This makes sense...from my travels, for what you cannot DIY, it is much easier to find a BMW indie, than it is to find a Lexus indie, and I can only attribute that to the enthusiasm level. When I say indie, I mean a shop that will install your internet parts. That severely limits the upper bound of what something will cost, since a lot of the markup on the part is removed. With German cars, we get into the whole genuine vs. OE vs. OEM, so easy to get high quality parts at a fair price.

Porsche unfortunately costs a lot more, last time I was at an indie for my Maxima, there were two 997 Turbos in the shop with the motors out...I was thinking those cars were so new, how come they're not at the dealer....survey says....$$$$$. This is the place where there was a 944 Turbo (always is) and I said to the owner, now that I would like to drive daily. "No, you would not." Was his answer. Now this guy was honest, but a bit pricey for Japanese, he told me last time, "You can easily do that yourself, c'mon, you did the ABS pump on your BMW?" I said yeah but this car has rust and I'm not setup to bend brake lines if one happens to bust open....so I paid him $70 labor to replace a brake line, I know, shoulda diy'd it for $15....

 

With Lexus you don't need a specifically "Lexus" indie like you do with BMW. Any independent mechanic can work on a Lexus, so it's actually far easier to find one.

 

Well, two examples of what I could not DIY were the LCA bushings on the front, and the timing belt, for the LS430.

Lexus dealer quoted $1,400 for the 90k timing belt, this is belt and pump only, no tensioner, or idlers (dealer does every other). Indie was $750, or $850 adding tensioner, idlers. That's letting them get the parts, because if you supply, no warranty on the labor. They said we've done so many cars like yours, Tundras, Sequoias, etc., we know this job. And I believe them, they returned all my old parts in the Aisin TKT box, showed me my car on the lift before starting.

Lexus wanted $1,4xx for the lower control arm bushings/control arms. The needed parts are from $50-$70 times 2 (I paid $62) on eBay, but must be pressed in to the brackets. So let me call Toyota since I've always heard they are cheaper. They said yeah, with your parts, you're looking at $800. I said $800, I was thinking $150. The guy laughed. I said seriously, you press the bushings out, then in, the control arms stay on the car. He goes, no they don't, I may not be able to visualize a LS430, but I can tell you the arms come off on a Highlander. I said this isn't a Highlander! He goes, well they also come off on an Avalon! Later dude. Then I call a Japanese specialist in NE Phila, and he says, look, I don't know, we don't see too many cars like yours. Huh? I call the Audi shop around the corner from work, he says I don't know if I want to work on yoru car, I'm busy. buh bye. So I have to drive 60 miles to a Japanese indie, when the BMW is about 6 miles (and there are 4 more within 10 miles). Said indie hand washed my car when in the garage, when I had them mount/balance Pilot Super Sports--that's pride in their work.

It's tempting to service a lexus at the dealer, but at the end of the day it's like buying a diamond at the mall.....have your wallet wide open....but when you have a pleasure car with a indie lined up for what you cannot DIY, I think you can contain the costs, so don't shy away from cars that drive well....

 

A couple things about the Porsche Boxster. First no matter the year, there's many services that requires the engine to be dropped. There's just not enough room to perform those services in the car. 1996-2004 I wouldn't touch for the life of me. Cylinder sleeve issues, Then the intermediate shaft bearing design. It's sealed, and when it goes it destroys the whole engine. There are kits to upgrade that bearing, but why? Just buy the newer Boxster without those major issues.

 

I think the issue with your bushings was your desire to push out the old bushings and replace them within the control arm, thats unusual on cars nowadays, certainly on Toyota/Lexus cars most mechanics just replace the whole arm, which is Toyota/Lexus' approved process which is a job any mechanic would do. I replaced lower control arms on my ES300 and multiple independent mechanics were willing to replace the arms with my supplied arms, in fact that job is how I found my independent mechanic.

Bear in mind in a business its all about profit, there isn't any profit in simply charging you $100 in labor to press in new bushings. Its not worth their effort or their liability to do that job, which is why people resisted doing it for you. You can't expect a mechanic to circumvent the shop manual process for a job for you, they have no reason to do so. Seriously, a gas station can work on your LS430, nothing special about it at all which is one of the great things about it.

