You Won’t Believe What This Lexus LS430 Looks Like After 628K Miles
The new owner of this high-mile 2001 Lexus LS430 plans to fix it up and keep it going to the million mile mark.
As all Lexus fans (and many other enthusiasts) are well aware, the LS is an icon in the automotive world, a car that’s legendary for its incredibly reliability. Heck, there’s at least one example out there with over a million miles, and many others with hundreds of thousands of them on the clock. Regardless, high mileage figures still tend to scare off potential buyers, even those of us in the know. Take this 2001 Lexus LS430, for example – it recently hit the auction block at Cars & Bids with a whopping 628k miles on the odometer, and managed to sell for just $4,450 – pennies in today’s market. However, as one might imagine, it was bought by a YouTuber – The Car Care Nut – and now, he’s giving it a second lease on life.
In terms of potential outcomes for any car with 600k miles, this is about as good as it gets. Our host notes right up front that he’s prepared to make terrible financial decisions with his new purchase, which means fixing it up and keeping it going to the million mile mark and beyond. Luckily for him, he picked the perfect vessel for such an endeavor.
As far as wear and tear goes, well, this LS430 doesn’t have much that you wouldn’t expect to see on a car with some miles – things like rock chips, scratches, and seat bolster wear. The car runs and drives well, but there are some troubling signs of rust here and there, along with at least one botched fix where the heater valve was merely bypassed rather than replaced – the first of several hack job repairs our mechanic finds.
There is plenty of good news to go with the bad, however, including the fact that the oscillating vents work, as well as most of the car’s other stock features – save for the radio, which needs some repairs. A wheel bearing needs replacement, and the rear brakes are making noises, but these are all simple things that can be fixed for not too much money.
The bigger concern is the transmission, which doesn’t work well when the car is cold, but the new owner isn’t afraid to replace that, either. Overall, this is a worthwhile project – if not a financially sensible one – and it’ll be interesting to see just how much money it takes to keep it going for another few hundred thousand miles.
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