Buying advice - Reliability on high mileage LS460
06-19-16, 06:52 PM
#16
Pole Position
This is really interesting im looking to buy a 2008 LS 460 L with the Executive Seating Package (the rear seats recline & more) it has 208,000 miles,ive been getting all positive feedback from this forum to buy this particular vehicle,its just that GREAT of a vehicle,this particular dealership will even let me take the car to my mechanic,that right there speaks volumes about this car..
06-19-16, 08:26 PM
#17
Lexus Test Driver
I wouldn't buy a car THAT loaded up (Exec pkg) with that high a mileage and in particular with no warranty. No way no how. Too much to go wrong and way too expensive to fix when (not if) it breaks.
Air suspension was enough of a gamble for me.
Air suspension was enough of a gamble for me.
06-28-16, 08:50 AM
#18
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Service History
Perhaps you can tell us what's been done? I imagine if its been dealer maintained, it's been pretty well taken care of. Then again I never take my car to the dealer and it's been maintained meticulously.
It all depends on the price, like anything else, that is high mileage. And I guess it depends on what you plan on using the car for. Do you plan on driving it 30,000 miles a year? If so you may be on borrowed time and you had better put some money aside for repairs...after 225,000 miles all bets are off.
I think there's been one other member on here with 275,000 miles of his...the thing was used as a limo...he said it runs good and the only repairs were the control arms and valve cover gaskets.
It all depends on the price, like anything else, that is high mileage. And I guess it depends on what you plan on using the car for. Do you plan on driving it 30,000 miles a year? If so you may be on borrowed time and you had better put some money aside for repairs...after 225,000 miles all bets are off.
I think there's been one other member on here with 275,000 miles of his...the thing was used as a limo...he said it runs good and the only repairs were the control arms and valve cover gaskets.
I'm getting mixed messages from Lexus Dealerships. The local service manager told me to avoid the 2007 & 2008 model years because of problems that came up with the engine in the redesign. I called another Lexus dealership and the service manager told me that I shouldn't worry because anything that was an issue would have been taken care of via recall. He said that the LS is the flagship and that any issues would have been taken care of to maintain the outstanding reliability the the LS line is known for. I think that the biggest concern would be the suspension and I was told that if a shock goes out, most people replace the air suspension with a standard one. They can put a standard suspension on the car for about the same price as replacing an air shock.
06-28-16, 08:54 AM
#19
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It looks like it has been well maintained. I'm attaching the service history. The most recent big ticket item is described as "REPLACE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT THERMOSTAT ORI - REPLACE WATER PUMP W/COOLANT DUE TO WEAR AND LEAK - 854 REPLACE WATER - PUMP" and that was at 215k miles.
I'm getting mixed messages from Lexus Dealerships. The local service manager told me to avoid the 2007 & 2008 model years because of problems that came up with the engine in the redesign. I called another Lexus dealership and the service manager told me that I shouldn't worry because anything that was an issue would have been taken care of via recall. He said that the LS is the flagship and that any issues would have been taken care of to maintain the outstanding reliability the the LS line is known for. I think that the biggest concern would be the suspension and I was told that if a shock goes out, most people replace the air suspension with a standard one. They can put a standard suspension on the car for about the same price as replacing an air shock.
The price that they are asking for the car is way over market value, but if I can get them to come to a reasonable price, it might be an ok buy even if I have to eventually replace the suspension. The mixed messages from the 2 different service managers is what perplexes me the most.
I'm getting mixed messages from Lexus Dealerships. The local service manager told me to avoid the 2007 & 2008 model years because of problems that came up with the engine in the redesign. I called another Lexus dealership and the service manager told me that I shouldn't worry because anything that was an issue would have been taken care of via recall. He said that the LS is the flagship and that any issues would have been taken care of to maintain the outstanding reliability the the LS line is known for. I think that the biggest concern would be the suspension and I was told that if a shock goes out, most people replace the air suspension with a standard one. They can put a standard suspension on the car for about the same price as replacing an air shock.
The price that they are asking for the car is way over market value, but if I can get them to come to a reasonable price, it might be an ok buy even if I have to eventually replace the suspension. The mixed messages from the 2 different service managers is what perplexes me the most.
06-28-16, 09:05 AM
#20
Pole Position
It looks like it has been well maintained. I'm attaching the service history. The most recent big ticket item is described as "REPLACE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT THERMOSTAT ORI - REPLACE WATER PUMP W/COOLANT DUE TO WEAR AND LEAK - 854 REPLACE WATER - PUMP" and that was at 215k miles.
The price that they are asking for the car is way over market value, but if I can get them to come to a reasonable price, it might be an ok buy even if I have to eventually replace the suspension. The mixed messages from the 2 different service managers is what perplexes me the most.
The price that they are asking for the car is way over market value, but if I can get them to come to a reasonable price, it might be an ok buy even if I have to eventually replace the suspension. The mixed messages from the 2 different service managers is what perplexes me the most.
I am sure the conflicting messages you are getting from the service managers will rival the conflicting messages you will get here. It's a question of how much risk can you tolerate with this investment. It is not worth it for me.
06-28-16, 10:00 AM
#21
Pole Position
Hey it could be that "DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH" only one way to find out,mileage can exceed 300,000 on those cars pretty easily,i.would definitely see if i can take it to an outside mechanic,check the suspension,braking system,particular the brake actuator and the control arms and bushings,Good luck.man...
