After driving my LS430 UL for 12 years (it was a 4 year old CPO when I bought it), I finally got the itch to get something different. I had always been infatuated with high performance diesel cars. As a racing fan, Audi has many LeMans victories with diesel engines. MY wife had an A8 for ten years and then switched to a Porsche Panamera E-hybrid. When the diesel settlement was finalized, I decided to buy a diesel Csyenne. The settlement included a ten year diesel warranty that is far more inclusive than a regular powertrain warranty....so pretty much anything that causes the vehicle to move is covered. After I bought the Cayenne, In March 2018, my wife told me that I could not sell the LS until I promised her I would not express regret. I drove both for three months and then sold it. The LS was in such good shape that a local high end pre-owned place bought it. They usually will have cars up to five years old on their lot, but he told me he knew he could get sell my car.
The Cayenne is a CPO. It had 23,000 miles on it when I bought it, and now has 31,700. I like a lot of things about it....drives great, fun, good gas mileage, etc. However, the maintenance is astounding. I expected maintenance cost to be higher, but never expected it to be as high as it is. I have always had a rile of thumb....If I can't write a check for a car, I won't buy it. The Cayenne has been extremely reliable. I wrote the check for the Cayenne, but due to the maintenance cost, now I feel like I have a car payment. I picked it up after its first oil change....$440. I asked them what else did they do..."added some Ad Blue and an inspection." Even with only 31,500 on it, I had to do the 40,000 mile service, because Porsche has a "time or mileage" maintenance program. That service is $1,400. But hey....I did get new brake fluid. As much as I love it, I am seriously thinking about making a switch. Unfortunately, Lexus does not currently offer an SUV that I like.

All this to say....the LS430 I had was a dream. The car was amazing, and the only things it lacked were Blue tooth and a backup camera. The air suspension did fail on the UL, but it started to fail during the warranty period and the SA at the Lexus store kept denying that the air struts had minor leaks. They threw sensors, ecu's. etc on it, but never fixed the problem. When both of the right side shocks did finally show a failure, Lexus and the dealer refused to help me out. I pushed it as far as I could and almost got it handled, but that's a really long story. I converted to coil spring and preferred the ride any way. I did replace a radiator at 104,000 miles. That was it.

I love the new LS500, but my old Lexus tech says not to expect the same reliability as the LS430. He says the LS430 is still the most reliable Lexus he has ever works on. He is a master certified Lexus tech and works at the dealership. If I was a DIY guy, I'd definitely keep the Cayenne. The DIY guys say their oil changes are about $80.

I have no idea what I am going to buy if I do decide to sell the Cayenne. At least there is a healthy appetite for the diesels. There aren't many out there with low mileage. Two dealers have told me that they sell them as soon as they get them in. I am toying with maybe a Tesla....virtually no maintenance. I'll just rent a car if I go out of town. The LS is an amazing car. I can't tell my wife this, but there is a part of me that wishes I would have kept it.

 

Thanks for coming back and sharing your valuable experience. My car is an 2006 and I still love it but I worry about what I will buy the day I have to replace the LS.

 

When I was seriously considering a Cayman over 6 years ago I remember being warned by Porsche owners of prohibitively outrageous maintenance costs. You’ve confirmed that warning. I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll enjoy.

 

I know it is not something you mentioned but have you considered a LX570? I am looking into getting one in a bit they are remarkable vehicles much like the LS.

Also thank you for that my wife and I were considering a Porsche suv I am thoroughly deterred now haha.

 

I realize that there are a lot of people who do not mind the maintenance expense. There is a difference in what one is able to afford and what one is willing to afford. Some fellow Porsche owners think I am just being cheap. One in particular has said over the life of the car, it isn't really that much. He may be right, but if I like a car, I keep it until I get tired of it (or almost tired of it). I am sure that when it gets to a certain age or mileage, the maintenance will be even higher. If it were a high performance sports car like a 911 GT3 or GT2, I get it. But this a diesel SUV. The LX570 is just way too big for me.

 

Add a superchrager and you are good to go!

 

the trd ones bumps it up to 500 hp and 550 tq with supporting mods

 

Yup, there are also other kits/parts becoming available for the 3ur-fe that allow serious power without having to go exotic. It's very nice to finally see some options allowing good model of the range power in complete solutions that eat consistent 650ish hp for anything with those engines.

