lowandslow

Hello to all in the forum.

I am looking at buying a 2005 LS430, and was hoping to find some good info here. I know the reputation that the LS has for reliability and quality, But what i was hoping to find out about is the cost of ownership, in terms of maintenance and defects or known issues that the cars might have?

Thanks in advance for any and all info!

-Alex B.

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

Generally, they are solid cars. There are isolated incidents, but nothing that strikes me as a common issue. (maybe im forgetting something, hopefully others will chime in). Depending on options you are looking to buy, some might advise you against one with the Ultra luxury package in fear of air suspension issues (i haven't had any, with about 57K on my '04).

Depending on what your level of interest in working on yoru own cars, there are many alternatives and cheap ways to maintaining this car without compromising the quality of services.

The only major service that usually runs a good dollar is the 90K which involves replacing the timing belt and water pump and a few other little items. These services usually run close to $800-$1500 depending on where you have the work performed.

Otherwise, its just oils and filters. You will be pleased to know that working on these cars are much easier and simpler then their european counterparts.

lowandslow

Thanks again for the info, you made mention of the specific LS package. I plan on getting a non Ultra-Luxury 2005 LS430. It's good to know that maintenance won't be so bad.

Anybody else please chime in on any known issues or general problems people have been having with these cars.

DrJfrmLA

My '04 has had the driver's side seat heater, both wing mirror motors (that open and close them), and the rear sunscreen replaced. All these repairs happened before 20k miles and all were completely covered by the factory warranty ($4,100 in repair at retail). My car was a corporate car that had a driver; we bought it in December 2007 with 12.5k miles on it. There are lots of reasons those repairs on our car occurred that might be idiosyncratic to this particular car and its life from new. We also have a very aggressive dealer who is all about replacing defective parts and customer satisfaction (it may have been a squirt of WD-40 would have fixed the mirrors and sunscreen). We are totally happy with the car, even considering those little warts. Ours is a base vehicle with just the Premium Package; no nav, no air suspension, but plenty of Lexus quality and comfort. I hear the nav is not the best one around, and we have a Garmin that is superb, so it's no problem. My '04 S430 Mercedes has nav, and it's no better than the Garmin.

KILLERGS4

relatively low maintenance car (I would recommend Custom Luxury if you dont want the Ultra IMO). Modern Luxury too common. Syn Oil change at dealer is couple hundred bucks. LS has bunch of Filters (air/cabin etc), I think like 7 or 8, and they probably need changing on 05 LS's.

CG lover

seat, air and oil filters are easy to change and available on line,, I also do my oil with Mobil 1,, not one issue on the car for the first 40K miles,,

have every option on the car and love em all,,

Derry