R Z

I paid $29,500 for the car in May of 08. It's the most I've spent on a car, but after 2 years of driving, it's money well spent. As for mileage, that sounds a bit high to me for an 06. Something like 16,000+ miles a year. With that said, my 94LS had 130,000 on it when I sold it to my friend. He now has 160,000+ and the engine is running solid. He's had to do some work on the car and he can do it himself, but that wasn't anything to do with the engine, transmission etc.

If you like the color combination, it has the creature features you want, it's certified, good clean records and is priced right, you can't miss. Don't second guess yourself cuz I usually find if I do that, I miss out on the deal.

CarGuy89

Sounds like you got an excellent deal R Z. I still see 430s go for that (the most expensive one was near 40k). Yes mileage is a bit on the higher side, but all proper maintenance has been done at 5k intervals without many extra unscheduled trips. I drive maybe 8-9k miles a year (home to school and back, volunteering, etc.) so 10 years down the road the car will have no more than 160k miles on it. I hear of people already clocking 150-200k without any major issues which is a huge reason why I picked this car.

In the past, I have always settled on something when I got the car. My 3 series, for ex, I wanted manual, sport, premium, heated seats and saw a pretty good one in OH. However, one popped up at the local dealer with manual and heated seats. I just settled for it b/c it had a slightly longer warranty. Still turned out to be a great car, but it was definitely a compromise. This time, I'm going all out no compromises. I am going for my preferred color combo, option set, and cpo warranty.

AlexusAnja

I love reading car forums. How can a "simple" object such as a car have and provoke such emotions in people. Me, I like the 430 exterior and 460 interior. I don't put much of anything into the "oh the 460 is a lot worse than the 430" because I know that most people that come onto forums are those that either have issues with their vehicles and are looking to fix them, just like the forums (like me), or just come on to hate and rant.

The 460 is better than the 430 mechanically, period. It's got more power, more gizmos, and with the "L," more room. All the other things like interior look and exterior look are all subjective, as it should be, and up for personal like or dislike. Most, if not all here, chose the 430 at the time we did because economics probably came into play. I got my super nice LS430 at a price that I just could not resist and it was very easy to fit into our budget. It came to the point where I could get this superior vehicle for under $30K, why would I settle for a new loaded Camry or Accord for more? Would I have wanted a 460 instead, had price been the same, yeah.. probably. Unfortunately, the 2007 LS460 were running around $48K still and much outside my budget that that range.

Do we make sacrifices when we select certain vehicles? Of course, every vehicle is a sacrifice. Nothing is perfect.. not even a $500K supercar. The LS430 was at the time I got it, the BEST vehicle for me and I totally love the car. Because of the exterior look of the 460, I have no regrets whatsoever with my deal. I can't wait to see how she'll look in 12 years, if she'll hold up as well as my '92 Integra has after 18 years.

I sometimes wonder how my 7-year old daughter will feel using the LS430 as her "learning vehicle" when she's ready to learn to drive... This is assuming my Integra is not still around in 10 years.

CarGuy89

She would probably love it. My learner's car back in high school was a '97 Lincoln Continental. Best to get an older car and bigger/safer car. I got all my idiot-style driving out of my system by the end of high school, then moved onto another car when I matured a bit lol.

Also agree with you on the 460v430v anything else. The whole reason why there are so many cars out there is that each person has a different taste/lifestyle/budget/needs. Even driving feel is strictly subjective. I felt that my 3 series rode pretty smoothly while others may feel that the ride is too rough. All depends on the person.

Playdrv4me

As a veteran of car forums, I know that it's also very easy to attempt to get inside the motives of another poster. Some are trolls, yes. For myself however, I would not trade my 430 for a 460 even if it was a straight up trade (i.e. your argument about price being the deciding factor). So in that sense no, economics have nothing to do with THAT particular decision. Actually what I WOULD do is take that 460, sell it, and buy the most 430 I could possibly afford... or, at that price point its more likely I'd go with an S550 or Range Rover Supercharged as the Merc has been around the same amount of time and has had roughly equal depreciation. The RR while being a potential reliability nightmare, makes up for it in plenty of other ways.

