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Hello everyone, Merry Christmas! Amidst this holiday season I am in a bit of dilemma on whether to pick this LS430 up or not, initially I walked from it yesterday but the guy went down on the price more and want me to consider again. So here is the story, I went to look at an 05 LS430 Sport edition yesterday with 190k, the car drove fine but I did find certain leaks below the valve cover and some oil was on right exhaust manifold/heatshield, bottom of oil pan was wet… so that was my main concern and the seller also mentioned something about the purge canistor or something and showed me a $22 replacement part on ebay, there were no Check engine lights or codes, but the Evap monitor was not ready when I plugged in my obdii. Is this car worth it for sub 4k the guy is asking for? Oil leaks are the main concern… are they labor intensive? The car looked and drove very well. Now I also have an 06 GS430 with 233k and that thing is dry as a bone under the hood and bottom, so I wasn’t expecting so much seepage from the same engine on the LS… I have not been able to get over that car so please share your opinions, Should I go for it because of the price? Thanks
Hello everyone, Merry Christmas! Amidst this holiday season I am in a bit of dilemma on whether to pick this LS430 up or not, initially I walked from it yesterday but the guy went down on the price more and want me to consider again. So here is the story, I went to look at an 05 LS430 Sport edition yesterday with 190k, the car drove fine but I did find certain leaks below the valve cover and some oil was on right exhaust manifold/heatshield, bottom of oil pan was wet… so that was my main concern and the seller also mentioned something about the purge canistor or something and showed me a $22 replacement part on ebay, there were no Check engine lights or codes, but the Evap monitor was not ready when I plugged in my obdii. Is this car worth it for sub 4k the guy is asking for? Oil leaks are the main concern… are they labor intensive? The car looked and drove very well. Now I also have an 06 GS430 with 233k and that thing is dry as a bone under the hood and bottom, so I wasn’t expecting so much seepage from the same engine on the LS… I have not been able to get over that car so please share your opinions, Should I go for it because of the price? Thanks
if you really want a "sport" then maybe. they are rare, even more rare than UL's I think.
at that mileage many of the sport stuff might not be original and finding replacement parts might be harder.
and 18 inch wheels does not mean a sport, they have different shocks and a bigger sway bar and maybe more
enter the vin and if made as a sport and you want a sport then go but the difference in really not that much, still a land barge, just a little sportier.
Hello everyone, Merry Christmas! Amidst this holiday season I am in a bit of dilemma on whether to pick this LS430 up or not, initially I walked from it yesterday but the guy went down on the price more and want me to consider again. So here is the story, I went to look at an 05 LS430 Sport edition yesterday with 190k, the car drove fine but I did find certain leaks below the valve cover and some oil was on right exhaust manifold/heatshield, bottom of oil pan was wet… so that was my main concern and the seller also mentioned something about the purge canistor or something and showed me a $22 replacement part on ebay, there were no Check engine lights or codes, but the Evap monitor was not ready when I plugged in my obdii. Is this car worth it for sub 4k the guy is asking for? Oil leaks are the main concern… are they labor intensive? The car looked and drove very well. Now I also have an 06 GS430 with 233k and that thing is dry as a bone under the hood and bottom, so I wasn’t expecting so much seepage from the same engine on the LS… I have not been able to get over that car so please share your opinions, Should I go for it because of the price? Thanks
Not really enough info to go on here especially without photos.
Many 400s and 430s currently on the road have loose valve cover bolts which may or may not be leaking. These are very easy to tighten and not a cause for concern assuming it's just the bolts and not a gasket issue. When these cars come up for sale the good ones don't last long so the "guy" lowering the price certainly suggests something about either the car itself or his financial situation.
• Did you ask the seller if he was aware
of the oil leak? - His answer?
• Has he done routine, or pop-up
maintenance, as needed?
• If so, who did the work, and does
he have all receipts?
• Are there any problems or concerns
with the car, that are prompting it’s sale?
• Does he seem interested in providing
whatever info will help you to make a
knowledgable decision, or is he vague?
• How long has he owned the car?
These are some reasonable, simple, but important questions. Listen carefully
to how the seller responds.
Regardless of his answers,
why not have a trusted mechanic
who is knowledgable with the LS430,
look at and evaluate the leak, and all other potential problem areas, etc.?
At least you will have more info to
help you make a decision.
