tftimm

Would you be worried about an 04-06 LS430 Ultra Luxury that is being sold by a Lexus dealer?

It's got about 80K miles and has had the 60K mile service completed by the dealer, 2-owner, no accidents.

Should I be that worried about the air suspension, etc? It is a Texas car and has never seen salt or snow.

Thoughts?

ultm8mind

iTrader: (3)

I wouldn't be worried about it at all. I bought mine last year with about that, it's a UL and I have had no issues really with it. Ofcourse you'll notice a thing or two but remember it is almost 10 years old. If you're worried about air, then have it inspected by another shop or have them have one of their mechanics inspect the undercarraige with you present. You'll be able to see if the shocks are bad, they'll be moist or look like they have dirt caked on them. I'd say if you like it go for it!!

Marklouis

the air would be my biggest concern also, but if it's clean and it tests out ok, go for it.

ultm8mind

iTrader: (3)

if you're that worried about the air ride stay away from the UL, you always hear the horror stories, never see the good side....I'm sure there is someone out there that's gone 300k miles on their air ride in an '02 UL...

C8V6C

The good side to air is the ability to drop it with the controller of course!

If you don't plan on dropping it, the ride is still great. Mine has 60k on it, and I wouldn't worry too much about 80k.

BradTank

While I don't have any firsthand knowledge of the LS air system, my wife has a 2004 Lexus GX SUV that has an air system in the rear, and honestly, it's going to be a really expensive repair.

Her vehicle has never been off road and only has around 80k miles, but the dealer told us it's leaking when we took it in as a result of some unusual behavior. To replace the bags and struts, you're looking at over $2,000. And then there are other issues like if the air compressor gives out. Honestly, no one would have complained has Lexus simply put in a conventional suspension that was smooth riding. It's one of those situations where we're not sure if we want to keep the vehicle. No one makes a really good conversion kit.

I know from now on, I'll avoid air systems like the plague.

LSBlues

two of my shocks on the '01 had to be replaced at 108k miles in Oct '07 but the other two have been good all the way to 203k miles-no problems since. Depending on where you drive the height adj may be of value, I mostly enjoyed the ability to control the shock's character and mostly left it is sport mode. That combined with 18" tire upgrade gave the car a ride balance that suited what I wanted. It is the biggest possible item that's possible to go wrong with these cars in my experience-only you can decide whether you value the options provided in the UL package to know if the possible $ is worth it to you. I'm going to be selling mine now and have really enjoyed the car and hope that the next person will as well-and they will be getting a really nice looking, driving and reliable car for little $!

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

80,000 miles is nothing for theses cars. The air struts will most likely fail within the next 20,000-30,000 miles. I'd recommend switching them out to coilovers, aftermarket airbags, or the stock steel spring and strut. The factory air is very expensive to replace and is very unreliable judging by all the posts on the forums.

Frankg2

My '02 UL has over 150K miles and still rides like a dream. Of course, I do count my blessings all the time and understand this isn't always the case. There is a thread (or three) on this forum that discusses how to swap out air to coil over struts. IIRC, the cost for the entire job was less than the cost to repair just one air strut. That should help ease your concerns...

ACleanSC4

iTrader: (7)

My '04 has about 150k on it with ORIGINAL bags as well, I'm not worried too much about repair. In fact, can't wait to swap out for coilover/bags with Accuair E-level...

I wouldn't worry too much about the bags. I feel the extra "UL" features make it worth it over a regular LS.

lextout

I'd be worried if they want over 15k for it!!