Kicking tires on 2005 Lexus LS430

[HawkeyeScott]

A guy in my town has listed a 2005 Lexus LS430 with 185K. I'm considering it as a commuter car to keep miles off my aging but mostly still fine Suburban. I'm aware of these cars' reputations as well-built tanks. I haven't looked yet but it appears to have been well taken care of. I will likely do a Carfax before I get too serious. Might even pay a shop $100 to go through it.

It's listed at about $8600, which appears to be a bit high.

Anything I'm missing? Any blind spots I should consider?

Thanks a lot.

 

[JRay’07]

 

[HawkeyeScott]

Watched that last night! Did I hear him say his has 631k? If so, that’s incredible.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

Really curious to hear what people think on the price. I’m not seeing a lot of pricing information out there. The little I have seen suggests the price may be in the high side.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

As far as the price goes, drive it and negotiate then

 

[burbguy82]

nice car

 

[We're Metals]

Really curious to hear what people think on the price. I’m not seeing a lot of pricing information out there. The little I have seen suggests the price may be in the high side.

Entirely dependent on the vehicles overall condition which you have not mentioned anything about.

I will likely do a Carfax before I get too serious. Might even pay a shop $100 to go through it.

You have homework to do.

 

[emmett442]

Is spending $8600 and the expense of plating, insuring, and maintaining another car worth it to "save" another?

You could replace the entire driveline multiple times on that Suburban before it costs you that much.

 

[We're Metals]

Is spending $8600 and the expense of plating, insuring, and maintaining another car worth it to "save" another?

You could replace the entire driveline multiple times on that Suburban before it costs you that much.

Buying a luxury car to keep miles off the beater, classic BITOG

 

[meep]

Price seems high to me, but the owner may not think so. Here’s why- it hasn’t given them any trouble. I suspect, however, that it’s on the cusp. These start needing electronic wear items like coils and sensors soon. Now if he came down 2k, it’d be in the bag, so he’s probably right to ask high. For 7 it starts looking reasonable.

 

[GMBoy]

Those cars are incredible. I service 2 of them and they are quality in/out. I think the one has 180k and the other 220k and the leather is still looking good and they run good. Not a lot of issues at all with these cars - it is a solid buy if you get the price down a little.

 

[JRay’07]

Are these cars fun to drive?

 

[DV0993]

Are these cars fun to drive?

No - But they are a pleasure to drive

 

[DV0993]

A guy in my town has listed a 2005 Lexus LS430 with 185K. I'm considering it as a commuter car to keep miles off my aging but mostly still fine Suburban. I'm aware of these cars' reputations as well-built tanks. I haven't looked yet but it appears to have been well taken care of. I will likely do a Carfax before I get too serious. Might even pay a shop $100 to go through it.

It's listed at about $8600, which appears to be a bit high.

Anything I'm missing? Any blind spots I should consider?

Thanks a lot.

I own a 2000 model. When I purchased, things were starting to "break" (e.g knock sensors, radiator).

Performed a heap of "while im there" maintenance which included starter motor, all gaskets, coilpacks, all hoses and others - All oem parts. Not cheap, but you know she will go another 20 plus years on those parts.

 

[nickaluch]

My dad had a first year of the fullsize Lexus best reliable car he ever owned and a head turner the first couple of years they were scarce being a new luxury brand. He had Buicks, Cadillacs and Lincoln's before and never went back.

 

[paulo57509]

I don't know if I would trade the Suburban if I didn't have to. A 2005 Lexus is still a 19 year old car.

I would check Carfax for pricing in your area to get an idea of mileage v. price. FWIW, the asking price for my recently aquired 2002 was $18,999; but it only has 24.4k miles. A lot has to do with overall appearance and condition.

Definitely check the side of the trunk under the floor panels for water ingress. Service records? Ask about timing belt replacements. The 3UZ is an interference engine.

These cars can come with cool but crazy (IMO) options. Personally, I would avoid the upper trim levels because a lot of those options are crazy expensive to repair. Replacement parts are expensive and getting scarce to NLA. I would consider air suspension a hard pass.

Also, check the FAQ sticky here (some links may be 404):

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-3rd-gen-2001-2006-158/

 

[RAVL]

Have the car checked by a Toyota shop. Will be the cheapest $100 to $200 you ever spend. Lexus is an excellent car but it is still 19 years old with the better part of 200k miles. Toyota has excellent reliability but things still wear out and or break. On a car of that age, anything can break at any time and so you want to go in with eyes open. There may be a reason the owner is selling it now.

As far as price that will depend on condition, not just mechanical but also paint and body work - how it looks and how original it is - and how much you want it. There are very few 19 year old cars changing hands, relatively speaking, so the market will be varied.

And why would you try to keep miles off an old SUV? And if you are doing that, why would you not get something a little more efficient? At least this way you will pick up some fuel savings. But buying one old car to preserve another old car? Doesn’t sound like a great strategy to me.

 

[Marcozi]

If you are serious about the car take it to an independent shop that specializes in Toyotas/Lexus. Have the shop do a pre-purchase inspection including scanning all the modules for codes. Have them check the modules to se if they have the latest applicable firmware updates.

 

[HawkeyeScott]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

 

[nuub]

I'm tossed on this one, I understand not wanting to part w/a decent older Suburban that you know the history of as to replacement costs. I had an 85 suburban and purchased a few beaters here and there to extend it's life for when we needed it. Kept it til 2002 and finally drew the line in the sand when we didn't need a 3/4 ton SUV anymore.
I'd check the car out completely w/a mechanic I trust and try to get the seller down a little bit. I had a propensity to buy GM's with the 3800 motors for beaters, they were cheap and took a beating. Sadly the days of a decent used car for a reasonable price are over.