golphpro

Guys I bought my LS430 2003 brand new and it is the best car i've ever owned. I'm a golf pro and certainly not a expert car guy. My wife drives the 430 also. My '03 LS has 145K miles and I'm looking at a CPO LS430 2006 with just over 50K miles, 1 owner, buying from dealer where car was serviced, no aucton, etc. The factory warranty is just done (51K miles). It has Nav system - which doesn't float my boat (I'm in the air alot or driving a short distance these days).

I realize it's very subjective, and reflective of my naivety, but any idea on what could be considered a great deal on this car? Dealer offering it just under $30K including taxes, tag, etc. not including trade of my car which doesn't have much value left (is that naive also)?

Thanks for any help or thoughts--

Jabberwock

Your 2003 LS still has lots of value. First and foremost - detail the hell out of your existing car and sell your car privately to maximize return. Its generally better not to mix a trade into the next car purchase because you now have to negotiate two car transactions simultaneously with pros that are way better at it than the avg consumer.

Second - If you want to research an accurate price on an 06 CPO - use Edmunds car search tool. Use the advanced search options on Edmunds to search for 2006 LS430 CPO (click certified option) cars (click at any distance option). The result is a list of all CPO 2006 LS in US for sale right now - I just did it and it shows 62 CPO cars for sale matching that specific criteria. Then go through the list to find examples as close to the car you are considering in options, condition and miles. That will give you an accurate picture of the market for sale pricing. The actual sales price should be some what lower depending on demand for the car.

Also use the Edmunds site to appraise the car using the Used car appraisal tool. This will give you another data point on car value and good market pricing.

Bottom line to also consider is that really good examples of LS430 get snapped up quickly. If the car's been on the lot for a long time and they are offering you a super deal there is generally a reason so be careful - there is absolutely no free lunch. Used car dealers are pros and getting maximum prices out of avg uninformed buyers.

amr

Following up on that response, I'm also shopping for an LS430 and I found that using the lexus.com VIN research tool is great. I was able to login and search all the service records of the cars I'm considering. I was surprised that some "higher mileage" cars had excellent service records while other lower mileage cars were hardly maintained.... at least not at a Lexus dealer.

Infamous 1

iTrader: (20)

I just bought my '05 CPO LS430 ML with 52k for $26,550 (after taxes, tags, and fees). So you should be close to that price.

CarGuy89

Definitely check out this Lexus service site:
https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...ervice/home.do

Make an account, and enter in the VIN of the car your are considering. Look for services every 5k miles (though I am sure you are pretty familiar with the 430s by now). The link I posted was an extremely valuable tool for me. It helped me uncover accidents and potentially problematic cars that carfax and other sources just don't give you.

If you feel you don't need/want nav, then look for one without. The premium cars have plenty of features still and is more than enough car if just driven short distances occasionally.

I picked up an 04 modern luxury, CPO, 25k mi, for $25,200 before tax. Keep in mind that 06s will run you more b/c it is newer. However, proper servicing and lower miles are much more valuable to me. Also, there were no real changes from 04-06.

StanVanDam

Besides Edmunds, another online resource to compare car pricing is Autotrader.com

Input your zipcode, select Certified, Lexus, LS430, any distance from your zipcode, year range 2006-2006, then Search, then sort Low to High. Range is currently $25-35k, depending on options and mileage.

Jabberwock

Stan is more correct than my post - I should have clarified that Edmunds is linked direct to Autotrader

golphpro

Thank you so much for your quick replys and wealth of experience. The car I'm looking at has been sitting a month now...unsold. It was serviced every 5K until 25K and there's a 15K mile gap in service history to 39K where the 30K service performed....hmm-is this "bad"?

The dealer detailed, track aligned (drifting), mt 4 tires and balanced, removed dent (bad sign?), and got CPO'd for sale in October this year according to VIN search via Lexus.com.

Any more thoughts? Questions i should ask?

Dave Mac

That service gap is interesting but the car would survive pretty well. And the dent repair may not be much - can you find out what it was and how much it cost to repair. The time on the lot is a greater concern - my dealer won't keep a car longer than 30 days and at the end of that time drop the price a lot for just a couple of days before sending the car to auction. You might try a pretty low offer if you want the car.

I'm sure you know that if you need an out of warranty repair on the NAV that you really don't want the cost can be pretty high. And in some cases you can't just not do the repair because so many functions are built into the NAV screen.

Dave Mac

Jabberwock

Your local market may be a bit slow for LS430 - they are very desirable cars in DFW because we are all poseurs : ) out here.

