woaitaimei

Hey everyone,

Lexus newbie here - I am looking to acquire a 2006 LS430 from a dealership.

What are some wear and tear items I should be looking for?

I found some information like door actuators and dead batteries - are there more items to take caution on?

its a 2006 with 41k miles. Asking for 14.8k

https://www.santamargaritatoyota.com...a-Margarita-CA

bradland

41K is prob too early for the wear and tear process to start! Check the date code on the tires. If they are original they should be replaced regardless of wear.
Has the timing belt ever been replaced?

woaitaimei

i will inspect the car in person and find out....

its got a clean carfax but the maintenance record is kind of sporadic....the oil changes weren't always done in a timely manner which worries me about its future reliability.

Either way, thanks for alerting me about the timing belt- definitely something I will look into because its a costly repair

bradland

Don't expect to find much of a maintenance record with mileage so low. It could be completely empty with the exception of oil changes. LS motors are bullet proof, a few untimely oil changes in the first 40k wont make a bit of difference in the long run.

Johnhav430

from memory.....coolant missing (evaporated) from reservoir and none to be seen in radiator (add!), seat cushion sagging on driver side, mirrors difficult to operate, tilt telescope wheel not 100%, broken cupholders, rear sunshade operation, park distance sensors, wear on driver B pillar interior, color of brake fluid should be golden, not black, 3rd brake light often burnt, all 3 12V lighter sockets, and 2 lighters for that matter (don't smoke but still want them in place). Check for original floormats (I don't know why people remove them), and the tool kit (I heard often stolen and sold back on eBay, I got one for forget now but maybe $45?)

My secret barometer would be to yank the microcabin which in addtion to the brake fluid condition, is an indicator of whether attention paid to detail maintenance-wise. Mine was like a British Columbian forest or a granola bar.

BCT

Prewired for cell phone, transceiver & command module (2005)

I wonder what is this? I am guessing it is aftermarket?

Longmire

Remove the engine top cover and check all the vacuum lines and hoses. Look for anything rubber that looks cracked or brittle (i.e. PCV hose, tires, door seals, weatherstripping, etc.). You might be able to have them replace stuff before you buy the car. With a low mileage older car, the rubber will still go bad in my experience.

Romanova

Figure with that car that if you get it, it will need timing belt and water pump, serp belt, oil change, coolant change, brake fluid flush, and rear diff service. I'd also do an oil change since per CarFax, the last one appears to be 2016 and tires will definitely be needed. Suddenly, you're looking at almost $2k in work on top of the purchase price, so let that drive your offer.

If the car is mint, and I mean *MINT*, then I would want to be $13k OTD... with room to work up to $13.5k OTD, but not a penny more.

Johnhav430

at this point I think a 3rd gen should be 4 figures. Again, low miles is imho truly of no benefit if a car is a 200k mile slam dunk, and 300k likely. 41, 61, 81, 101, 111, what difference does it really make...except that at 80k supposedly totally safe to service tranny....

BCT

Wise advice here ^^. I always do "baselining" to make sure I know what are replaced when. Replaced all fluids, check brakes, check and rotate tires, go thru the engine compartment to see if anything is leaking/falling apart etc. Anything that I see that I do not like, they get replaced/fixed.

woaitaimei

went to the dealership, offered up to 15k OTD and they pretty much told me to take a hike.....They were firm on 16k OTD. Curious to see how long it will take to sale.

the car wasnt even in MINT condition. Broken trunk dampers, broken door handle, minor chip/dings, and needed a timing belt replacement....

LS430FL

How many miles a year do you drive? it may not be worth paying such a premium for low mileage. These cars are already at a minimum 12 years old. $16k is a lot of money for one of these cars especially one that needs to be caught up on maintenance. Even at low miles its either mileage or time so it needs just as much deferred maintenance as one with over 100k miles on it.

caverman

Keep an eye on it, they'll probably drop the price. $16k is way too high even for a MINT one, which you said this one is not. Honestly, the $15k you offered is pretty high. You need to make sure it checks all the boxes you're looking for because you probably won't recover any where near that price if you were to sell it. You'll be the one taking the loss so make sure it's what you want and plan to keep it for many years to justify the high price.

Also, double check all of the door locks and make sure they work properly. If it's that low of miles then they are probably good but the door actuators are known to go out and will probably be next most expensive things to replace after the timing belt/water pump. Double check the stereo as well to make sure the amp is still good and sub woofer is not blown. Otherwise I think most of the known issues were covered above.

Johnhav430

I think one of the best things about this car is in a sense it's really a late 2000 car. So it is very very very doable that one can maintain a LOT on their own. I just flushed the brakes yesterday and it was so easy. The bleeder looked brand new, I guess because it has a rubber sleeve (I did get lazy and only 1, not all 4, I can always do the other 3 in the spring, or 4, not hard).

But I still think it's important to not overpay. Again, low miles always seems to be in the favor of the seller. For the buyer, it really doesn't make any difference up through about 80k. 60k might be a sweet spot. Anything less it's like overinsuring, you get a 2 mil. life insurance and pay for it, when you only owe 50k on your house, and then, you live to 100. To me, the objective is to reduce the amount that the house wins by. They're gonna win, but we just want to make them win as little as possible. Don't pay for something you're not going to be using, and don't overpay...

Jabberwock

Sounds like are describing a lot of wear for only 41k miles. Looked at carfax and looks like it was well maintained and will likley be mechanically sound. It will need a timing belt and water pump asap. If tires are older than 6 years they will also need to be replaced. But more than a few LS430 are mistreated when new and will show the results even with relatively low miles. I'd say the car is worth $14-15K only if TB/WP service was done.

If you want the car call the dealer, ask to speak to the used car sales manager (not a sales person), let them know you have seen the car and are an instant buyer at $15K drive out plus sales tax, tag and title fee (and not a penny more) and only if they do the TB/WP service before the sale at zero charge. Leave your number and forget about it for a while. Also let them know you are actively shopping and have other bids out but don;t discuss where, when , how much etc. He may call to close the deal you back at weekend or month end. The car should be max of $13.5 without TB/WP service.