I am sure many of you are like me. Absolutely smitten with our LS' and surrounded by people who just don't understand. "Why do you love an old man's car from 2005? And it has 200k miles on it?! Must be a pile of junk!" This video review articulates better than I (or probably anyone else for that matter) could ever as to why we love our cars so much. Shout out to the creator of this video. I watched all 37 minutes and was not bored once. Please watch and enjoy!

 

Love it! When you throw some nice wheels on this car, it pops. All these new cars look the same and the definition of luxury has changed. Its sad really.

I own a 16 Infiniti QX80, a flagship SUV and while it looks nice, it has tin can body panels that dent with the slightest tap, completely replaced rear suspension under warranty due to rust (yes on a three year old vehicle). Replaced suspension ecu. Just terrible quality compared to back in 2006 Toyota. Not to mention fake plastic made to look like wood. Throw away society we live in, but they want $85k for it...

 

My LS is my work/commute car. I typically only want one thing with my commute car, that it starts in the morning and gets me to work. Decent MPG's and some luxury are nice cherries on top, but the reliability of the LS is what really drew me to it.

I research the crap out of cars before I buy, looking for major issues that may come up and what the likelihood is they will. It's not often I see so few in a model...door lock actuators? auto folding mirrors? These are seriously the type of "issues" that come up? In the land of blown head gaskets, Vanos, oil starvation, etc, I'll take a door lock actuator any day!

 

I'm impressed the guy didn't miss a single detail or option, most people who try to review these cars don't know all of the options or features. Did he say anything about the adaptive headlights?

 

I actually don't remember first coming across the LS430, it had to have been in 2016, and it had to have led me to this forum. I knew I wanted a car that could live up to the 1998 Nissan's reliability. The 1998 Nissan is more reliable lol, but, a 1998 flagship to a 2006 no question the 2006 is going to be way better. For whatever reason up to looking for a LS430, I thought the biggest problem any of these cars had was the control of the electric sideview mirrors. Of course there are tons more issues, but that's what I remember. The way I look at it a reliable car is a must. Once you have that in order, now you can get a fun car. The Nissan put me into a position to get a fun car (335), the LS is gonna do the same to the next level (S63). It's a game of leapfrog until there's no more room in the driveway (that's already true as we have 4 cars, so bye bye Nissan! Purchased new 3/98 but the thrill is gone as they say)

 

Exact same reason I bought mine. I bought a cheap / beater one with no little service history, and it's been the best car I've ever owned

 

Great find and great extensive review. I like the description of it's quality rivaling other luxury cars of the time and even that of it's replacement, the LS460.

 

Anybody who doesnt understand the Lexus LS or its effortless Japanese ability to effortlessly achieve 200k+ mileage with nothing more than standard maintenance should be ashamed of themselves.

 

Is it documented anywhere that the weight distribution is 52/48 F/R as mentioned in the video? If that is correct, dag nab it we learn something everyday and that's BMW territory. If anyone criticizes my roadholding ability I"ll say how much weight you got over your front axle, bud? lol

 

Maybe there is at least just a little effort ...

'02 LS 430 with $28K spent just on regular service....

 

It's called a stealer for a reason.

 

at the 20 min mark: "... considering that most buyers in the current market aren't buying an LS 430 to ride in the rear seat, the trappings of the Ultra Luxury Model are widely considered to be a collection of whimsical maintenance liabilities."

 

The 2006 (3rd gen) seems to be a lot more reliable than the 2007 (first year of 4th gen). I think what many don't realize (and how many here are the original owners), is that on average, Lexus service costs a LOT more than their rivals, such as BMW (maybe today it's 3 yr. free but when I got mine it was 4/50 free maintenance including brake rotors). Not only that, even if paying out of pocket, Lexus jobs tend to cost more than a BMW job. Hence I'll always remember that quote from this forum: "If I knew it cost this much to maintain, I would have kept my 7 series."

Look around in a Lexus service department and what type of customer do you see (I've done it)? Look around in a BMW dealership, what do you see (nobody there they all left with their free loaners even if it's a $45 state inspection like me)?

In reality, the folks here (buy the car when it's 10+ y.o. and DIY everything), are the exception for the most part.

And "stealer" isn't a nice term, but hey, I had just gotten my 2006 in 2016, went there for a brake flush and coolant drain/fill, and they told me I need $6100 worth of work through a mutli-point. And in reality, per an indie, NONE of that work was needed.

 

Hey guys. The video is mine, I really appreciate the nice comments and I'm glad you liked it.

The 52/48 weight distribution is the average of the numbers I saw out there. I also saw 53/47 and 51/49 reported by seemingly legitimate sources. The source for 51/49 was Consumer Reports, Fall 2003, of a 2003 model car. The source for 52/48 is Lexus itself, 2001 model car: https://media.lexus.co.uk/2000/09/le...-perfection-2/ . This site claims that for a 2005 car, the distribution is 53/47: https://www.toyoland.com/lexus/ls430.html.

The adaptive headlights were not mentioned. At 37 minutes, this was the longest of the dozen+ car reviews I've made by nearly twofold, so concessions had to be made. At one point I had like a paragraph about the oscillating vents, but I ditched that in the interest of brevity.

As you can probably tell, I am a true believer in these cars. My first Toyota flagship was an old Cressida when I was in college, and from there I moved up to a first gen LS400, which is still my daily driver. It's shameful how many cars I drive--new ones, expensive ones--that I truly do not prefer to the LS400. The LS430 is perhaps the only car that I would consider a fitting replacement but I am not ready to give up the 400. Not for a while anyways.

Long live the LS430 and the community who recognizes its worth.

 

Having owned a 2004 LS430 for 9 years (now in a 460L), I still miss certain things about my 430 (hence me perusing this thread every once in a while). I have to ask - what's with the Lexus emblem on the steering wheel being filled in with some type of wood look? And same thing with the lever to open the glove box? I've seen a ton of 430's but I've never seen that.