Good thread, I actually am having the same "struggle". I own a silver on gray 2004 LS with 237k miles and recently drove a 2011 LS with the same color combo- it also had Levinson and the 19" 5 star wheels. Exterior is a huge upgrade as I have always loved the 10-12 looks, though I do still love the 430 from certain angles. But once I drove the 460, I was kinda underwhelmed at the difference between the two (I was expecting more of a wow factor). The wow factor is there for me sitting in the '13's and beyond due to the massive interior refresh, but with the '11 I left questioning why I would drop $33-$35k for a car that felt so similar to mine. My wife hates my 430 and is in favor of me getting something new- but she didn't like the wood grain of the 460 we looked at (gray wood grain) so that killed the idea of buying that particular car. Technology-wise, I added the VAIS streaming bluetooth player in my car so I really don't see any technological differences (I would never use the nav in a car- I am way too reliant on Waze and Google Maps). We have a 2010 LX 570 so the interior setup and navigation in the LS feels very familiar to that. Overall, the 460 is a beautiful car and I'm sure I'll get one at some point, but just feeling like it will take some sort of crazy repair bill on my 430 to have me motivated to ditch it. Recently had a thought of keeping my 430 and buying a used Audi S5 as a 3rd vehicle. Would give me something radically different to drive and I wouldn't rack up too many miles on it as I'm somewhat worried about costly repairs as those hit higher miles. When the time comes to move to a 460, I'd ditch the S5.

 

Seems to me the consensus here mostly echoes my observations: other than a more modern look the 460 isn't worth making the jump when you have a well-cared-for 430. The silky smooth drivetrain and ride of our 430s is, to me, superior to what the 460 offers. I just made an effortless 750 mile trip, stopping once for 5 minutes, which also reiterated how I feel. Another way to look at it is that from the outside in, the 460 wins. But we spend the vast majority of our time sitting in and driving the car. From the inside out it's no contest, IMO.

I also agree with the previous poster about the wood. Not only is there considerably less, but it also doesn't shine as bright or look as rich. I like the modern design of the 460 interior, but it just isn't as luxurious inside.

 

I recently test drove a 460 and came to these forums convinced I was missing something in concluding that I liked my 430 more. I even wanted to like the 460 more. Many have touched on it in their comments, but I think that once you drive a car of this caliber- the differences between model updates are incremental vs. exponential. Drive a 2016 Camry, a great car in its own right, then drive an LS - the difference is exponential. Drive an LS400, an LS430, an LS460, the difference is incremental.

Before I owned an LS, I purchased an 04 Audi A8L. Amazing car when it ran. $17,000 in warranty work later, I knew I couldn't keep it out of warranty. My wife wanted out of the luxury car world due to our bad experience, so I traded into a nice Camry. Even my wife, who could care less about cars, noticed the difference. So we sold the Camry, bought a 1999 Lexus LS400 and pocketed the leftover $8,000. Later I bought a 2002 LS430 base model. I had a lot of the same feelings in moving from the 400 to the 430. Later I moved to a 2002 Custom Luxury 430 until the transmission went at around 235,000 miles. I currently drive a 2002 UL 430. If I can add anything to the discussion that hasn't already been said it's that there are definitely incremental changes felt between trim levels on these cars too. The dual pane windows (which were also on the Custom Luxury) and the air suspension are two upgrades that I think add incrementally to my experience.

The bad news is that we've all sort of been ruined. If we all remain fortunate enough to have the resources, we never want to go back. The other side of the coin is we've been liberated. We now know there is a car out there that costs half the price of a new Camry, which is about as good as it gets when it comes to mass production autos. I have one more year of school before my mid life career transition is complete. When this journey is over, I no doubt will start looking hard at the 600hL which has been my new "dream car". I'll continue to read about battery and drivetrain issues, but I'll eventually get one. What will make it easier to take that risk is my current LS430 which will no doubt become our 3rd car in the family. I'll hand it down to my daughter one day, and drive it if the 600hL has any issues. I may have some air suspension issues by then, or who knows - another transmission issue. But what I think I've found out, and what we're all touching on, is that this car is a keeper.

 

Guess I'll throw in my .02 as well.

I've owned a 2001, 2002, and now a extremely low mileage 2004 LS430. I briefly owned a 2007 LS460L (4 months, sold yesterday) and should have done a bit more research on the the 2007 / 2008 models and their issues (and my very expensive lesson), but also should have researched the cost of basic maintenance on the 460 vs the 430. That said, the LS460L I had was absolutely gorgeous black on black with low miles. It was a car I loved and hated. Loved the look and new-ness, but hated that it wasn't that much better then the 430 and actually in some ways worse.

- The main issue for me was something that has been mentioned in a few of the previous posts on this thread - the drive feel (best way I can describe it) is very different. BTW I'm comparing non-UL LS430's to an older model albeit low mileage LS460L (air suspension). In my opinion the feel of the 460L is too soft as compared to the tightness of the 430. Sounds like the very latest 460's have a different feel, but definitely not in what I consider to be the "affordable" 460's. I actually just drove a 2015 A6 and loved the "feel", although after a bit of research I realized I probably wouldn't like the repair costs. I wonder if in 10 years I'll be driving enough to warrant getting an affordable 2015 LS460, i.e., a big "gasoline powered" car? Probably not since I hate the new grill . Come to think of it maybe nobody will be actually "driving" a car in 10 years...

- Torque at low speeds (also mentioned previously) makes the 430 feel zippy while the 460 seems to be slower off the mark. I'm not going to argue the 0-60 metrics, just the "feel". This is also noticeable in the 2004 (and assume 2005/2006) vs the 2001 / 2002 LS430s ... difference no doubt (partially?) due to the 5 v 6 spd transmission.

Bottom line is the same as others have stated - it's easy to lust after a great looking "new" car with more bells and whistles ("everyone should get the new Mercedes E class...it practically drives itself"), but at the end of the day the LS430 is one of the most dependable and affordable luxury cars you can buy. FYI - when I had my LS460L being serviced by a Lexus dealership I had a long conversation with the service manager. He knew I'd owned 430s and wondered whether I preferred the 460L to the 430. I told him that the 430 just seemed like a better riding ("drive feel") car. His response (which surprised me) was that the 430 was a fabulous car and that is his opinion was one of the most dependable Lexus ever made [like a tank], better than the 460. He said (and I don't think this is surprising news) that Lexus did a radical re-do of the LS trying to be more relevant to younger buyers and a stronger competitor to the S550, A8, and 7 series. He thought they missed the mark and should have leveraged off of the great things in the 430. Sidebar, for free - he also noted that the new Lexus grill (the one I don't like) breaks pretty easily and costs $$$$ to replace.

 

Like the look of the 460 but I still own (2) 430's. Drove into a Lex dealer in the Bay Area to get touch up paint for my '04 (Cypress Pearl, ML). I asked the sales guy if I should consider a 460. He looked around carefully and then said that the 430 is more luxurious and more reliable. Told me that any nice 430 they get will sell in 1-2 days.

 

Wow, lol, this thread is still going?

I have decided to drive my 04 for another 5 years or so, enjoy no car payments for a few years, and then look for a '13-15 when the day comes. I'm still not a huge fan of the spindle grille, however certain colors of the '13 do look very nice. The interiors of those are amazing and I'll be looking for one with the leather upgrade and the bamboo wood. That's the best looking wood I've ever seen in a car...period. I'll always miss the 4.3 engine, though. Looking back, I can't believe I even considered a 460 that wasn't the '13+ models.