Happy new LS460L Owner
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timinfla2 (11-12-17)
#17
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
If it turns out I have to be spending another $3K on an extended warranty just to cover my butt for the next few years in order for me to feel good about the vehicle, well, that's a different story.
I sure hope there's a logical explanation for the electrical and alignment issues in the history report. I'd HATE to have gotten my hopes so high on this and see it fall through after all that...
#18
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: FL - PSL
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Tim,
Welcome! And good luck with the LS! That sounds like an amazing car to pick up! The only shop I can advise in the area is:
Welcome! And good luck with the LS! That sounds like an amazing car to pick up! The only shop I can advise in the area is:
Assured Auto Works
Phone: (321) 610-7977
Address: 4451 Enterprise Ct, Melbourne, FL 32934
They rock and I have used them on multiple cars as well as colleagues cars as well!
They rock and I have used them on multiple cars as well as colleagues cars as well!
Hey folks, Just saying hi - I’ve been reading a ton here about these vehicles. I just bought a 2008 LS460L with a hair over 70K on the clock. It’s gorgeous and seems to have been very well cared-for. The dealer (Lexus of Melbourne) has been absolutely amazing. I didn’t feel the need to haggle over the price or anything ($19.9K) because it looked like a great vehicle.
The dealer has it until Wednesday, as they found a couple of problems with it and (thankfully) won’t sell the vehicle until it’s ready to go. One issue is cosmetic, a small scrape on the passenger-rear quarter panel. The other one was a control arm. They’ll have to order parts so I won’t be able to bring her home until Wednesday.
Sorry for the crappy pics - I should’ve took more but I was in kind of a rush.
Anyway, I still have to decide on an extended warranty - it’s a gamble but when it pays, boy it sure pays big. I’m not the least bit mechanically included so I’m leaning in that direction.
From this forum, I’ve learned that on these models, it’s unfortunately not uncommon that I’d be having a control arm issue on this vehicle. I have a 30 day/1000 mile warranty from the dealer on the car. During that time period, what else should I be on the lookout for? i.e. are there any bugaboos on this model that seem to show up time and again that I should be especially watchful for? Anything I should have my pershonal mechanic pay special attention to?
Thanks so much in advance for the advice and knowledge.
-Tim
The dealer has it until Wednesday, as they found a couple of problems with it and (thankfully) won’t sell the vehicle until it’s ready to go. One issue is cosmetic, a small scrape on the passenger-rear quarter panel. The other one was a control arm. They’ll have to order parts so I won’t be able to bring her home until Wednesday.
Sorry for the crappy pics - I should’ve took more but I was in kind of a rush.
Anyway, I still have to decide on an extended warranty - it’s a gamble but when it pays, boy it sure pays big. I’m not the least bit mechanically included so I’m leaning in that direction.
From this forum, I’ve learned that on these models, it’s unfortunately not uncommon that I’d be having a control arm issue on this vehicle. I have a 30 day/1000 mile warranty from the dealer on the car. During that time period, what else should I be on the lookout for? i.e. are there any bugaboos on this model that seem to show up time and again that I should be especially watchful for? Anything I should have my pershonal mechanic pay special attention to?
Thanks so much in advance for the advice and knowledge.
-Tim
#19
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Tim,
Welcome! And good luck with the LS! That sounds like an amazing car to pick up! The only shop I can advise in the area is:
Welcome! And good luck with the LS! That sounds like an amazing car to pick up! The only shop I can advise in the area is:
Assured Auto Works
Phone: (321) 610-7977
Address: 4451 Enterprise Ct, Melbourne, FL 32934
They rock and I have used them on multiple cars as well as colleagues cars as well!
They rock and I have used them on multiple cars as well as colleagues cars as well!
#20
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Update:
So it appears that they are changing out ALL of the upper and lower control arms up front. They are heart-attack serious about making sure this car is good to go once it leaves their lot. I've been SUPER impressed with Lexus of Melbourne, especially Bob McGiveny, he's my sales guy.
I'll keep y'all up to speed.
Tim
So it appears that they are changing out ALL of the upper and lower control arms up front. They are heart-attack serious about making sure this car is good to go once it leaves their lot. I've been SUPER impressed with Lexus of Melbourne, especially Bob McGiveny, he's my sales guy.
I'll keep y'all up to speed.
