ReggieT

Hey guys,

Reggie T here from Birmingham, AL. I have always been a huge Toyota fan, having owned numerous Camry's, an Avalon, and a Tundra. Quality & Dependability mean a lot to me.
I am looking for extra low miled LS 430's cash deal or even a 2007-2008 LS 460 L if the miles & price are decent.
Probably $10K max on the LS 430 or under $20K for LS 460 L and finance some.

I like the posts I've read concerning the LS 430's reputation for comfort, quietness, and reliability, yet the LS 460's looks and the lack of timing belt changes are appealing as well.
My biggest question is with the LS 430's, what years were better, less maintenance and so forth and what should I be looking for when investigating these cars? Are the LS 430's that much more car than loaded Avalons?
Is $800-1500 average for the 90K service?
This is unchartered waters for me!

Thanks,
Reg

2KHarrier

Some great questions Reggie and welcome to the forum!

First and foremost As with any car, maintenance is the key to longevity. A well maintained 2001 LS will be a better owning experience over a beat 2006 with less miles. I won't speak to the advantages of the LS460 over the LS430, as we're rather partial to the 3rd Gen cars here (LS460 being 4th Gen). I own 2 LS430s. a high mileage 2001 which is my commuter car and a 2005 LS with 59K on it. I've had to do very little maintenance to my 2001. Brakes, rear engine mount, fluid changes, Throttle Body cleaning really not much else worth noting.
The 2005 has needed nothing. I did do the timing belt on it last month because of age, and the belt looked new when I removed it. I'll be doing the TB on my 2001 next week, as I'm almost at 200K and it's ready for it's 2nd belt

I do the work myself, but you can find independent shops that are capable of doing the timing belt on an LS for a reasonable cost.

You should be able to find a very nice 2004 or 2005 LS under $10K which will be decent mileage and condition. Nice 2006s are still in the 12-13K range.

The 2004-2006 cars got a 6 speed trans and updated headlights/taillamps but other than that, there's few differences between the 2001-2003 and 2004-2006 cars.

I do know that the 2007 LS460s had some issues with suspension, but someone else can speak more about that.

And most importantly, the Avalon is a completely different car. Nothing is shared between the 2 platforms. LS is V8 rear wheel drive and the Avalon is a Front wheel drive V6 platform

The 2 cars are worlds apart.

Hope this info helps!

Jim

biacs

The package levels seem to be more a discussion than the years. The cars condition is more a case-by-case basis(one oner etc). I have an 04 that has been great. The mark Levinson stereo and factory get discussed a fair bit here. I did new head unit so it has all the new stuff, bluetooth/nav etc. I did a few things that really helped by 04 Base Model-No NAV/no Levinson. Its on par with a new car for features. Im 2nd owner.

-Updated to a Dual din head unit (Avic 5000 NEX)
-Swapped out interior bulbs and under mirror to LED Bulbs
-I had the stock wheels powder coated (had a few blemishes and chips)
-Had to replace the key FOBs- the factory ones fall apart

Its SUCH a solid car, not sure when I'll get rid of it. Its got about 160k miles.

aufenscuht

The answer seems fairly easy here

06 LS430-last year, with low mileage and a good service history is the best way to go.

Avalons are generally owned by the older crowd and tend to be spot on w/ maint. history, however they are front wheel bias and have absolutely nothing in-common w the 430.

I would get the LS simply for the drive train, however the Avalon will most likely yield a newer year and a lower price in comparison.

Drive both and see what you like.

XJSFan

I agree 100%... The last year of a model usually is the best way to go.

ptat

You should get an '05-'06 LS430 with as low miles as possible. As far as LS460L goes, I've done some research and it seems like the '11+ are the best years. Most if not all the kinks of the '07-'10 has been worked out. The best years for 460L is '13+

jayclapp

I wouldn't doubt the reliability of the 04 LS. It was near perfect from the get go. People complain that the early 04's had a transmission problem. That was true, but the don't seem to know the full story. There was a paw that broke off and could fall into the park area. Lexus recalled all those early cars and replaced the entire transmission! Still some people think that an 04 might still have a transmission that might fail. Not!

Bob04

2006 and work your way backwards. 460 is not as good of a car as the 430 if noise/ride/comfort/reliability/quality is important. I had a CPO 2010 460L and went back to the 430 after less than a year because of all the issues and downgrades in the previously mentioned qualities. After having a 430 for years, I hated the 460L with a passion. Expect to spend $1500 at a dealer every 90k miles for the timing belt, but it's worth it. Timing chain on my 460 was noisy, as well as the direct injection ticking that drove me nuts.

