been reading on 430's vs 460's vs 7 series...
(never drove the 7 series, always liked the look.)

put my '96 Fleetwood in shop (hit a dear still in mourning) so needed a 4-door reliable car, was talked into a '03 LS430 (only because the color teal green). She does not have the same smooth land yacht feel like my Fleetwood Brougham nor does she have the same muscle as the 5.7-liter V-8 that's had some touches done.

Now don’t any of you let “Phahleetsha” (what I named my Brougham) know buy I absolutely love this LS430. Had to apologize to the person (my long time mechanic) for all of the negative things I said about “Alexis“ (what I named my LS fourthirty.)

Here is my question to all of you LS owners/lovers.
Alexis has a high engine slow oil leak, cost me around 4 grand to repair and with the other things wrong at her age looking at around $6500 to repair the rest…she sits at 217k miles real clean nice car other nicks and nacks stuff is not really important to repair yet will need to be done.

Should I repair or replace?

I've be Looking at another 430 or a newer LS430 or a 460? gave myself 10 grand budget

PS…I did see a real nice 7 series in that price range that made me look at it twice..

Truth will set me free, do not hold back.

koollaid

 

7 Beam in that price range is a death sentence to your lifestyle and any savings you may have.
There is a yt chan called m539 restorations. Check it out just to know what old beamers are.

460 is a great continuation of LS line (and I've been in your shoes once). It's a proper 'newer' Lexus LS. Just better in almost all aspects than 430 (minus the body style not everyone likes compared to 430). But progress comes with price - be ready to spend 2k+ on new ABS actuator (if not covered by new CS), keep about 1-2k on the ready in case something else goes (valley plate leak, steering water damage etc). I'd be staying away from <2010.

Keep 430. Those cars are modern classics and many are being restored (and often stored/displayed). It is still a great classic solid car, but age will show. So IF I'd be keeping my old 430er - I'd be spending silly money just to keep it 'pristine'. I hate unpristine cars regardless of age and model.

Hope this imho helps.

And yes, I also name my Lexi. Current one is 'Alex Phoenix'. Previous 460 was 'Alex' but was totaled by your truly and it's corpse cannibalized to give birth to 'Alex Phoenix' (risen from ashes of Alex). ROFL

 

'pricieate you....!

kool

 

I would have a very hard time putting $6,500 into a 20 year old car with 217,000 miles...have you gotten a second opinion on the repair?

 

What is a high engine slow oil leak? Is this valve cover gaskets? Try to be more specific in what needs repair or maintenance for us to give you an opinion. If you want a 460, $10k is going to buy you more potential repairs. Raise your budget or get into an American luxury car. As you've already discovered, LS repairs are usually expensive, just like Mercedes, BMW, Audi.

 

Older cars need repairs. As you've noted these repairs are quite expensive. I'd recommend finding a nice 2011 or 2012 LS or if you can go a bit more, find a 2014.

 

If you like the Caddy and the 430, you probably won't like the 460 - it's much more "sporty" that your current two. You should be able to find a low mile mint 2006 430 that isn't going to require $6500 in repairs.

 

Having had an LS430 and 2 LS460s, I completely disagree with this.

 

Nothing quite rides like those 93-96 Caddy Fleetwoods.

I owned a 94 Fleetwood Bro for 8 years. It was my daily driver and it was one of the most reliable bulletproof cars I have ever owned besides leaking oil from time to time. That body-on-frame construction really added to the solidity and smooth vibration free ride quality of those cars.

that 5.7 LT1 corvette engine was powerful af! It got up fast for its weight which was around 4,500lbs curb weight and it felt like a tank.

But I will say my 07 LS460L with air suspension rides softer than the Fleetwood and feels more floaty, and is way faster. But the Fleetwood absorbed bumps and potholes better than the 460. Seats in the Fleetwood were more comfortable as well.

I think the older LS’s were designed and engineered to ride like the old American cars from the 1950’s-70’s. Very soft, and disconnected from the road in a way but with some sense of handling.

I honestly would just try to find a lower mileage LS430 or a 460. Putting that kind of money into your LS430 isn’t worth it.

Locally there was a 2006 LS430 with only 83,000 miles on it, it was silver with a black interior, super duper clean inside in our, and the dealer was asking $12K.

That to me seems like a reasonable price for its condition and mileage. These 430’s are getting harder to find and hardly anyone wants to sell theres. It’s always dealers that I see selling them online and I’m like “where they hell are they finding these 430’s in the first place?”

 

Not really. The LS has always had a more german ride than those old American cars, very refined and soft but not boaty. I would describe the ride as "glasslike". My oldest one was a 1998, bought new.

Something even like a Town Car from the same era rode and drove differently, those old Town Cars were throwbacks to that era more than any LS ever has been.

Issue with an LS460 at a $10K budget is its going to potentially cost half that just to get it sorted out, just not the kind of car to buy with a $10k budget.

 

I agree to some extent, especially compared to a Town Car, the LS isn’t that disconnected to the road, but compared to say a similar year German luxury ride, I think LS’s tended to ride softer, handled worse, as the focus back then was low road noise, and total comfort from what I read in old car reviews from those days.

Owning any LS is going to be expensive, especially the 460’s. The 430’s ownership however just seem it would be a bit less of a headache in the long run.

 

I mean…I had one, I don’t have to read reviews lol. If you drove an S Class from 1998, that’s what the car was designed to ride and drive like, without a doubt. The LS was much smaller though, it was like an S Class in an E Class body. It was never a wallowy, boat of a car. Actually the LS460 reminds me more of the LS400, which was a little more dynamic than the LS430.

If you want the best riding LS460 what you need is a LWB on air suspension. That’s one of the best riding cars you could buy built in the last 20 years. My two favorite LSs out of the 4 I had were the 98 LS400 and the 17 LS460L. That 17 rode as well as any LS ever made. With the S Class the main improvement Is high speed feel.

 

no second opinion yet, they have been treating me right...

looking at 06 430 or 07 460...thoughts?

 

founf a 430 75k miles...clean single owner ...

how much shoule I spend?

 

found a nice 2011 180k lcean 3 owners..
15k good deal?