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Frequent reader first time poster. Need advice. I love my '07 460 w/ 19-speaker Marc Levinson. I bought it in '14 at 120k miles for $23k, now at 209k miles. Best car I have ever owned. My wife and I almost replaced with a '15 BMW X5 a few weeks ago. But after test driving that X5 with so-called premium harmon / kardon we got back into my LS and merged onto I-45 with that smooth ride and Marc Levinson concert-hall interior. It was soooo much better than that X5. I said to my wife "no way, we're keeping this 460 until it falls apart, then getting another". Well then … this week I swung by Lexus for state inspection and oil change and received a $9.5k repair quote for the front steering knuckle and front upper and lower control arms. I politely declined the dealer mark-up repairs … but now it seems it the LS might really be falling apart. So here are my options for which I need advice:
Option A: The LS460 still drives well … so far. Keep driving it while scouring the market for black marc-levinson LS #2, maybe a '14 with 80k miles I'm seeing. Sell mine to TexasDirectAuto or similar. Could take months to find the right next car though… safe to keep driving?
Option B: I get an independent to do aftermarket Control Arms following the excellent advice on these forums, and keep it going to 250k.
I confess I am leaning towards Option A. Can I drive on these control arms a few months? If not, anyone try to stretch a '07 460 to 250k+?
Option A for sure. 2014 offers some very nice interior upgrades and tech updates as well. IMO, I think your 2007 is going to continue depreciating rapidly due to age and miles, so you should get out while you can. You may want to ping DedBirdDog or search his old posts to see the deal he got from auction - if memory serves, he got a 2013 with around 70k or 80k miles for $22k-$24k. He has provided great insight to the forum on the market value of LS's of all ages. Good luck!
If you do sell, good chance a buyer will have the car checked and you will have to spend the 800 to 1K anyway. So no advantage there.
Yours already has most of its depreciation. It will go down in value less dollar wise than a newer one.
So will save money and get the higher $ deprecation on the newer one if you wait to buy.
Then add in the higher property tax if your state does that. And insurance.
Should be easy for you to do all the math. And look at different years for sale and figure out how much one will depreciate if you wait a year or two. So you will see what you can save.
Doesn't sound like you can do any work yourself so it is probably best to trade it. Also it doesn't appear that you've had an indy mechanic that you normally take it for repairs that you have built a good rapport with over the years. The cost for repairs will start to creep up and exceed what the car is worth. I have three 25+ yr experienced mechanics that I can go to if needed that wants me to bring my own parts so they don't have to call around for parts
In comparison, I bought a 2008 LS460 with comfort plus package (rear recline seats) in 2017 for $16K. It had 90K miles on it.
Here is what I have done myself :
-Removed and replaced Front and rear struts. $100 Labor to have springs compressed and strut put together.
-Truck latch motor
-replaced front Hid headlight bulbs
-differential fluid change
-Navigation trim surround (Cracks near vent area, common)
-Radiator
-Serpentine belt
-belt tensioner and pulley.
-4 upper control arms.
- 4 sway bar links and front sway bar bushings
- Several miscellaneous trim pieces from Ebay
* I can do my own brakes when the time comes.
* Oil changes of course
I have 98K miles on it now. I'd probably have a lower level of ownership enjoyment if I was not able to do my own work. All thanks to this great and informative forum! The only cost that I fear is the brake actuator going . I've done a couple of reservoir flush and fills and change the fluid reservoir cap and I haven't heard any noises. It only made a squawk noise when the fluid was low and I was on a steep decline driveway.
If you can tackle the upper ones which require you to take off the sway bar links and entire strut and if you can bring in your own lower controls arms and have an indy do it then it would dramatically cut the cost. Enjoy her for another 50K+ miles!
Keep going! I got 241k miles on my 08 and just got new Michelins. Car is solid and I drive it about 100 miles every weekday. Very comfortable and it really wants to go fast. Everything works and it still looks great to me.
If the control arm bushings are really bad you would hear a loud clunk noise when applying brake at low speed on local roads. and even then I could still drive it for 8k miles before replacing all 8 front CAs. aftermarket parts + indy shop labor were around $1050 in Houston TX (year 2015).
If your happy with your current car and your not crying for some new tech/style updates. Why move on ? My 2007 is sitting at 209K now, it runs great and is in great shape., I put about 110 miles a day on it, so it gets a lot of use.
I have no complaints about my car and maybe upgrade but, no plans on for a long time... If you have to dump $1000 or a little more to get it working... Ask yourself, how much more is a 2013-2015 going to cost you in the long run ?
Under almost no circumstance are you better off financially trading your old car and buying a newer one. The question really is whether the money you spend is worth it to you to drive a newer/nicer vehicle.
i like to drive mine into the ground. With my LS’s, repairs have been cheaper than spending money on a newer one, and even when they start to get more creaky/loose/wonky things, they are still really nice vehicles.
If you can get your current LS repaired at a reason cost and there are no other issues, then I would just keep it. IMO there is not enough reason to trade to a newer LS, unless your current car has a ton of issues. Just buy parts online and find a reputable independent mechanic known for Toyota and Lexus.
Under almost no circumstance are you better off financially trading your old car and buying a newer one. The question really is whether the money you spend is worth it to you to drive a newer/nicer vehicle.
i like to drive mine into the ground. With my LS’s, repairs have been cheaper than spending money on a newer one, and even when they start to get more creaky/loose/wonky things, they are still really nice vehicles.
These are easy 500K mile cars. They're built to that high of a standard.
200K miles, if you still like it, is nothing.
Sure, it's going to need a transmission, probably, before 300K shows up, but even if throwing in a used one is a grand, so what? It's still the $75K car it was, new, and to replace it will be at least a dozen times the cost of a transmission replacement.
A rebuild will cost more, but will likely last longer. At 300K, however, unless you're going for a record, I'd say putting one in there which will last 150K is fine.
edit: BTW, the Levinson in the '14 won't likely sound as good as the '07-'09 cars. I know my 2012's Levinson has been neutered to a large degree, and it's frustrating, knowing what it can do were it not for reprogramming the head unit.
Option B as your car still drives well unless you want the tech upgrades.
Do the math. Spend $3K or more with an indy shop and your LS is good for XX years.
Or get a newer car and it will depreciate on average $4-5K/year (maybe less but still significant)
Your current car is not going to depreciate as much.
Obviously the car will continue to depreciate but the logic of ditch it now at a measly $9 rather than $6k later is a wash considering depreciation on a daily drive car is inevitable. The newer LS or X5 you replace it with is likely going to have a higher rate of year over year depreciation.
Plus you’re talking about buying used so it’s safe to assume those “new” cars are going to have needs; tires, brakes, plugs, etc…. Then there’s TTL.
It’s almost always cheaper to keep the car you have. So your 2xxk+ LS needs control arms; replace them at a reputable indy and keep driving it.
04-25-19, 06:05 PM
200k+ Experience? Keep going or trade it in?
