New User, Prospective Owner
07-07-21, 09:42 AM
#16
Hi all, wanted to introduce myself. Looking at my first Lexus and I'm seeking advice from the best possible place, other owners. Car in question is a 2006 LS430 Ultra Luxury at a local used car lot where I've purchased a vehicle in the past and have no complaints.
About me, I commute a relatively long distance, about 50 miles each way, 5 days a week most weeks, plus weekends with my son and regular driving, a normal week for me averages out to between 600-700 miles and about 12 hours in the driver's seat. So I'm looking for a comfy car to spend a significant portion of my waking hours in and I need a car that will stand up to that kind of use (not abuse)...hence, Lexus.
I took the LS430 out for a test drive the other day and it just wasn't what I expected at all, but there are some obvious condition issues that I told the dealer about that they'd need to correct first. 2006 LS430 UL, silver exterior over black interior, 141,000 miles, timing belt done at 137k (sticker on the engine cover). Asking price is $9888. All the panel gaps looked correct to me, so I don't think there have been any impacts in its past. Comes with a 1 year, 14,500 mile aftermarket warranty...so for me that would be up in about 3-4 months.
- I took it down the street and immediately noticed the thing wouldn't go straight, I had to hold the wheel a bit to the right to go straight, if I released the wheel it would center and drift left, lots of road noise...like what you get in a normal car...it is on a set of half worn snow tires, so while it may just be tires, I still have a hard time buying that there isn't something else at work there..
- Air suspension was not sagging, but nor would it raise or lower from the console button...I'm not sure if it was at normal height and soft ride, or high ride height and sport ride, or any combination. Sport/normal button didn't seem to make any difference either. I checked for coil springs and found none, air shocks at all 4 corners.
- Headlamps don't seem to pivot left/right with steering input, hard to tell during the day and in a parking lot and I'm not 100% sure if they pivot in the 3rd gen or just adjust for vertical, so this may be a non issue.
- Rear seat audio seemed to work properly, but there is no readout for HVAC on the rear seat display...I tried adjusting temp and the rear air does work in that I get AC from the rear package shelf area, but I don't see a temp readout on the console...not a thing I'd be needing so much as I'm not sure if it should and if it should but does not, does that indicate a problem that might affect something that IS important to me?
- All 4 door closers operated properly, all the power adjustments seem to work ok, trans shifting is a bit lazy when driven hard or shifted manually but I don't know if that's because its a luxury car or if it needs a fluid change or a new valve body or something else. Does the suspension sport/normal mode also affect shift mapping and firmness or is it strictly a suspension setting?
- ML sound system seemed to work fine. I fiddled with it a bit and found myself unimpressed with the sound quality, which I wasn't expecting. It sounds fine, but it didn't wow me if that makes any sense. I've owned other cars with the premium sound systems from the manufacturer as well as replaced vehicle sound systems with new components (speakers, amp, sub, headunit...not super high end, just nice stuff) and I found this ML system on par with good systems, but not amazing which isn't its reputation. Could be because the speakers are 16 years old, the sound was clear and distortion free, just didn't have a really high end sound quality to it.
Dealer said the car has not been through the repair bay yet and it probably wouldn't until someone puts a down payment on it, then they would address the issues. I have the option to put down a refundable down payment and see if I still want it after the repairs are done...thoughts on if there any serious red flags here that say run away or is this a car that's maybe worth making a deposit on and letting them repair it and see where we're at? I'm not 100% sold on an LS430 as the best choice for me, but I think it ticks an awful lot of the boxes I've got...looking for quiet, comfy, reliable, relatively low TCO, decent highway fuel economy with a long per tank range, sporty-ish and a roomy interior.
Thoughts? Thanks in advance.
About me, I commute a relatively long distance, about 50 miles each way, 5 days a week most weeks, plus weekends with my son and regular driving, a normal week for me averages out to between 600-700 miles and about 12 hours in the driver's seat. So I'm looking for a comfy car to spend a significant portion of my waking hours in and I need a car that will stand up to that kind of use (not abuse)...hence, Lexus.
I took the LS430 out for a test drive the other day and it just wasn't what I expected at all, but there are some obvious condition issues that I told the dealer about that they'd need to correct first. 2006 LS430 UL, silver exterior over black interior, 141,000 miles, timing belt done at 137k (sticker on the engine cover). Asking price is $9888. All the panel gaps looked correct to me, so I don't think there have been any impacts in its past. Comes with a 1 year, 14,500 mile aftermarket warranty...so for me that would be up in about 3-4 months.
- I took it down the street and immediately noticed the thing wouldn't go straight, I had to hold the wheel a bit to the right to go straight, if I released the wheel it would center and drift left, lots of road noise...like what you get in a normal car...it is on a set of half worn snow tires, so while it may just be tires, I still have a hard time buying that there isn't something else at work there..
- Air suspension was not sagging, but nor would it raise or lower from the console button...I'm not sure if it was at normal height and soft ride, or high ride height and sport ride, or any combination. Sport/normal button didn't seem to make any difference either. I checked for coil springs and found none, air shocks at all 4 corners.
