Originally Posted by MPLexus301

Hi CL,

Been a long while since I was here, but I'm currently considering the purchase of a 2006 LS 430 and would greatly appreciate your opinions.

This LS would be a second car for weekend trips and road trips. I bought a 2016 4Runner Limited 4x4 last year and as much as I love it, 17MPG is not ideal for road trips. Disclaimer: I do not have the delusion of thinking that buying a ~$13k LS 430 is going to financially save me any money for the +10 MPG I'll get in an LS on the highway. There would be plenty of other advantages as well - I'd like to keep miles off the 4R, and quite frankly, I'd just love to have an LS.

I started looking and wanted to spent $11-12k OTD on something around 100k miles. Began with Private Sellers and have now found one at a dealership that I like.

Specs:
2006 Lexus LS 430
Briarwood on Cashmere
109k miles
One owner
Every single service has been done at Lexus
90k service done (by Lexus)
Interior is in great shape
Exterior needs a little work - someone backed into something low speed and there is a gash in the rear bumper, a few scratches here and there
Has: Nav, Levinson sound, rear sunshade, 18" wheels, heated/cooled seats
2 Keys
Clean title - never an accident
Asking price: $13,599
Price they quoted me: $14,100 OTD

I think that I can get them to be around $13,500 OTD, but this is a bit above the cash budget that I set for myself and the other side of me says, "Wait to find a Private Seller who will take the $10-11k you want to spend." On the other side, the interior of this car is practically pristine and the maintenance record is flawless.

A few notes:
- I like the Briarwood color a lot. It's a classic LS color combo with the cashmere, IMO. I'd have preferred white or blue, but this car has such a stellar maintenance record and clean interior that it made me look at the car and I like the color a lot in person.
- The exterior scrapes and dings aren't bad and I could probably get someone to fill in the color and buff the car for $500 or so. The dealer has promised to fix the rear bumper if I buy the car.
- Wheels are pristine and there isn't one single bit of curb rash on one of them, which shows me that the car was driven carefully and maintained well.

Any thoughts on a yes/no and pricing would be greatly appreciated. I've also done plenty of research and short of a potential door lock actuator, the steering column or power side mirrors, I don't think this car should give me any problems for a long time to come. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by XJSFan

All the newer FL building codes went through around 2001... I just brought up my mother's 2006 GS430 with 38K miles and I agree that it is better to have them up here in Wisconsin. I do have a few condos in the Naples area and was lucky to have them survive this latest hurricane. A few friends were not so lucky...

Originally Posted by MPLexus301

My perfect car would have the UL package with the conventional suspension - not bags. I know the air suspension is replaceable, but I'd rather not bother at this point

Originally Posted by toshik

I know the thread is about a year old, started looking for 2006 LS430 in Ultra Luxury - is it worth buying one with air suspension 12 years after it was made? Are there costly reliability issues I might face?

Originally Posted by steelers6

Hello can the air suspension really be replaced with conventional shocks or struts if it ever fails and is it expensive to switch???

Originally Posted by TriC

Reports are that it costs about $1500 to convert. While expensive, that is FAR cheaper than new air components.