy a 60k+ car new, is generally not stupid--there's a reason why they got rid of a car with low miles....,my .02 it's a total caveat emptor