Tim
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steedls400 (11-17-17)
#21
Pole Position
I agree with you. I bought my 2010 460L with 65k miles for $23k- I had to haggle quite a bit but ultimately I paid exactly $23k. I think there is some room to wiggle on this car. Having them throw in the control arms really doesn't count because they can likely pull that off through warranty work. While it's a big value to the buyer, it's really no cost to the dealer because Lexus corporate will reimburse them for the work under the recall/TSB (I think there was one for 07-09?)
#22
Pole Position
Send me a private message if you want info on a mechanic option in eastern Orlando. About an hour (or just under) from Melbourne. I have been taking my LS and LX to him for 6 years now after getting bad service from Lexus of Orlando. FYI, I bought our LX from Lexus Melbourne- very good experience. I just don't drive there for service- too far for me and I trust my guy too much.
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timinfla2 (11-16-17)
#23
Instructor
iTrader: (1)
Update:
So it appears that they are changing out ALL of the upper and lower control arms up front. They are heart-attack serious about making sure this car is good to go once it leaves their lot. I've been SUPER impressed with Lexus of Melbourne, especially Bob McGiveny, he's my sales guy.
I'll keep y'all up to speed.
Tim
So it appears that they are changing out ALL of the upper and lower control arms up front. They are heart-attack serious about making sure this car is good to go once it leaves their lot. I've been SUPER impressed with Lexus of Melbourne, especially Bob McGiveny, he's my sales guy.
I'll keep y'all up to speed.
Tim
The following users liked this post:
timinfla2 (11-16-17)
#24
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (9)
Update:
So it appears that they are changing out ALL of the upper and lower control arms up front. They are heart-attack serious about making sure this car is good to go once it leaves their lot. I've been SUPER impressed with Lexus of Melbourne, especially Bob McGiveny, he's my sales guy.
I'll keep y'all up to speed.
Tim
So it appears that they are changing out ALL of the upper and lower control arms up front. They are heart-attack serious about making sure this car is good to go once it leaves their lot. I've been SUPER impressed with Lexus of Melbourne, especially Bob McGiveny, he's my sales guy.
I'll keep y'all up to speed.
Tim
#25
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Agree. Just the same, I’m offering to buy any LS460 Gen 4 owner a ridiculously incredible steak dinner (or high end bottle of liquor of their choice) if they would be willing to come to Lexus of Melbourne and take a look at the car with me. Would be great to have and experienced set of eyes on the vehicle and let somebody who has a few thousand miles and a year or so of ownership under their belt take a test drive...
Offer is out there if anybody’s interested, PM me.
Offer is out there if anybody’s interested, PM me.
#26
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Update:
Well, nobody took me up on the steak so I went it alone, haha. First stop after the dealership, Publix. Got the kids a couple of subs - they were ecstatic at the idea that they could heat/cool/recline their rear seats. They're 7 and 11, so they're still pretty easy to amaze :-) But I was blown away when walking up to the car, I hadn't even touched a button yet and THE DAMNED THING WOKE UP! It was so cool - the mirrors unfolded, the lights turned on... Wow, just so cool.
Drove around for a bit, got to know the car. Programmed my garage door opener, and seat memory. Tried all the switches/buttons, etc. Then driving home, the TPMS system just sent completely bonkers and said to take it to the dealership. Haha, just my luck - but it gets better. Then after parking, I look back and my Passenger side headlamp is out. So she's back with Bob at Lexus of Melbourne now getting fixed. I can tell you they're pretty great, not one question asked and they gave me a nice loaner in the meantime.
This morning I woke up and looked at her in the light of day and discovered a few other items. The L emblem on the front grille was cracked and repaired poorly - they have a new one on order, on the house. There's also a spot I knew about on the passenger rear quarter panel that they're waiting on fixing for their paint pro to be back in town.
Also I noticed that when I turn on the AC seats for the the passenger side or the back seat, there’s a pronounced sound of air/fan noise indicating the system is working. There is no such noise on the drivers side. Is this normal? I THINK I feel my seat cooling but I don't know if that's just the placebo effect of me hitting a switch and wanting to feel cool. I'm having them check that as well.
There's also some wear on the fabric above the A Pillar, but the lower leather half looks fine - no wear there. The sunroof seal still looks factory new. I was surprised about that.
Finally while driving in, I noticed that my sattelite radio kept losing signal. It was on a main corridor of I95 so I know it's in a full coverage area, I'm not out in the sticks. I'm wondering if there's a loose connection between the head unit and the antenna? They're looking into that too.
