cgawelko

Alright so I have a LS400 now, and yes we do have issues with the car. thats not a surprise, but its one of two things with the 1989-1994. ECU capacitors (<$50 fix) or cluster capacitors (~$200). The air suspension issue as well, but its OEM bags 20+ years old.. The more I read about these newer ones, the more I want to look elsewhere for a new car. I love my LS. But all I see on this side is valve spring this, interior falling apart here, seats worn down to the metal that, air bags blowing out, wind noise, ECM updates, oil consuption, differential problems, etc. What happened?

I want a new LS460L, I really do, or even just a 460, but I am terrified to buy one and then have a stack of problems. I dont want crazy air suspension problems, the air struts for the LS400 are $1600 as it is from the dealer, cant imagine for the 460. Then you dont have an aftermarket strut/spring replacement either which ultra-sucks. My main concerns are driveline needs to be ****, top notch, you know? And then if I go for NAV, which why wouldnt I if im spending that kind of cash, do i really HAVE to have the XM to keep it up to date??

As far as ownership costs, it seems like its more fixing things that are factory messed up than it is actually things that went wrong from wear and tear. That is concerning as well.

My LS400 has 175k on it, but its tight. 140 is not a problem for her, and my interior is impeccable, and everything works perfectly, granted my cluster and ECU were redone by the dealer and the same guy owned it from day 1 up until 2012, and I bought it from the second owner shortly after he got it. Now, if I buy the LS460, how much time will I actually get to drive it? I like to drive spiritedly... pretty much 24/7. I drive at least 50 miles a day.

Is the LS460 going to hold up the test of time like Big Bertha out front will, or is it just a novelty I wont have longer than the actual finance term?????


((excuse the novel. It took me an hour and a half to write all this crap))

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

If you get a 460, look for a 09 and up cpo and get a platinum warranty. They are great cars but the cost of parts is very expensive and makes the warranty a good choice. Reliability is not bad but not as good as the 400 and 430 in their prime.

A well taken care of 430 is the pinnacle of Lexus reliability but they are also older cars. They have been out of production almost 8 years now and obviously will cost you less to own a 430 out of warranty vs a 460 under.

My Lexus service advisor recommends 09 and up is a better choice as 07 and 08 had some issues that Lexus worked through. Either way, get a warranty with the 460 if you go that route.

PHOUND5

I sold my LS 430 this summer 160,000 KM to our auditor's wife and bought a 2011 LS 460. MY LS 430 was a very nice car but had been in two accidents (deer and a grand am came through stopped traffic.)

I needed Nav and Blue tooth for work. I looked for quite a while to find the car that had the limited list of options that I wanted and avoided the ones I had deemed longer term mechanical liabilities. I outlined this in another post and many list users would have done things differently in their search.

Please understand I look at my car as a tool for work, I will keep it stock and sell it in 8-10 years and buy another low milage 2-3 year old used Lexus or equivalent then.

I didn't want to buy a car prior to the 2010 model upgrade and I wanted a car that was as simple as possible i.e. no AWD, no air suspension, no ML Audio, not a LWB because I use my car for work and am in and out of office building parking lots regularly and the regular wheelbase is big enough to park.

I just wanted a basic LS 460 with Nav and a GPS. .Incidently, I drive in the winter in the Rockies with 4 snow tires and the car will be fine. I carry tire chains if there is a real snow issue I can get home ( turn of Traction control in this situation). It is just better not to drive in that situation or if I really have to get somewhere (I can't imagine that situation) I would just rent a real 4 x 4 which a far better solution than my wife's RX 350

The Lexus GPS is just OK but one has to remember that the design of the GPS is set long before the car is built and is a very basic unit at best. I used to do competitive Motorcycle rallying and the FAA quality GPS's on my Rally motorcycles are far more advanced than any car GPS, but the car unit is built in and is reasonable and updatable.I will update it this fall.

I listen to the XM because I often travel where the radio is not to my liking, but it doesn't need to be active.

My 460 has the diesel like sound of the injector at idle in stop and go traffic and I solved that problem by turning on the radio.

I know my LS is safer than my old car, gets better fuel economy and is nicer on the highway. I had air suspension on a Mercedes S Class and understand the coast of a air suspension problem,. My 430 never needed new shocks non air suspension and it it did I would have just bought new OEM's.

