Hey guys,

I am posting for the first time here and would like to thank you for all the great info regarding the LS430. I have read several threads over the last few weeks while I was making up my mind to whether or not to buying a 19 year old car.

At the end, I have pulled the trigger and bought this amazing car one week ago.
It is a 2003 model with 80k miles on the odometer. It had 2 owners. The first one had the car for 18 years and did all the maintenance at a Lexus dealer 5 minutes away from my house. The second owner had it for 1 year and drove less than 1k miles. All the original documents, manual, 3 keys, toolkit and maintenance booklet with all stamps were included.

Yesterday I left the car at Lexus dealership in order to do a preventive maintenance to start my ownership in a clean slate and to fix minor things such as the driver seat cooling system not working and the cigarette lighter on the front console is not working neither. Aside from that, the car is perfect.

Even though I have all day documentation on this car, I could not find anywhere its trim level. It seems to have everything (including all the bells and whistle in the backseat such as mini cooler, massage, heater and audio controls and mark Levinson system etc) but the laser cruise control system, which is unfortunate as I really like this functionality, and an all leather/no wood details steering wheel.

The vin is JTHBN30F430117650. Can anyone help me identify my car's trim level?
Thanks in advance!

 

it is a UL
possibly a canadian car?
vin # does not register

 

I agree must be UL if has those options you mentioned.
Mine also doesn't have Laser cruise, even though it has every other optional extra (maybe Laser cruise was a separate option?)
Mine is a UK import and UK trim level with ML, sunroof, smart key, rear seats opts, etc.

There should be a VIN plate either in Drivers door sill (or maybe passenger side), if not there, should be on the firewall in the engine bay. Lexus put a trim code on the VIN plate (but might just be for colour etc.)

 

Thanks guys for the prompt response.
I will check the vin plate once I get the car back from the dealership.
It has smart key, sunroof and several other features. I thought the UL would have the laser cruiser control included by default.
The car is located in Brazil, so perhaps that is why the vin is not registered in US.
Here is a picture of it.
Thinking about what exterior mods I should do, if any.

Thinking about what exterior mods I should do, if any.

 

I thought mine had Laser cruise too ... up until the day it arrived and I realised it didn't. Although I am pretty sure UL models 04, 05, 06 all came with it, and I think 01, 02 , 03 it was optional extra in some countries.
Mine is 03 silver looks identical to yours with fully original exterior - I have thought of making the front headlights look a bit more aggressive, maybe with some tint or frowning decals?
But I think there is value in keeping it original too ..

 

I am considreing applying a more agressive eyelid to the headlight but I am not sure if it would look great in person on the silver color. The ones I have seen online look better on black LS430.
I might change rims to 18 or 19 inch once the Michelin tires wear off and need to be replaced

 

front console has a cigar lighter,
cigarette lighter is in back seat.
here '03 was not a Smart Key car so your car is a unicorn for sure
notice side marker lights that is not on US cars.
How did car get from Brazil?

 

Yea decals might need to be the same silver color as the car to make it work

 

Welcome aboard. :-)
Your 2003 is a pre-facelift but since it is a Brazilian market model it will have different spec and different options from other markets.
It looks really clean so somebody loved/loves it. :-)

 

Great to know I have an unicorn! I like the smart key feature very much. The 3 smart keys got accompanied with the little silver plate with a printed code in it.
I am wondering if I can upgrade from the current smart key to Lexus credit-card key with that programing code.

Even though this car was imported officially through Lexus Brazil, it is a pretty rare car to see on the road. It took me few months scouting the local online classifieds to spot one for sale. The Ls400 is more commonly seen than the LS430, though still rare as compared to BMW, Mercedes or other luxury brands.

Yes, mine has a lighter in the front console and below the AC vent that serves the backseat.

That Mark Levinson sound system is really a treat. It really a cut above other oem sound systems I tested recently, including the Harman Kardon in my 2021 Subaru. To test it out, I took 6 CDs from the early 2000 era with me when I bought the car and listen to them in the 5 hour long road trip from the seller's home in Rio de Janeiro to my home in Sao Paulo. I was seriously impressed. No distortions whatsoever, perfect bass and a nice feeling of spatial sound, specially while listening to a Live concert CD from Genesis. What an experience!

 

Thank you!
Yeah, it was in really mint condition. The PPI guy could not belive a car that is almost 20 years old was in such prestine state of conservation both cosmetically and mechanically.

 

It sounds like it's a UL. Here's a link to models.

 

Thank you!
It seems I have an UL trim, even though the car did not come with air suspension (not sure how to check it) and laser cruise control. Regarding A/C air purifier, how can I check if my car has it? I mean, it does have all the items listed in the rear seat luxury package, but I am not sure if it has the air purifier component.
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Seat heaters would also display blue for cold fan, see image

 

If its got the height adjustment button its got air suspension. If its is got two vents in the rear deck either side of the sub, its got rear air purifier.
If you pull away the lining at back of the trunk, can see the rear air purifier and cool box system