BrianJBonn

Good morning everyone,

I've always been a Toyota/Lexus Dan. A friend of mine had a Toyota Avalon back when I was younger and I loved that car, from that car my love of the Lexus brand grew.

I've recently been looking at purchasing a 3rd gen LS430, I test drove a 2002 over this past weekend (did not consider buying it though) as soon as I applied the brakes the dash lit up saying "taillight failure" and I'm not sure what this meant but on the dash it showed a car with a "P" on top of it and 3 flashing lines in front of the car.

Either way the car was junk, the stereo was blown which led me to believe the previous owner was someone young and most likely didn't take care of the car. And roughly 5 minutes before returning the car to the dealership the check engine light came on.


But the car did ride great, and other than all of those obvious signs of reasons to not purchase that car I will purchase a different one.


But my main concerns are cost of ownership-

I've owned Cadillac before and all of the bells and whistles the Lexus had reminded me of Cadillac (I know, I know...Don't kill me) but that Cadillac nickel and dimed me every other week, I'd replace a sensor for this then 3 days later I'd have a new code or a new check engine light.

I guess my question is if these cars have been properly maintained they won't cause you to take out of mortgage to keep them running?, Also if something does breakdown the cost of the repair more in line with Honda/Toyota?, Or will I pay dearly?

Johnhav430

Good question.....my understanding is the overall reliability is on par with say a Camry, so that's excellent. Prior to purchasing, I guess I found that thread about listing problems, and I seemed to have left with the feeling the worst issue is the power mirrors having a problem with the switch, so I laughed. Not a huge problem in the big picture. But, of course, there are others that imho relate to electric motors etc., but not the powertrain.

I don't think the overall maintenance cost is on par with Audi or BMW etc. If one simply drives into the dealership, sure, it's expensive. But in many cases, we've found indies who charge a reasonable amount and even let us supply the parts.

A bigger job is the timing belt, every 90k, or is it 7 yrs? I always forget. Indies do the complete job for about $750-$900. The dealer will be $1400 for starters, a little more for tensioner, tensioner pulley, idler, etc. Another one they'll suggest is LCA bushings, and quote it out at $1500 or so. Buy the OE parts online, have an indie do it, $250-$400.

I did the above two jobs, and now imho I'd have to invent other jobs, my car is at 92k. I think it can go maybe a year or more with nothing else (oil changes, air filter). In the back of my mind due to age (2006), I'm collecting the motor mounts and need the rear tranny mount. Don't need it done, but will at some point do it proactively. My .02....

I would look for no more than 2 owner cars, from FLA, TX, AZ, etc.....low mileage is not critical but I'd like 60k. I bought with 81k....

edit: I think this is the thread

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...xus-ls430.html

BrianJBonn

Thank you for the reply. The Camry comment really puts me at ease. I have a nice indie shop, in fact he told me when I owned my Cadillac "I won't work on any of those Cadillacs, buy a Lexus if you want a luxury car"

So he'd be my guy again. I have no problem with spending for regular maintenance items, but when common parts/features fail constantly like they did on my Cadillac it gets so depressing.

Johnhav430

It's not that common yet to see 200k, but 150k+ all the time, and someone just posted his car is at 373k.....having spent 11k behind the wheel, I do buy into the reliability factor, meaning as far as I can tell thus far, it's there and this car sails through 200k easily....some things are expensive, like a busted rear sunshade over $1k, a sideview mirror with the gel for the autodim being messed up, $400, so I personally would not fix....door actuator, $840 at dealer, most folks DIY......but again, I think when we say bulletproof, we mean the powertrain.....auto tranny drain/fills should be done too seems to be the consensus, as long as fluid is not burnt already....may take 3 of them to get down to 17% old and 83% new....4 and 5 is not as common....indies get $80 each time (mine was good enough to do 2 & 3 on same visit and only charged extra for the fluid, showed me what came out for #2--now that's integrity--he dropped the car, drove around, came back and lifted again), I think dealer gets much more....good luck...

BrianJBonn

That's my main concern, I'm not so worried about a rear sun shade or a side view mirror motor. A solid running motor and transmission is what I am most concerned with.

I mean, I went from a Cadillac to a 2000 Honda CR-V with 200k+ miles on it, simply due to the fact of worrying everyday about what was going to happen next with my Cadillac.