I got a car with warranty and bought the platinum warranty for another 4 years.

I realize I am not the atypical Lexus 460 driver on this site, I am likely older than average and while I fit the profile of the target buyer of a new LS 460 I do not lease new and turn my cars every 3 years. I drive a LS because for luxury car they are lower cost to operate than the alternative , reliable, not ostentatious and at 6'4" they are reasonably comfortable for me.

I didn't buy a LS 600 because the math doesn't work,

My old LS 430 was fine and i didn't need a newer car but bluetooth and Nav have made my job esier and I prefer no have them built in.

cgawelko

Its good to hear from people who have owned the different models! I guess the extended warranty will help a lot. I did not know they have a 4WD version (I live in AZ currently, not many people have that around here). It would make sense for me to get 4wd. but then again, im not all there lol my current LS400 gets doses of race fuel and is a kick in the pants. Whatever I get to sit along side it, must also be perfromance upgradable, not too frail for a little extra horse and 100 octane fuel.

As far as the GPS is concerned, Ive seen people replace these with GSM tablets (mostly overseas, im also a mod on an Opel webpage) how hard would that be in the LS460?

I wouldnt mind a long wheel base version, because occasionally I get REALLY drunk and have my wife drive me home (at which point she is Jeeves.) and I like to have the space. Its not needed, by any means. I mean, the other car is a 2013 Kia Rio..,.. but thats because it gets 49.3 mpg when the wife drives it. 32.5 when I do. I really want to avoid air suspension if I can. I need less things that can break, but without sacrifice. You know? My LS400 may not have nav, it may not be really plush anymore (DF210s on it) but damnit I love it. Its fast. It gets me to work. Its loud as hell. And I just enjoy it. I like to go get in my car, and drive and just get a kick out of it. If I cant get that in a newer Lexus, then I will be disappointed.

Should I try to test drive any of these?? Keep in mind, I am 22. Dealerships look at me A LOT different than older people. They assume I cant afford it off the bat so they tend to be a little abrasive toward me.

What are the MUST haves and things that arent worth having with the 430 and the 460?

I did find a perfect 2005 LS430 for 22k with 40,000 miles, but I just cant get past how much the taillights look like a benz...... And then a 2012 LS460L with 27,000mi for 52k but its not CPO for some reason....

cgawelko

as the day goes on, I am slowly narrowing my search. I am between a 430UL and the 460L now. I cant find any 4WD ones for sale... but with the 430UL I will need to do something with those tail lights...

Doublebase

I've got to say all these "07 Lexus Ls 460", are troublesome cars threads are starting to scare the crap out of me. Yesterday I read a thread about a coolant leak that will cost me somewhere around 2k to fix - not that I have it - but is this what I'm in for? I haven't had any problems. Today I jacked the thing up and it still looks like the thing just rolled out of the factory underneath...no leaks...no rust...nothing. I'll trade the thing in if I'm going to have to worry about this thing breaking down every other month, although I've had it for a year and it never has given me a single problem.

I have priced some stuff out...alternator $600...e brake system 2-3k...rear trunk motor 2k. Now these were prices including labor, but really? And the alternator didn't include labor. I'll do most of the stuff myself (because I can), but I'm not looking forward to it.

dlbuckls10

Your best choice is to purchase a new LS 460 L with the options you want plus you get the new car factory warranty. You want have to deal with used LS issues and problems. But if you decide to purchase a used one, find one serviced by Lexus and purchased the extended warranty. Ultimately you will decide. It's don't get any better than Lexus reliability and dependability. Lexus the pursuit of perfection.

Devh

Here is my advice.
Test drive a BMW, Mercedes or whatever that is in your price range. Get a warranty and enjoy it.
There is no point in buying a used LS460 if you feel like it's going to break down like the other makes.
The world is your with your warranty papers in hand.

SW17LS

The bottom line is these are expensive cars....$70-95K new. Things seldom go wrong, but when they do go wrong...they're not cheap to fix. Thats true of the 460, the 430, the 400...whatever. When I bought my first Lexus that was my own (the 03ES) I chose a new ES vs a 3 year old LS even though I was really familiar with that car since my Dad had a 98 because at that stage in my life the ES was cheaper to own, cheaper to maintain, and cheaper to repair since I was going to be driving the car a while. My ES was 7 years old and had 170k miles when I got to where I could replace it, and that 00 LS I almost got with 35k miles would have been 10 and had 205k on the clock. I made the right choice.

