Well, the old girl rolled over to 300,000 miles.... I am still in love with this old sled and cannot say enough about how amazing it has been to drive. And still even looks good after all those miles!! Keep the oil changed, gas in the tank and enjoy the ride.

 

Congratulations. I am only half way there, with a bit of front bumper damage. What have you had to put into it repair-wise? Major-ish repairs for me have included one new cat, MAF, and an alternator (the one time it left me stranded). Plus a buzzing/low-level deep, grumbling from the back when accelerating from 30-40 mph that mechanic did not hear (it is intermittent). Gotta work on having someone identify that. I am also still on the original air suspension. Your car looks fantastic! Mine is nice but yours looks pristine!! Enjoy!

 

Denmark1, it is far from pristine, but for a 2003 with that many miles I am super happy at how it still looks. I'm also into photography, so I try and take "good" pictures as well, lol. As far as repairs, there hasn't been much (knocking on everything that is wood right now) beside the passengers side catalytic converter and both of the front door locking motors (I did those myself because of the cost for the whole mechanism). The windshield had 3 small chips in it that I repaired with kits from Amazon. I bought the car for $2,000 dollars almost three years ago with 255,000 miles. The original owners were an older couple that wintered in Arizona so lots of miles were driving back and forth. They put on 140,000 miles and had everything done at a Lexus dealer, EVERYTHING!! The second owner was a used car salesman (literally) that drove it until I bought it. He said that he had the timing belt done around 190,000 so it is "due" for one again, but I am having a hard time justifying a $1,000 repair on a $2,000 car.... I know I should do it, but may just roll the dice and drive it until something happens, not sure? The CD player freezes once in awhile, and when the headlights come on, I get a warning light that I have a taillight out, but I don't.... I assume a bad socket or something but doesn't bother me. There is not ONE tear or wear spot on any of the seats or carpet and everything else still works like new (auto tilt, auto mirrors,heated/cooled seats,etc) I just put on my winter wheels and took off the ones in the picture, which are actually from a 2011 Ford Edge believe it or not... lol. I bought a center hub spacer to make up the difference so they fit perfectly and for $100 Craigslist buy think they look great!! Thanks for the questions, and good luck with your ride!!
Scotty B

 

Very nice. Congrats

 

illby1, I suggest you do the timing belt (and water pump/whole "kit"). It is not "early" if 110k miles since last one. Just my thought process: it is not a $2,000-valued car. A car in condition you know it to be (functional, reliable, frame not rusted out or damaged, etc.) would probably cost $10k to replace with a comparable LS430. A new Camry these days as another alternative is $300+/month lease with 3k down. My LS430 has had fewer repair needed in last 4 years than in the prior. (knock on wood by me too!). Losing it in an unnecessary catastrophic failure would be a shame. If you can't afford it, save up for it. I stretch things like a new battery sometimes, or an oil change at 8 months instead of 6 if low miles, but if you like the car and want to keep it, do core maintenance and especially catastrophe-avoiding maintenance, unless you want to sell the car (in which case the buyer will factor in the TB cost if smar.t) I'm impressed you did the locks yourself, but one way or the other, do the timing belt soon. Best of luck.

 

Hi...Just to give you an idea the 90K mile recommended replacement of the timing belt is the half life of the belt. It is a good idea to be proactive to prevent a catastrophic failure where the piston is in wrong position. When it was time for me to do mine I talked with several lexus and toyota mechanics and all said I could go longer if wanted as they have seen them over 150K. I extended the time and did mine at 125K along with the water pump. The belt I took off looked as good as the new one and even bending it backwards were no cracks at all. I did the job myself with 6 hours of work. I did make a tool to get the crank bolt out which was easier than I thought. It is also recommended to change plugs at 120K and I know someone with over 200K and never changed with no skips and same gas mileage.

 

Congrats! Which wheels are those?

I'm only at 65K, so I got a long ways to go!

 

2001 LS430 UL...181k now and just put in an 9 inch android screen

 

Alextv,

I am getting two reads on this from your post. You are saying to be proactive but are you saying to go at 125k+? So don't wait to breakof course (as an interference engine) but 90k is too soon? My situation will be different than a miles situation as my TB was last done in 2018 a second time after water pump leaked. (I am not sure first place was honest and even did the belt, frankly). That was around 125 k miles. I am now putting on around 5k a year, so if I still own the car in 2027, I will have put only around 50k on it at the recommended interval by time. I wonder how to treat it as a function of age more than miles... if that can be stretched too. Of course, that is 4.5 years away... A lot can happen in that time!

 

No I am not saying to do it at 125 that is just what I did with no problem and the original belt looked as good as new on the ribs. As for age everything deteriorates and that is why they always list the mileage with the time frame and supposed to be whatever comes first. It's never a bad idea to go with the maintenance schedule I just decided I could go longer by talking to mechanics actually working on these cars as I knew it would be a pain which it was.