I took a ton of pics and vids but I know that I'm still on a restricted account so who knows if they'll post - I'll do my best :-)
Well, nobody took me up on the steak so I went it alone, haha. First stop after the dealership, Publix. Got the kids a couple of subs - they were ecstatic at the idea that they could heat/cool/recline their rear seats. They're 7 and 11, so they're still pretty easy to amaze :-) But I was blown away when walking up to the car, I hadn't even touched a button yet and THE DAMNED THING WOKE UP! It was so cool - the mirrors unfolded, the lights turned on... Wow, just so cool.
Drove around for a bit, got to know the car. Programmed my garage door opener, and seat memory. Tried all the switches/buttons, etc. Then driving home, the TPMS system just sent completely bonkers and said to take it to the dealership. Haha, just my luck - but it gets better. Then after parking, I look back and my Passenger side headlamp is out. So she's back with Bob at Lexus of Melbourne now getting fixed. I can tell you they're pretty great, not one question asked and they gave me a nice loaner in the meantime.
This morning I woke up and looked at her in the light of day and discovered a few other items. The L emblem on the front grille was cracked and repaired poorly - they have a new one on order, on the house. There's also a spot I knew about on the passenger rear quarter panel that they're waiting on fixing for their paint pro to be back in town.
Also I noticed that when I turn on the AC seats for the the passenger side or the back seat, there’s a pronounced sound of air/fan noise indicating the system is working. There is no such noise on the drivers side. Is this normal? I THINK I feel my seat cooling but I don't know if that's just the placebo effect of me hitting a switch and wanting to feel cool. I'm having them check that as well.
There's also some wear on the fabric above the A Pillar, but the lower leather half looks fine - no wear there. The sunroof seal still looks factory new. I was surprised about that.
Finally while driving in, I noticed that my sattelite radio kept losing signal. It was on a main corridor of I95 so I know it's in a full coverage area, I'm not out in the sticks. I'm wondering if there's a loose connection between the head unit and the antenna? They're looking into that too.
I took a ton of pics and vids but I know that I'm still on a restricted account so who knows if they'll post - I'll do my best :-)
#29
Pole Position
I would've met you in Melbourne but had a few things come up for work that didn't allow me to PM you or make the trip this week. With the exception of the paint work, the car looks pretty immaculate to me considering it's almost 10 (model) years old. Not sure about the instrument gauge lighting up, but the dealership will get that diagnosed and fixed. As someone who has put over 300k miles on LS vehicles, I can tell you for the most part these cars are incredibly reliable and predictable (which explains why I, like many others here, continue buying them).
You will notice more noise when the AC seats are turned on- it was that way in my LS430 and now in my 460L so it's just a slightly louder fan sound than what you hear out of the main AC unit. The drawback of having such a quiet car is you hear things like that.. You can get the dealership to check the seat filters to see if they need to be changed (easy and cheap) which may reduce the noise a bit while also making sure you feel the seat cooling/heating.
Not sure on SAT radio issue- I had lots of intermittent signal in my 430 but it was an aftermarket antenna that I added. I haven't had any issues in my 460 with the integrated satellite. But you're right, you shouldn't be losing signal unless you're in an area with some of FL's beautiful over-hanging oak trees.
Keep us posted once you get her back.
You will notice more noise when the AC seats are turned on- it was that way in my LS430 and now in my 460L so it's just a slightly louder fan sound than what you hear out of the main AC unit. The drawback of having such a quiet car is you hear things like that.. You can get the dealership to check the seat filters to see if they need to be changed (easy and cheap) which may reduce the noise a bit while also making sure you feel the seat cooling/heating.
Not sure on SAT radio issue- I had lots of intermittent signal in my 430 but it was an aftermarket antenna that I added. I haven't had any issues in my 460 with the integrated satellite. But you're right, you shouldn't be losing signal unless you're in an area with some of FL's beautiful over-hanging oak trees.
Keep us posted once you get her back.
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timinfla2 (11-16-17)
#30
Former Sponsor
Hey Tim,
Just sort out the issues like you are currently doing, and I believe over the long term with the car you will be very pleased. I still think the 07-09 front end styling looks better than the 10-12 (like mine). And the white looks very elegant.
Jason Oliver
Just sort out the issues like you are currently doing, and I believe over the long term with the car you will be very pleased. I still think the 07-09 front end styling looks better than the 10-12 (like mine). And the white looks very elegant.
Jason Oliver