Coulter

I think it's a combination of a lot of factors and hard truths.

The LS was/is a really small volume car to begin with.
There's very few "mods" you can do on LS430s outside of things like wheel rims. So that alone eliminates a lot of discussion to simply repairs.
The people that were excited about their new, fresh ride have moved on long ago, and these cars now are in the hands of people who just want inexpensive transportation and don't really care all that much. I see a lot of ratty ones on the road. They probably just "google" their problem, find a solution here, and then move on without actually participating.

Also, when I do see an LS430 on the road that was likely the original owner and has been taken care of, 9 times out of 10 the owner is older, bordering on elderly. Those types of people rarely participate on internet automotive forums anyway.

The other "hard truth" is these cars just don't have a big following from car enthusiasts. Very few "car people" I know will take a second glance at an LS.

Johnhav430

hahaha bogleheads, I've always had it in the back of my mind to join. I have a feeling that people there think like myself. We live in PA and my wife has worked for the co. and has met him. He ate in the co. cafeteria and waited in line like everyone else. With the changes of the guard people who work there state things have gone downhill, then again, many things have and it is often more people and less resources. Most memorable quote, "Three out of four money managers cannot beat the index, so why pay them to try?"

Anyway, when I look at my own car interests, I seem to have liked cars since kindergarten. My dad said you were always telling me how many HP a car had and at what rpm it developed its peak torque, when you were in 2nd grade, and I found it odd. This is coming from an aeronautical engineer who was explaining to me why an inline 6 is balanced, a V6 and V8 are not, and I wasn't getting it.

In my own career, I have only purchased 3 cars brand new, and that may have ended with the LS430 being 11 y.o. when I bought it. 2/3 of those cars were on the Car and Driver Ten Best list for their generations, so I like to think I am engaged and have good taste based on the information that's out there. I'm driving a brand new Santa Fe with 180 miles right now as I'm on business. My choices were RAM 1500 Hemi 5.7's, Impala (got in and it had 11k), Rogue, etc. Took a look at the Hyundai's rims and the brakes still had the cross-hatch pattern on the rotors, so I grabbed it. Granted it's not as nice as our LS', but I can see the typical family using this and enjoying its utility.

I like to think the purchase of the used LS430 was a wise decision--its price at $14k is a bit high for a 11 y.o. car, but at this point I've had 15k problem-free miles and likely many to come. Just need fuel to not skyrocket....just sharing what my thoughts are on cars in general....

PearlUni05

I will agree with Bocatrip. There is not much foot traffic in the LS 430 section. Being a new owner and have always wanted one of these since I worked on a LS400 when it was new I am happy with my purchase. I am on here checking out posts and tbh I rarely visit the other sections. The reliability factor of these cars do cause a lack of posts and modifying them you are limited as someone mentioned. I am a member of the MR2 forum as well and that has dwindled in activity also due to most folks moving on to different platforms, and the age of the car, though parts(aftermarket) are still available for it. I learned how to use the search button from being a member of other forums so I rarely post questions. Most of the answers we are looking for have already been answered. I will continue to try and gather as much information about my car from the forum as the Lexus techs mostly have general knowledge. Forums is where owners can get pertinent information about their cars and other enthusiasts enjoy the common interest.

Jabberwock

This thread sparked some questions in my mind as to how internet topic specific forums will age over the years. I have seen some forums create "archive status" of little to no activity older sections where they are essentially only searchable. Hoping that does not happen to the LS430 forum for a long while yet but at some point it may happen.

Duck05

Being on 3 model forums (SC 1st gen, LS 3rd gen, and LS 4th gen) I agree somewhat that the "traffic" is not as heavy relatively speaking but the quality of existing information and contributors that are active provide worthwhile posts. Have to wade through some of the noise but in general a nice group of owners.

While I jumped in with both feet on modding the SC, the options for the LS models are not that many and have large investments. Being that a 3rd gen LS is quite a resale value, most are not buying these cars to do a bunch of changes (unlike the IS models).

As for other social media platforms diluting this forum, I have not found those formats to be as informative or organized to improve on what is on here.

tallcaguy

I look before I post a new thread. Still stop by every day.

ltd76gold

Me too. Almost every day.

Site traffic during summer generally is slower, afaik, across all boards (pun intended).
As a retired ISF tech (home theater calibrations/consultations) traffic on the highest volume sites always dropped when the sun was out.

But... As of this morning there were 500 to 600 viewing just this LS group.

With the incredible amount of good data to be had on this site, imo, no cause for alarm. The LS badge is still the (go-to) for those that desire a quality ride.
All the best,
Doug k

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

This section was pretty active from 2011-2015. I had browsed this forum a lot in that period and it seemed like modded LS430's ran the Lexus scene at car shows. Quite a few members were killing it with awesome builds and threads were popping all the time. I noticed since 2016 it has slowed down due to so many people using Facebook for stuff.