 

Curious, I owned a new Porsche but it was many moons ago and the car was under warranty. I did manage to F up a LF brake caliper and had to buy one and it listed for almost $800. Thank goodness my car didn't have the ceramic where discs are if memory serves me $6k/each lol but as mentioned there is a Porsche indie around the corner from me and his lot is packed with cars with tags from as far away as VA, so it tells me it's an expensive vehicle to service.

So if the oil change costed $440, what is the DIY, is it any different than any other car? I did it myself with mine. I think of Cayenne as a SUV, so what could be unusual about an oil change? To contrast, my buddy's wife took a NXt for its first dealer service and it was $800. That's just stupid he was so livid when he saw that bill, car had 5,000 miles. So part of it is the dealer thing.

What I'm getting it is that most here do not drive their LS430 to the dealer for service, that would be a real rip-off. So some of these high end cars we can drive because we DIY. I'm still learning, for me it seems I do not want a 6.2l x63 AMG, and I do want the 5.5 liter which is 2011+ in the S class. All the info is out there, just takes time to get through it.

There's no reason to regret moving on from a LS430 imho, it's an old car. A nice one, a reliable one, but sometimes we move on and up. That's what George and Weezy did.

 

The above is accurate, the 430 is a very nice daily but if you only have one car it's not performance oriented. Good enough to drive around as transport but not killer

 

There are a lot of DIY people on the forum, but I don't posses that talent. Their maintenance in really inexpensive. My dad didn't do any wrench turning, so I didn't grow up learning that. I used a great indy on my LS....who worked at the Lexus store, but haven't found one for the Cayenne. I know one in town for general maintenance, but I would really like to find a sophisticated former Porsche certified indy that is up to date on the diagnostics, etc.

 

That's why I have an idea it has to be super expensive, when I see the lot of a small indie garage filled to the point he can't fit cars anywhere, and some have VA and MD tags. Meaning for people to come that far they must be saving 2-5k it wouldn't be just $300 etc...

Honestly I'm not comfortable with BMW or Lexus pricing, it's a total rip-off (every job). I say to myself I have no choice but to DIY. But I can only imagine Porsche is a multiple. I know when I had mine they told me thermostat not under warranty so I said you can keep the car until it is (I was young and not joking). They called my bluff, who's gonna leave a 2 y.o. Porsche here and walk out over a couple of thousand dollars. They called me in 3 days car is ready charge is $0.

 

Might want to change your username to Captian Obvious lol.

I think the ls430 has the potential to be more "sporty" but you sacrifice other things. The ls430 engine is amazing. That enigne in a MR2 or mk3 supra or anything RWD and lighter would be amazing I think. Ive never felt an engine this super smooth at high rpm. Lexus commands a V8 to auto downshift to engine brake and have revs jump to 3k or so (Ive noticed it going down large hills)....thats just impressive. I feel like some things could be improved on my car but at 186k its still amazing.

 

Way back when people cared about driving. I get this doesn't exist anymore and it's more about how fast carplay launches, what color leds are on the dash, etc. But when I was a kid all the way to 2010, the BMW 3 series was the not really poor man's edition but the least expensive car where there was impeccable road manners. I think this lasted about 23 years in a row and once BMW fell off their horse, they never got back on. Look at the sad state of the current G series 3--it lost a shootout as a brand new model against it's competition which is old.

Anyway, I guess we're not talking about the way say a 2003 3 series stood out as being sporty, or a 2006.

I once told my cousin--why doesn't Toyota and Honda simply buy a 3 series, rip it apart, and copy it? He said ah, young foolish grasshopper, those cars are a product of experience (road races etc.). that's why newer isn't always better. Take a 2004 M5--would any Lexus ever made under say $120k be able to drive the same way? Not very likely....the focus isn't on and never will be about driving.....

 

Exactly. I do not want a car that drives "well" for daily use, I want a cloud and I selected a 430 for that reason. I have another car for fun that features the usual tight, instant feel and communication with the driver. Can't have both really, sure adjustable suspension helps but it can only hide so much of whatever side the suspension is really tuned for when you want the other mode.