Are LS 460s worth owninig? My 2007 is costing me an arm and a leg in service fees. I just paid $170 for a road force balance cos the car was rattling violently at 40 mph and 60 mph...It hasn't gone away completely but its bearable now. My extended warranty is about to expire this month. I have to get 4 new tires = $1200 and I also need to get new rotors and the tire pressure sensors need to be replaced WHEW!!!!.... After all the swag..i mean this car is not cheap...maybe i can get a GS 350 or something...this one here is beginning to reduce my quality of life...lol

 

Oh not to forget the brake actuators that i need to purchase as well - used is around $1500..lol

 

Unfortunately, this is a case where you gotta pay to play. It's not to the level of it's competitors (Audi/BMW/Merc), and if you can DIY you can save yourself a ton, but parts for these carry a premium for many reasons. In the case of actuators, you would not want to go used with this part because you cannot be sure you won't get a set that is pre-fix, it would be a complete waste of $1500 rather than shelling out the extra for new, fixed/updated actuators.

If it is impacting your quality of life as you say, definitely consider the move into something easier/cheaper to maintain. A ballin' ride doesn't count for much if it's a stretch to fill up the tank.

If you don't mind, do you own the vehicle outright or is it still under financing? If it's financed, are you upside down in it at the moment? If that's the case you might be better in the long run to suck it up, fix it, and keep making payments for a while longer.

 

The cost of road force balancing has nothing to do with which car you own (it's the same for an IS as an LS), although if you went to a Lexus dealer, you're paying top dollar. You can get it done for less at Discount Tire or any major tire chain (and if you're ready for new tires, you could have avoided this extra charge). The only solution to older car repairs is not a different car but a new car.

 

Tires are a wear item, cannot be counted, all cars have this expense.

Balancing and alignment are another one of those periodic expenses all road vehicles have, and how often you must do this is variable based on where you live/how you drive.

Brakes...again, wear item. How often you must address it is tied directly to the driving environment.

In the past week, I've spent $1,238.01 on five new tires, another $696 on brakes front and rear, and I don't know how much it's going to be, but I plan on having my wheels stripped and polished before the new tires go on next week. I do all work possible, myself, both because I like it and because I learn about the vehicle. Costing less is a bonus, like finding out, because you did it in your own garage, you effectively saved $80/hr or more.

I don't make $80/hr. working my full-time job, so yeah, this is nice.

Now, if it's transmission woes...I'll throw $100 bills at the transmission guy until it's the way it should be.

Sorry, but claiming tires/brakes/other common wear items are putting you in the poorhouse means you need either a 2001 Corolla or a bus pass. That's like saying insurance and registration cost too much. All vehicles carry this cost...ALL of them.

 

I don't believe he was being serious about the poor house just a little sarcasm maybe.

 

Is the 460 worth owning?? NO. This forum is populated by owners who hate their LS's. You're in the wrong forum.

Seriously though. The LS is as reliable as a car can be....especially an ultra luxury marque. In my case, my '08 has been the most reliable car I've ever owned. 135k miles and the only thing I've done is replace a water pump and a ball joint and control arm.

 

It's nice to buy a reliable, used luxury car at half or less of its MSRP. Don't be misled, however. If and when scheduled maintenance or repairs are needed, expect to pay luxury car prices for those services. There are ways to mitigate this somewhat: DIY, independent repair shops, Toyota dealers instead of Lexus dealers, but all else being equal, it will cost more to own a luxury car than a non-luxury car.

I enjoy my car, but I'm under no illusion that it makes financial sense. Spending more money on something you enjoy has a value, too -- as long as it's affordable. If you constantly worry about costs of upkeep, it's not a worthwhile purchase, IMO.

 

I remember back in the day when I was browsing the lamborghini-talk forum and some guy not much older than me purchased a preowned gallardo, a few months later he was complaining about the cost of fuel and gas mileage.

If you cannot afford the maintenance, insurance, fuel, and other 'wear and tear items' or just things that go with a vehicle.. -then in my opinion you shouldn't even purchase the car. Living beyond one's means is one thing - but how you define that is up to you.

Work smart, not hard. I'm with mckellyb, I love to do most of the work myself, gives me a sense of pride or accomplishment and also yes, I learn more as I go. If i make a mistake, then I know majority of the time, I would be at fault, not someone else. I trust my own work and my own faults that go with it at times.

 

It's a very reliable car but when it does need to be repaired it still acts like an $80,000 dollar car. If you can do the repairs yourself it's basically as cheap to own as a Civic.

But cars need maintenance, they need repairs. I love these high mileage stories that leave out half the repairs they've done...or the ones that consider engine and transmission replacements as no big deal.

This car will do 300,000k without major component replacement if you have it maintained properly, not all cars can say that.

 

What you need is a ES350. I touch of lexus with the repair cost more of a normal car like a Camry.
The LS is going to be better built than any other Luxury car. But you still have a lot more things that can go wrong including more sensors/electronics.
So again you have to pay to play.

I had a new es as a loaner and was impressed. Actually liked driving it morethan my LS sport. But could just maybe live with the interior but dont like the exterior.
Will say the pleather interior will look better in the long run and hold up better than my more expensive LS leather.

 

Stop taking it to the Lexus dealership. Take it to a Toyota dealership or independent you can trust or better yet do as much as you can yourself. Makes little sense to keep taking a older car to the dealership for expensive maintenance.

 

I'm not finding anything overly expensive for the cost of the majority of the maintenance parts for my LS460. The control arm "problem" scared me away from owning an LS460 for about a year. It's only scary if you have the dealer do the work and upcharge you on factory parts when there are plenty of good aftermarket choices.

 

Tires should be free for life! Ok, well now back to reality. I've had my 08 LS460 for 3 years. For the most part, it's been a pleasure. The ride is stellar, the comfort is amazing, and the car looks great for a soon to be 10 year old machine. My only issues have been the tear on the drivers side door armrest and now, I've noticed, in the evenings, my headlights stay on when I close my door. So for now, I have the tear covered until I find the part, and I just double close the doors and that solves the problems for now. I've been fairly lucky with all the other issues some have had with their 07 -09's. But then again, working from home, my car doesn't get driven as much. With roughly 66K miles, it's a cool car. But I do understand that when maintenance comes a calling, it can get pricey. I have an independent Lexus guy ready to go when needed. Just hope I don't need him anytime soon. Good luck to you!

 

Ive ran Pirelli tires, Michelin, bfgoodrich, Goodyear etc... and ive never noticed any difference between those brands and the cheap Chinese brands

So I buy Chinese tires and I really don't care what people think or say , I personally think the difference is so minor that no one would ever notice unless you are going to the race track and monitoring your times by the millisecond.

I paid $600 including tax for a brand new set of 4 x 22 inch Chinese specials including install , they have been great and still have a ton of life left, ill run them again next year.

I even used Chinese tires on my supercharged corvette, had no traction issues, ran smooth and never let me down in any way.

I would never buy name brand tires unless they are on special for a heavy discount, which sometimes they are .