When they are used and down in the price range of a mainstream car its easy to say "Why would I buy that Camry when I can have this 5 year old Lexus LS for the same money?" well...there are LOTS of reasons to buy that Camry instead. If you aren't comfortable with the fact that it may cost you some bucks to repair it over the years...you shouldn't buy one.

Given your description about why you love your 400 (its loud and fun and etc) I don't know why you're looking for an LS anyways...totally the wrong car for you. Get a Mustang or a Hemi Challenger or something.

cgawelko

I was looking at the Hellcats, but its so typical, but the 800+ hp would be AMAZING. My LS is putting down enough to eat up Infinitys and mustangs, even a modded F350 (video is on facebook). I could probably give a LS600 a run for its money with her. ((just dont ask about the R35 GT-R from 60-140 )) I probably wont mod the newer car as much because the LS400 is going turbo and all that junk.

Im definitely going to buy used because the depreciation of vehicles works well in my favor. I may pick up a private party used and have the dealer buy it and CPO it or warranty it through that whole process. That radar cruise thing sounds great, and I would like that. But im going to be buying when I go back home to Oregon, so I would like to find a 4WD L if possible. The LS400 is too slammed to drive in the snow...

Im kinda building my option list in my mind. I just really dont want high *** maintenance. If I wanted unreliability and little faults and hang ups, I would go buy the X5 35D I was looking at. I want the radar/laser cruise, DEFINITELY the little cool box thing, and rear controls. So I think im stuck with the L or does the UL have those options as well?

Soldier76

I agree the laser cruise, icebox, 4 zone climate control, rear controls, 19 speaker mark levinson system, etc, etc, are things I definitely didn't need, but day after day I'm realizing how cool these features are and what they do...and must say are pretty useful and can't imagine how it would be without them. The overall car is still awesome with or without all the toys btw, its just personally for me it makes the car more pleasantly entertaining.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Lexus LS400s have a loyal following because they were built when Lexus was trying to establish itself against the luxury European brands (BMW, Mercedes). Their customer service was also exceptional in those days, so if there was ever any question about looking after a customer, in or out of warranty, it always was in the best interests of the customer. Now that Lexus has established itself, it doesn't need to go the extra mile (and my experience has been that they don't). I think this is why you're hearing all the gripes about the LS460. Expectations are that the car will be bulletproof and, if it isn't, Lexus will take care of it. Well, the reality is different.

Call your local Lexus dealership finance manager and ask how much a Lexus Platinum warranty on a private party purchase will cost you (I'm guessing around $2500-$2800 for a 3 year/36000 mile warranty). Add that to the cost of the car and enjoy it.

roadfrog

????? From where? I can get a new alternator for less than 200 with free delivery/shipping. Coolant leak for 2k dollars?? Please give me more info. I just replaced my rad, water pump and hoses for less than 150 bucks all in.

Try and get any of those kind of prices for MB or BMW parts.

At the end of the day, most of the LS' parts are interchangeable with Toyota trucks and the like. Nothing EXOTIC about them......unlike MB, Audi or BMW.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Those are dealership prices. Sure you can get them cheaper and install them yourself but many people don't have that option. A Toyota dealership is usually about 20%-25% cheaper (don't know why) and independents are all over the place. Bottom line is, these cars are great if you're a do-it-yourselfer but if not, you gotta pay to play.

roadfrog

My point was, the quoted prices are high and anyone who pays dealership prices are fools, or have the money to pay and not complain about it. If you don't want to do the work yourself, take the part (in this case, 1/3 the price) and take it to a an independent shop/mechanic, for another 1/2 off the price over dealer for the labour.

Which applies to EVERY car out there....less so with the LS. This from someone who's previous whip was a 7 series and current owner of an X5 E53, Mustang Cobra, etc etc. The F350 Super Duty was also a biotch. In comparison to just about anything else out there at the same level of luxury (or even less so)...our cars are a wet dream.