I saw the same thing on the SC400/SC300 forum a few years ago. Me and another guy started the Facebook group "The SC Crew" and quite a few member left and joined that. By 2014 a lot of guys were mainly on social media. I meet a lot of new young Lexus owners in the car scene that strictly use social media accounts and never post on here. Some may browse the forums and have accounts but never post.

These days it seems like the IS and GS forums are the most popular still. This section was never as busy but it had a nice steady flow. I think as long as we keep posting build threads, new information, tutorials, and keep asking questions this section will stay alive.

Johnhav430

I was thinking about this.....I just haven't purchased enough cars, but I've never been loyal to any make, simply purchased what I thought offered something for the money. So my first two new cars, a 1998 and a 2007, both happened to be on the C&D 10 Best list. My wife's 2011 was not, it's an SUV. Now, in 2016, we bought the LS when it was 11 y.o. (2006). We have all 4 cars today, but the 1998 has to go.

Just me, I've never liked the 4th gen LS, and initially was not blown away by the 2018 LS500. But after watching YouTubes etc., I rather like it. Maybe, just maybe, the LS is the first car that I will be brand loyal to? So who knows, 6+ years from now, maybe I get a 2019 LS500? If so, I could be on this forum for the rest of my life! lol

warminwisc

A quick google and U can find so much from Club Lexus without checking in and doing a search feature. I think when its a newer purchase more expensive car folks are more of an enthusiast than an over 10 year old car ya just drive and in alot of cases are second cars now. We want to have a LS 430 gathering I have a big house, large back yard for camping 4 bathrooms for showering and can host, centrally located in the midwest!

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

I think most of the points have been covered well by the responses. Honestly whenever I see someone driving the cars its always someone pretty old. The only people I've seen driving around in a LS430 my age (20's) was people who had it completely modded VIP style. Its actually why I bought the car originally but kept it mostly stock because of how nice it rode. The older people are definitely not going to be posting on a forum. They will bring it to the dealer typically for everything. The forum I used to post on for my 5 e60 died down too a few years back, 5 series.net. Maybe less people just use forums and prefer social media platforms. After having it theres really not much I have done to it or needed to do. I just had the 90k service done recently but I mainly just drive it and always get complimented by every person who gets in the car how comfortable it is. Most can't believe all the stuff the UL has when they get in which is pretty cool.

I had a e46 dinan M3 which was a beast but I ended up selling it because I didn't want to have something blow up on me with the miles it had (115k). You can think of that car as the total opposite as this one. I sold that and then ran across the LS430 and pulled the trigger and bought one on ebay and had it delivered. You know what, the m3 boards are crazy active and many of those threads have to do with alot of mechanical issues with the cars. The first day I bought the car I signed up on the m3 forum and started browsing and got a little scared just seeing the sheer amount of issues that could happen or gernade the engine. After my time of being on the forums I haven't seen many of the mechanical issues that the BMW's had constant topics for. I guess thats a good thing for having much less threads for that. I'd say when people do have issues they typically will google it and create a account here for asking since its still one of the biggest Lexus boards. Even with that in mind I'd say the overall reliability is very good.

Bocatrip

I am the OP and never thought there would be so much input. I'm happy for it but sometimes these threads get out of control. My thoughts are that the LS430 is not a forum/enthusiast car. Yes it's a great built wonderful car that "not that many" really realize at being so. Too bad for those. I'm keeping my 01 for as long as possible and i maybe just a few to keep maintainng it. but I love this car. Not looking for much feedback on this forum in the future. But I'm holding out to the bitter end. I love my Lexus LS430. Only $62,500 new but what car today can match it? I'll continue keeping it alive for the next few years. Cars today are made like ****. That's the bottom line.

campisi

I bought mine brand new in 2003 and paid about that for it. It's my wife's car and she is still very satisfied to drive it. Someone on this forum recently posted a thread about selling his 430 and replacing with a ES350. That got me to looking for ES350's and, dayum, there are so absolutely GREAT deals out there. But I just can't justify getting rid of a car that we are both happy with and spending a bunch of money to boot. Will be keeping it as long as it continues to be the reliable machine it's been for the last 14 years.

Johnhav430

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to the BMW forum...I ordered new, so at the time, there were a bunch of us who were tracking our orders down to the ship coming from Regensburg, Germany. Cars were around $46 to $52k in late 2006, which to me was a lot. Today, it comes down to 3rd and 4th owners and high school students complaining that their parents gave them an old 10 y.o. BMW lol I've got around 50k miles on it today, so to me, it's still new and a pleasure to drive...

I checked the inflation index, and 62,500 back in 2003, is 84,450 in 2017. Would you consider a new LS500? The price is about the same. $84k sounds like a huge sum, and it is, but I'm thinking if you did spend 60 way back when, then 84 today could be possible....I did not initially like the LS500, but now I am very intrigued by it. Maybe I will buy one CPO or used, I know we're likely to be still talking 50k+.....