Well I just got home from closing a deal on a 2001 LS430. It's got 102K on the clock, new wheels/tires installed in September and I have the original wheels with Blizzak tires for winter. I paid 7300 for it and it's a clean car. Will need a good detailing. It has good maintenance history and I felt good about the price...

I'm picking it up on Friday morning...

 

Nice! I swear the LS430 is the best LS ever built thus far. There have been many people who went from LS430 to LS460 only to go back to the LS430.

I enjoyed my LS400 that I owned way back, thinking about getting back into another LS eventually but we'll see. I'm eyeballing a third generation RX in a few years time.

 

Agree with him^. Frankly, my LS460 has been a disappointment compared to the strengths of the LS430.

 

Nice! Agreed those are great cars and run forever.

 

Yeah, I've spent a little time playing with it, and there are a few things that it will need. The Sub in the rear deck sounds awful, so I ordered a replacement foam surround for the speaker. Should be an easy fix, as I've done those foam replacements before.. Hopefully that fixes the bass problems. The door speakers in front sound rough as well, so I may just replace those and be done with it.

I have to replace, or fix the tilt adjustment motor in the steering colum, as it don't tilt... I've read it could be as easy as the worm gear being split, or the motor just may be shot..

Drivers seat is a little flat for me, and again, apparently that too, is a fairly easy fix with a replacement seat foam insert.

The car needs a good cleaning, but over all it's in nice shape. I drove it home last night, and I was amazed at the fuel economy for such a HUGE car. I was averaging 28 mpg, driving @ 70ish...

Much better than the RX could hope to be....

More to come...

 

That's a great car! Will be interested in your comments going forward.

 

I spent a good amount of the day going through the car. I was able to get the tilt motor working. It seems that the motor was jammed in the lowest position, and wouldnt move. I pulled the cover off the steering column, disconnected the tilt motor and freed it up, and it was fine.
The sub in the rear shelf was a bit of a struggle to remove, but I did get it out and did a temp repair on the foam surround. I got the speaker re-installed and closed it up and it sounds 100% better.

I looked through all the paper work and found the original window sticker ($57,600) and the only option listed was the ML sound system.

Overall just a real nice car. I found a few marks in the leather on the rear seats, so I have to figure out what I can repair those with.

Here's a shot of both the LS and the RX in the garage tonight..

 

I never knew they would get 28 mpg... Always liked the looks of the car. I remember a guy with a LS400 that needed a starter. It was an 8 hr job to remove the top of the motor etc... to get to the starter. That turned me off quickly. lol... The 430 is much nicer looking though.

 

I can get 28mpg in my LS460 if I keep to 70mph. My RX gets about 23 under the same conditions. It does, however, have 175,000 mile on the clock (the LS has 70,000).

 

That Rx looks sexy parked in there though (:

 

what a gorgeous car. Great price also....should last a lifetime.

 

Thanks for the kudos Thomas.. I'm loving the car so far. Doing brakes tomorrow and Friday. I bought drilled rotors and Ceramic pads from R1Concepts.

 

Just wanted to give a short update on the car after a year of ownership. The brakes are fantastic. The drilled rotors are holding up well and they are pretty quiet as well. I just hit 115K on the clock and I have had 0 problems with it.
I am noticing some wear in the front suspension, so this spring I'll be looking at either replacing the Stabilizer bushings and the LCA bushings, or perhaps installing new lower arms and do the ball joints at the same time.
I don't have any noises, just a very small amount of loose feel in the wheel.

I commute between O'Hare airport and Milwaukee now, and I'm averaging 26-27 MPG during the trip.

I've had no problems and the car is a blast to drive. It's really a great car. The only other thing I'd like to do is pull the rear bumper cover and have it repainted. There's a few dings on it and the top of the cover is starting to fade a little.

All in all a great car!

 

Your RX does have nice stablemate :')

 

very cool harrier!. Sounds like u did good on that deal!