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I've had my new-to-me 2007 LS460 SWB RWD with about 104k miles on it for about a month now. This is a bit of a review of the model itself along with a review of buying a car this age.
First, why I bought the car:
I wanted a car with some luxury features that are in a reliable and not all that expensive package. I wasn't that entertained with the idea of finding parts for a 13 year old car that was the stepchild of late 90's and early 00's General Motors.The LS specifically because it's bigger, smooth, gets reasonably good mileage, powerful, and assumed reliability (even compared to other Lexus models). I also figured this car has depreciated (percentage curve wise) down to a point that it shouldn't lose too much more over the next couple/few years.
Likes:
It feels very solid (feel and sound of the doors shutting, cabin quietness, engine smoothness, lack of NHV, etc... ). It has most of the features I feel like I want in a car. There isn't too much more newer cars offer that I feel are worth the extra price. It's a pretty good looking car. It's very understated, which I prefer (although I wish I had 19" stock wheels). I feel like my particular car was reasonably well cared for. There aren't many dents or dings in the car. The door seals and plastic trims all seem in good shape. It does seem like it was garage kept. I like that the doors and trunk are all soft close. Even if the steering is numb, at least it has heft. Push button start is new for me, and I really like it. the turning headlights seems minor, but is honestly really useful. I think even the base sound system is reasonably good.
Dislikes:
A lot of the interior buttons feel plasticy and kind of cheap to me. The buttons around the touch screen, radio buttons, etc. I've just found out that at least one (maybe both) of my mufflers have holes in them. I thought this car would have had stainless mufflers. The quality if the door and dash panels. I know this has common and there's the open campaign to fix it. But there are many other makes and models with none of the prestige and price that have this kind of issue. I've gotten a claim submitted, but they aren't fixed yet and based on my dealer experience, I'm not sure they will be (I am really thankful that there's still a possibility though).
These next two are probably my fault for not doing more research, but I'm still surprised by them. The back seats don't fold down and I can't install a trailer hitch.
I bought my car from a local Dodge, Chrysler, Ram, Jeep, and Ford dealership. I'm disappointed with their prep on the car. I looked a the car in a pretty bad snow storm. I could have noticed a couple things if I spent more time looking it over. But I assumed a dealer would have done a better job with some things. The alignment was off even though the claimed they did an alignment. They did fix it though. A rear shock blew out 2 days after I brought it home (fronts were leaking too). The new rotors have rust spots from sitting. I just found one of the wheels has a slight bend. The passenger side mirror was a non DOT approved generic mirror. The wheels were out of balance (they disagreed when I brought it back to fix the alignment).
So far, I'm not in love with this car. Some of my dislikes just get under my skin a bit. Plus, buying shocks, paying for a tire balance, making another trip to the dealer to fix the alignment, buying a side mirror, and finding out I need a rim don't give me the warm and fuzzies. Hopefully once things are sorted out I'll feel better about it.
like you said its a 13 year old car designed 17 years ago,
you have choices:
sell it
shift your expectations with a design of 17 years ago that is still great today; inside and out
or enjoy it
Right. I know it's 13 and I know every car has their faults.
When I stop buying something for it weekly and I get it to stop jiggling down the freeway I'll be a lot happier. I'm hoping once I get things sorted it'll be the reliable, comfortable, mile-eating, luxury cocoon I know it can be.
My last car was a Saab 9-3 Aero Wagon. Yep, I'm a wagon nerd. I do miss how it handled, but I'm glad to have a better riding car now. I miss having a turbo V6 and it's wide torque band. This V8 sound and high end thrust is really great though. I nearly bought a 2013 Mercedes E-Class wagon. But, some recent news made me look for something a little less expensive. My LS was the less expensive but still luxurious and reliable option.
I installed an OE passenger side mirror yesterday. WOW! It's so nice to have an actual convex and tinted mirror. And the dimming works now! Woohoo!
I switched from a wagon too, and I do occasionally miss being able to fold the seats down and throw my bike in the back. The LS is a much nicer car than the CTS, though.
I looked at the CTS wagon too. I couldn't find a lot of good reviews about how they were aging. Plus, I was trying to get something a little bitter than the Saab. My kids were really jazzed about the rear facing 3rd row in the Merc. But they love the soft close rear doors and the vanity mirrors in the LS. LOL. The simple things...
I think at some point I'll be back in a wagon. I do enough hauling small/medium things that I think it makes sense. I'm a bit anti-SUV too. I just don't like how they handle. My LS feels spry compared to all the SUV's I've tried recently.
