I had this discussion today with a friend who has a BMW 550, which he says is about the most unreliable and most expensive to keep running car he has ever owned. My LS is a 2002 with 106,000 on it, and I have been lucky to only have the following issues. The right air struts failed (they were already failing during the warranty period, but the dealer kept denying until the warranty was well over with and he told me that the struts were leaking), and I converted the suspension. I have replaced a minor fuel hose, and just recently put in a new radiator. However, my buddy says at some point the LS is going to start failing....transmission, engine, and then some. I maintain properly, but wondered what people on this forum who really do know their stuff (I can change a light bulb) think.

I saw a 2003 for sale on the net the other day with 489,000 miles on it. The ad did not specify if the engine or transmission was original.

 

These cars will run well past 1,000,000 miles with normal routine maintenance.

 

 

Mine is a mid-2001 and I hit 189,000 on the way home from work this afternoon. 17 years old soon. My plan is to hit 300,000, and I feel I'll have no problem doing it, Eventually I'll have to do some maintenance on it, but I've been having an easy time of it over the last 3 years.

There's not another car out there like this one that could accomplish the task..

 

I have a 2006 LS430 with 105k miles on it. I have owned lots of very reliable long lived cars over a lifetime but none of them have aged as slowly as the LS430.

I am amazed at how well every thing in the car still works like new. There are zero rattles. The interior is barely showing some very slight wear, but the plastics and wood, switch gear, gauges still look great, and operate perfectly, my LS interior looks like a 1-2 year old car and not a car that is 12 years old with over 100k miles of use.
Engine and trans run smooth as silk, at idle it is difficult to tell it is even running.

Coincidentally I changed oil and filter today (M1 5w-30, Fram Ultra filter). The engine does not use a drop of oil over my normal 5k change interval.

My guess is that the LS will run very well to 200k with few issues and to 300k with only wear and tear and relatively minor repairs, getting to 400-500k+ with only minor repairs will take some luck but if an owner is willing to maintain the LS, given its extraordinary design, it could go way over 500K and still run and ride extremely well. My opinion is that the LS430 was likely the very best production line factory built car ever designed and manufactured.

Having said that as any car ages the rubber, plastics, and electronics also age and deteriorate. Given the super high quality of the LS build components I think that it will age slower than a typical car but it will still age and deteriorate over time. Repairs will be necessary and more likely as the LS ages. Parts may become harder to find, and parts you do find are expensive. Some folks may want to bail but at least for the foreseeable future I'm hanging on to mine. Cars are changing so fast right now, reminds of many years ago when PCs were getting so much faster and significantly better every year. In the next 5-7 years cars will be way better than 2018 models at auto-driving and accident avoidance systems will be way more mature. My plan is to hang on to the LS until that point (maybe by 2023-2024 for a new model? ...my LS will be 17-18 years old and I bet still running great).

 

I'm an old timer on SS .... I was a used car dealer for 35 years of my life.....years ago. I can say with out any hesitation... the LS430 has been the most reliable and best car I have ever remembered owning in all the years of car ownership... Yes.... it was over engineered. but be assured.. Lexus/Toyota will not do this again! Get one to experience one if nothing else.. the best car ever made! It's an experience.

 

What other cars come close to LS430?

 

98 toyota camry, ls400......thats all I can think of honestly the head tech at my lexus dealership said there is a guy with an 05 ls430 who just does normal maintenance goes to NY to maryland every weekend and has 530,000-540,000 miles on his car with no issues. The head tech preceded to tell me that he cannot wait for the guy to trade the car in so he can buy it for dirt cheap and drive it another 500,000 miles.

 

The 1990-1993 Accords are extremely robust, but unfortunately rust is that car's Achilles heel. Those rear quarter panels notoriously rust out.
I've seen a few 90-93 Accords with more than 500,000 on them.
Other than the Camry and LS400 mentioned above, Maybe the Volvo 240? But really, none of those cars come close to the comfort and styling of the LS series.

 

imho the achilles heels of Japanese cars are the bodies. I was shocked to find out there are actually 3rd gen LS with rusting issues. But our gen with the lack of direct injection imho is a real plus to the motor, as mentioned, one would think 500,000 easily, not sure about the tranny but I believe there are already examples of 300k (not left and right but they are there).

Again the comparison ot German cars, which would a person rather drive? At least 5+ out of 10 people would rather drive a German car, but if one is in a Honda Accord mentality, don't bother was my cousin's advice. I watched a video where a E55 AMG with 410,000 miles was taken to the dealership to see what they recommended, and they recommended $8,700 of work. Contrast that to my LS430, with 81k. I took it to the dealer and they recommended $6,000 worth of work--one could say the Lexus dealer was more dishonest than the MB dealer on the video, look at the mileage difference, and the indie stated the only Lexus recommendation that they could recommend, would be timing belt/water pump due to age, and coming up on 90k. The rest is unnecessary and he doubted they even looked at the car, they simply listed them due to age.

Sat had nice weather so I took the BMW out of the garage. Man it drives so much better than the LS430, hands down. Is it unreliable? I've owned it 11 1/2 years from new, and yes I had one major issue, the ABS/DSC failed, a $4,200 job at the dealer. But I diy'd for under $500. This is why for those who can DIY, S classes and 7 series all day long. Me I'm not bold enough and actually don't think I could work on a V8 BMW, but inline 6? pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft!

 

got the ad for that high mileage 2003?? I want to look at it.

The UZ engines in particular are extremely robust. Toyota pumped billions and billions of dollars in the 80s to design the smoothest and most reliable V8 at the time. Land Cruisers, LS's and Tundras all have examples of hitting a million miles with these engines.

 

I wish there were more of that, but I don't think the focus is such, no need to build a car that lasts forever anymore....

Personally, I am excited to see the '19 Corolla comes with a new manual tranny. It is not below me to drive a Corolla (my dad had one when he was around 35, his 2nd new car)....I want to drive what's "good," "fun," whatever I happen to decide that makes sense...

 

put it this way, you'll get bored with the car long before it's worn out and uneconomical to own.

 

 

How long can one of these last?

I plan to find that out...mine was bought brand new by my dad and I put a lot of the first 10k on that car while I still had my learner's permit. now 15 years later he gave it to me with 210k and it runs now almost exactly as I remember it. He blew out at least 2 speakers with a poorly wired bluetooth device, and yea it had the center console issue (fixed), 2 of the door lock motors went gone out (fixed), the telescoping motor is dead and the tilt isn't far behind, it needs a left engine mount, front right wheel speed sensor, brake job, and probably every bushing in the front suspension. Now that may sound like a lot, but let me tell you my dad's position on preventative maintenance; it's all bullsh1t...list seeming shorter yet?