greenskeep

Looking to spend around $10k, suggestions on what to look for? I do all my own maintenance on our vehicles. Cutoff for “too high miles” ? Thanks.

TriC

For 10 grand you should be able to find a nice 2005 or 2006 with less than 100,000 miles. As far as what to look for, there are scores of useful threads here - search is your friend.

430SLOwner

Interweb searches yield many LS 430s for sale. Many of these used LS 430s on the interweb have less than 100,000 miles. Less than 75,000 miles is common, and a few even have less than 20,000 miles.

Pros of low mile LS 430s: Less Wear and Tear

Some interweb ads advertise low mileage, even when it seems really not the case. Buy an LS 430 with very low miles, and it may still have low miles a few years down the road. So, repairs required may be less likely to happen than with a higher-mileage LS 430, even with the Lexus reputation for reliability.

Some Cons: Cars Like to Be Driven

430SLOwner

(Agree. With that budget, a clean to outstanding, less than 100,000 mile, 2005 or 2006 LS 430, nice enough to put on any show room floor, can be acquired....)

LS430FL

Main thing to look for is service history. At minimum you are buying a 14 year old vehicle. I think its great you will do your own maintenance but you will want to see the cars history. Create an account on lexus owners site and enter the vin #'s of any car you are considering to obtain the service history. I had an 01 and 06 LS430 both great cars. Make sure timing belt and water pump have been done by now if not budget for that service from asking price. Not many weak points on these cars but by now valve cover gaskets should most likely be done as they leaked on both of my LS430's, the telescopic motor on the steering wheel can go bad as well. If you look at one with the ultra luxury package, the UL air suspension can be a weak point especially at this age as well. If it goes bad many convert to traditional suspension to save the big parts cost.

Johnhav430

I think you can shoot for 80k. I was told that at 80k, absolutely, positively, no chance of causing harm by a tranny drain/fill. I would shoot for a 2006 only, and would be nice to have a Custom Luxury which can be identified by having headlamp washers, and no suspension switches for ride height (that would be an ultra luxury which I would avoid).

Also with $10k you can confidently shop cars listing for $12-$13k. These are 8 cyl cars which in this day and age are not very desirable, which you can use to your advantage. They are very reliable but at this point time is the enemy. The newest cars of this generation is 14 years old. If the car were a kid, it'd be in 9th grade--that's not young by any stretch. I would ask to test drive any potential car for a day, locally, run errands, so you can uncover any issues. Also not a bad idea to run it to a Lexus as if you own it and let them do a multipoint. When it comes back that you need this and need that, it's ammunition for the seller to drop the price. Good luck!

weldthedif

anything over 100k miles is pure junk

Thecar

Mine was practically flawless when I bought it at 130k, I just had to do the timing belt.

weldthedif

I'm just trolling. People care too much about mileage when buying a car.

greenskeep

The few I've seen so far locally have been over 130k miles and sketchy service records. Good for me I'm in no rush so I can wait for one with good records to come along.

jesseluo71

I've been browsing the market of the entire US over multiple forums, craigslist, major used car sites, FB marketplace, the works.

Personally I think you're looking at $10-$12k OTD for a single-owner, well-maintained LS430 below 100k miles. You'll dip into $9-$10k OTD for around 120k miles, 1-2 owners, well-maintained, w/ timing belt complete. The latter is probably your sweet spot given your budget, and 120k miles is just breaking in for these cars.

My advice - do your research, understand the major maintenance / repair points of the car, determine what colors are IN and OUT, and test drive a few! Also familiarize yourself with looking up service records on the Lexus drivers website.

Edit - the prices I cited above are for 04-06 and I think 01-03 are cheaper so you may want to swing for the latter.

greenskeep

found an 03 w/ 131k for $4900. Looks to NOT have navigation....so what trim level is that? Anyone have carfax available? I'll enter the vin on the lexus website also.

430SLOwner

On 10-06-19, this 43,000 mile LS 430 original owner private party in Seattle, WA was offered at $8290. It is the base premium model without navigation. Do not know if it is a color you like. Just passing it on to you....

greenskeep

wrong coast! I'm in the northeast where everything is more expensive LOL

jesseluo71

TBH you're probably going to need to fly to get a good car, or at least fly to see the car, get it inspected, and ship it back. It may be difficult to find a used LS430 if you're only willing to search your immediate area.

Also, consider that the NE is a rust belt area, and the potential benefits of purchasing a car from the NW or southern states where there should be almost no rust whatsoever.