Johnhav430

btw my in-laws have a 2006 CR-V with 195k, and it howls. We took it to the same indie who works on my LS--they have a whiteboard (3 of them) with all the customers in the 200k club, name and model. Many CR-Vs.....anyway they drove it, put it on the lift and even ran it on the lift, and concluded transmission. Indie said just drive it, it could last a long time with the sound, can't be for certain but don't put money into a used tranny, just keep driving.....they also bought a '16 CR-V (I think--it's not the newest generation), they are sold on them....

Again, I only have 11k of experience thus far, but I do feel the reliability is there, and what may break are the electric types of assist throughout the interior (forgot to mention telescope wheel--I pulled my fuse since it was moving slowly--didn't want it to break in the wrong position--I would need to have it coded to not tilt every time the car is shut off--that's a $400 DIY, but the tilt could be another $400 DIY--again, not necessary for me). Also, with the power mirror switch, if you program the settings, then the switch is irrelevant, and you simply hit 1,2, or 3 for your seat/mirrors....

Daspyda

iTrader: (1)

Planned obsolescence is a term pioneered by the American auto industry.

You will not be disappointed with your LS430 purchase. Get a 2004+ model for better specs - see Wikipedia or this site for differences - and find one with documented service history with NMT 2 owners.

LS430inDE.

These cars are extremely reliable. Quickly thinking off the top of my head---what are some of the most "common" and expensive repair items?

On the UL (Ultra Luxury), the air shocks/suspension will spring a leak. Replacing with OEM shocks is over $1k I believe. There's many threads of owners changing to conventional coil/shocks.

On all models (Premium, ML Modern Luxury, CL Custom Luxury, UL Ultra Luxury), the tilt/telescoping wheel motor is likely to give out or work intermittently. Having Lexus repair it is quite expensive $400+? There's threads of DIY and costs less to repair obviously.)

Again, those are probably the 2 most common "expensive" items that are likely to/or are possibly even already broken on a LS430 that you'd be looking at. You should definitely study up on the "sticky" thread of how to identify the 4 different models in the 2004-2006 lineup.

All the routine maintenance items are almost as cheap as Honda parts like pads/rotors/oil/air filters/etc.

Many owners (like me) with 125k+ miles have the original alternator, although replacement can be sourced for anywhere between $250-$325.

Unlike German cars, these are not very expensive to maintain & repair, unless you plan on the dealer repairing. Then again, for the majority of us, few of us have a need to even visit the dealer aside from lounging in the leather recliners, sipping on "free" coffee & drinks, and viewing/test driving the latest LS's in the showroom, lol.

If you find a decently maintained LS (doesn't even have to be well maintained!), chances are, it will not let you down!

Good luck!

Legender

No second mortgage needed. It will need care and feeding but nothing like other vehicles. All cars with these types of miles will need normal maintenance. The LS just fares much better than most.
These are harder to find as they get older and with more miles on them. They're still out there, but you won't find them on the Lexus lot as a used car.
They are still diamonds, but you'll have to mine to get the one you want.
Good luck in your search..

JffGRY706

agree with some advice but disagree with other. my experience with independants is that the savings is not much. indy charged $90 per hour for labor while local dealer charges $110 so savings is minimal. also if you don't use it you will lose it. my mirrors fold and my steering wheel extends and lowers every time I start the car. no problem with sunscreen either. these things were over engineered just like everything else on these cars, but if you disable them then they will most likely not work when you try to enable them in the future. I have put 53,000 miles on my car in 51 months with no problems. I did have to replace 3 of 4 non air shocks and dealer charged $400 to replace 1 while independent charged $880 to replace 2. 126,000 miles and original control arm bushings still good. best and most reliable car I have owned.

jayclapp

I agree. Everything in my car works, looks, and drives and rides, as if it were new. I see no sense in having it if I can't enjoy it to it's fullest. All maintenance and upkeep done by me local Penske Lexus dealer.

Johnhav430

YMMV. If the savings were not much, then other than integrity (like with mine I can call up the tech, talk to him and inspect my car, have him show me on the lift how to perform the tranny drain/fill if I want to do at home, he took it upon himself to do drain/fill #2 and #3 on one visit by dropping the car, driving it, coming back....the level of trust), how would an indie survive? Other than if one lived in a non-competitive area and there were no dealers nearby is my guess. They absolutely should be charging less, because one would generally have less recourse if something were to go wrong (like the timing belt fiasco that was posted here recently, I don't think we ever heard what the resolution was). The most common example is the timing belt job--it starts at $1400 at the dealer, and is not complete meaning usually not included are tensioner, idler pulley, idler, which is an "every other" at Toyota. Most indies are $700-$900 complete, with the Aisin TKT-021.

I agree, when savings are not much, then go to the dealer if not DIY.