I'm about to make an offer on a 2005 LS 430 Modern Luxury for around $14k and wanted to pick some brains on how others think it worth.

Car info is:

• Mileage: 147k
• 2 Owners: First owner had it till 2016 and drove for 89k miles.
• Color (exterior/interior): Black on black
• Sport Suspension sticker (replaced original with new KYB)

Car details:

• Second owner has kept car history (attached)
• Timing belt changed at 127K miles.
• Only thing serviced not mentioned in service history attached is the very recent gasket valve cover after noticing some leak which owner claims is OK now.

Given this can what are the thoughts on the $14k price? Anything I should be wary of?

 

$14K for a 2005 with 147K miles is too high to me. Be patient, you should be able to find a same condition one with probably 8-90K miles.

 

14k is too high for 147k miles. You should be paying between 9-11k for an excellent example with that mileage.

 

I too agree that the price is way way out of line with those miles. You’ll be investing a few thou regardless what you buy to bring it up to proper standards. Unless you can get this car fir 10 grand or under… keep looking. High miles (100-150) is no problem with good service records. Good luck!

 

Not a fan of those Moog parts, a cheap replacement steering rack, the weight of the motor oil that they are using, and I'm not sure if that Redline D4 fluid is compatible to Toyota WS fluid.

Keep looking, there are better examples out there. Sometimes it's better to get one without much work done so you can dictate what is done moving forward. On this example, sure it's been maintained but there are some red flags.

Keep posting potential candidates and we will help you make the right choice!

 

Thanks all! I am going to pass on that LS and continue my search.

I totally agree with it have been overpriced. I think @Romanova 's point on:
Is something I will take away. It makes sense and more flexible way will less concern in mind of what was done before.

I do need to find a good mechanic in San Diego though as I'm relatively new to the city. So if anyone knows any will appreciate it

 

All that might seem normal to most people for most cars but for those of us who know how reliable and maintenance free an LS is this looks like a nightmare.
Just for comparison my car has had 2 timing belt jobs, one belt only by Lexus and the 2nd comprehensive with all ancillary parts WP RAD etc., an alternator replaced under warranty by Lexus and 2 OE struts around 160k. I’m sure there was a brake service done at some point before I bought it and it’s due for another now but that’s it. I’m just over 200k miles now.
Maybe his mechanic had a knack for “finding” issues that don’t necessarily exist…?

Agree with Romanova on compatibility of Redline D4 with Toyota WS. There are very few ATF’s available that are truly compatible to WS. Personally I don’t trust anything except Toyota WS or Aisin WS. Whatever they did with the ECU at 07/2018 appears to be transmission related. The A761 shouldn’t have any issues at that mileage

 

I got the same feel but at the same time parts used are on the cheap side too.

For a bit of context, I'm an LS 430 newbie who has been trying studying as much as possible in last 3 months. We need a second car and I don't want to go dor a finance/lease so budget is fixed. At the same time I want to have as little as possible (excluding routine maintenance) mechanic visits.

So at this point my order preference is LS 430 2004-2006, ES 350 2011-2015 and RX 350 >2010 ideally with <120k mileage for under $14k. This to me is not unreasonable/unachieveable. Thoughts?

Price of LS 430 2004-2006 <120k range is however all over the place for last 10 months ranging from $9k to $45K! after monitoring 3 months over 100s of them across the nation. The bid ones go crazy with https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2005-lexus-ls430-6/ probably ending on >$20k. So it's becoming a bit tricky to know the deserving price for an LS without much details.

 

Cars of this age only appeals to enthusiasts so it is not a surprise not to have a “market price”. Some people will be willing to pay twice as much for a rare find. I saw 2 such 2005s locally last fall with 55K/62K, 1 was 1 owner, the other 2 owner local trade. The dealership raised prices by $1000 days after put on sale as calls came all over the country. I took a test drive of one of them. It was really good but not as good as $17K. It was sold out of state sight unseen. In need of a car right away is not good for your car search but you can still get a better one than the current.

 

Point taken and agreed. Thanks

 

I go to Elite Service Center off Miramar Rd. They used to be at Lexus El Cajon then started their own shop. Eddie is the main service writer I deal with, but there is also one named T who is good too. The mechanic there I like is Sun. Very knowledgeable.