LS430 shopping - first contact
Thread Starter
Pit Crew
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 164
Likes: 9
From: Stamford CT & Weeki Wachee FL
Gronemus-- Just the radio. Forgot to bring a CD. There may have been something wrong with it.
Caverman-- I definitely don't want a UL. And I don't really want a 460 either. The plan is to get a nice 430 and run it a couple hundred thousand miles.
Caverman-- I definitely don't want a UL. And I don't really want a 460 either. The plan is to get a nice 430 and run it a couple hundred thousand miles.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8,575
Likes: 391
From: PA
I emailed my buddy a link to a 2006 A8L for sale, $13k, what a beautiful car in Houston, and he said yeah, good luck with that (his sunshade broke on the Q5 and it's $1,800 to fix, so he just clipped it back).
imho getting the LS430 you want, is simply a matter of time. Since you want to keep it a long time, get what you really want, it's out there!
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,241
Likes: 55
From: CA
Good advice on playing w/ settings. I was disappointed w/ ML at first. Fiddled w/ bass, balance, DSL, etc and found combo of settings I liked. It's a personal choice but you can "fine tune" the sound.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8,575
Likes: 391
From: PA
I actually was thinking about that when I was monkeying with the DSL...that I wanted it to be natural....oh well
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161120
Pit Crew
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 206
Likes: 37
From: WA
The sub in the rear on these cars are know to go out. In my '04 I used some high quality outdoor silicon and to fill in the tears and it worked pretty good. Not perfect but good for me work with. I just picked up an '05 Cypress Peral two days ago and the sub sounded plenty good.
GPS on these....I don't even bother. If it wasn't for the backup camera I would prefer not to even have it. I use my phone and the Waze app instead...but that's me.
Hope to not start a fire storm with this but research the issues with the suspensions on the UL before buying one. Make sure you know what you might be potentially getting yourself into.
I know you said the 98k mile car is gone but my '04 I got with 112K on it and it got killed by hail at 134k. My '05 I just picked up has 111k and it runs great.
I looked at Carmax as well, they are good cars backed by what seems to be a good company but you will pay for that. I found some but most had at least a $600 transport fee tacked onto the price. $12k - $14k was okay for me on an LS430 but much more than that and I would have stepped up to a LS460. With that being said though, two separate Lexus certified mechanic shops both told me they prefer the LS430 over the LS460 for maintenance. For me, I like the LS430 and will keep mine until the price for the '13+ LS460 becomes affordable for me. Then I'll probably step up to one of those.
GPS on these....I don't even bother. If it wasn't for the backup camera I would prefer not to even have it. I use my phone and the Waze app instead...but that's me.
Hope to not start a fire storm with this but research the issues with the suspensions on the UL before buying one. Make sure you know what you might be potentially getting yourself into.
I know you said the 98k mile car is gone but my '04 I got with 112K on it and it got killed by hail at 134k. My '05 I just picked up has 111k and it runs great.
I looked at Carmax as well, they are good cars backed by what seems to be a good company but you will pay for that. I found some but most had at least a $600 transport fee tacked onto the price. $12k - $14k was okay for me on an LS430 but much more than that and I would have stepped up to a LS460. With that being said though, two separate Lexus certified mechanic shops both told me they prefer the LS430 over the LS460 for maintenance. For me, I like the LS430 and will keep mine until the price for the '13+ LS460 becomes affordable for me. Then I'll probably step up to one of those.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8,575
Likes: 391
From: PA
Gotta add my 2 cents. I got a 2004 LS430 Ultra just last month with 157000 and impeccable records😁 for $11450 and a 1 year warranty. A word on air suspensions. Mine has been checked and found to be fully functional. In fact, the service rep at two different Lexus dealerships and a very close friend certified Toyota tech said they have never seen an air suspension go bad! Not saying it doesn't, I just don't think the paranoia is warranted. There just dog gone good cars. I don't know how or why I got lucky and no one got this one before I did. But it is immaculate. Good luck.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,241
Likes: 55
From: CA
Same plan here, and really feel confident that the LS430 is gonna be trouble free and go the distance. Back when the BMW twin turbos (N54) were having the stalling issues (ABC News was the catalyst to BMW doing the massive recall), I thought it was ironic how my Maxima with then 150k was the likely more reliable day to day car. People on the forum were afraid to drive their BMWs on a 2 hour trip lol In 19 years, my Maxima only failed to start when.....the starter broke! I would say don't let go of the 330Ci, however, you want to be able to drive that and appreciate how well it was designed for the driver. After driving my BMW this weekend, and my wife's suv, and having the LS sit, when I got back in it, the softness and lightER steering felt exaggerated....this is not a car anybody is gonna autocross....
I emailed my buddy a link to a 2006 A8L for sale, $13k, what a beautiful car in Houston, and he said yeah, good luck with that (his sunshade broke on the Q5 and it's $1,800 to fix, so he just clipped it back).
imho getting the LS430 you want, is simply a matter of time. Since you want to keep it a long time, get what you really want, it's out there!
I emailed my buddy a link to a 2006 A8L for sale, $13k, what a beautiful car in Houston, and he said yeah, good luck with that (his sunshade broke on the Q5 and it's $1,800 to fix, so he just clipped it back).
imho getting the LS430 you want, is simply a matter of time. Since you want to keep it a long time, get what you really want, it's out there!