There's just no way I'd own a 460 personally. A great comparison for this is the E38 1995-2001 7 Series vs. the atrocious POS that replaced it in 2002. Sure it had more power, more toys and a higher price tag. But its fairly universally known to be an inferior car among true BMW enthusiasts, at least until the 2006 redesign when things improved somewhat. I had a 2003 and can attest to what an embarrassment that car was for BMW. The 460 of course is not anywhere near that drastic. It's not a BAD car, but it doesn't flip the same switches for ME that the 430 does... and that's the great thing about forums. Everyone is after all, entitled to their opinions.

Jabberwock

I don't want any 2007-2010 LS460 over my 06 LS430. I don't care what the LS460 costs. The LS460 is clearly a whiz bang high power gadget filled ride - its just not my cup of tea. If I thought it was better than the LS430 I would have bought one. Nope sorry its not about cost. Its about aesthetics and design at least to my eye. The 460 exterior is hideous to my eye compared to the clean lines on the 430. I know that's my taste, and others may feel different - so please I don't need any debate on it. Just wanted to make the point that in some cases its absolutely not money that is the factor.

vollandt

.for me the experience from inside the car is far more important than from the outside. I think the backlash on the 460 exterior styling has a lot to do with nostalgic affection for original LS lineage. To be fair to lexus, I think they evolved the LS look about as far as they could go with the LS430. It was time to take a risk and do something different. As far as looking like a camry, it's a good looking car to look like. it's a good thing they didn't style it after a corola or a prius .

For the old look, I feel like lexus peaked with the 98-2000. I think the exterior styling of the 430 (esp the 04+) is the worst of all the LS cars (even though i just purchased one) . From the outside it looks to stiff and high.

vollandt

It wasn't so much the ride of the 7 series, it was about how all the vibrations came through the car. From the moment you start the car, you can feel the engine rumbling though the steering wheel. I know that beemer fans like this connection with the car, I find it fatiguing - esp on long rides.

CarGuy89

Weird, only vibration I ever felt was through the shifter, never any through the wheel. And yes, some people like that connected feel while others don't. I have had both sort of cars (Lincoln and BMW so far). I personally love the connected feeling but that might be b/c I'm still young? Anyway, like I said earlier, everyone has their own opinion and taste. If you were to drive a prius for a week and then get into a 3 series, you would feel like you just climbed into a supercar. On the other hand, if you really are a supercar owner, then a 3 series will probably be the most boring thing you ever drive. All different perspectives on the same car. That's how this current 460 thing is going lol. I personally like the some aspects of the car (the technology, stylish interior, 380hp) but not others (styling, though it might grow on me).

Playdrv4me

I have to agree with you 100 percent without question on this point. I completely forgot to mention that if we had our absolute choice of car at the time I actually would have preferred a 2000 LS400 Coach or Platinum or whatever the top level trim was back then. Not only would it have been cheaper, but the quality was even higher than the 430, and the Nakamichi audio system absolutely demolishes the ML crap. This is why I didn't give a damn about ML, Nav or anything else in the 430. I just wanted the BASIC 430 ride, comfort and style. The only thing I would have wanted out of the Nav package is the backup camera and the bluetooth phone connection. It would also be nice to throw the Sport Pack wheels on at some point.

We diverge paths on the looks of the 430 though. In all honesty, my friend gave the 430 the exact same negative points you did... but to me its still a gorgeous car and the roofline doesn't look THAT awkward to me... I don't see what's so bad about it.

vollandt

I would too if driving on a track or a twisty mountain road. Would not though if aiming the car down the interstate or sitting in traffic.

vollandt

On the 2000 and before LS cars, I also miss the crotch A/C vent underneath the steering wheel and the seats that had sort of a suspension to them.

CarGuy89

You found yet another reason why I'm making the (seemingly) odd change from a sports sedan to a luxury sedan. There aren't a whole lot of tight twists and turns where I live. All the country roads we have (no cops, no traffic) are straight so all I can do is just put my foot down once in a while. However, I can enjoy the luxury that was built into a car at all times, whether I'm stuck in traffic or going 75 down the highway. Plus, the 430 still has a great engine with plenty of useable torque. The acceleration time to 60 is about the same as my 328 (roughly 6 secs or so) so I'm really not losing anything when I'm presented with the opportunity of a wide open country road

caddyowner

... aside from having to avoid farm machinery, bicyclists, and, of course, more deer than you can shake a stick at.

caddyowner

Here is another one that popped up on my national search that fits your criteria:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Here is another, but it's in Florida:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

And another that isn't too far. It isn't silver and is private party, but it has a CPO warranty:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false