abs

Just lost my '98 Deville in an accident (fortunately everyone walked away without injury) and looking to buy a replacement vehicle. The combination of performance, reliability and luxury has the LS430 at the top of my search list. I've been doing some research on the forums but don't have a lot of time to buy a new car and I still have a few questions about the LS430.

I have a young son (7 month old) and safety is of paramount importance to my wife and I. Unfortunately, the published crash tests for the LS430 only reflect frontal offset impacts. Is there any published data available regarding rear and side impact crash worthiness? Is there any other information I can reference?

Next, I test drove a CPO 2005 LS430 with about 42k on the odometer. It has the ML stereo, navi and heated/cooled front seats but not the adjustable sport suspension The car looks pristine inside and out and drove very well. Dealer is asking for $32k but the sales guy, without being prompted, stated he could come down on the price if I wanted the car. How much should a pay for this car after all negotiations assuming it checks out and really is a cream puff?

Next, I did notice that the engine had a little vibration at idle right after being started - once I got underway it seemed to be silky smooth with no unusual noises. Is this typical behavior for the 4.3 engine?

Lastly, I live in the NE and will need to drive this car in inclement weather. My plan is to get a set of high performance snow tires for the winter. If I do this, how good/bad should I expect the LS430 to handle in snow/sleet/ice, etc. I'm hoping some folks with personal experience can give me some meaningful feedback on this question.

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

CarGuy89

Hello and welcome Andrew!
I am in the same process of shopping for a 430. I don't really have the same criteria as you do (I am a pre-med student, so no family of my own or anything), but I did get a lot of awesome responses from members on here about what to look out for. You can check out my thread here:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...our-input.html

I don't think there should be any vibrations. I test drove a 2004 with 109k miles with no vibrations, squeaks, or rattles. The price is way too high, if you look on autotrader, the upper extreme (for my area anyways) is 35k. I am currently looking at a 2006 with ML, 5 spokes, 62k for 25.5k (before further negotiation) cpo'ed. There are quite a few who have gotten tremendous deals on here too, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

I can't accurately answer your snow question with a 430, but I imagine it's like any other RWD in the snow. My rwd cars have been BMWs so far, a '95 5 series and a '07 3 series. Both had stock tires on. Both were tremendous fun, but I avoided going out as they handled pretty badly (trac control on = I'm not going anywhere, trac control off = I'm holding a powerslide for a mile or so lol). I had a really spooky experience in my old 5 series. I was driving on a really bad day, there was some black ice. I was going 60ish on the highway (same as everyone else). Did a very gentle lane change and the back end just started going. Luckily, I got it under control, but powersliding at 60 is a bit unnerving. You would've thought that I learned my lesson and got some snow tires for my 3 series. Nope. I could make it up my driveway or even anything with a remote incline. Moral of the story: get snow tires.

Playdrv4me

CarGuy89's thread will help answer some of the questions you posted, and some you probably have not thought of.

As far as the vibration at idle, this is absolutely NOT normal. Our '04 has 97k and love it or hate it, the one thing anyone will guarantee you about an LS is that you don't even know the engine is RUNNING when the car is idling. If you feel a vibe something is wrong.

Also 35k is sky high. That car is probably 20-23k at most.

Bocatrip

LS430 is super safe and reliable. If snowworthiness is of great importance, a RWD might not be the way to go.

CarGuy89

Yup, what boca said about rwd. I love rwd in the snow because I always wait till midnight when there's no traffic, go out in the fresh fallen snow, and have some good ol tail out fun. I really do try to avoid going out into traffic though. You may consider an AWD car as a better and safer alternative to RWD. Take a look at the Acura RL with the SH AWD, those are supposed to be pretty bullet-proof reliable too.

combres

I just bought a 2005 silver on blk upgraded leather with the custom luxury package in SF for $25,750. The car is in amazing condition with only 42k miles on it. This was a private party transaction.

