My 1994 Corona's interior seems to be holding up better than the LS. I have a gash in the armrest in the exact same place (albeit on the right hand side being a RHD car), the lower pocket flaps around in the breeze, and everything just looks like it hasn't seen much love in 16 years

 

Not a lot of money. Usually 700-800 bucks, or as little as nothing....
I bought an 07 Corolla last summer for 1700 with 180K on it. It probably was a courier vehicle, as it was filthy inside and needed some basic maintenance. I put a few hundred into it and spent a day cleaning all the years of filth out of it and ended up selling it for 2500. Not enough to retire on, but it's an enjoyable hobby and it's fun to see the car come back from the dead. The cheap cars are easy to sell.
All the vehicles have the keys in them, and you can lot drive them to test everything out.

As far as the 430's and 460's go, they do sell pretty well, and the few times I've watched LS's go through, there's always a flurry of people looking at them and bidding.

Incidentally, that 460 I posted the photos of sold for 9,000

 

Interesting....we all need some sustainable way to supplement our incomes imho when we are working Joes.......I'll buy/sell some stocks once in a while, but interesting too how I am dissatisfied with making $1k, but I stop, like a game show, it was free.....one mistake was flipping facebook. I made $1,400, not $22k if I had held it. I know my reasons, nothing like buying at $40, and seeing it reach $19, doubling down several times. Stocks imho are not sustainable, because if you're doing them, you're also doing them when prices are falling, and losing. If anyone comes up with some ideas for all of us to get rich, please share!

Lemme tell you about when I tripled my money on amazon back in 1998....another missed opportunity (my buddy and I calculated how many times that would have multiplied to today)

edit wife's cousin's ex husband has a used car business and was flipping German cars all the time, once he had 3 Porsche 944s he was working on....it struck me as a tough way to make a living. He had this mint 1988 BMW 6, everywhere he went people stopped him asking if it were for sale...it was, but I guess he asked too much....had a 1990's E Class with < 1000 miles, etc. Lots of interesting stuff...

 

I've owned both, and I would say the LS430 build quality and quality of materials is better in my opinion. The 460 is newer and updated, but I don't think the same quality is there.

 

No, this is just something I do for fun, just a way for me to play with cars and not get too involved... If I make a little on the transaction, great.. If I lose a little.. It's ok as I'm not investing a lot into my hobby.

 

I hear you, and seriously, I would be into making as little as $200 at a time if it wasn't that difficult.....after having a son, I realize how unlimited the demands are on income. When single, it was relatively easy!

I used to test drive cars for as little as $50 (Audi and BMW would always be $100, Jaguar free Odyssey white ice putter....think about how unpleasant it is to approach car salesmen). I found Subaru to be downright rude. This youngin' told me they are reluctant to have me drive the car if I wasn't serious. WHAT? It's a *********** WRX Limited with a stick, and give me my money! lol

 

I usually find it very typical for high end used cars to have wear on their interiors...I've seen Audi A8's with material worn clean off, I've seen Lexus's with the same...BMW...on and on. I think it has to do with a few things...softness of materials (for that expensive "feel"), and time spent in these cars (traveling salesmen, company cars), weather, and the fact that these interiors are so stunning to begin with that imperfections really standout. I see the same thing with lower end cars too, but not as much because the materials are made from hard cheap plastics. It's a trade off. You tend to get less noise with the higher end interiors because you don't have as much hard creeking plastics, but they look terrible to begin with. And leather of course is a huge issue with wear and tear...it just is so difficult to maintain, especially in warmer climates.

 

I think the mistake I make is interchanging build quality with material quality. For example, when I test drove, then purchased my 06 LS, everything seemed to fit very well, only thing I noticed was that tiny bubble on the dash by the pass. airbag. Apparently this is not uncommon. This defect is not a defect with the build, it's a defect with the part. When I removed the dash pieces to replace the cupholder, here, I felt the actual pieces were rather cheap. One would not know until taking them out.

imho there is no question the sport seats in my 335i are much better quality than the LS. The side door panels are real leather (one can look up the part and there are two, one vinyl, one leather). Seats seem to be an achilles heel on Japanese cars....I understand that they are designed to have no support and be like a sofa, but I am referring to the quality of the seat itself. But again, this is not really build quality per se, they are still installed very well etc.

 

Yeah I do think BMW's do have some parts of their cars that are high quality...paint, interior. I think the under body is very neat and organized, appears high quality. But that's where it ends for me, mechanically they just don't hold up like a Lexus, where engineering seems to be focused on function and long term dependability. But those beemers do drive nice, they look nice, they handle well. Take the 335i...fast as hell, but the mechanical fuel pumps are a problem...used to be a rather huge problem. I have a friend that's a factory rep for BMW - I've never seen him so down on their product - it's almost sad to hear him talk about it.