Happy new LS460L Owner
11-11-17, 05:12 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Happy new LS460L Owner
Hey folks, Just saying hi - I’ve been reading a ton here about these vehicles. I just bought a 2008 LS460L with a hair over 70K on the clock. It’s gorgeous and seems to have been very well cared-for. The dealer (Lexus of Melbourne) has been absolutely amazing. I didn’t feel the need to haggle over the price or anything ($19.9K) because it looked like a great vehicle.
The dealer has it until Wednesday, as they found a couple of problems with it and (thankfully) won’t sell the vehicle until it’s ready to go. One issue is cosmetic, a small scrape on the passenger-rear quarter panel. The other one was a control arm. They’ll have to order parts so I won’t be able to bring her home until Wednesday.
Sorry for the crappy pics - I should’ve took more but I was in kind of a rush.
Anyway, I still have to decide on an extended warranty - it’s a gamble but when it pays, boy it sure pays big. I’m not the least bit mechanically included so I’m leaning in that direction.
From this forum, I’ve learned that on these models, it’s unfortunately not uncommon that I’d be having a control arm issue on this vehicle. I have a 30 day/1000 mile warranty from the dealer on the car. During that time period, what else should I be on the lookout for? i.e. are there any bugaboos on this model that seem to show up time and again that I should be especially watchful for? Anything I should have my pershonal mechanic pay special attention to?
Thanks so much in advance for the advice and knowledge.
-Tim
The dealer has it until Wednesday, as they found a couple of problems with it and (thankfully) won’t sell the vehicle until it’s ready to go. One issue is cosmetic, a small scrape on the passenger-rear quarter panel. The other one was a control arm. They’ll have to order parts so I won’t be able to bring her home until Wednesday.
Sorry for the crappy pics - I should’ve took more but I was in kind of a rush.
Anyway, I still have to decide on an extended warranty - it’s a gamble but when it pays, boy it sure pays big. I’m not the least bit mechanically included so I’m leaning in that direction.
From this forum, I’ve learned that on these models, it’s unfortunately not uncommon that I’d be having a control arm issue on this vehicle. I have a 30 day/1000 mile warranty from the dealer on the car. During that time period, what else should I be on the lookout for? i.e. are there any bugaboos on this model that seem to show up time and again that I should be especially watchful for? Anything I should have my pershonal mechanic pay special attention to?
Thanks so much in advance for the advice and knowledge.
-Tim
11-11-17, 05:57 PM
#3
Pole Position
Nice looking ride. Go ahead and take something now for the muscle cramps you will have from the big old @#$%eating grin you will have on your face after you pick it up on Wednesday. Welcome to the club
Dennis
Dennis
11-12-17, 04:51 AM
#5
Pole Position
Hi timinfla2,
Welcome to CL and congrats on your 2008 LWB car! It looks great. It's got low mileage so the air suspension may yet have some life in it. You definitely will want it checked out, perhaps by an independent mechanic. It's a fully loaded UltraLux car with power rear seats (with massage?) and rear window shades, so check out all the features for proper function before taking delivery. Best wishes for many miles and years of happy driving!
Welcome to CL and congrats on your 2008 LWB car! It looks great. It's got low mileage so the air suspension may yet have some life in it. You definitely will want it checked out, perhaps by an independent mechanic. It's a fully loaded UltraLux car with power rear seats (with massage?) and rear window shades, so check out all the features for proper function before taking delivery. Best wishes for many miles and years of happy driving!
11-12-17, 09:48 AM
#6
Congrats! Beautiful LS.
11-12-17, 10:02 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Nice. Very nicely bought.
I have silver over black, which is the same as my '95 Mercedes E320 was, but I was hoping for the colors you found. That's downright purdy!
Mine is similar, though no reclining/cooled rear seats. Bah, they're just rear seat passengers!
I don't think you have rear side window shades...could be wrong, but I thought there was a control for it in the center console near the rear window shade button.
Make certain you can feel a very significant difference when switching the suspension from 'comfort' to 'sport'. It should go from almost marshmallow-like to German sport sedan-firm immediately, going from soft to firm.
I've gotten to where I'll flick the switch over certain 'bumps' which are really large rises/drops which are gentle. I'll leave it soft on the way up or when it's smooth, then quickly flick the switch to 'sport' just before I drop into the dip. It's kinda fun, manipulating the dampers that way. Almost no impact harshness/feel, yet it doesn't crash down on the bump stops, either.
I don't know what you're coming from, vehicle-wise, but as quick and capable as I thought my 2005 Cadillac STS, the RWD V8 one, was, my LWB '08 LS positively kills it in every single metric. Comfort, MPG, quickness, quality, stereo (yay for the ML!), likely top speed (the Caddy I had to 143 before I backed out of it, and it was running out of steam), trunk volume, interior volume, and a slew of other things.
I can't wait until you find it'll likely return 19+ MPG on a combined commute. Oh, and don't be surprised to see 30 or more on the highway (trips).