Avalon is nice, but not in the same league. Expect to pay more to fix minor issues than on the Avalon. High-dollar luxury car prices depreciate pretty significantly over the years. The price of repairs don't do the same.

One thing to mention about tires. The 430 is so quiet, road noise from bad tires will be noticeable. To get the best experience, I'd swap out the tires for a high quality new set that rate high on ride comfort and noise metrics. Several threads here with reviews on multiple options.

How good is the 430? Like 2KHarrier, I also own 2. One with 142K that I drive daily and one with 22k miles that I rarely drive that serves as a replacement in waiting. The only thing I really missed from the 460 was streaming music, and Vaistech fixed that with an aftermarket product that integrates seamlessly. At the risk of sounding snooty, life has been good to me and I can drive anything I want to drive this side of $100K, and the 430 is what I want to drive. Find a lower mileage 2004-2006 LS430 with a good service history, and you have a good chance of having a fantastic car for many years. It's the bargain of the century in the used luxury car segment.

Johnhav430

I like 2006, and look for a 6/06 over a 9/05 (what I have) if possible. 2006 is a very old car, so imho newer is more desirable than older. There's likely nothing different in a 2005, except that it could be 1.5 yrs older than a 6/06 car.

I don't even know the numbers anymore, but how much is saved by getting a 2005, 2004, over a 2006? Likely 1k? 2k? i.e. not much, so take the age off the car imho....

ReggieT

Thank you guys for the feedback.
This was much needed.
I am pretty sold on the LS 430 for sure.
At this season of me & my wife's lives we both have some gimpy knees and back issues...and I'm almost 6'5 and on the burly side. LOL
I think it would be perfect for our many road trips and other travel obligations.
Have any of you ever encountered sellers who had no, "books & records or were reluctant to allow the car be checked out?"

Johnhav430

My thoughts....well I bought my car from a new car dealer (GMC) and so there were two benefits out of it. The driver side door actuator was broken and the brakes pulsated, after I picked it up. They took care of both issues.

With that being said, I have no paper repair records to speak of. I was given the owner's manual and two master keys, so the valet and the credit card key are missing. Lexus owners and Carfax show complete records from delivery until 2014, at which time the car had 37k. So from 37k to 81k, nothing. Yet, I have had the car now 20 mos. No issues, except looks like the front corner park assist sensors have gone bad (got 2 on eBay still have not put in).

There is a very good chance that you can buy one of these used, whether pampered and being sold by Lexus, or abused, and being sold by a 2nd tier used car dealer, and either way, the likelihood of failure is lower than most cars this age....how many times have we seen on this forum that someone posts, oh well, looks like my LS430 is toast, almost never! Sometimes it happened when someone did a timing belt job and messes it up, but that is very rare...

Gronemus

Reggie, it would be helpful to know how you define what extra low miles is. Less than 25K? 50k? 100k? You might have a hard time finding an 04-06 LS430 for under $10K if the mileage is relatively low...

ReggieT

I understand. I would like to be under 75-80K ideally.
I am seeing a lot "nice looking" LS 430's down in Florida.
I guess I'd have to have it put upon a lift to check for rust and so forth...IF I decided to go that way.
Any recommendations on cars close to the oceanfront?
Patience is a virtue...and I don't to do anything quick.

Scootymad

I've got one of the very first LS430s, a 2000 ML-spec out of Singapore. Its a high miler and been beat on pretty hard, and while a couple of gremlins are showing (mainly because of its hard life and missed maintenance), its proven to be damn reliable. New Zealand is pretty much a coastal country, and Singapore is a port-city, and the only rust I've seen in it was on the top of the left front door, where the wing mirror had a hole in it and let water in. I've had all the covers off and I'm yet to find rust anywhere on mine. Although we don't use salt on the roads here so I guess that is a bit of a blessing. Lexus sealed these cars up pretty well

TriC

I'm about the same size as you, ReggieT. Unlike the LS 460, the LS 430 is ideal for large folks with a large greenhouse and plenty of head and legroom. If you truly want a nice, relatively low mileage, 2004 to 2006 example, you may need to up your budget a bit. Generally, stay away from oceanfront cars. At least at first, most LS 430s were serviced at a Lexus dealer and you can access service history through their website. If a seller won't let you have a car checked out by a mechanic, walk away.