- Headlamps don't seem to pivot left/right with steering input, hard to tell during the day and in a parking lot and I'm not 100% sure if they pivot in the 3rd gen or just adjust for vertical, so this may be a non issue.
- Rear seat audio seemed to work properly, but there is no readout for HVAC on the rear seat display...I tried adjusting temp and the rear air does work in that I get AC from the rear package shelf area, but I don't see a temp readout on the console...not a thing I'd be needing so much as I'm not sure if it should and if it should but does not, does that indicate a problem that might affect something that IS important to me?
- All 4 door closers operated properly, all the power adjustments seem to work ok, trans shifting is a bit lazy when driven hard or shifted manually but I don't know if that's because its a luxury car or if it needs a fluid change or a new valve body or something else. Does the suspension sport/normal mode also affect shift mapping and firmness or is it strictly a suspension setting?
- ML sound system seemed to work fine. I fiddled with it a bit and found myself unimpressed with the sound quality, which I wasn't expecting. It sounds fine, but it didn't wow me if that makes any sense. I've owned other cars with the premium sound systems from the manufacturer as well as replaced vehicle sound systems with new components (speakers, amp, sub, headunit...not super high end, just nice stuff) and I found this ML system on par with good systems, but not amazing which isn't its reputation. Could be because the speakers are 16 years old, the sound was clear and distortion free, just didn't have a really high end sound quality to it.
Dealer said the car has not been through the repair bay yet and it probably wouldn't until someone puts a down payment on it, then they would address the issues. I have the option to put down a refundable down payment and see if I still want it after the repairs are done...thoughts on if there any serious red flags here that say run away or is this a car that's maybe worth making a deposit on and letting them repair it and see where we're at? I'm not 100% sold on an LS430 as the best choice for me, but I think it ticks an awful lot of the boxes I've got...looking for quiet, comfy, reliable, relatively low TCO, decent highway fuel economy with a long per tank range, sporty-ish and a roomy interior.
Thoughts? Thanks in advance.
While it's definitely got some quirks, it doesn't sound like a terrible deal either, especially given the timing belt was just recently taken care of.
Getting some all seasons and an alignment should really fix up the road noise and wandering, though I'd be sure to check out the lower ball joints up front, as well as the lower control arm bushings.
The air suspension is weird, it will go up eventually. It's just incredibly slow. I recently replaced mine with kyb struts and rsr lowering springs to close the wheel gap. It still rides super smooth, arguably better in some cases, definitely maintains that classic Lexus glide, I but you do feel more of the road. Personally that gives me more road confidence, but that may not be for you.
The headlights won't turn unless you're going over a certain speed. I only ever noticed it going on very windy back roads at around 40mph, but I wouldn't really worry about it if they didn't turn. I lost that ability in the suspension swap and I havent missed it.
The shifting is going to be kind of slow, but if your concerned a trans flush (drain and fill) should help a little bit. But this is a luxury car so it's never going to be truly "sporty"
The ML system is not impressive and I don't recommend paying anything to maintain it. Just use it until it does and consider going the amp bypass route. It's a bit of work but ultimately worth it. I managed to keep the ML door speakers and wiring as well. Just a new amp, sub (because mine deteriorated), single din head unit (put in place of the cd changer) and the necessary wiring.
For this car I still think it's worth buying, but maybe closer to $9000, given that some of the electronics like the rear controls not showing properly. Those smaller bits are harder and more expensive to replace since these don't really break down often. You'll mostly be sourcing parts from wrecked 430s, which also isn't incredibly common.
At the end of the day, this car is incredibly dependable and could very well support your driving style. It's comfy for long trips, gets surprisingly good mpg on the highway. There's not much out there other than an SUV or GS in that general price range that I could think to recommend that's this nice to drive and still be relatively affordable to own and maintain. If the down payment is actually refundable I say it's worth it to see it after the repairs, but only if you actually like the car and it's potential. It's a great car either way but if you don't really like it don't go for it.
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nvwls (07-07-21)
07-12-21, 05:03 AM
#17
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Well doesn't that prove the old adage, he who hesitates is lost? Was driving down to the dealer Saturday to make a deposit because I felt very good about the car's service history and wanted to see what they were going to do to tidy up the issues I found and son of a gun...it has a sold sign in the windshield.
Lesson for me here.
Thanks guys! I can still apply what I've learned here to other cars, so we'll see if any others pop up on my radar.
Lesson for me here.
Thanks guys! I can still apply what I've learned here to other cars, so we'll see if any others pop up on my radar.
07-12-21, 09:19 AM
#18
Well doesn't that prove the old adage, he who hesitates is lost? Was driving down to the dealer Saturday to make a deposit because I felt very good about the car's service history and wanted to see what they were going to do to tidy up the issues I found and son of a gun...it has a sold sign in the windshield.
Lesson for me here.
Thanks guys! I can still apply what I've learned here to other cars, so we'll see if any others pop up on my radar.
Lesson for me here.
Thanks guys! I can still apply what I've learned here to other cars, so we'll see if any others pop up on my radar.
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