Hi CL,

Been a long while since I was here, but I'm currently considering the purchase of a 2006 LS 430 and would greatly appreciate your opinions.

This LS would be a second car for weekend trips and road trips. I bought a 2016 4Runner Limited 4x4 last year and as much as I love it, 17MPG is not ideal for road trips. Disclaimer: I do not have the delusion of thinking that buying a ~$13k LS 430 is going to financially save me any money for the +10 MPG I'll get in an LS on the highway. There would be plenty of other advantages as well - I'd like to keep miles off the 4R, and quite frankly, I'd just love to have an LS.

I started looking and wanted to spent $11-12k OTD on something around 100k miles. Began with Private Sellers and have now found one at a dealership that I like.

Specs:
2006 Lexus LS 430
Briarwood on Cashmere
109k miles
One owner
Every single service has been done at Lexus
90k service done (by Lexus)
Interior is in great shape
Exterior needs a little work - someone backed into something low speed and there is a gash in the rear bumper, a few scratches here and there
Has: Nav, Levinson sound, rear sunshade, 18" wheels, heated/cooled seats
2 Keys
Clean title - never an accident
Asking price: $13,599
Price they quoted me: $14,100 OTD

I think that I can get them to be around $13,500 OTD, but this is a bit above the cash budget that I set for myself and the other side of me says, "Wait to find a Private Seller who will take the $10-11k you want to spend." On the other side, the interior of this car is practically pristine and the maintenance record is flawless.

A few notes:
- I like the Briarwood color a lot. It's a classic LS color combo with the cashmere, IMO. I'd have preferred white or blue, but this car has such a stellar maintenance record and clean interior that it made me look at the car and I like the color a lot in person.
- The exterior scrapes and dings aren't bad and I could probably get someone to fill in the color and buff the car for $500 or so. The dealer has promised to fix the rear bumper if I buy the car.
- Wheels are pristine and there isn't one single bit of curb rash on one of them, which shows me that the car was driven carefully and maintained well.

Any thoughts on a yes/no and pricing would be greatly appreciated. I've also done plenty of research and short of a potential door lock actuator, the steering column or power side mirrors, I don't think this car should give me any problems for a long time to come. Thoughts?

 

I think you may be pleasantly surprised, and others can concur.....my LS430 seems to get 27-28.x mpgs when set on cruise at about 70 mph....the worst I have ever seen was in total bumper to bumper, 14 mpg. On my daily commute, it gets 19-20.x, a combo of highway with mostly city. For comparison's sake, from 2010 to 2016, my 1998 Maxima SE 5-spd got 21.7. So it's about a 1.5 mpg penalty to drive the V8. I kick it around with a buddy, to most people today, 19 mpg is abhorrent, they are looking for over 25 city, like in an Altima 4 cyl, etc....so when I say 28, he really isn't impressed at all, that's premium too....but there is something to be said about a NA V8 and having over 300 ft. lbs......and still getting at least 19 or more....

my .02, I would like to get 60k to 80k if it were me, and in the $12k range....no accidents, southern car, etc....good luck!

 

Thanks for your insight, John!

I just stumbled on a 2005 that is no nav, no ML but has the 18" wheels and 69k miles. Private seller. Gray on black leather.

I feel like nobody uses factory navigation anymore in the age of Waze, and I'm not exactly expecting a 2005 model year car to have a fantastic audio system. This combo seems like a simple, no-brainer for reliability over the next few years.

In my experience with Lexus, the late 90s and early 00s nav units aren't hugely reliable.

 

take some cd's and cassette tapes for checking the speakers. they are expensive and labor to fix can be tiresome. except for the speakers I believe that car will be trouble free. I have no issues with door locks or steering wheel motors/ mirrors. they work fine at 127,000 miles. color is not great, I would prefer something else.

 

I got my 2005 ls430 black on black with 80k miles in similar condition for 12k 2 years ago Only difference is that mine is a base model with no navi. I think the price is rather on the higher side I've seen ls460s for not much more with the same miles if you're willing to travel to get it.

 

If I could have anything I wanted, it would be the Custom Luxury (you can tell by having headlight washers), that would give the car laminated side glass. Then, I would like the aniline leather which has stitching on the dashboard....why not, these extra "niceties" are not going to cost any more on the used market...just make the car nicer....the only disadvantage is the CL's have soft close doors, so the actuators cost more to replace, but I'm ok with that....true I have never used the nav to route me, but I do use it as a map pointing northward, in addition to my android phone/google maps....not a problem imho....

 

My perfect car would have the UL package with the conventional suspension - not bags. I know the air suspension is replaceable, but I'd rather not bother at this point

 

If you can find a 2004, you'll have the same car but spend less. With how you're going to use it, you can get a car with 120-150k on it and still have a long serviceable life - for $6-8k.

There are plenty out there - keep looking.

 

If you like the Briarwood, they are hard (impossible) to find. It was custom order color. The stellar service is a BIG plus for these cars. Looks like a great car.

 

I think a bit pricey and you can do better with a little more looking and patience. I know you say you like the color but may be talking yourself into it vs the colors you really are looking for because the condition is decent and the 90k (assume including timing replacement) is done.

I suspect most will likely have navigation but you can just ignore it and use Waze (which is what I do most of the time). I personally prefer a 2005 / 2006.

Maybe take a run at getting it into your price range and let them know what you're willing do to do... cash, today, here at the end of the month.

 

Sorry, but I have not read every thread as I go to many forums, but what I can see, the price is too high for your car. If you love it, then do your thing and check it out. But with that mileage and color you can certainly do better. Our cars require maintenance and repairs..... all of them regardless of miles and they are expensive! Keep looking if necessary and find the right car. Yours is overpriced.. Just my 2 cents.. and what do I know?

 

I have them down to $13,500 OTD which includes $784 in ad valorem taxes. So that puts the car itself at about $12,700. Going to have the car inspected by Lexus tomorrow.

More to come... thanks for the opinions!

 

I like to have them take more off, but have a rationale...at that mileage, usually a multipoint recommends lower control arm bushings, a $1400 job at Lexus ($250 to $400 at indie plus parts, $120 on ebay). Let's take it down to $11,900, and we have a deal (how it pans out in my mind)...

 

My experience is that a good private sale car is hard to find. A car for this price shouldn't need bodywork. Dealer promised to "fix" the bumper. This one is flag for me. You have no idea what the quality would be. I'd get an estimate from a good body shop and ask for credit. Replace the bumper and repaint? Not cheap. Yes it's an 06 Briarwood but the price seems high especially considering the bodywork.

 

Bottom line for that 'price'... get what you want and don't settle.
You won't be happy a few months down the road if you can't ride in it with pride and happy with the deal, color, ride, condition. All those things come into play.
If the decision is hard to make, then that tells you you're really not convinced it's the best thing for you.
If it's a no-brainer decision for you then by all means, take it.