New Member------ Moonlight White Pearl
08-01-17, 07:10 PM
#1
Driver
Thread Starter
New Member------ Moonlight White Pearl
Hey guys new member here. My name is Rod. I just picked up a 05 Moonlight White Pearl/Saddle LS 430 this past weekend. I always wanted an LS but was not really in any rush to get one. I worked on a buddy of mine and had it for a couple days and caught the bug again. I started looking online just to see what the prices are for them. I did see a lot of minty fresh ones in Florida, but I wasn't ready to go down there for one. My buddy offered to help me look for one and sent me links to about 7 or 8 of them. Then he sent me a link to the one I just picked up. When I saw it I had to have it. I had never seen that color combo before and after seeing it I searched for it online and saw that it came in black as well.
Anyway, I drove 3 hours to the Mercedes Dealer to look at it after the salesman called me and told me that the person that was supposed to go see it never showed up. After test driving it and looking it over I decided I wanted it and negotiated a price. I ended up getting a great deal on it. This is my first LS and I love it. Car drives like I'm on a cloud. It was a one owner vehicle with all services done at the local Lexus dealer. I got it with 76k on the ODO. I scoured this forum while I was searching and try to find any issues to look for when inspecting the car. Everything checked out good but I overlook two which was the tilt feature and volume buttons on the steering wheel not working. I called the dealer and they told me to bring it back and they will take care of it. So I am taking it back next week to be checked out.
The only issue I have is the navigation needs to be upgraded and I cannot input directions with the car in motion. Coming from a 06 TL I got spoiled by that navigation which is very user-friendly, but I can get used to this one. I did, however, do the nav override and don't want to cut and splice any wires so I will just have to do that before I start driving. I set my key fob to the number 1 seat position and made it so the physique headrest compensation feature is disabled in that position. Other than that I love everything about the car. Can't wait to get more acquainted with it and personalize it. I only took one picture of it before leaving the dealer. I will see if I can upload it as I am not sure of the rules of posting pics with a low post count.
Anyway, I drove 3 hours to the Mercedes Dealer to look at it after the salesman called me and told me that the person that was supposed to go see it never showed up. After test driving it and looking it over I decided I wanted it and negotiated a price. I ended up getting a great deal on it. This is my first LS and I love it. Car drives like I'm on a cloud. It was a one owner vehicle with all services done at the local Lexus dealer. I got it with 76k on the ODO. I scoured this forum while I was searching and try to find any issues to look for when inspecting the car. Everything checked out good but I overlook two which was the tilt feature and volume buttons on the steering wheel not working. I called the dealer and they told me to bring it back and they will take care of it. So I am taking it back next week to be checked out.
The only issue I have is the navigation needs to be upgraded and I cannot input directions with the car in motion. Coming from a 06 TL I got spoiled by that navigation which is very user-friendly, but I can get used to this one. I did, however, do the nav override and don't want to cut and splice any wires so I will just have to do that before I start driving. I set my key fob to the number 1 seat position and made it so the physique headrest compensation feature is disabled in that position. Other than that I love everything about the car. Can't wait to get more acquainted with it and personalize it. I only took one picture of it before leaving the dealer. I will see if I can upload it as I am not sure of the rules of posting pics with a low post count.
08-01-17, 08:48 PM
#2
Driver School Candidate
Welcome! You're going to love it. I just went back to an '06 430 this spring. There's a wealth of good information here that will come handy. Mine's Moonlight Pearl too by the way.. Enjoy!
08-01-17, 09:05 PM
#3
Driver
Thread Starter
Thank you, I see. I have been glued to the forum the past few days soaking up a lot of info. Seems like a lot of good people in here. Looking forward to making some acquaintances. I took one picture before leaving the dealer. lol How are you enjoying your LS so far? Have you done any mods to it as yet?
08-02-17, 06:30 AM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thank you, I see. I have been glued to the forum the past few days soaking up a lot of info. Seems like a lot of good people in here. Looking forward to making some acquaintances. I took one picture before leaving the dealer. lol How are you enjoying your LS so far? Have you done any mods to it as yet?
Last edited by Tharper1; 08-02-17 at 06:34 AM. Reason: spelling
08-02-17, 07:08 AM
#6
Instructor
Beauty! That interior is awesome. Need more pics of it if you can. That interior is hard to come by.