Also, why are there more BMW specialist independent shops than Lexus specialist shops? Easy...they need a lot more work and are more profitable. Lexus' are so reliable its hard for a shop to make a profit changing oil and filters and doing the random suspension job. Even my independent who was a Lexus master tech for 16 years, opened his shop specifically specializing in Lexus and Toyota has had to diversify and market to other makes also.

 

With the control arm job, I learned a lot about Lexus, as the LS430 is my first one. This job is discussed until the sun and moon go down on the 3rd gen section. The large bushing which costs as little as $50 each on eBay is the only one that wears out, the smaller bushing on the arm cannot be pressed out and is not sold separately (cha ching). one can buy an entire Mevotech arm for $65, but one can question how that can be the same quality as OE. Anyway, as little as $100 in parts and $150 in labor, and you're out $250 when Lexus wants over $1400. Not everybody cares about this delta. People DIY but usually cannot press the bushings out, so they use aftermarket.

With BMW, there is a money factor, and an enthusiast factor. Some indies charge more than the dealer due to their prime location. But they likely forget BMW dealers offer a loaner for any/every job.

Back to the control arms....the suspension are not setup the same, but the LS430 uses stamped steel, believe the LS460 does as well. The genuine parts cost a fortune even online. The BMW 335 uses forged aluminum--the OEM parts cost far less, and the entire job is far less if replacing the entire arms. this goes back to market forces....if one were to drive in to a lexus dealer and say, hey, replace my two rear shocks on my LS430 please....this job probably costs the same as taking a 335i and having Bilstein B6 coilovers installed at an indie. The quality of the components aren't even close (I'm stretching the truth, the BMW probably would cost $200-$300 more out the door for this job).

My point is aim high, for 30k? Buy a car that is fun to drive, think outside the box, just think intelligently. Is a Porsche worth it? As a former owner, it's a tough sell. It is better, but marginal cost greatly exceeds marginal benefit. With a BMW or Audi, that looks a lot better.

 

I'm clearly the odd man out here, but I would get a Tacoma. Fun to take up to the mountains, go camping, and (less fun) for the summer weekend yard work chores.

 

The Tacoma is a solid choice. Even if it's not a workhorse, it's a great truck. I approve! 😉

 

It's always had a stellar reputation and I know two people who loved them when they had them. It's not easy to build a product that people love. I thought my friend who didn't get a new one said the new one has drum brakes which he took as cheaping out. I think Toyota said drum brakes work better off road, which is an odd position I thought...

 

I've had one Tacoma and my dad is on his third.

The Tacoma has always had rear drum brakes. Not the best but I can't say it impacted my ownership experience so it doesn't bother me much.

 

I might get roasted for this but I have always been intrigued by the value of a Bentley Arnage red label. You can pick up some of the older ones for way under the $35K budget and use the leftover for repairs . I have first hand experience with both late 80' and early 90's Rolls Royce and Bentley and they were totally fine. If I had any more garage space I would have another or an Arnage as another weekend luxury cruiser. Unfortunately I have downsized and run out of garage space now that I have 3 cars.

 

For me personally my list(not in that order):

Boss 302
S2000
E9X M3
ISF
C63 AMG
Elise
C5 Z06
C6 Z06
Camaro SS 1LE
2017 Mustang GT with performance package
CTS-V
GT500
CTS-V
Chevy SS
Challenger SRT 392
Charger SRT 392

 

I daily drove a couple monster Cadillacs(95 Fleetwood and a 91 Brougham). Never once did I think they were too freaking big or unmanageable to park. That 1991 fit in my garage with about 2" to spare on the rear end, I put up some pink foam insulation on the front wall, parked it by feel, when the bumper guards hit that foam, I knew it was "in" lol. As far as the other stuff you mentioned, replace breaker points with an HEI distributor. Carburetors work great in old, pre-emissions era cars, provided they're set up right and not some high performance model that needs adjustment depending on the air temp and doesn't have a choke. Agreed on the old school steering linkage though, it sucks compared to rack and pinion, but if you replace all the old rubber parts and rebuild the box, it makes a world of difference in terms of feel/slop. Main thing with buying an old car is buying one that is sorted mechanically, I've seen beautiful rotessarie restored muscle cars, show winning cars, that run like crap because the owners never drive them and don't work out the drivability bugs.

 

maybe it's just me but I like all that chrome and wheel opening covers that pop off, etc. And I think these cars were 40k in the mid 90's, not cheap. Too bad you don't see them on the road very often anymore (the 90's Caddys)....

 

Yes I'm talking about a Real IS-F not F Sport