mannye

Just wanted to say hello and let everyone know that I will soon be joining the ranks of LS 430 owners. After lots of research, I have decided to go for a 2002 LS430. Once I find one with the Mark Levinson and nav package in the mid 30's I will trade in the old CRV.

My wife has been driving an Acura MDX we bought new in 2002, and I got the CRV she used to drive after I sold the 95 ImpalaSS I bought new in 95.

The time has come to drive a big sedan, and I thought I would never say this, but the only 4-door "real car" with any character (that I can afford) happens to be the LS 430.

The only other car in the running was the SRT-8 Chrysler or the Dodge variant, but the prices (new) are astronimical and I don't think they will hold value. The body style is also not really "growing on me". The rest of the pack is just too bland.

I am going to be using the "search" function quite a bit. I am new to THIS forum, but have been on many forums for a looooooong time, so I'm sure most of my newbie questions have already been answered.

I do want to ask if anyone knows of any particular problems with the pearl white paint. I like it, but living in Miami Beach, I want to know if it has any special care needs and if it can take the sun.

Thanks!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to ClubLexus mannye!

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

yeah welcome and lets us know how you like the car

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

Welcome aboard. There has been some issues with the pearl white paint fading to a yellowish white color with past models, could be due to sun and/or dust from the road since it usually occurs on the lower panels. Not sure if they fixed it in the newer paints, but you should watch for that. Other than that, enjoy your car when you find what you're looking for.

p.s. Moved to the LS430 forum.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

About the paint problem, don’t use any tire dressing you don’t trust 100%. Most of them have chemicals that will cause the pearl paint to discolor into a yellow shade. So try to avoid tire dressing as much as possible, if need be, get the stuff that doesn’t fling everywhere, and if it does, keep an eye on it, and wash it regularly.

joegolf68

Good for you. I have a 2002 with only 24K miles but won't sell until Lexus makes a significant change, as in horsepower or redesign radically. Happy as heck with my car and hope you are also when the time comes. I have never regretted my purchase!

mannye

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice. (and for moving me...I didn't even realize I had posted in the wrong forum!)

I've started ramping up my search and there are already a couple of candidates. I have noticed the pearl white is not very plentiful on the used market...at least not around here. After owning a black car, I am going to try and find something in a light shade..not so much for the heat, although that is a factor, but after 7 years of having to stay on top of the Impala to keeo it looking good, I want to avoid the "black car blues" that come from spending oodles of chash to keep it clean.

Nothing looks better than a nice clean black car, but without weekly, and sometimes twice weekly in this tropical environment, it always looks dirty. By contrast, my wife's silver MDX can go weeks without a wash and still looks OK.

mannye

Well,

It took longer than I thought! But I now have a 2004 LS "almost ultra" (sport suspension, ML, rear cam, a/c seats, bluetooth, 18 rims, nav) and it's MERCURY METALLIC! What a great color! After a nice wash and wax it's deeeeeep!