IotaNet

Hello all - long time lurker, finally decided to register. I have what’s probably an odd “want” but here goes.

My daily driver is a (paid for) Nissan Murano with 50k miles. Great car for that purpose - I plan to keep it until it dies. (FYI, I am a senior sales exec but since most of my clients are out of town, I drive about only 12k miles a year) I am looking for a fall/winter “Sunday Driver.” Something classy/luxurious to drive to church, the theater, holiday parties, etc. MAYBE to take clients out in from time to time. problem is, I don’t want a huge car payment nor do I want a maintenance sinkhole. (So the Germans are out!)

I’ve been thinking about an LS for a while as it seems to tick all the boxes. Can’t do anything pre-460 because living in Minnesota, AWD is a must.

im wondering if I need to look for a high-mileage but clean 2007 (probably priced in the high teens — which I can probably pay cash for) or is it worth paying more and finding the best 2011-12 (and be more worry-free).

Thoughts?

SW17LS

The LS is a perfect car for that.

07 won’t work because AWD didn’t come out until 09. I personally would get a 10+.

IotaNet

How many miles is too many before one should avoid one of these?

roadfrog

It's all relative. If the price is right, I wouldn't shy away from any LS regardless of mileage. They're THAT good and reliable. My 08 has 135k miles and has been extraordinarily reliable. I would be confident selling it to a close friend or relative.

Dave144239

As with any car, you're going to have maintenance items with higher miles on an older car, but nothing much seems to go wrong with these cars. Here's one for sale on the forum with 199,000 miles. It would take me 30 years to put that many miles on a car at my current annual mileage

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...0-11000-a.html

Chuckinnj

Just my 2 cents...... I would purchase a 2012+ LS with lower and well maintained miles because these cars can be very expensive to repair "IF" you have a problem unless you are capable of doing "some" repairs yourself with the help of CL. These cars are the most reliable cars around but things do happen even on a well maintained car but you want to try to reduce the chances of costly repairs by purchasing a lower mileage well maintained car.
I purchased a 2012 CPO LS three years ago and could not be happier with the car..... My only complaint is the sunroof surround rubber is deteriorating and the dealer will not replace it under warranty, other than that the car has been very reliable.

Doublebase

I wouldn't really call it a point of having too many miles, more like a point of when. Like at around 110,000 miles the control arms may be worn and need replacement. At that point it needs spark plugs too, so that's two things it most likely will need at that mileage point, but after that the car should be good for another 100,000 miles of reliable driving. Maybe a water pump around that point too. So it's important that the car is maintained properly or you'll be on the hook for these maintenance repairs, but it's no time like the car just starts falling apart at a certain mileage point like a BMW or Audi. Now those cars?? Wait until they reach 130,000 miles...you'll be spending thousands upon thousands to keep those things on the road. The LS460 isn't like that.

IotaNet

Great feedback here, guys. This is really helping me frame out my decision. FYI, today I test drove a 2014 460L AWD with about 40K miles - black with black interior. WOW what a nice car!

And about 15K more than I want to spend. Well, the quest is just starting -- it ought to be fun.

Cubbylex

Hi

Since your quest is just beginning, many of us who purchased our LSs looked for a while.

I looked for for a year before I found mine, so don’t get discouraged.

Also, many recommend having a third party inspection. Just because it says a CPO, doesn’t mean it has been thoroughly checked out.

Be patient, keep us posted and good luck.

Cubby

Dave144239

As the new year and the LS 500 release date draw closer, I've noticed a lot of price reductions on the LS 460s listed on CarGurus.com Save all the cars similar to those you're looking for and create an account so that you get email notifications of price drops.

fwhomeboy

I'm on the hunt Toooooo.... Did you find you one yet?

IotaNet

Check your Private Messages

R Z

If you're ok with the look and style of the 07, consider driving a 2011-2012.