Chisf

Hey guys, I know that there is a marketplace, for posting wanted items and for selling however, I have not made snough posts to access that feature yet, I was wondering if anybody could help me out finding a car. I am primarily looking for a black interior UL Ls430 04-06, with less than 150k miles and in chicago or surrounding states such as wisconsin or indiana, I know that is very specific, but that’s just how I am with all of my cars, if this post isn’t allowed I understand, just looking for some help, have checked practically everywhere, went through mostly all craigslist ads offer up etc.

kos

iTrader: (1)

Try using CarGuru, you can set searches so that you will be alerted when something that met your criteria pops up.

Chisf

Trust me as I mentioned above I used the obvious places to search. Cargurus, cars.com, dealerships,craigslist,offerup etc...

Ricklin

Your search is just a matter of patience. It is really variable with regard to availability. Just a couple weeks ago there were 24 UL's on Cargurus. That's the site I have had the best luck with.

It took me a good 3 months to find my 05 which I am now enjoying. My advice is to expand your search to nationwide. Esp. if looking for specific colors and options. Being somewhat flexible on colors and options will shorten your search.
I recommend compiling a list of dealbreaker items. Rather than searching for a very specific color or option decide what you can't live without. Also decide what you can't live with.
Adaptive cruise was a dealbreaker for me, lowish mileage, number of owners, excellent service records were my primary requirements.

Be selective, expand your search. Patience.

430SLOwner

Do an interweb search and you may find plenty of sites listing Lexus LS 430s for sale. Recent Manheim auctions report Lexus LS 430 sales at $3500 to $6000 (less fees to seller, plus fees to buyer). This is reality. While you may have pay more when buying at retail, and be quite willing to do so for an exceptional car, auction results present an accurate indication of the current wholesale market value of a Lexus LS 430 for one to base a decision as to what amount to consider paying retail for an exceptional Lexus LS 430. Unless you are DIY be prepared for expensive maintenance and repairs when such situations arise. UL models suspension systems is very expensive to have repaired if/when a problem arises. LS 430 may still be quite desirable, but demand has waned considerably as auction prices indicate. So, if you must have one, you are in a strong position to bargain as you will not have many competing buyers. Still, a Lexus LS may be a good car for the money if you use you mind instead of emotion when negotiating price. There are many good ones still out there,

DesertGolf

Why are you just copy-and-paste’ing that in multiple threads? $3500-6000 is not the average price for Ultra Luxury’s with <150k miles...Let alone 04-06.. You’re putting that in all the 430 posts regardless what the OP is specifically asking about.


OP, I have an 05 UL with every option (including the pre collision system) and 87k. Zero rust, originally purchased in Midwest but moved to Southwest shortly after. PM me with questions/offers. Grey exterior, black interior. In AZ. If I were you, any older car like these I’d want to find out of state. Way too much rust potential on local *older* vehicles.

JS116

While im not the OP I WISH i would've stumbled across you and this forum prior to buying my 04! I live in southern AZ and had to travel to NV and paid well over what i should've paid for mine.

DesertGolf

Ha! I probably overpaid for mine as well - I flew to NM to pick up mine. Couldn’t find any as clean with this combo of options and interior/exterior color combo.

jainla

Cars.com / autotrader are usually good bets. CL is mostly private party sales; I've never seen a listing with enough detail to get an idea of the car's condition. You can sort by distance and that will give you an idea of how far away the cars are.

Later years had more varied packages (Modern Lux, Custom Lux) so you may get what you want without going the full UL monty; bear in mind those cars have the air springs which at 150k miles may start showing signs of wear.

Most dealers won't necessarily know it's a UL car so they may not list it as such; you'll have to do some detective work (looking for the 2 rows of 6 buttons or the rear console controls in the pics is the best way to confirm).

My car wasn't listed as a UL car but the photos gave it away. UL cars comprised 20-30% of the total sales (especially in the first couple years) so they should still be a few around.

430SLOwner

Hello Chief. While it may be too far away for your consideration, I see some place called Villa Trade Used Car Dealer in Lake Elsinore, CA just listed a 2005 LS 430 ultra luxury with 127,000 miles and black interior at $8995 describing the vehicle as nice inside and out. Just submitting this information as perhaps the pricing information may be helpful.

weldthedif

I found my recent LS430 purchase on FB marketplace. I find that Craigslist if pretty much dead at this point. Ebay is another good source

Dubbayoo

That is a Custom Luxury, not UL.

430SLOwner

oh. on dealer's site it reads ULTRA LUXURY PACKAGE (perhaps it made an error) also see on its site asking price has been dropped over $500 to $8,473. Further indication of how soft the market has become for 3rd gen LS 430. All the better for someone looking to buy one of these fine automobiles

Bob04

Most reputable places provide the CarFax for their cars on the web. My guess is that it has been wrecked.

430SLOwner

Here is a 2004 base LS 430 with 114,000 on ebay which has been listed for over a month with one day left on its auction and the highest bid is $4050 https://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Lexus-LS/312669561526?hash=item48cc8ee2b6:g:hzgAAOS

There appears to be 5 other LS 430s listed with none of those getting any bids what-so-ever. More indication of the current market prices of 3rd gen LS 430. Those looking to buy one of these fine automobiles may do so much more cheaply now than compared to last year.