As for the Nav, I just use Waze on my phone. I don't even bother with the factory Nav, however, I did upgrade my Nav DVD to the latest version which is supposed to be the last updated one (2015). You can pick it up for about $10 on eBay. I figured for one less drink when I go out to eat one day that I should go ahead and update it.
BTW, you don't have to tell your actual price but out of curiosity can you tell us about how much you had to pay. I'm guessing for a clean car, that year, low mileage, and color combo you were in the $14k - $16k range which is on the higher end but you got a great color combo with low miles which is worth the extra $$ to me.
As for the Nav, I just use Waze on my phone. I don't even bother with the factory Nav, however, I did upgrade my Nav DVD to the latest version which is supposed to be the last updated one (2015). You can pick it up for about $10 on eBay. I figured for one less drink when I go out to eat one day that I should go ahead and update it.
BTW, you don't have to tell your actual price but out of curiosity can you tell us about how much you had to pay. I'm guessing for a clean car, that year, low mileage, and color combo you were in the $14k - $16k range which is on the higher end but you got a great color combo with low miles which is worth the extra $$ to me.
08-02-17, 07:09 AM
#7
Instructor
Nice interior color! You don't see that combination much. I'm gonna keep mine stock I think, but I won't rule out a wheel upgrade and maybe a Bluetooth for the phone. I really enjoy the LS. Its an amazing car. I work part time for a local dealer doing dealer trades so I get to drive a LOT of new cars. It's neat how great an 11 yr old car is compared to the new ones. I'm going to drive it till the wheels fall off!
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08-02-17, 07:21 AM
#8
Driver School Candidate
Its a Non Nav car so no Bluetooth. I don't use my phone much in the car so it's not really a big deal. But I'd like to stream music from time to time.
08-02-17, 10:13 AM
#9
Instructor
I installed a GROM unit to play Pandora/Spotify through my phone. It's better than nothing but I'm not 100% thrilled with it.
08-02-17, 11:53 AM
#10
Driver
Thread Starter
08-02-17, 12:09 PM
#11
Driver
Thread Starter
Beauty! That interior is awesome. Need more pics of it if you can. That interior is hard to come by.
As for the Nav, I just use Waze on my phone. I don't even bother with the factory Nav, however, I did upgrade my Nav DVD to the latest version which is supposed to be the last updated one (2015). You can pick it up for about $10 on eBay. I figured for one less drink when I go out to eat one day that I should go ahead and update it.
BTW, you don't have to tell your actual price but out of curiosity can you tell us about how much you had to pay. I'm guessing for a clean car, that year, low mileage, and color combo you were in the $14k - $16k range which is on the higher end but you got a great color combo with low miles which is worth the extra $$ to me.
As for the Nav, I just use Waze on my phone. I don't even bother with the factory Nav, however, I did upgrade my Nav DVD to the latest version which is supposed to be the last updated one (2015). You can pick it up for about $10 on eBay. I figured for one less drink when I go out to eat one day that I should go ahead and update it.
BTW, you don't have to tell your actual price but out of curiosity can you tell us about how much you had to pay. I'm guessing for a clean car, that year, low mileage, and color combo you were in the $14k - $16k range which is on the higher end but you got a great color combo with low miles which is worth the extra $$ to me.
08-02-17, 01:39 PM
#12
Instructor
@ caverman--This is true, I personally have never seen this color combo. And have been thanking my buddy everyday since I bought it for finding it for me. He has an 06 Flint Mica. Not until I saw it, I then saw an Onyx black/saddle for sale as well but with much higher mileage and frame damage, so this was a no-brainer. I have read on this forum that the ebay updated disk has caused damage to one person's drive. I don't want to take that chance, but thanks for the info. It was advertised for $16k but I was able to get it considerably under $14k after hours of negotiating. And yes, I would have paid as much as $15.5 for it due to its rarity and mileage.
08-02-17, 02:21 PM
#13
Moderator
That's the best possible color combo for an LS430 as far as I'm concerned - great find!.
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PearlUni05 (09-17-17)
08-02-17, 06:36 PM
#15
Driver
Thread Starter