Sparks1943

My new LS 430 is sitting in the garage! 2002, UL, crystal/cream/ecru, with 130K under her beautiful belt. All service records were conveyed, including the TB and WP replacement. I'm thinking of purchasing an extended warranty that will include the air suspension. It's costly....but? The one cosmetic issue is the paint scratches and coming off on the metal piece that surrounds the navigation display. (on the lower right side near the audio/climate buttons). The dash part itself is marred and looks like black where fingers and rings have messed up the paint. Having looked at many LS 430s, I know this is a common problem. I'd like to replace this part. Source, anybody? Or, is it possible to have it refinished? The rest of the interior is wonderful.
Driving her home from the seller's location made me realize, again, how much I love heated/cooled seats.

Legender

Pics... or it didn't happen.
Would love to find a UL in that color scheme... around here all I can find is sliver on black and black on black... that must be beautiful.
Congrats on the find and welcome to the UL club.

Mbodall

Congrats!

Exactly how much does the extended warranty cost? And do you know if it covers the scratched interior trim pieces that surround the NAV/climate control display? Have you attempted to clean the "marred" sections where it "looks black like black where fingers and rings have messed up the paint"? Having not seen pictures of it, there is a possibility that a good cleaning could remove the discolored parts...

Romanova

Can you get an extended warranty on a 16 year old car?

Mbodall

Oh for sure. Not a factory warranty obviously, but many different companies will try to sell you an aftermarket waranty for a few grand when buying an older used car...

imdking

iTrader: (1)

Congratulations on your acquisition Enjoy.

Bocatrip

Sparks1943

thanks everyone. The cost of the warranty being offered is about $2700 for four years or 48,000 miles and it is just about bumper to bumper. It includes the complete air suspension, which is one aspect of owning a UL that has given me hives. So, it is costly but I just don't know if it's worth it.
If I can figure out how to post pictures, I will get them up asap!

G50carerra

BMW7_LS430

Congratulations!
Save money by not buying extended warranty and then convert to coil-over if and when time comes. Sell good air struts to recoup some of the conversion costs. This, only if you are ok to move from air to non-air.
All other items have mostly inexpensive fixes if you do DIY. For that matter if you do not do DIY then this car can become a money pit for simple things like door closures and folding mirrors.
For dash discoloration, consider repainting. Someone did it on LS460 and it turned out great.
Good luck!
Great color combo. Why is it taking so long to post photos?

Romanova

I would not buy the warranty... I would have a hard time being confident that the warranty company would actually cover anything. A company that will sell you a warranty on a 16 year old car... seems like they are going to try and weasel out of paying any and all claims.

TriC

Well said!

Johnhav430

Congrats on the find!

Now....I give bad advice, it's what I do! lol Do not get any sort of extended warranty.

Now, this is coming from a guy who got Facebook stock at the IPO, and sold it Labor Day 2013 (um Zuckerberg is the 3rd richest man in the world). Also, I bought extended warranties on my BMW and my wife's GM. The BMW was on the most "unreliable" list by Consumer Reports, how could I go wrong? Car was reliable and I got only 1 claim, a VANOS job. My wife's GM has been fairly unreliable, and if you add up the list prices of the work done, might break even. Truth be told, if you truly have the money for the extended warranty, put it into a separate 1.6% savings account, and do not touch it. If you need a repair, charge it on a rewards card, then pay the card back from that account. You'll always see the posts on the BMW forum, "Thank goodness I had the extended warranty! $10k worth of repairs!" You never see the other 95/100 guys like me who funded that and got nothing. If more people admitted bad decisions they made, more people could avoid making the same ones. Good luck!

p.s. in ownership since 10/16, nothing has broken on my car, except 2 park distance sensors. NOTHING. 81k to 106k.

edit p.p.s. Doug D on YouTube loves to brag about how much he milks an extended warranty for...like on his Range Rover. My buddy said now why would anyone brag about buying an unreliable car at a high price (Carmax), then listing out the multitude of things that broke? Usually when you make poor decisions, you keep it to yourself or only tell close friends!

toddmorr

re the extended warranty discussion, you're not going to get a dime for air shocks that are already 130k old. If the car is sound today, you're also not likely to have major issues for the next 48k and if they do occur, are not likely to exceed 2700. I'd keep the 2700. Relative to the air struts, you are likely to have at least one or more wear out in that period, but they are easily bought on ebay or craigslist for around 150 bucks a piece used in good shape. Or you can sacrifice the UL ride and go to regular suspension.

Legender

Yes, keep the money and forgo the extended warranty. If the car has been well cared for you should be fine. Warranty won't cover maintenance items and that's what most people have to deal with. 60k miles on my parents 2001 and only had to replace 1 rear hub over 5 years. Everything else was pure regular maintenance.