You will pay more for a CPO car. Dealers seem to be wanting high prices for these cars. It really depends on the options. Ones without nav you could pick up for $23k probably, but then it is a base model. When you get into the $20-23k, the cars are pretty beat up, ones that I have seen at least.

ch

CarGuy89

Be sure you check the car fax AND Lexus service records (can be found through google search). If those check out, ie no accidents, all scheduled service done at 5k intervals go out there and take a look at it. However, as I have been informed by other members, this is not the end of the story. Cars could still have been involved in an accident without it ever going on car fax. Take it to a body shop and have them evaluate it before buying. Happy shopping!

abs

Great advice everyone. I've checked the Lexus owners site and the car has been serviced regularly every 5k at the dealership although there appears to be a gap from 30k about 40k where the 35k Lexus service was missed. I suspect that the car was owned by an older person who drove little for the first few years (based on the service history) and that someone else, perhaps a child, drive the most recent miles and so may have had it serviced elsewhere for that oil change.

I also verified with "Autocheck" the Experian version of Car Fax and with Car Fax that this car has no reported accidents, was a one owner vehicle and no other issues.

Would it be fair for me to conclude that I should pay somewhere between 23-25k for this car with CPO?

Andrew

CarGuy89

Yes definitely would. You would be getting a better deal than me at that range since you have 20k fewer miles. I always email them saying "willing to negotiate on price?". Guy dropped 2.2k off his asking price immediately down to 25.5k. I'm offering a firm 23k. Chances are I'll end up in the 24s which is just about right for me.

Good call on the autocheck. Several members have suggested I run autocheck as well. Still need to do that.

Playdrv4me

That is very close to the way I work, although I take it a step further. If there is a car I want, and I have financing lined up or have cash, I just come right out and make an offer at the price I want. So my email on a 35k car would be more like "Would you consider a firm cash offer of 25,000.00 inclusive of any and all fees for immediate purchase?". This is a solution that does a few great things. It basically gives them no room to run and they'll either take the offer, or they'll call me and try to come as close as they possibly can. It also means that when I get there, the awkward and time consuming negotiations are already out of the way and I just need to make sure the car is up to snuff. They know I can just as soon email someone else until someone takes my offer.

I think dealers hate what the internet has done to car shopping, but if you are willing to travel anywhere in the country, your local dealers have to do what they can to compete.

CarGuy89

Yup pay close attention to what people like playdrv4me, bocatrip, combres, caddyowner (see my thread) have to say. They have had previous experience with the car and give some really really solid advice. They have turned me into a more savvy buyer now. Thanks to their suggestion about looking on the Lexus service history site, I have uncovered several potential cars that have either been in an accident (nothing on car fax. some were CPO so don't think all CPOs are clean) or appeared to have serious issues (cylinder replacement, repeated unscheduled dealer visits).

Good luck! What is your preferred color combo/options set at this point?

abs

Okay, so now thinking with CPO and relatively low miles 42k my target should be higher, maybe 25-27k? For negotiation purposes, I like to go in with a low ball offer, a target price and a maximum price. These are the numbers I am trying to determine and really need help figuring out.

I am very flexible on features but know I would prefer to not have the air suspension.
The car I have been discussing has navigation and the ML stereo, I have not checked closely for some of the other available features to see if this one has them.

Thanks again for all the great feedback.

Andrew

Dailow

There are a couple of distinguishing features between an Ultra Luxury and Modern/Custom Luxury trim levels. Since you don't want an air suspension, you'll want to stay away from the UL trim.

Things to look for when identifying UL cars:
- There will be an additional button in the center console area that controls the air suspension height. It's almost directly in front of the shifter.
- Vents in the sides of the roof in the rear of the car.
- Rear heated AND cooled seats, along with massaging + memory seats.
- Rear center control cluster includes radio controls.

Most listings won't show you the rear in detail, so I mainly looked for the extra button in front of the shifter.

mndaves

The UL also has the (manual) rear, side sunshades and you can usually pick out the tabs in the bottom center of the rear windows on a backseat interior picture. Wow, that was a mouthful...

caddyowner

If there is a pic of the trunk, the UL trunk does not extend all the way to the back seat in order to accommodate the recline feature, cold box, and rear A/C.