I looked at the CTS wagon too. I couldn't find a lot of good reviews about how they were aging. Plus, I was trying to get something a little bitter than the Saab. My kids were really jazzed about the rear facing 3rd row in the Merc. But they love the soft close rear doors and the vanity mirrors in the LS. LOL. The simple things...
I think at some point I'll be back in a wagon. I do enough hauling small/medium things that I think it makes sense. I'm a bit anti-SUV too. I just don't like how they handle. My LS feels spry compared to all the SUV's I've tried recently.
I had my CTS for six years and had 91k miles on it when I traded it in. It was about to cost me at least $5k in work, and I didn't trust the engine to last much longer considering how many cars were affected by the timing chain issue. I was lucky to not have electrical problems, but I think that was because I parked inside most of the time. My father-in-law's CTS lived outdoors, and he had some crazy electrical issues due to rainwater getting into the doors, console, and trunk.
The CTS wagon is a nice-looking car, but I wouldn't recommend buying one.
My Saab was killed by a deer at 185k miles. The engine and drivetrain felt great. It had a couple weird issues and it was getting increasingly hard to find some of the Aero Wagon specific parts. Production numbers for the Aero wagon were laughable. 2007 wagons with a V6 = 483. My car with an automatic and in Silver = 59.
I've had my new-to-me 2007 LS460 SWB RWD with about 104k miles on it for about a month now. This is a bit of a review of the model itself along with a review of buying a car this age.
First, why I bought the car:
I wanted a car with some luxury features that are in a reliable and not all that expensive package. I wasn't that entertained with the idea of finding parts for a 13 year old car that was the stepchild of late 90's and early 00's General Motors.The LS specifically because it's bigger, smooth, gets reasonably good mileage, powerful, and assumed reliability (even compared to other Lexus models). I also figured this car has depreciated (percentage curve wise) down to a point that it shouldn't lose too much more over the next couple/few years.
Likes:
It feels very solid (feel and sound of the doors shutting, cabin quietness, engine smoothness, lack of NHV, etc... ). It has most of the features I feel like I want in a car. There isn't too much more newer cars offer that I feel are worth the extra price. It's a pretty good looking car. It's very understated, which I prefer (although I wish I had 19" stock wheels). I feel like my particular car was reasonably well cared for. There aren't many dents or dings in the car. The door seals and plastic trims all seem in good shape. It does seem like it was garage kept. I like that the doors and trunk are all soft close. Even if the steering is numb, at least it has heft. Push button start is new for me, and I really like it. the turning headlights seems minor, but is honestly really useful. I think even the base sound system is reasonably good.
Dislikes:
A lot of the interior buttons feel plasticy and kind of cheap to me. The buttons around the touch screen, radio buttons, etc. I've just found out that at least one (maybe both) of my mufflers have holes in them. I thought this car would have had stainless mufflers. The quality if the door and dash panels. I know this has common and there's the open campaign to fix it. But there are many other makes and models with none of the prestige and price that have this kind of issue. I've gotten a claim submitted, but they aren't fixed yet and based on my dealer experience, I'm not sure they will be (I am really thankful that there's still a possibility though).
These next two are probably my fault for not doing more research, but I'm still surprised by them. The back seats don't fold down and I can't install a trailer hitch.
I bought my car from a local Dodge, Chrysler, Ram, Jeep, and Ford dealership. I'm disappointed with their prep on the car. I looked a the car in a pretty bad snow storm. I could have noticed a couple things if I spent more time looking it over. But I assumed a dealer would have done a better job with some things. The alignment was off even though the claimed they did an alignment. They did fix it though. A rear shock blew out 2 days after I brought it home (fronts were leaking too). The new rotors have rust spots from sitting. I just found one of the wheels has a slight bend. The passenger side mirror was a non DOT approved generic mirror. The wheels were out of balance (they disagreed when I brought it back to fix the alignment).
So far, I'm not in love with this car. Some of my dislikes just get under my skin a bit. Plus, buying shocks, paying for a tire balance, making another trip to the dealer to fix the alignment, buying a side mirror, and finding out I need a rim don't give me the warm and fuzzies. Hopefully once things are sorted out I'll feel better about it.
Nice review!! Overall, sounds like you're happy with the car. Your experience is common enough and similar mistakes made by many. You trusted a car dealer to fix everything that needed attention. You didn't hire an independent mechanic to inspect the car. He would have caught the shocks and mufflers for sure. The alignment and bent rim would likely have been caught as well. I'll bet the cost of a mechanical inspection is a fraction of cost of shock and muffler replacement. It's very common for rotors to have rust spots after sitting for a few days (even in your own home garage). I point this out, not to pick on you, but to share with others who are reading and contemplating buying a used car. Hire a mechanic to inspect it before you buy and don't trust anyone's word (they may not be aware of the issues).
