danielnam

I will soon be in the market to purchase an LS430, and I was wondering if I should consider LS430s with 3 owners and more..

warminwisc

# of owners can be misleading though. My 04 had 2 previous owners, but sellers LS company car titled by company was given to him when he retired from the company as a gift. He registered it under his name hence 2 owners,

danielnam

Did the previous owner give you service records?

Johnhav430

Of course it's really just preference and common sense, the implication is the more owners, the more the vehicle "may" have been flipped, for a known, or unknown reason. Supposedly the best LS430 per the dealer in the western hemisphere, had 5 owners, one of which was only for 3 days (did they take the car back? Carfax stated titled). There were some on the forum who were not bothered by it, they focused upon the fact that it was a 2006, earlier this year, and it had 37k miles. Human nature is it seems even the original owner might try to avoid doing the timing belt even if everything else was done by the book. We know that $750-$900 at an indie can take care of it, so if it's the reason someone gets rid of the car, not a big deal...

Plus remember Lexus service is often check this, check that, every 5 k, and not much actual service is done. So I would keep that in context, just because someone brought the car to the dealer every 5k, doesn't necessarily mean the car is better than another. It all depends. I wouldn't rule out a 3 owner car....my .02

Legender

It's a factor, but not necessarily a deciding factor. There are more important things to consider that will better determine the condition and future performance of the car. Service records, garaged, accidents...etc.

Jabberwock

It all depends on the specific car and the types of folks that owned it. Three responsible owners that maintained the car per the manual and kept it garaged and very clean are way, way better than a one owner car where the owner takes it to quik lube every 20k, parks it outside, and trashes the interior. It's amazing to me how some people can so quickly trash this car's beautiful interior.

warminwisc

First car I bought came right from the auction to a small dealer, all receipts where in glove box I called the guy he said I got it cheaper than the dealer offered him off lease, never driven in snow oil changes evry 5 and tranny change at 50k.

Second one with 2 owners he had it consignment at small dealer. I called the guy he was an exec was set up with a ford pickup by the consignment dealer and told me about the title change he got from his company. I had all the records on that one also, tinted windows. First one I got 4 years old for 17k with 55k miles traded it at 200 k for 6000 to the consigned dealer for Sport 19 k with 62k miles, same year but sport and ML verses Premium. I have really done nothing to this one but at 200k if I sell it for 4 k I would have gotten 283,000 relatively trouble free miles for 26k$ plus a few wheel bearings brakes tires t belts pumps oil filters etc. Neither of em used more than a 1/2 quart of oil at 200k or approaching 200k.

warminwisc

I would prolly not be going too far out of my may, fly to buy more than 2 owners.

LS430FL

I honestly don't think it matters how many owners the car had. There can be small transfers even between spouses and kids. The number of owners in my opinion only really matters to some buyers for resale value. With LS430's now ranging from 11-16 years old, resale value really doesn't matter anymore. Service records so you get peace of mind and reliability is what is more important in my eyes than the number of previous owners.

Scootymad

I think my LS has had about 4 or 5 owners just in New Zealand, no idea how many in Japan. But I'm the 3rd owner of my 1994 Toyota Corona and they're both pretty comparable for their ages. The Corona is developing a bit of rust and needed a radiator, but is otherwise still a good car, while the LS feels tight as a drum but the bodywork and interior needs a little bit of love

Bocatrip

Condition and records first. Number of owners last. What if the last owner poured his life savings into his precious gem and brought it to pristine condition, even if it were neglected in the past. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. Trying to find a one owner 12-16 year old car will be close to impossible to find these days while wasting much of your time. Just find that special cared for car. PS....don't get crazy about colors or you will never find a good car!!!!

Romanova

The one owner cars are out there, but take more time and money to locate. Even then, a one owner that I looked at with only 87k on it was a complete turd. Just look for the cleanest example in your price range and go from there.

tallcaguy

A one owner car isn't automatically good. I looked at a full dealer service LS w/ 107. Valve covers leak, TB hadn't been done, broken driver's side mirror, underbody damage (like it had been driven off road?). My current ride is a one owner full dealer ML. All the usual problems fixed by previous owner. I had to do typical older LS stuff (NAV screen rebuild, sub fix, fluids change, etc). While nice, I still keep having to do little things. Latest is some kind of whine from engine when cold. Maybe alternator bearing, noisy PS or serpentine belt. Mixed feelings about the ML audio.

I was the 3rd owner on my 01 Base. Original owner had the car back for many problems including hitting a curb. Second owner was retired (bought at 33) and absolutely babied it and repaired anything immediately. I bought at 89. Pre inspect excellent. Perfect paint, flawless interior. Did the TB and it ran w/ no repairs for 3 years. Perfect LS, zero problem.

So it really comes down to the condition of the car and service history. Also def depends which model. Number of owners isn't the most important.