SW17LS

People are not all of a sudden going to want early 2000s luxury cars again…their heyday is behind them. Collectors and people who like old cars will want them but people aren’t going to all of a sudden go out and want to drive 30 year old luxury cars again

nothing lasts forever, there are plenty of LS400s and LS430s in junkyards etc.

Margate330

Too much work for me.
I wouldn't take care of it. Lol

Then again, my car hasn't been washed in a few months so it's looking matte finish already.

Striker223

I would bet $1000 I could easily find at least $5k of things out of spec, the 430 hides issues well but they are still there. It took me a lot to get mine back up to meeting as it's as new tested specs

mmarshall

I would dearly love to have the riding comfort of a big American luxury sedan of the 60s or 70s.......but they are just too big and bulky for the driving conditions (and parking-spaces) I face every day. In fact, that was one reason why I downsized from a Lacrosse to the Encore GX. And the Lacrosse was nowhere near the size of my first big Buick.....an Electra 225.

LeX2K

Unfortunately the trend is bigger and bigger wheels with low profile tires because....I don't know why. Looks?

AJT123

I don't mean they're going to want to buy literally 30 year old luxury cars. I said the LS430 gets more admirable over time because it knows exactly what it wants to be and nails it. It's also aging well in the looks department. Nothing lasts forever but like I said, it would be gone fast if it were a money pit.

I guarantee plenty of lifetime luxury car drivers would still be impressed with it. There's no tech but the car is built like a brick shyyyythouse with materials that are still quite stunning. That might explain a big reason lots of them are still around.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I don't get it either. I run 265/70/17's on my F-150 and 245/40/19's on the BMW. I won't upsize the rims anymore than they already are.

Stroock639

knowing what i know about that era of toyota and how seriously they took lexus in those years i'd have to assume that most junked 400s and 430s have either been wrecked or seriously neglected... i drove matt farah's million mile lexus when it had 'only' 980,000 miles on the odo and it still felt smooth and luxurious! regular routine maintenance will go such a long way on those early lexus cars

definitely agreed though that they won't be making a comeback lol... they were reflective of the era but people have notably different priorities now

mmarshall

Yep. Tell me about it. I've been watching for the last fifteen years. On some vehicles, it has become absurd.

My take on it is three reasons. First, an obsession today in the industry with handling and steering-response over ride comfort....and those wheels/tires, of course are more expensive, more-likely to be damaged over potholes, and that means more replacement wheel/tire sales. Second, (as you suggest) a fad over looks and Machoism in the wheels. Third, larger brake rotors, which means larger vented wheels for airflow to keep the brakes cool.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

yup. of course striker thinks they're horribly unreliable and audis are perfect.

everyone? and as has been said, keeping old cars gets harder as time goes on, but sure, it can be done, and is done. but it takes dedication.

agreed.

Carfan94

my GS rides pretty smooth for a car with low profile tires. 245/40R18. It has 98 mm of sidewall. Although it does have trouble smoothing over manhole covers that sit below the pavement level.

And it rides much smoother at higher speeds. At low speeds the ride can feel a little bit choppy and busy on rough pavement. But I have driven many cars and trucks with much fatter tires that don’t ride any smoother.

SW17LS

You can have that riding comfort in a modern luxury sedan with a more sophisticated suspension without the downside of extreme size and in credibly poor handling. You could also try a big SUV that has that lumbering style feel.

Becomes admirable over time to a dramatically shrinking group of people.

Lots of them are still around because they are reliable, well made and cheap.

I just recently drove one because I am thinking about replacing my 03 ES for my Mom, and its a nice old car...impressed with it? Not really. Nothing I would want to buy or drive. Now a 98-00 LS400 I would like to have a nice one as a garage queen because thats a special car to me but I would never drive it regularly.

Matt Farah's million mile Lexus had a lot done to it. If I remember correctly it had 3 or 4 transmissions, it had a bunch of emergency rust work to keep it on the road when a few journalists had it. That car would be in the junkyard if it werent for people doing unreasonable things to extend its life.

To most people who drive these they are old hoopties and they paid $2,000 for it and if it needed a big repair it would be junked.

AJT123

Not necessarily.

And still fabulous cars. Plenty of original LS430 owners out there that paid $70k in 2004 that won't dump them. There are 2 others just in my neighborhood that I know of. This one guy has kept his parked outside since the day I moved in here. Paid off (nice) cars are a nice thing, you don't really get that because your buying habits are polar opposites.

Right, you also drive a $140,000 S-Class. Top 1% of cars.

SW17LS

You said “plenty of lifetime luxury car owners would be impressed” well, that describes me.

Sorry, they are 20+ years old, they are really
old cars now. Average age of a car on the road now is 12 years, so it’s considerably older than average. Even the most reliable old
cars don’t last forever. That was the crux of where this discussion began. It’s like an 80 year old
person dying, they may be very healthy and happy one minute and then something comes up and they die, and everybody says “well…he was 80 years old”. Some people may live to 100, but death at 75+ no longer a surprise. Death of a 20+ year old car is also no longer a surprise.

link13

It’s interesting to me that there are several clean LS430s in my neighborhood and the adjacent neighborhood. It’s likely that at least a couple of them are original owner cars. I considered buying one about 10 years ago but couldn’t find a clean one with ultra luxury trim. I asked my Lexus mechanic friend and he said very few are for sale because owners don’t want to part with them. He owns an independent shop and has a few customers with the LS430 UL. Still a very nice car but of course it’s dated.