I have silver over black, which is the same as my '95 Mercedes E320 was, but I was hoping for the colors you found. That's downright purdy!
Mine is similar, though no reclining/cooled rear seats. Bah, they're just rear seat passengers!
I don't think you have rear side window shades...could be wrong, but I thought there was a control for it in the center console near the rear window shade button.
Make certain you can feel a very significant difference when switching the suspension from 'comfort' to 'sport'. It should go from almost marshmallow-like to German sport sedan-firm immediately, going from soft to firm.
I've gotten to where I'll flick the switch over certain 'bumps' which are really large rises/drops which are gentle. I'll leave it soft on the way up or when it's smooth, then quickly flick the switch to 'sport' just before I drop into the dip. It's kinda fun, manipulating the dampers that way. Almost no impact harshness/feel, yet it doesn't crash down on the bump stops, either.
I don't know what you're coming from, vehicle-wise, but as quick and capable as I thought my 2005 Cadillac STS, the RWD V8 one, was, my LWB '08 LS positively kills it in every single metric. Comfort, MPG, quickness, quality, stereo (yay for the ML!), likely top speed (the Caddy I had to 143 before I backed out of it, and it was running out of steam), trunk volume, interior volume, and a slew of other things.
I can't wait until you find it'll likely return 19+ MPG on a combined commute. Oh, and don't be surprised to see 30 or more on the highway (trips).
Last edited by mckellyb; 11-22-17 at 03:55 PM.
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11-12-17, 10:17 AM
#8
Pole Position
very nice congrats; the car looks really clean!
11-12-17, 10:26 AM
#9
Pole Position
Congrats. I moved to a 460L earlier this year and couldn't be happier. Wait until you take your first multi-hour road trip...you'll be in heaven and swear you'll never buy another vehicle. Cheers,
11-12-17, 03:03 PM
#10
Congrats on a beautiful car. The extended warranty has been extensively debated on here several times. I personally extended the warranty on my 2011 LS460L and mine doesn't even have air suspension. It has already paid for itself with two issues I had. If I had an 2008 with air suspension depending on the coverage time and mileage I would probably get it. Wont take much work to the air suspension to pay for the warranty. They are reliable cars but not cheap to fix if you go to the dealer.
11-12-17, 03:26 PM
#11
Lexus Test Driver
...not cheap to fix if you go to the dealer.
And that's the problem, right there.
No ten year old car should go to a dealer for anything. You might go to the dealer to get a part which is available from only a dealer, but you'd better either learn to DIY or have an independent mechanic you know and trust.
People say old Mercedes are really expensive to own/fix. No...no they're not. Not if you do things, yourself.
To change the timing chain, tensioner, and guides on my '89 S-class cost about $350, maybe. Took two hours to do. Meh.
That's a $1,500 job, at least, through a dealer, and they're going to put the same crap guides back in, which is what caused the problem in the first place.
My air ride was stuck in full-firm damping when I bought the car. Fixed it for exactly $0.00. A connector under the rear deck/behind the rear seat had come disconnected. Had I taken it to a dealer, add one damper actuator, maybe the entire strut, plus the cost of removing the rear seat completely.
I learned a bunch, and it cost me about six hours in the garage, figuring it all out. Maybe longer, because I was headed down the wrong path before I remembered the Fakestream I have. If I'd thought about it more, I'd have had it done in about half the time.
Though, I've been helping to wrench on cars since I was about six years old...I'm pretty comfy with everything but automatic transmissions.
And that's the problem, right there.
No ten year old car should go to a dealer for anything. You might go to the dealer to get a part which is available from only a dealer, but you'd better either learn to DIY or have an independent mechanic you know and trust.
People say old Mercedes are really expensive to own/fix. No...no they're not. Not if you do things, yourself.
To change the timing chain, tensioner, and guides on my '89 S-class cost about $350, maybe. Took two hours to do. Meh.
That's a $1,500 job, at least, through a dealer, and they're going to put the same crap guides back in, which is what caused the problem in the first place.
My air ride was stuck in full-firm damping when I bought the car. Fixed it for exactly $0.00. A connector under the rear deck/behind the rear seat had come disconnected. Had I taken it to a dealer, add one damper actuator, maybe the entire strut, plus the cost of removing the rear seat completely.
I learned a bunch, and it cost me about six hours in the garage, figuring it all out. Maybe longer, because I was headed down the wrong path before I remembered the Fakestream I have. If I'd thought about it more, I'd have had it done in about half the time.
Though, I've been helping to wrench on cars since I was about six years old...I'm pretty comfy with everything but automatic transmissions.
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steedls400 (11-17-17)
11-12-17, 04:57 PM
#12
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Well Shucks, I guess I can't post what I want to yet because I'm too new but I'm having concerns and I linked to some stuff for y'all to see. I emailed my sales guy - I'm sure he and I will touch base tomorrow, he's a great guy. My email to him is pasted below. Can y'all tell me if you think I'm being off base here? I know that NO used car is perfect, but I want to make sure I'm not jumping into a viper pit either, haha. If y'all wanna check it out on the Lexus Owners Site and see where I'm getting some of my concerns, the VIN is JTHGL46F
485022492.
