In perusing my local craigslist, I found this for sale at what appears to be a good price and well taken care of:
https://sarasota.craigslist.org/cto/...490308944.html

I see people posting about still wanting this era Lexus.

 

I saw a lot of them for sale when I was shopping for a 460. I came across a cream puff LS 430 with only 60k miles for sale in MD, and the Craigslist ad was taken down within 24 hours. I'm sure the first person to get there with $14k snatched it up.

 

Yeah, this one was definitely well taken care of, the only interior picture shows the steering wheel leather is discolored, which is probably normal. This is a well healed area, so they probably didn't skimp on care.
KBB show this to be worth $5k-7k, so probably priced reasonably. Part of me wants to show up with $5k and try to steal it, but another car is the last thing I need.
That Craigslist is where I found my LS460, and I also had a very nice BMW ready to buy, but the seller backed out at the last minute.

 

I personally would never buy an 01-03 430, I think they're ugly. The 04-06 refresh did wonders for the car.

 

Thanks, SW15LS. I didn't even know there was a refresh on these. I just read a lot that people really liked the 430's.
I posted it in case someone was looking for one.

 

This is the 04-06 refresh car:

 

Yes, the one I saw was an '06. I'm also not a fan of the '01-'03 cars...those headlights are kind of bug eyed.

 

I agree with Steve, before I got the 460 I was looking at the 04-06 430. The update was subtle but it made a big difference.

 

True, but it is all about the 5 spoke 18 inch wheels though which really freshens up the car. There were very affordable taillights option with the clear strip instead of amber and I found the perfect oval exhaust tips for the exact look of the 2004-2006.
Here is a pic of my 2001. Way back I was in the process of buying a 2004 and trading my 2001, I didn't think there was enough reason to justify spending an extra $5-6K when I had each car side by side, so I backed out. The sweeping headlights do look great but I think the better car to own now is the 2001-2003. You can check and flush your transmission fluid since it had a dipstick and also the 5 speed transmission was damn near bulletproof. Also no TPMS. Personally I wouldn't go back to this Gen LS, The only Lexus of this era that I would consider would be the 2nd Gen GS400-430. Those still look good IMO today. I give a thumbs up to someone driving one

 

 

When I was desperately looking for a reliable replacement for my 7 series BMW, I kept seeing the 400 and 430 and thinking, OMG...that is the ugliest car I've seen in a long time. I figured the 07 up models would be out of my price range, but fortunately, I found them right at my limit. I admire the reliability and quality of the earlier 4**'s, but the look is as homely as it gets for me.

 

Walking past a neighbor's LS 430 every night is what got me looking at the 460 in the first place. I was concentrating more on the GS 350, but even though the neighbor's car is at least 12 years old now, it still looks great. I think it's a classic design - nothing fancy, but still looking good after all these years.

 

Looks like a great car. The only thing that bothers me is the NAV in these modern cars. When they "bite the dust" you can lose the HVAC control for a while. If the car is "solid" I would buy it and not get caught up with "this trim is better than that trim". Besides with Celsior sideskirts the car would look even more beautiful. The one piece hood and grill is a nice touch a-la w140 only slightly smoother

I found a LS430 for a family member a few weeks ago, I haven't driven the car yet, but all I keep hearing is details about the "power".

 

But, if you read back through CL nav unit failures are almost unheard of...even on the first LS400s and GS400s that came with nav back in 1998.

 

I would look hard at any car being sold in FL especially in the Keys right now. A little salt water goes a long ways.

Dennis