Suneet

My 94 LS was just totaled by insurance thanks to a hit and run driver

Right now I'm deciding between picking up a 2000 LS, or an 04 LS430. I just test drove an LS430 yesterday and the interior is absolutely gorgeous. Here's the link to the car I'm looking at purchasing

My question is.. has anybody been able to integate the factory nav/Bluetooth/ etc unit with an aftermarket single din deck?

I'm big on car audio, and this will really sway my decision around 400 vs 430.

UpstateLex

get the 430 without Nav & then you could add an aftermarket unit. I saw some pics on here from one of the posters and it looked clean.

JDMUSCLE

iTrader: (1)

well...that is a very nice car with the right miles and the right color combo.......well if you want to install aftermarket head unit in the LS then you would have to find a LS without nav and do the mods.....by the way..29k is too much for that car!!

Suneet

How much do you think that car should go for?

I want to keep the factory navigation and bluetooth. I'd imagine that the nav has an audio output, and that I could remove the stereo unit below it, replace it with my own deck, and connect the output from the nav to the input of my aftermarket HU. That would be my ideal situation.... has anyone done this?

wanderer99

I test drove this car about a month ago. They've had it on the lot for some time - previous price was $33900 or similar. It drives nicely but there were a few things I didn't like:
- factory warranty was gone (over 4 yrs old) so couldn't do Lexus Platinum Xtd warranty
- interior was a little scratched up in places around the dash and lower dash
- front left headlamp (shown in the picture) had condensation in one corner. Looked to me like it may have been hit in that corner and had some repairs done.
- I think Carfax showed it was last titled a year ago at a dealer with similar mileage - where has it been since then???

Listen to JDMuscle - he knows what he is talking about with LS430 prices. It's tough to get a good used condition LS430 though at a good price.

denroll

Don't go with an aftermarket head unit. You'd lose the tape deck if you did.





(yes, I was joking)

motohide

OEM Multi-Function Display controls HVAC (heater/AC) as well as a dozen other things in the LS430... So it's pretty integral to the car. You can add an aftermarket head unit by adding an auxiliary line input to the Lexus NAV... But finding a place to install it would be a whacky task as removing the tape player means you take out the CD changer too. An auxiliary line input is rather an expensive option though since that itself costs upwards of $200.

Also, since there's no fixed-output low-level line OUT in a aftermarket head unit, the volume control would be constantly unbalanced between the two systems.

check this...

The featured LS430 in that web is my own car. I got this kit, and now I got roped into marketing consultant..LOL. Because I liked it so much. It's in the support page listings.
It's an LS430 with Pioneer AVIC D2, BT and Nav install with photos.
Webpage is FINALLY up and now we're working on inventory. LS430 Kit is in stock though both early and late models (yes, 01-03 and 04-06 are different radio sockets so be sure to choose the right one if you place an order.)

Have a LOOK.

htpp://www.beatsonicusa.com

JDMUSCLE

iTrader: (1)

hey suneet....well the right price for car would be around 24-26k....depending upon condition and others items that the car has...such as how many keys? books? records of maint.?

anotherLS

iTrader: (9)

here you go my friend! the guy i bought my coilovers through which is for sale by me...shameless plug!

he did his own audio in his LS430 integrated factory nav with aftermarket head unit

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...highlight=350g

cat6man

as an audiophile, i went with a 2005 ls430 without nav...........i had a hard time explaining to dealers why anyone would want the without nav car and why the default 'lexus premium sound system' wasn't as good as it gets (even with the levinson upgrade, i find it very disappointing)

i now have a kenwood 8120 (stereo, nav, xm, bluetooth, dvd/cd), morel speakers (custom 3 way installation) and the old eclipse amps from my old 1994 ls400, and this is the best sounding car i've ever had........images beautifully.......brings smiles to my face driving to work

if you care for audio, go for it

Suneet

Awesome, that's exactly the information I was looking for.

My old LS had a fully active scanspeak/seas combo up front, sounded great. I want to be able to integrate factory nav so I can use bluetooth etc from the stock locations but still have audiophile flexibility.. that will take some hacking, but it looks like it can be done.

I found a 2004 LS430 UL with about 40K on the clock, and it's a Lexus CPO.. They're asking for 36K. What do you think I can get it down to?

wanderer99

When I was recently looking at LS430s in WA I used the pricing JDMUSCLE gives for Wholesale as a starting point. We know the dealers are paying $22-26K at auctions for 2005 models. They then list then for anywhere from $31K-$45K after 'reconditioning'. If it's a CPO with brand new tires, new brakes, in near mint conditon with great leather, interior, 1 owner, etc, I'd offer $33K for that car, no more. If it's a CPO with not-new brakes, half worn tires, not as new conditon, I'd think $30K would be in order. If it's a non-CPO, then it's up to you to set a price - but remember you may need new good tires, brakes and possibly a warranty on top of that.