Your local area may be different. So if the car has been sitting unsold on the lot for a month (and Dec and Jan are even slower times) then its time to offer them a way discounted ""drive-out" price (includes all costs, and bs fees, etc. except tax and state title fee) over the phone and tell them to give you a call back when they are ready to sell at that specific price and not a penny more - then hang up the phone and wait..under no circumstances shoudl you call them. If you want a great deal never ever negotiate for a car in person. And always let them know that you are a ready buyer with money in hand, and you are negotiating other cars by phone simultaneously with other dealers without giving them any other info.

Going in and wasting your time sitting at the dealer negotiating back and forth labels you as in love with their specific car and also as an inexperienced potential "mark" like 95% of other average car buyers.

StanVanDam

You could also search 2003 @ 145k miles to see the current selling prices.

I'd run CarFax and CarProof reports, keeping in mind various data may not be reported to them and therefore wouldn't appear in their reports.

CPO is worthwhile if you don't plan on hitting 100,000 miles too quickly, since it lasts for 3 years from your date of purchase, or 100,000 miles.

Check out the Exclusions section at http://www.lexus.com/cpo/overview/warranty.html

The 15k mile gap is questionable - you could ask them who used the car during that time and if they could provide maintenance records. But if there was anything shady with the car, I don't think they would CPO it.

If equipped with air suspension (Ultra Luxury package), check that the left and right gaps between the tire and wheel well are exactly the same, and check that the rear height is not excessively lower than the front. A common problem is the rear right sitting too low, causing the front left to sit too high.

Take the car out for a drive, see if it drives in a straight line on the highway and doesn't wobble when you take your hands off the wheel. Non-braking wobble can be caused by tire balancing, inflation, or alignment. Do the same when braking, both at highway and in-town speeds. Braking wobble is usually caused by warped rotors. Pulling to a side when braking indicates a stuck caliper brake piston. Stuck pistons can also warp rotors.

Check brake pads for wear. Replacement is at 3mm from center of pad. New pads are 10mm, so 5-8mm would be normal for lightly used.

Check battery age. If the battery is over 5 years old, would be good to get a new one. Interstate MTP-24F is a good choice. Otherwise, the dealership can load-test the battery with something like a Sun VAT-40, and can do battery diagnostics with a Midtronics battery tester.

Check that the parking brake goes down only 7-8 clicks and holds the car solidly when parked on forward and reverse inclines.

Check the service records for date/mileage of oil/brake fluid/coolant changes. Brake and coolant should be changed every 3 years. Power steering doesn't have an interval and is changed as needed. 2004-2006 LS430s use a "lifetime" transmission fluid and doesn't have an interval, but if changed by a Lexus dealer, that would be a benefit.

50k is early for timing belt/water pump/coolant, but sometimes they change them out if the car is sitting around or if they are bored. This would be a good bonus. (Mine were done by the dealer at ~60000kms, 6 years in-service, prior to selling it to a used car dealer who sold it to me.)

Check that the radio/CD functions fully, and check each speaker (and subwoofer if equipped) at a reasonably high volume for distortion/crackling/buzzing.

Check the adaptive cruise control system (can be laser or radar depending on the options) on the highway for proper distance control. The ECU and radar emitter would be expensive to fix.

Check the trunk struts to see if they still hold up the trunk. Sometimes the struts lose their power, so the trunk lid is hard to lift and can easily fall on you. Hood struts aren't known to be a problem but check those too anyway.

Check that the power folding mirrors open and close all the way when it's near or below freezing outside. The cold temperature has sometime to do with my mirrors not folding properly.

Make sure the full-size spare, first aid kit, toolbox, and scissor jack are still in the trunk.

You could try to get additional value by asking the dealer to upgrade the Nav DVD for free or for a deep discount.

JLAWS

$30K is your budget? Spend a little more and you might be able to land an LS460 with the same miles. I had one for 2 days and it's a whole different beast. You might want to drive instead of flying

The 2006 is essentially the same vehicle as the 2003. I say spend $30K+ on something different.

mewhee

This is about as good a check-list for buying a used LS430 as I've seen anywhere. Perhaps a permanent sticky might be in order ...

Thanks, Stan !

CarGuy89

CPO'ed 460s with lower miles run at least high 30s-low 40s still. If you're set a flagship luxo ride the 430 is definitely a solid choice. However, I do agree that other options, such as BMW 750 (I saw a really clean 08 not too long ago with just 29k mi for $30k), Merc S430/500, Audi A8, Jag XJ8 (older XJRs even ).

warminwisc

Thats under 30 k tax and title.

I am quite sure the 750, A8, maybe Jaquar, S430' all have pros and cons especially cornering over the LS. If you wanna risk upkeep and repairs they are a smooth/crisp ride.