warminwisc

I would pay the guy 20 k for it. I got a base 04 with 55 k 1 1/2 years ago for 17k. I do not need Nav, or backup camera, HID washers but the upgraded stereo would be nice. Life is not perfect and it is just a car optioned very well at base level. My one prereq if I buy again is handling package.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

Reality is, people do buy the base models. If they didn't, the lots would be sitting full of base models. They are not. The woulda-coulda-shoulda-ill-informed, uneducated, had-they-known part just isn't applicable. I'm sure that the dealers don't talk down their base model by saying "it's a s#!tty car with no options" but rather talk about all the stuff it does have. On top of all that, many non-Lexus dealers don't even know the difference between the trim levels.

kg19989

Wow...lots of differing opinions here... I am with Jabberwok here... I am not on a budget and I am on my 3rd Lexus. I specifically chose a base. I personally don't care for navigation. I think it is cumbersome and I prefer old fashioned buttons. ( I am 39) While I like expensive cars and what they bring to the table, I just don't care to spend all of my $$ on them. I prefer to use the extra to send my kids to private school and take vacations. My Lexus dealer is one of the top in the nation and they will only go after the Base models unless they get a CL or UL on trade. I bought my '04 with 65K miles (CPO) and I paid 19,900. There was an '06 CL that arrived with 43K miles and they wanted $29K for it but I thought I would prefer to have $10K in my pocket than to have the CL in my driveway. to me the value is have the LS in my driveway. Not the nav on the dashboard.

mark98ls40

Thanks for all the opinions.
So, the consensus is that 20k for this LS with only 30K miles would be a good deal?
I sold my base 98 LS400 with 140k miles quickly for 7k so I believe any base LS430 in great condition & no accidents would be no problem to sell at a few thousand less than a comparable ML package, especially with 30k miles.

thinkin

+1 on that Keith. Buy what you want and don't worry too much about what the next guy thinks - and you may find he's even a guy like you and wants the exact same thing. Even a total stripper LS430 is an amazing car and I'd probably not miss most of the extra stuff in the long run.

I paid $29k for my '04 UL CPO with 16k miles last October, but really I'd have been just as happy with a CL and I don't really need the NAV either, just wanted the better stereo, more leather bits, and the double-paned windows really.

For me personally I probably overpaid a bit, and if I'd have found an equally mint CL around $25k I'd have been even happier, but after a while looking this is the one that came along and just called out to me.

thinkin

That's a good thing - those were the two major recall events on '04s that you definitely want to see on the history assuming the vehicle falls within the early VIN range.

mark98ls40

So, the CL comes base and individual options were added to that?
Love the color & miles so I'm just trying to get it for the best price possible.
I would think the 30k miles would be worth something.
The ones on E-bay don't seem to be that great of deals.

LS430inDE.

You are correct sir! I totally forgot about the tranny issue with 04's with this thread. I got caught up with why BOTH the tranny and fuel pump were replaced. I wasn't aware of the fuel pump issue though.

If it was disclosed in the post, that they were changed out at a Lexus dealership reference TSB #123xyz, I would have then realized it was a "good" thing they were replaced.