I'd link to the Carfax but I guess I'm prohibited from posting links because I'm too much of an FNG? :-)
Hi Bob,
I’ve got some major concerns after exploring the service history of the vehicle. Take a look at the attached PDF. My biggest concern is electrical - it seems this vehicle has all sorts of gremlins in the electrical system. It looks like they went through several batteries, and to be honest I’m concerned.
But then you have (it seems) chronic suspension issues with tires going bad, and it seems like it was getting alignments done FAR more frequently than I’ve ever seen necessary to have done in a car. Perhaps I’m reading this wrong, but It almost makes it seem suicidal to buy this car without an extended warranty which now jacks up the price even higher. I was budgeting for sub $20K, after the fees/taxes, we’re talking around $23K and now this brings it north of $25K. That’s just too much for a ten year old car with 70K on it even though it’s an awesome car. I love the car but honestly my gut is telling me to back away at this point, and I hate to tell you that after you worked so hard. Let’s get together on Monday and figure this out please.
Thank you,
Tim
485022492.
I'd link to the Carfax but I guess I'm prohibited from posting links because I'm too much of an FNG? :-)
Hi Bob,
I’ve got some major concerns after exploring the service history of the vehicle. Take a look at the attached PDF. My biggest concern is electrical - it seems this vehicle has all sorts of gremlins in the electrical system. It looks like they went through several batteries, and to be honest I’m concerned.
But then you have (it seems) chronic suspension issues with tires going bad, and it seems like it was getting alignments done FAR more frequently than I’ve ever seen necessary to have done in a car. Perhaps I’m reading this wrong, but It almost makes it seem suicidal to buy this car without an extended warranty which now jacks up the price even higher. I was budgeting for sub $20K, after the fees/taxes, we’re talking around $23K and now this brings it north of $25K. That’s just too much for a ten year old car with 70K on it even though it’s an awesome car. I love the car but honestly my gut is telling me to back away at this point, and I hate to tell you that after you worked so hard. Let’s get together on Monday and figure this out please.
Thank you,
Tim
11-12-17, 05:32 PM
#13
Lexus Test Driver
I hope you don't mind, Tim, but I went and pulled the official service history to see if anything jumps out for anyone.
FWIW, I think much of this car's "problems" are from lack of use. I'd put money on that being the regular replacement of batteries.
Alignments? Well, all you have to do is hit a curb or two...or a couple of deep holes the wrong way.
IOW, I chalk both up to driver error by the previous owner.
Finally, the air suspension on this car worries me none whatsoever, after having Magneride on my STS fail (rear struts, only). $1,200 for two new struts, drop-shipped from AC/Delco in Michigan (I had a contact).
Air suspension has been in use on OTR trucks for years and is on our now 18 year old diesel motorcoach, OEM. Still as solid as day one. Also, there are alternatives to OEM for strut replacement, should you need to go that route at some point. Arnott, I think.... I just DO NOT want to lose my variable damping and ability to raise the car a bit to get in/out. I'm physically a little broken.
The really fun hobbies are the ones which have the potential to kill you, if you get something wrong.
FWIW, I think much of this car's "problems" are from lack of use. I'd put money on that being the regular replacement of batteries.
Alignments? Well, all you have to do is hit a curb or two...or a couple of deep holes the wrong way.
IOW, I chalk both up to driver error by the previous owner.
Finally, the air suspension on this car worries me none whatsoever, after having Magneride on my STS fail (rear struts, only). $1,200 for two new struts, drop-shipped from AC/Delco in Michigan (I had a contact).
Air suspension has been in use on OTR trucks for years and is on our now 18 year old diesel motorcoach, OEM. Still as solid as day one. Also, there are alternatives to OEM for strut replacement, should you need to go that route at some point. Arnott, I think.... I just DO NOT want to lose my variable damping and ability to raise the car a bit to get in/out. I'm physically a little broken.
The really fun hobbies are the ones which have the potential to kill you, if you get something wrong.
Last edited by mckellyb; 11-12-17 at 05:41 PM.
11-12-17, 05:38 PM
#14
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Please take a look and let me know what y'all think. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, and if so, I'll be very happy. But just looking for an ounce of prevention Vs seeking a pound a cure down the line.
Thank you!
11-12-17, 05:42 PM
#15
Lexus Test Driver
Hey, anything to negotiate.
I guarantee they didn't give more than $15K for that car...if that.
Oh, and noobs are restricted EVERYWHERE, because if they weren't, idiots would randomly post large attachments and fill up servers.
I know I lock people down one the sites I oversee, at least for a little while.
I guarantee they didn't give more than $15K for that car...if that.
Oh, and noobs are restricted EVERYWHERE, because if they weren't, idiots would randomly post large attachments and fill up servers.
I know I lock people down one the sites I oversee, at least for a little while.
Last edited by mckellyb; 11-12-17 at 05:45 PM.
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timinfla2 (11-12-17)