A Wisconsin Car Dealer's Niche Business: Selling the 2004-2006 Lexus LS 430

Nothing in here that most of us don't already know, but still nice to have more validation...

Full article in link above, below are the first few paragraphs:

"If you’re a fan of niche vehicle dealerships and repair shops, boy, do we have a treat for you. Tanin JDM in Caledonia, Wisconsin sounds like a typical Japanese car importer on the surface, but what this place truly peddles these days are 2004–2006 Lexus LS 430s.

For the Lexus LS-minded, you likely already know this to be the facelift years of the third-gen LS. Lexus offered said generation in the U.S. during the 2001-2003 model years, but applied a fairly substantial refresh for 2004 before discontinuing the generation after 2006. This three-year period of post-update LS 430s is Tanin JDM’s sweet spot.
“The reason specifically for that car is because I've owned a couple in the past and they've always just been great cars ... it's just the perfect [car]; reliable, comfortable, and maintenance is fairly cheap,” Jason Tanin, owner of JDM Tanin, tells Road & Track. “I think it's kind of the best car that Toyota ever made aside from the Century, but to speak in USDM [U.S. domestic market] stuff, you just can't beat it.”Tanin says he started the business as an importer and seller of JDM vehicles, but over the last year and a half, has transitioned it into being a one-stop-shop for all things 2004-06 Lexus LS 430. The other parts of the business still exist to a degree, though buying, fixing, restoring, and selling these specific LS 430s is now where Tanin puts the vast majority of his effort and energy.

When asked why only the 2004-and-up cars, he has a long list of good reasons. The biggest one is the upgrade from the five-speed automatic to a six-speed transmission, which Tanin says is “night and day” better. Not only is it more refined, but he’s noticed they last longer than the five-speed, providing 300,000-500,000 miles of trouble-free motoring. Another big one is parts availability; Lexus has a much wider catalog of old parts still available to buy for the refresh, noting restoring the earlier cars can be much trickier. Lastly, demand: the small community of Lexus LS enthusiasts tend to agree with Tanin when it comes to desirability, which makes demand (and prices) much higher for the 04-06 models. Whether it be the tweaked styling, added features, or sturdier interior, there are lots of solid reasons to opt for the refresh model.........


EDIT - Looks like AJT posted the same R&T article yesterday in the CL “Car Chat” forum, as well:

This-auto-dealer-only-sells-04-06-ls430s-lol

 

Is that the guy on here with the 430 car lot?!

Wonder if he’s got any spare parts laying around for sale…

 

@LILEVO , are they talking about you?!
And are @LILEVO and @TaninAuto one in the same?!

Here is the original thread where he announced his dealership:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ealership.html

 

It's quite fascinating. I recall summer 2005, I went to a Lexus event on Long Island. They brought the new BMW 330i, and at the event, the line to drive the 330 was so long I didn't bother. There was no line to drive the LS430--I went twice. I remember thinking this is not a popular vehicle and it may be outdated, but I really liked it and felt if I were stuck in traffic, this would be sweet. I didn't know that 11 years later I would own one.

edit As I type, that ownership is coming up on 10 years. Years 8-10 is when failures started to surface (radiator, y-pipe, 02 sensor wiring, oil leaks, transmission hard downshift/ECU, rear wheel bearing, caliper bolt snapping), but hopefully am through the troubles knock on wood...

It'd be something to roll off in a restored 2006 LS430, make mine a CL and sport