Hi all, wanted to introduce myself. Looking at my first Lexus and I'm seeking advice from the best possible place, other owners. Car in question is a 2006 LS430 Ultra Luxury at a local used car lot where I've purchased a vehicle in the past and have no complaints.

About me, I commute a relatively long distance, about 50 miles each way, 5 days a week most weeks, plus weekends with my son and regular driving, a normal week for me averages out to between 600-700 miles and about 12 hours in the driver's seat. So I'm looking for a comfy car to spend a significant portion of my waking hours in and I need a car that will stand up to that kind of use (not abuse)...hence, Lexus.

I took the LS430 out for a test drive the other day and it just wasn't what I expected at all, but there are some obvious condition issues that I told the dealer about that they'd need to correct first. 2006 LS430 UL, silver exterior over black interior, 141,000 miles, timing belt done at 137k (sticker on the engine cover). Asking price is $9888. All the panel gaps looked correct to me, so I don't think there have been any impacts in its past. Comes with a 1 year, 14,500 mile aftermarket warranty...so for me that would be up in about 3-4 months.

- I took it down the street and immediately noticed the thing wouldn't go straight, I had to hold the wheel a bit to the right to go straight, if I released the wheel it would center and drift left, lots of road noise...like what you get in a normal car...it is on a set of half worn snow tires, so while it may just be tires, I still have a hard time buying that there isn't something else at work there..
- Air suspension was not sagging, but nor would it raise or lower from the console button...I'm not sure if it was at normal height and soft ride, or high ride height and sport ride, or any combination. Sport/normal button didn't seem to make any difference either. I checked for coil springs and found none, air shocks at all 4 corners.
- Headlamps don't seem to pivot left/right with steering input, hard to tell during the day and in a parking lot and I'm not 100% sure if they pivot in the 3rd gen or just adjust for vertical, so this may be a non issue.
- Rear seat audio seemed to work properly, but there is no readout for HVAC on the rear seat display...I tried adjusting temp and the rear air does work in that I get AC from the rear package shelf area, but I don't see a temp readout on the console...not a thing I'd be needing so much as I'm not sure if it should and if it should but does not, does that indicate a problem that might affect something that IS important to me?
- All 4 door closers operated properly, all the power adjustments seem to work ok, trans shifting is a bit lazy when driven hard or shifted manually but I don't know if that's because its a luxury car or if it needs a fluid change or a new valve body or something else. Does the suspension sport/normal mode also affect shift mapping and firmness or is it strictly a suspension setting?
- ML sound system seemed to work fine. I fiddled with it a bit and found myself unimpressed with the sound quality, which I wasn't expecting. It sounds fine, but it didn't wow me if that makes any sense. I've owned other cars with the premium sound systems from the manufacturer as well as replaced vehicle sound systems with new components (speakers, amp, sub, headunit...not super high end, just nice stuff) and I found this ML system on par with good systems, but not amazing which isn't its reputation. Could be because the speakers are 16 years old, the sound was clear and distortion free, just didn't have a really high end sound quality to it.

Dealer said the car has not been through the repair bay yet and it probably wouldn't until someone puts a down payment on it, then they would address the issues. I have the option to put down a refundable down payment and see if I still want it after the repairs are done...thoughts on if there any serious red flags here that say run away or is this a car that's maybe worth making a deposit on and letting them repair it and see where we're at? I'm not 100% sold on an LS430 as the best choice for me, but I think it ticks an awful lot of the boxes I've got...looking for quiet, comfy, reliable, relatively low TCO, decent highway fuel economy with a long per tank range, sporty-ish and a roomy interior.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

Before getting to anything else, if the air struts are original they will likely leak soon and need to be replaced or swapped out to regular suspension. If it was me, I would look for a non-UL for a commuter car - slightly fewer bells and whistles but easier to sort out

 

walk away, look elsewhere.... (for that asking price with those miles the car should be in absolute excellent condition throughout)

 

I agree...too much money for a higher mileage UL that already needs work. I'd also think about getting an LS with less equipment if you are doing that much driving. Remember this is a 15 year old car! Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

You haven't really mentioned the condition of the exterior/interior superficially. If the exterior/interior is in excellent shape and with a recent timing belt service, I don't think it's a terrible price in the current market if you negotiate some off(depending on your geographic location). I paid approx. $8300 w tax, last year for a 135K mi CL with a timing belt service completed 7 (now 8) years ago. I needed a car right away, and the interior was in spectacular condition, so I didn't spend too much time shopping.