Thread Starter
Pit Crew
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 164
Likes: 9
From: Stamford CT & Weeki Wachee FL
There's an 06 near me that may be worth looking at. In the pics I see perforated leather, seat heat/cool *****, parking sensors in the bumpers, and standard stereo/AC (no Nav or ML) That means it's a Premium pkg, right? It also has 18" wheels, and it's black cherry with tan!
Lack of backup camera is a bummer. Maybe laminated side glass would have been nice. There aren't many other options I really care about.
What about the keyless entry? Does it open the doors when you approach with the key in your pocket? Does the car start with a button, like my wife's '15 RX? Or is it just a fob key with lock/unlock buttons?
thanks
kevin
Lack of backup camera is a bummer. Maybe laminated side glass would have been nice. There aren't many other options I really care about.
What about the keyless entry? Does it open the doors when you approach with the key in your pocket? Does the car start with a button, like my wife's '15 RX? Or is it just a fob key with lock/unlock buttons?
thanks
kevin
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,131
Likes: 199
From: DFW, TX
All of a sudden I have a ton of new LS430 ads popping up on my computer. I didn't find these when I was searching for an LS. They are a little more than I really wanted to pay but if they are as nice as they look it might be worth the extra money.
Here is a low mileage Cypress Pearl with the tan interior and it's in FL:
https://www.carfax.com/vehicles/JTHB...&partner=CTO_C
Silver one that looks nice as well:
https://www.carfax.com/vehicles/JTHB...&partner=CTO_C
Here is a low mileage Cypress Pearl with the tan interior and it's in FL:
https://www.carfax.com/vehicles/JTHB...&partner=CTO_C
Silver one that looks nice as well:
https://www.carfax.com/vehicles/JTHB...&partner=CTO_C
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8,575
Likes: 391
From: PA
There's an 06 near me that may be worth looking at. In the pics I see perforated leather, seat heat/cool *****, parking sensors in the bumpers, and standard stereo/AC (no Nav or ML) That means it's a Premium pkg, right? It also has 18" wheels, and it's black cherry with tan!
Lack of backup camera is a bummer. Maybe laminated side glass would have been nice. There aren't many other options I really care about.
What about the keyless entry? Does it open the doors when you approach with the key in your pocket? Does the car start with a button, like my wife's '15 RX? Or is it just a fob key with lock/unlock buttons?
thanks
kevin
Lack of backup camera is a bummer. Maybe laminated side glass would have been nice. There aren't many other options I really care about.
What about the keyless entry? Does it open the doors when you approach with the key in your pocket? Does the car start with a button, like my wife's '15 RX? Or is it just a fob key with lock/unlock buttons?
thanks
kevin
Nobody has been able to answer thus far, but my car locks all 4 doors (actuators click) each and every time the lock is clicked, either on the door, or with the fob. This may be just my car, but imho this puts 2-3X the wear on the actuators, none of our other 3 cars does this, once locked, click away all you like, nothing happens at the actuators. Again, proof of this, is on my wife's car, if you want audible acknowledgement via the horn, that you locked the car, you must press the fob 2X. But this does not cause the actuators to do their thing a 2nd time. Maybe this is why Lexus has so many actuators needing replacement?
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,131
Likes: 199
From: DFW, TX
Not sure that this would have anything to do with it but last night I was setting up my remote so that is was in sync with my memory seat and I saw in the owners manual where you can set how many doors open up with your remote. Mine was set that when you unlocked with the remote it would only unlock one door and I wanted it to unlock all four doors. I can't remember the exact sequence but if you look in the owners manual toward the front you'll see it. I think it's in the first section of the book. I had to do something and hold the lock on my remote at the same time. There are three settings signified by beeps and they were something like open one door, open all doors, and open the side closest to you.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8,575
Likes: 391
From: PA
Interesting, that would be great if there's a way to stop the actuators from clicking every time the fob is clicked, when already locked...pretty sure only one door unlocks the first time, on mine, I would think that's a safety issue....I've tested where if I open the pass side by touching the handle, the driver side does not unlock if someone tries to....it just dawned on me, even though a car can be as new as 2006, it can be as old as 2001, and possibly produced in 2000, making this 90's technology....
These cars are so old now that a few thousands miles over 12-14 years means nothing. I'd rather have a car in the mid 100's that's well-maintained with few owners, records, recent service, etc than a garage queen anyday.
If you drive even 25k miles a year, you'll have 4-6 years or more before you have to replace it.
My Modern Luxury trim LS was a 2004 with 147k, recent TB/WP service, new tires and brakes - for $8,900.
If you drive even 25k miles a year, you'll have 4-6 years or more before you have to replace it.
My Modern Luxury trim LS was a 2004 with 147k, recent TB/WP service, new tires and brakes - for $8,900.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,489
Likes: 107
From: AZ
Interesting, that would be great if there's a way to stop the actuators from clicking every time the fob is clicked, when already locked...pretty sure only one door unlocks the first time, on mine, I would think that's a safety issue....I've tested where if I open the pass side by touching the handle, the driver side does not unlock if someone tries to....it just dawned on me, even though a car can be as new as 2006, it can be as old as 2001, and possibly produced in 2000, making this 90's technology....