So even the CPO cars can have issues too... Saw an otherwise pristine 430 today which turned out upon closer inspection to have a fairly sizable dent on the rear quarter panel in a location that might make a proper repair reasonably cost-prohibitive...

Also - to answer one of the questions I posed myself in the OP, my local Lexus dealer indicated that the telescoping motor runs about $370 with about $300 in labor to fit it.

 

I just had the telescoping motor on my 05 replaced at Lexus of Lansing: $368.35 in parts, $180 in labor.

 

Hope the LS search goes well for you! I bought inside a fairly narrow time window (I was in CA for a week in Feb) so I searched daily for roughly 2 months before I went on my trip and viewed many cars there. There's something out there for everyone but it does take time and searching.

A helpful suggestion I got was running VIN #'s through Lexus.com's ownership section to see the service history performed at Lexus dealerships. I found this to be a great place to start because at least you know the car is likely sound when you also have a good carfax.

Good luck and hope you find what you're looking for!

 

I tried to find the location for running the vin#s to obtain the service history. Do I have to be a Lexus owner to obtain this? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Go to the owners section of lexus.com at bottom of the home page. Register as an owner of the car you are seriously interested in using the vin. Display the service history. Delete the car from your account. I've heard that you can get banned if you do this too many times. If buying from a Lexus or Toyota dealer, have them print the service history. They both have access to lexus service histories.

 

Direct link is http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home