Typically CL/UL interiors age better as they used a thicker semi-aniline leather, as opposed to the regular leather in other models, with both thicker leather and protective layers. When I purchased my car, I thought the CL was the sweet spot with all the features of the UL (higher quality leather, smoky premium wood trim, soft-close doors, dynamic radar cruise control, etc.), minus air suspension, and the rear seat amenities I would rarely use. The CL features are nice but I don't really use them much, except the back up camera and maybe an appreciation for the nicer, more durable leather. Soft close doors are nice, but I'm not so old that closing the LS' heavy doors is a chore. The dynamic cruise control is pretty **** lol. ML and base w/ nav have the back-up camera. Nowadays, I wish I had just bought the cleanest, low mileage car regardless of trim.

As far as the other points:
1) It could be the tires, it could need an alignment, it might need some suspension parts. I would have the suspension inspected by an independent mechanic for wear. You can use their estimates to negotiate off the price.
2) Air suspension might not be working for some reason, again, I would have it checked by an independent Toyota/Lexus mechanic with access to TechStream which can check for more error codes than a typical OBD2. If you don't really care that much and it's not sagging, just know if the air struts fair you can fairly easily convert it to coilovers or regular struts if they start to fail. Alternatively, there are also cheaper aftermarket air struts (Arnott) that you could use.
3) The adaptive front lighting system (AFS) is only active at speeds above 17 mph and doesn't move very much anyway (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ls430-afs.html)
4) I don't think the rear AC controls should affect anything else.
5) Can't comment on the trans shifting, but the PWR/ECT/SNOW modes are for shifting, the Sport/Normal suspension button affects the stiffness of the air suspension.
6) I feel like the sound system was probably great for its time, but agreed, not great compared to modern systems.

 

Thanks all for the replies.

Regarding overall condition, I'd call it excellent. Exterior the paint was smooth, a consistent color across all the body panels with a few scuffs on the leading corner of the right corner of the front bumper cover...buffable scuffs, not scratches. Leading edge of the car is free of chips and obviously filled in chips. Body panel gaps seemed straight and consistent and everything that is supposed to open and close does so without binding or any drama. Wheels were the worst part, they look fantastic on the car but I don't think they're Lexus wheels, they're 18" 5 double spoke wheels...look more like Camry sport wheels to me..they have some bubbling in the finish so they'd be good winter wheels, which they probably already were since they have snow tires on them now.

Interior wise I was honestly unable to find any flaws...not even a wear spot on the driver's seat left bolster. Wood has no scratches, coloring is consistent throughout the car. Windows all work, rear sunshade works quietly and smoothly, rear door sunshades seemed on, but the left main one did seem to have a bit of a stretch to it when fully extended, but like an old house window shade, it worked fine when I gave it a tug and it rolled right back up without a problem...that was the biggest flaw I could find on the interior.

I talked briefly with the sales guy, told him all fixed up I was a likely buyer at $8500, he said he not happening and he turned down $8500 from someone else earlier that morning. Honestly in the current market I'm not entirely convinced I want to be buying a car, prices are crazy over inflated. I don't have an urgent need right now, this is more of a "hey I really like that particular car I see on the lot and I can afford it" than anything else. To me this car is not worth 10 grand, I'd consider 9 even, but it'd have to fully sorted, new tires and a fully operational air suspension...if they decide its not cost effective to fix and replace it with coils that's fine, but then its no longer a UL car and the value to me is back down in the $8k's.

The dealer usually sells more "ordinary" cars, so the LS on the lot is REALLY weird and apart from being silver it sticks out on the lot...I suspect they're not going to do well with it unless they get an uneducated buyer in who doesn't pick up on things like the air suspension issue...probably paid $6 grand wholesale so there isn't a lot of meat left on the bone after they clean it and slap a set of tires on there. I'm due for a retroactive salary increase and possible bonus in about a month...we'll see if its still on the lot then, if so, maybe I'll run it down to the Toyota dealer and ask for an inspection and see if I can get a Lexus dealer to run the VIN and get me a service history...if someone else buys it, that's cool too.

