caddyowner

The front left radio buttons on my steering wheel (up, mode, down) do not work. It appears the switches are broken internally - always pressed. Does anyone know how expensive this would be for a dealer repair. Granted, the voice commands and dashboard buttons can do the same functions.

LS430inDE.

OMG! Sorry to hear!...isn't this the LS you've been waiting to be delivered, now confined to quarters?

caddyowner

^^^ Yep. At least it's the only mechanical / electrical thing I've found so far.

The body is another story. I gave the car it's first bath today and checked things over. The previous owner must have had the parking sensors turned off, ignored the backup camera, and/or was deaf. It looks like they slammed the trunk lid into something just about the "Lexus" on the left side, the left tail light has an internal crack, and the right rear corner of the bumper is crazed and the parking sensor is wobbly. Then there are the scrapes on the right side, something under the paint on the right front door, scratches on the left front bumper, scrapes / gouges on both front wheels, and holes where the front license plate bracket was.

I plan on getting a couple detailed bodyshop estimates for each item and deciding what gets fixed and what gets some touch-up paint.

stanell1

I'm glad you finally got your car after the delays due to weather. I realize it can be a little disappointing to find all those minor issues with the car after all the anticipation and waiting. But the good thing is now that you have the car you can bring it back to it's pristine condition at your own pace. I have a 1970 280S Benz that I am slowly bringing back to it's original beauty and funtion. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to correct those things that are wrong and see the car transformed into how you want it. When I bought my 06 LS it looked really good on the dealership website (25-30 pics) but when I got it home I noticed things that the pictures did not show. My wife thinks the car looks new but to my eyes I see it's flaws because I know where to look. So I started a new restoration project... My LS will be perfect when I finish with it but in the mean time I am having fun getting it that way. I suggest you see your car as a new project instead of a series of problems and I think you will enjoy getting it to your liking.

caddyowner

^^^
Yes, I have no problem with this project. I expected to have work to do since this is not a CPO car, was priced right, and airtime and his mechanic gave me the heads up of what to expect from their inspections. I'm just **** about my cars and I can't understand why someone would own such a fine car and treat it this way. It appears to have been woman driven due to the number of side-to-side scratches on the trunk lid from putting a purse and packages up there. (Sorry ladies, but I've seen a lot of that.)

I have 3 months until the lease on my Lincoln is up, so there is plenty of time to get things sorted out. Of course, I need to get a title out of the State of Washington, first.

Jabberwock

I agree on the amount of damage that can be done in such a short time. We were surprised when looking at used LS 430s that people would treat such an expensive car so badly. That's why we starting looking for a used LS with less than 15k miles because we figured it would have sustained less owner inflicted damage - kind of a sad thing when you think about it for such an amazing car.

I am the guy that has always parked his car out at the fringe of the lot to avoid dings. It seemed like more people with nice cars used to do that 20 years ago - now it is not so common.

caddyowner

I did a non-driving inventory of features and the only other thing I found is slow response on the driver's heated seat. We'll start with the filter on that. I'll have to check all the button lights some evening. I verified that the wheel lock socket, other tire changing equipment, toolkit, and 1st aid kit are all in the trunk. The plastic pin that holds the floor cover over the nav unit is missing, but that is not a big deal. I removed the factory plastic over the trunk side of the pass-thru.