Dubbayoo

I've had a '92 LS400 (205,000 miles) that's been in the family since 1994; wife now drives it. I have wanted an LS430 for years but didn't have a need until now. My 2015 Optima got hit & run yesterday and it will no doubt be a total loss. I have no idea how much I'll get from it (thought it had about $3,500 in modifications) and I still owe about $9K on it. have USAA insurance and gap insurance. I suspect I will have about two weeks to find a new car before I have to take over the rental car cost.

I am looking for something in the 2005-2010 LS430/460 range; really trying to stay under $15,000 and the lower the better. I am curious about any gotchas in the 430 model I need to know about beyond timing belts.

Any packages to be avoided/not worth the cost of maintenance?
DVD navigation - the maps are literally on a DVD disk? Are they still updated?
How long does air suspension last?
Do most replace that standard suspension?

Johnhav430

I bought a car in Oct '16 with 81k, modern luxury. In almost 2 1/2 yrs. and 34k, the only thing that broke are two park distance sensors in the left front corner, $13 ea on eBay.

That is not to say everything is perfect, I pulled the fuse for the tilt/telescope so it won't break (would be smarter to disable the tilt up feature when key is turned off). Typical power mirror switch, film peeled off the drip rail, etc.

I replaced my DVD for the nav with the most current in 10/16 and got it off eBay. I only use the NAV for a map pointing north, not for routing. If it were up to me I'd get a custom luxury package, which is identified by having headlight washers, but "no" suspension switches (that means ultra luxury and air suspension)....good luck!

This is what I saw before I decided to get one....

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ted-costs.html

BCT

Sorry about your car!

re navigation, I also bought the latest nav DVD from eBay which is from 2016. I have a Garmin GPS with lifetime update that we use for navigation, but it is also nice to have the built-in nav turned on. I set it up to show a larger area while my Garmin is more zoomed-in. Even with the outdated nav, and you never use it, it is nice to have because the car comes with back-up camera.

Agree with the best buy is Custom Luxury (haha... look at my sig!). I would recommend that you do some reading on the differences between models of LS430 so you know what is best suited for your need. CL has thicker glass (plus), some of the interior bits are leather (plus) but also have the power closer door (small minus - nice but not needed imo) and large trunk (Ultra Luxury has smaller trunk size). Mine also has cruise control that will automatically brake if there is a slower car in front of us.I never thought I would need this, but I now I love it.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post3213359

TominPT

Like Johnhav430, I also pulled the fuse for the tilt motor on the steering wheel because I did not want it to wear out and didn't need or want that feature. The previous owner updated the Navigation disk but I never use that, the google maps or apple maps on my iphone is WAY better and easier to use. I would still recommend the ML or above package with Nav because it includes the backup camera, a useful safety feature. The standard suspension in my car (117,000 miles) is fine and the car had basically needed nothing since I bought it 14 months ago.

A lot of these cars were dealer maintained on schedule and the service history is available on line. If you can find such a car and everything was taken care of that is a very good sign. For many people a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) is required. I didn't bother, due to the maintenance history and I did my own inspection and haven't looked back. Life expectancy on a air suspension varies widely according to the posts here.

Duck05

With a $15K budget you should not have any trouble finding an '05 or '06 LS430 ready to serve you for years to come. Maintenance history is more important then mileage but anything with 100-120K miles has many years left.

I advise the 430 over an early 460.... (unless you jump up to a '13+ but even then a 430 is still my preference having both cars). Avoid the air suspension with everything else being fixable....

Dubbayoo

Should I be looking for one with navigation built in or are there good options for aftermarket stereo fitment? Navigation and backup camera will be deal breakers if I can't get that.