Unless you paid no more than $7500 for your LS460 and can do most of the labor yourself, then I'm sorry to say that you bought a money pit. Do you have a vehicle repair history on it? You can get one from https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/.
Hopefully the control arms, radiator, water pump and the biggest expense the brake actuator which cost $3,000-$5000 was replaced.
I'll admit it is easy to get caught in the excitement of buying a car. Sometimes I've been so distracted that I forget to go thru my list of stuff to check. I've found that most used car dealerships will spend the ABSOLUTE minimum into the car and only spend when necessary to close the deal and or fix what is necessary to pass state inspection. I've been able to walk away when there just too many issues for me to tolerate even when I'm desperate to buy a vehicle
Luckily you've joined a great forum. I've save thousands thanks to this forum.
For your current issues:
-Get a used 2007-2009 muffler from Ebay or junkyard. 2010-2012 muffler has a bigger exhaust tip which won't fit your current bumper valence.
-Replace your shocks with updated KYB gas a just. They are $100 a corner. These are better than stock shocks which are KYB. Don't buy the cheap no name ones. While you can get a no name set for around $150, many have regret not going with KYB.
Once everything is sorted, then get the 5 spoke 19s which COMPLETY transforms the look of the LS460.
Yeah. I should have taken it to an independent mechanic. I had been looking for a Merc wagon for about a month. Had one picked out from Carvana, waited a month for it to be ready, then they removed the car from their site. I was getting pretty frustrated and just needed a car.
Unless you paid no more than $7500 for your LS460 and can do most of the labor yourself, then I'm sorry to say that you bought a money pit. Do you have a vehicle repair history on it? You can get one from https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/.
Hopefully the control arms, radiator, water pump and the biggest expense the brake actuator which cost $3,000-$5000 was replaced.
I'll admit it is easy to get caught in the excitement of buying a car. Sometimes I've been so distracted that I forget to go thru my list of stuff to check. I've found that most used car dealerships will spend the ABSOLUTE minimum into the car and only spend when necessary to close the deal and or fix what is necessary to pass state inspection. I've been able to walk away when there just too many issues for me to tolerate even when I'm desperate to buy a vehicle
Luckily you've joined a great forum. I've save thousands thanks to this forum.
For your current issues:
-Get a used 2007-2009 muffler from Ebay or junkyard. 2010-2012 muffler has a bigger exhaust tip which won't fit your current bumper valence.
-Replace your shocks with updated KYB gas a just. They are $100 a corner. These are better than stock shocks which are KYB. Don't buy the cheap no name ones. While you can get a no name set for around $150, many have regret not going with KYB.
Once everything is sorted, then get the 5 spoke 19s which COMPLETY transforms the look of the LS460.
Brake actuator done in '11 at 36k. Both heads replaced in '17 at 96k (per TSB L-SB-0122-17). No mention of control arms or water pump.
This forum has been extremely helpful.
Things this forum has helped with so far:
4 KYB's installed (in my garage )
Replaced exterior trunk button
Fixed glove box sag
Replaced passenger side mirror glass
Personalization setup (as much as can be done without dealer)
Sound like you are on you way to sorting things out. Good for you!
*Beware of the small tube at the top of the radiator to the coolant full/overflow tank. It gets very brittle with age and will break off easily. You can do a temporary fix by screwing in a fitting but you will need to change the radiator in the end.
Place some type of cover over the tube when working on front of the engine such as changing out the serpentine belt. Even with the forum warnings I ended up leaning on the tube and breaking it off. It was epoxy glued on previously and leaking anyway so the radiator had to be replaced. Not too difficult to do. Lots of 10mm bolts holding it in place
Sound like you are on you way to sorting things out. Good for you!
*Beware of the small tube at the top of the radiator to the coolant full/overflow tank. It gets very brittle with age and will break off easily. You can do a temporary fix by screwing in a fitting but you will need to change the radiator in the end.
Place some type of cover over the tube when working on front of the engine such as changing out the serpentine belt. Even with the forum warnings I ended up leaning on the tube and breaking it off. It was epoxy glued on previously and leaking anyway so the radiator had to be replaced. Not too difficult to do. Lots of 10mm bolts holding it in place
Yeah. I should have taken it to an independent mechanic. I had been looking for a Merc wagon for about a month. Had one picked out from Carvana, waited a month for it to be ready, then they removed the car from their site. I was getting pretty frustrated and just needed a car.
That's a tough situation to be in. When you absolutely need a car right away, it's easy to cut corners. LS cars are nice and can have a long life.
1 month ownership review
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