Run a carfax on the VIN - If it's an auction car you know what the dealer has probably paid. If you are in WA I can suggest some place to go and not go to for LS's. If you're in CA I've got some suggestions too...

I purchased a 2005 Silver\Black CustomLux in WA for $28.8K recently - dealer listed at $34.5K. Needs new tires and probably brakes as it's done 47K - however it's in excellent condition with great leather and interior\exterior, 1 owner, XM, SmartKey and 18" factory chromes. This was the best condition car I'd seen and we looked at around 30 vehicles.

JDMUSCLE

iTrader: (1)

hey man...04 LS430 with 36k should be in the 26-27 range.....depending on condition of the car.....wholesale value difference between a UL and CL car is only 400dollars, delaers nationwide are paying an average of 23-24k for these cars. V8 anything is taking a bath at the auctions right now.....LS430s traditionaly do very well at the auctions, at least 1000 over galves but now with the gas prices the way they are....no one is bidding on these cars which in turn leads to a better market for people that are looking for these cars!! dont think that LS430 at a lexus dealer is worth more than the others cause it has a CPO warranty...one could get that warranty even if you bought your car elsewhere...which what i did!!.....4 months ago when the gas prices where in the 3$ range i got a 04 430 with ML and 32k on the clock for 27k. now its a entire different story with the V8 cars and trucks...they are very soft in the market!!


any which way, you should not pay anything more than 25-26k from a non lexus dealer and 1000- 1200 more for a car from a lexus dealer since it comes with a warranty!!

AudioBuff

I guess I'm a little slow in understanding why the Nav cannot operate on its own when installing an independent aftermarket audio system. I think the 2005 430 model with the Nav looks great, but I want to install an entirely new aftermarket audio system (speakers, amplifiers, headunit, subs and all the necessary wiring). It doesn't matter that the steering wheel audio controls or the audio controls in the Nav won't be functional in doing an aftermarket install. What point am I missing? What will happen if I remove the Lexus headunit and run the aftermarket audio wiring separately from the Nav?

motohide

This is because the Lexus LS430 WITH Navigation, the entire audio system, along with Navigation, HVAC, and steering wheel controller (and in Ultra Pack, the rear seat audio controls too) works as a single unit with multiplex signals traveling thorugh IP-BUS between several boxes all over the car.

AM/FM Tuner, Navigation, TV control, HVAC box, 2 body brains, Amplifier, Telephone, Sat Radio, and Head Unit, CD Changer, are all integrated via IP-BUS serial signal and not via standard audio signals... (means you can't tap a standard low level or speaker inputs into it or out of it by hard-wire tap) Also when certain key parts of the system are removed from the IP-BUS, things will throw diagnosis checks and disable random things if it wasn't connected as designed.

Because of this an in-line signal conversion box like Beat-Sonic SLA23/24A or AOK11 is needed to integrate an aftermarket audio system to a OEM amplifier on a LS430.

However, if the aftermarket audio system is to be installed COMPLETELY independent of the factory radio, ie. Head Unit, amplifier, and speakers without removing the factory system in any part, you can do that (provided you can find space for these in the car, and wire EVERYTHING all over.)

Then factory audio system along with HVAC and NAV will still function. You can bypass the speakers to the aftermarket amplifier, at wires AFTER the OEM amplifier, so anything up to the OEM amplifier is still functional but not connected. In this case however, you will lose the audio cues from voice nav and also bluetooth phone...

So still, the fact remains, the best (well, easiest and cleanest) way to install an aftermarket radio to a NAV equipped Lexus is through the use of an audio integration adapter boxes. This way, the OEM stuff functions, and sound systems are integrated into it one way or another without disrupting the IP-BUS systems.

Like this...




This integration system adds additonal inputs to the OEM system... Using all it's factory amps and speakers as well as keeping the system intact with HVAC and NAV functions. Also by suing this method, you can also use additional standard rear or sub outputs to run a separate subwoofer or speaker amplifier from aftermarket sources, if things need to be juiced up a bit on BIG bass or volume requirements, or do fun things with DVD, ipod and other fucntions as much as your aftermarket Head Unit will allow.