Other Forum members will provide
their valued, useful, and experienced
information and insights.
Good Luck & let us know the outcome.
Last edited by Paulanth; Dec 25, 2021 at 02:13 PM.
What is your intent of the car? A short term driver 1-3 years, long term 300k+ miles? These 430s are capable cars but if they have had some levels of neglect that becomes iffy so depends how much $ you are comfortable spending. If $1K brings everything up to good working order this may not be a bad buy though I would suggest a pre-purchase inspection as broken systems are still expensive to deal with.
As a point of reference the 200K service for ours the valve cover gaskets were replaced. They do tend to get brittle and allow oil to migrate out. The ones that came out of ours were brittle so there was no sealing on them. That also entailed doing the spark plug seals and the rear cam bearing seals. The indy billed this service at $632. Other potential areas may be the radiator as the originals tend to last from 170K-225K miles. The transmission selector shaft seal (o-ring) was leaking on ours. Not a big leak but I'd find a small drop of tranny fluid on the floor. Leaking engines bug me so anything that had a seal or showed signs was taken care of when it was in for the TB service.
If this sample has had good maintenance schedules, you may have a good car provided you are willing to perform some of the maintenance.
Thanks for the opinions, will try to answer your questions/concerns in this one post, the seller has owned this lux boat since 2011 and said he get his oil changed every 5k from his mechanic, he did the timing belt in the past but lost his receipt, also for the “Sport”, I plugged the VIN in the Lexus driver website and it does mention Sport package option from factory. Also I agree with the lose bolts on valve cover gasket and oil pan, I had a Mitsubishi Montero and it seeped a bit from the tranny pan and valve cover, when I tightened the bolts, they appeared not very tight and once snugged by me, the the seepage stopped so hope it is the same with this LS if I buy it in a couple days when I get back to town. When i mentioned the leaks to him, he was vague and kept saying no leaks, I guess because its not enough to hit the floor. Also I don’t keep my cars longer than a year or two and sell them, so it should be the same for this LS. Again keep your opinions coming as it will affect my decision more and guide me.
I would find out who did the timing belt as they should have their own records of the service. 2nd best is to look for a sticker in the engine compartment showing the date/mileage of the change. If you can't confirm, assume it was not done and take a pass, or negotiate that into your offer. Or pay someone to inspect and remove a timing belt cover. At 190k it "should" be obvious if it was replaced or not, unless it was already replace once before. Although some belts look fine even with age, mine was massively cracked when I changed it with similar mileage. When a car seller can't support the work with evidence, I politely tell them that I mean no disrespect, but I don't know them, have been burned before and have to assume the work was not done.
Sport package doesn't mean anything at that mileage since most of the bushings are going to be toast and the shocks and done. The only lasting piece will be the rear sway bar which is only 1mm bigger than the non-sport model.
Keep looking. There are plenty of examples out there with WAAAAY less mileage.
Sport package doesn't mean anything at that mileage since most of the bushings are going to be toast and the shocks and done. The only lasting piece will be the rear sway bar which is only 1mm bigger than the non-sport model.
Keep looking. There are plenty of examples out there with WAAAAY less mileage.
The mileage would not be the main issue if not for all the oil leaks and problems. If the car was well maintained you should be jumping at $3500 or even $4,000. Our cars get costly when high miles also come with existing pricey repairs. I’d keep looking and pay more for a well maintained car. Miles are less important unless you are willing to pay bigger dollars for low miles. The nicest cars with reasonable miles sell fast at way higher prices than this car. Good luck.
Hello everyone, long story story short, I bought the car, I feel pretty good about my purchase price too considering all the junk that is going for a lot more due to inflation, I think this will make a good daily for me for the next couple years or more! Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought when looked at the the second time(in dry weather), slight seepage below oil pan wasn't enough to hit the ground and was just black crud from over the years, cleaned it and it's dry now, valve cover just has a slight spot of wetness out of one screw, and most oil residue was on cover below the oil filter from removal over the years and not cleaning it well. Talking about the car, the LS drives and looks very good and seems to be cared for as they are now driving a brand new E class after replacing it. It is a Moonlight pearl(almost no scratches or chips) with grey leather interior, equipt with Modern Lux package, and Sport package with nicer 18'' wheels which make it look more modern for sure. Attaching a couple pics, will take better ones outside when rain stops around here.
2005 LS430 opinion needed