Thanks again!

 

Could be the tyres as some are really sensitive to road crown and since it only pulls left, I'd assume it's that.
Tyre noise is a huge issue in these because the car is SOOOOOO quiet that almost all you ever hear is tyre noise.
When I get in my other half's 2008 Ford Focus I feel like the car is SHOUTING at me, it's so noisy. <LOL>
A decent set of quality tyres will quieten it down substantially.
Also, those are not factory rims but they do look good.

To really test the air suspension, start the car, switch it to High, then get out and carefully watch the car from a fixed position.
It only rises 2"so often you can only see it if you watch closely. From inside the car often the only indicator is the "Hi" on the dash.
In your pic it is at normal ride height. Only really useful if you drive on gravel or REALLY bad roads.
Can also be useful if you have back problems as makes getting in/out easier in "Hi".

To test the shifting, find an empty straight road, put her in PWR mode and put your foot down hard.
You won't notice the difference driving around town.
This transmission was designed with smooth shifts in mind, not drag racing.

Sport/Normal is supposed to change the damping characteristics of the struts. I've never felt any difference.
Again, perhaps it is noticeable if you start hurling it around a racetrack.

The headlamps should pivot (only the inside one turns so right headlight for right turns, left headlight for left turns) but only above 17mph as stated by nvwls, and they can also be disabled in TechStream.
Difficult to see the effect except on a twisty road at night, and not as useful as it sounds.

The ML system was designed for perfect sound reproduction, so if you love Classical, ProgRock or Jazz, then it's a good system.
It may be that the SubWoofer has given up on that one as they are renowned for it.
I replaced mine with a DaytonAudio Sub for $50 and it sounds excellent now that it's broken in.

I bought mine as a distance commuter (120+ miles per day for me) and at that it excels.
It wafts you along in superb comfort and silence and is just a pleasant place to be.
Mine (2004 UL, currently at 130k miles) replaced a 1998 Acura RL and is superior in just about every way to the RL.

I can't comment on price as I'm in the UK and ours are a lot cheaper.
I paid 4400 UKPounds ($6000) for mine in Jan 2018 with 91k miles on it.

 

absolute excellent condition throughout ... meaning both mechanically and cosmetically (some very pretty girls may be troubled with unseen issues which you wrote is the case with this car)

 

True enough, I was replying to the question from nvwls

I should have said cosmetic condition, thanks.

 

Thanks. I did try to adjust the height in a parking lot and was unable to see the car move either up or down. I never noticed a light on the dash indicating high mode so it may be that its simply not engaging. Never heard a compressor or any air valves purging at any time, which I assume I would hear something. If I opt to look at it further I'll have more info to test against and make a decision. Right now I'm not convinced this is my car...I suspect the dealer is backed into a corner financially with this particular car and likely isn't going to want to spend the money to fix the issues correctly so it'll go to a buyer who is more impulsive.

I appreciate everyone's input...even if I pass this one up who knows what I'll find next time.

 

Just so you know, you can make an account here (https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/) and add a prospective vehicle's VIN # to see all Toyota/Lexus dealer service history. A bit more detailed than CarFax from my experience and should be helpful in your search.

 

That's fantastic! Thanks!

 

This is really cool, makes me wonder how many other brands offer this sort of thing.

Looks like it was probably a 1 owner car for most of its life and they had it serviced regularly at their local dealer. Timing belt done at the dealer twice, once at 90k, the second time at 135k and it got new plugs then as well. Rear struts replaced at 129k. Looks like regular oil changes, took it to the dealer for regular washings too. Service history is good to have for sure, this one looks like it might have been well cared for and only recently encountered a few issues...might clean right up in the service dept.

Last entry is an oil change at 138k in June 2018, so in three years its gotten barely 3k miles on it.

Can't get over getting this kind of info online from the mfr, its awesome. I tried to ask a BMW dealer for a service history on an M5 I was very interested in and they told me they couldn't provide it due to customer privacy concerns...translation, "we don't want to", please stop calling.

 

All of the manufacturers do.... (all on the intrawebs)

 

Lol, well maybe I ought to look then!