I sat in a new LS 500 at a dealership. I was not impressed. Claustrophobic, plasticy, and just too busy, too many lines in every direction, and the light-up Lexus logo sill plates went way beyond the bounds of taste. The 430 is a refined cruiser that has the air of an S-class or a Bentley, polished wood, nice leather, incredibly comfortable on long drives. It feels like old money, the new ones feel like nouveau riche and tacky. That's the best way I can describe it.

 

The LS 430 has class. Great looking but understated. I can not stand the large mouth Bass look of the new Lexus's YUCK!!
I guess I am old school. What were the styling guys thinking? Shoot I want to look for the button to press that makes it sing Garth Brooks songs.
Not a fan of current Lexus styling.

 

I'm a big ls430 guy too but cmon look at this thing! Better looking than any LS before it, imo.

 

It's like that young lady we saw standing at the bar. She looked awesome .....until she turned around and you see the buck teeth and a nose the size of Kilimanjaro.
It's like that, looks great from the side, looks excellent from the back. It's the front that just wrecks to whole look. What were they thinking?

 

I thought the LS500 was ugly when I first saw it online. Then I wanted to convince myself it would grow. When I drove it in person, it is ugly, and the steering has no feel, -25 on a scale of 0 to 100, and I just don't think Lexus is even trying to beat the Germans anymore. They checked out of the hotel maybe in 2007. Stylistically, it's a larger mazda 6.

 

 

For me, it's a 2013+ F-Sport. I would never own an F-Sport because of the sport suspension (unless it came with a long factory warranty). I personally love the big "Predator" front grill. I would say a LS500 F-Sport is a close second although I'm still not sold on the interior.

 

The 3rd gen and I mean it sincerely. Newer does not mean better looking. Look at the trend with the 3 series BMW--by 2012, due to blah blah blah (crash standards) suddenly the roundel stayed put when the hood is lifted. It had a completely straight edge for the hood, UGLY. Guess what all the new G cars did? They went back to the old way, where the edge of the hood is not perfectly straight, they go around the kidneys of the grille, and the roundel once again goes up with the hood.

Don't get me wrong, the 3rd gen is like a person who won a beauty contest back in 1968. It's old and in the way today, but you can tell maybe in another time and place it was good looking. What is uncanny is if you look at the S Class through the years, or the Porsche 911, they just got better looking every generation, up to the instant that I am typing. That is rare. Look at the Nissan Maxima--it got ugly starting in 2000, and never became good looking again. It was hottt in 1994 when the 4th gen came out.

 

I came from an LS400 - my very first Lexus. Sold that and went to the 430 without looking back.

It's like going from a Corolla to an Avalon, comparatively speaking.

 

To me that looks like a surplused police Charger, complete with black motor pool wheels, that's already been in a front end collision. There's just no coherence to the lines of the front at all.

 

The predator grill just kills it for me. I think the rest of the car looks excellent.

 

Here in California you are still going to expect to pay a premium for a one owner, low mileage, maintained type of LS it is just facts. It would be rare to find one at an auction price or "blue book" price not to say they are not out there but it will be hard pressed to find one! Potential buyers can expect to pay anywhere from $8500-18k here for one of these low mileage LS 04-06. esp if UL and rare color like a black with saddle tan find! Enjoy the search guys it is half the fun but remember when you find the one you want it will almost always be when you re not looking or ready so advise is to always be ready if you are looking for something very specific.

 

I set myself up a mental list of priorities when I shopped for my new to me LS. It will be a long search if you have no flexibility with regard to the car.

Here's my priorities.
1. Condition
2. 04-06 model years. I like the six speed and the restyling, but mainly they are the last of a great series and all the "bugs" are pretty much worked out.
3. Low mileage. I set my "meter" at about 125 K max. This one can be a little flexible, depending on #4 below
4. Service records. Superior service records will cause consideration of higher miles.
5. Options. I want all or most of the toys. Adaptive cruise was a major priority for me, that one will really limit the field.
6. Colors interior and exterior. This is where I can be most flexible.

My perfect car would be an 06 custom luxury with PCS. I'll be amazed if you find one. Custom is rare enough. I did not see one for sale with PCS period.
The difference is PCS features radar cruise, non PCS is laser cruise. Laser is fine for some, we have really rainy weather here in the NW and laser does not work in the rain. That would drive me nuts.
I've had radar cruise in my Prius for 325 K miles now, thus why it is a must have on the LS.

The search is part of the fun. I bought this one sight unseen. Dealer had posted excellent hi res pics, and the Lexus PPI and the service records are excellent. No need to hop on a plane, but still I am anxious for it to arrive.
I will share some pics when it arrives, should be here early next week. I ended up with an 05 UL in Mercury metallic and Ercu. 18" wheels. With PCS and 106 K I think they just ticked every box on the option list.

 

For me at this point, I'd want a car with no more than 2 owners. My car is just fine, so if you bought mine there would be 3 owners. That's a deal breaker for me. The implication is if only 1 owner, you potentially could get it from someone who took care of it, but was told by the dealer they need $6500 worth of repairs, when they don't really need it. so now they want to get rid of the car. It's the be greedy when others are fearful conundrum. Folks are often caught up in mileage, and again, besides being able to drain/fill the tranny with no chance of harm, what's the difference between 60k, and 150k, if the car goes to 200k easily and likely 300k easily....

 

That should be on my priority list. I agree 100% Unless I "know" the car, I'm looking for a one owner vehicle, maybe 2 like in the case of a lease and then purchase by another owner who kept the car for years.
Number of owners is a big factor. Thanks.