06-28-16, 10:58 AM
#22
Lexus Fanatic
Hey it could be that "DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH" only one way to find out,mileage can exceed 300,000 on those cars pretty easily,i.would definitely see if i can take it to an outside mechanic,check the suspension,braking system,particular the brake actuator and the control arms and bushings,Good luck.man...
As for this statement::
REPLACE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT THERMOSTAT ORI - REPLACE WATER PUMP W/COOLANT DUE TO WEAR AND LEAK - 854 REPLACE WATER - PUMP"
06-28-16, 12:42 PM
#23
Lexus Test Driver
I agree 100%. Asking price would be the deciding factor for me, not mileage.
As for this statement::
There is no timing belt. There is obviously, a SERPENTINE belt. Our cars have timing chains, which need no servicing. Water pumps and CA's are the weak points in these cars, so if they've been addressed, I would be a confident buyer (again, at the right price).
As for this statement::
There is no timing belt. There is obviously, a SERPENTINE belt. Our cars have timing chains, which need no servicing. Water pumps and CA's are the weak points in these cars, so if they've been addressed, I would be a confident buyer (again, at the right price).
06-28-16, 01:01 PM
#24
If the price was right, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the car. I saw the idler pulley and fuel rail recalls were done, but I didn't see the valve recall. It still may be eligible to be done, but even if not, if it hasn't been a problem by now, it probably never will be.
06-28-16, 01:18 PM
#26
Pole Position
It looks like it has been well maintained. I'm attaching the service history. The most recent big ticket item is described as "REPLACE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT THERMOSTAT ORI - REPLACE WATER PUMP W/COOLANT DUE TO WEAR AND LEAK - 854 REPLACE WATER - PUMP" and that was at 215k miles.
I'm getting mixed messages from Lexus Dealerships. The local service manager told me to avoid the 2007 & 2008 model years because of problems that came up with the engine in the redesign. I called another Lexus dealership and the service manager told me that I shouldn't worry because anything that was an issue would have been taken care of via recall. He said that the LS is the flagship and that any issues would have been taken care of to maintain the outstanding reliability the the LS line is known for. I think that the biggest concern would be the suspension and I was told that if a shock goes out, most people replace the air suspension with a standard one. They can put a standard suspension on the car for about the same price as replacing an air shock.
The price that they are asking for the car is way over market value, but if I can get them to come to a reasonable price, it might be an ok buy even if I have to eventually replace the suspension. The mixed messages from the 2 different service managers is what perplexes me the most.
I'm getting mixed messages from Lexus Dealerships. The local service manager told me to avoid the 2007 & 2008 model years because of problems that came up with the engine in the redesign. I called another Lexus dealership and the service manager told me that I shouldn't worry because anything that was an issue would have been taken care of via recall. He said that the LS is the flagship and that any issues would have been taken care of to maintain the outstanding reliability the the LS line is known for. I think that the biggest concern would be the suspension and I was told that if a shock goes out, most people replace the air suspension with a standard one. They can put a standard suspension on the car for about the same price as replacing an air shock.
The price that they are asking for the car is way over market value, but if I can get them to come to a reasonable price, it might be an ok buy even if I have to eventually replace the suspension. The mixed messages from the 2 different service managers is what perplexes me the most.
They obviously screwed up when writing that the timing belt has been replaced with the water pump (twice). I'm assuming it's the serpentine belt.
One thing I would worry about that did creep up is the customer complaining the low oil light came on...and I believe it was during a 5,500 oil change interval. They were supposed to check for an oil leak, but it doesn't look like they found anything. That would worry me - for the low oil light o turn on would mean the car was maybe two quarts under filled. That means the car burnt some substantial oil in 5,500 miles. Now maybe it was a one time thing or a fluke (like it wasn't filled all the way from the beginning), but I doubt it...especially at that high mileage. That could mean trouble. You could be looking at a worn out engine...or it could mean nothing. I don't know.
Personally I wouldn't buy it...not unless it was for cheap money...I'm talking $5,000-$6,000. Because what if the engine is worn and burning oil? What are you going to do then? And it doesn't appear as of the transmission has ever been serviced, what happens if that thing craps out on you? Those are major components with 235,000 miles on them. So I'd want to pay $5,000 and hope I could drive it a few years without dumping money into it (a major gamble with any car over 200,000 miles). But it does look like it's been pretty trouble free it's entire life.
It's pretty impressive though that this car went 235,000 miles with minimal problems...I mean wow...there aren't many cars that can go that far and only have a couple water pumps, shocks and an amp fail. That's insane for a high end luxury car. Crazy. And who knows? Maybe it keeps going. And 235,000 miles and never a check engine light or engine performance concern?? Insane. I love high mileage stories.
Last edited by Doublebase; 06-28-16 at 07:16 PM.
07-07-16, 09:59 PM
#27
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I mean, mileage is kind of up there but its a Lexus 4.6 v8. Practically bulletproof. Doesn't seem like it had the heat/reclining rear seats so that takes care of few electrical problems you may face down the road. I do not think the 07' had the air sus? Mainly you'd be expecting to shed money for any of the electrical issues down the road which there typically arent many of. unless this thing is dirt cheap id say less than 10g, I'd be more comfortable paying around 7 for it. But why not due some searching and get a nicer one for possibly less than 20gs. That way you can rack 200k on the car yourself.
