My nephew is thinking of buying an LS430.

mrdoofa · June 2, 2017

Hi,

I am the very happy owner of a GS450H, however my nephew is catching the Lexus bug and is thinking of buying an LS430, he's found one for sale on car and classic, I've put the link below. It's an early 2001 model so qualifies for £245 road tax, it's had a new radiator and air con condenser fitted, 4 oxygen sensors and a sensor under the intake manifold. I've also found out that it has FSH and cambelt changed in 2011 at 120k miles.

The dealer says everything works including the air suspension and steering wheel motors!!! It has a full MOT with no advisories and is priced at £1495. The main concern is that I had a 2002 LS430 a couple of years ago and mine suffered catastrophic gearbox failure caused by coolant leaking into the gearbox oil. It has had the radiator replaced but is there any way of checking that it's going to be ok even though the rad has been done (the concern is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted!!!)

What do you think of this car? I've requested some interior pics which the dealer says he'll email to me. The car is 250 miles away so would probably mean a trip on the train to get it. Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated!!! Cheers!!!

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C839623

dendonc · June 2, 2017

2 hours ago, mrdoofa said:

The car is 250 miles away

If its that far away I can only suggest that you & dealer agree on a significant test drive aforhand, as opposed to a quick spin round the block

Malc · June 2, 2017

maybe buy an extended warranty from a reputable provider too, rather than relying upon the basic legal warranty that the Trader has to give on the car !

Malc

ambermarine · June 2, 2017

The timeline for the radiator replacement suggests a possibility there as been a leak or a very cautious owner and you are right to have concerns.

I doubt a run round the block would show any problems and I am not suggesting there are any but it would knaw away at my confidence in the car's integrity.

Personally the known issue of transmission fluid contamination and other faults with the 430 put me off buying a 430 when looking to replace my Mark 1 400 and to that end I opted for a mark 4 400.

dendonc · June 2, 2017

Its not a bad idea to check whats out there for sale generaly & check 'em out best you can, then choose which to see, can be confusing & also can mean a hell of lot of travell miles if you find 2 of significant interest 600 miles apart, anyway heres the google link to some of whats out there

https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=opera&q=for+sale+lexus+ls430&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

cruisermark · June 2, 2017

On paper it looks fine - I wonder if this is a LOC members car - who done the work on the car was it Lexus?

dendonc · June 2, 2017

I got myself interested in some advertised but this one (trader sale, below) has confused me when I checked the MOT history - it only has the 2017-18 MOT listed, 4 owners, no other MOT's listed at all, anyone any idea how this is so?

https://www.gumtree.com/p/lexus/lexus-ls430-drives-like-new/1243175012

cruisermark · June 2, 2017

Hi

Maybe its an imported vehicle - probably from southern ireland

messi · June 2, 2017

I had a 2001 ls430 some years ago, it the radiator replaced by Lexus Sheffield and cambelt etc, I did call Lexus Sheffield back then to ask why it had been replaced, the service manager Gary said it was a precaution as they are know to leak and it's best to replace the radiator at around 100000 miles

Also that particular Ls430 has been on sale since February. He's just readvertised it

GrahamG · June 2, 2017

The most common failure of the radiator is the seem between plastic and metal which appears to be a weakness on a number of radiators not just Lexus. This of course has nothing to do with the ATF cooler within the radiator.

Certainly any lumpiness of the transmission and avoid but then you would do that anyway.

What is interesting is the coincidence that the A/C condenser has also been changed. If at the same time as the radiator behind it then why.

Buying a car of this age, cost and complexity without a bundle of money to spend on it is always a gamble and for me the anxiety would spoil my enjoyment even when it is running well.

dendonc · June 2, 2017

That 100k leak potential is interesting, i note the one i linked is 110k......

mrdoofa · June 2, 2017

Thanks for your help, I received some interior pictures and it looks very grubby to say the least!!! I don't think we'll be bothering with that particular example. I'd personally have a mk4 LS400 over an LS430 because there is a lot less to go wrong, my nephew likes the more modern feel of the LS430 though and the extra gadgets!!! I just wish there was an easy way to check the tranny problem, everything else like the air suspension is quite easy to check. The search continues...

dutchie01 · June 2, 2017

Come on guys....

1495 Sterling asking price and for sale for some time. one can propably get it for 1250 without trade in.

can somebody give me one ( 1 ) decent alternative for that amount even if some precaucionary repairs will have to be done?

Toyota Starlet?

royoftherovers · June 2, 2017

1 hour ago, dutchie01 said:

Come on guys....

1495 Sterling asking price and for sale for some time. one can propably get it for 1250 without trade in.

can somebody give me one ( 1 ) decent alternative for that amount even if some precaucionary repairs will have to be done?

Toyota Starlet?

A Starlet Bernard? You certainly know your cars.Or perhaps a Corolla or Daihatsu Charade or Terios ?

Regards

John

dutchie01 · June 2, 2017

Hi John, my point was the amount of money in this case. I do know money is relative and expensive for one is cheap for another but really...... 1250 pounds for a great looking luxury barge with 8 cylinders that, even if you have to spend another 1k, can give you several years of wafty luxury motoring. For 1250 pounds..

mrdoofa · June 3, 2017

4 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

A Starlet Bernard? You certainly know your cars.Or perhaps a Corolla or Daihatsu Charade or Terios ?

Regards

John

Funny you should say that, my sister has a 2005 Daihatsu Charade!!! It's actually been a great little car lol.

I know what you are saying Bernard, you do get a lot of car for your money and the asking price isn't bad even if you do have to spend some on repairs but £1,000 doesn't go that far when it comes to gearboxes and air suspension lol!!! We don't want a never ending money pit!!! This one was actually very tempting until I saw the state of the interior, the carpets look disgusting on the photos, instead of being beige they are a very dubious looking shade of brown and yellow!!! Yuck 🤢 and the leather looks very worn and very grubby too.

The search goes on and any more advice of things to check etc would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks again everybody.

The-Acre · June 3, 2017

The transmission problems are well over exaggerated. Yes they have gone as you know, but it's the exception rather than the rule. The precaution as we know is a new radiator, not too expensive and very easy to do. The entire suspension can be replaced with coilovers for around £1200 or less if it goes kaput. So the eye watering high cost of repairs can be avoided. Remember the LS430 still basically has the same bullet proof engine as the 400. An even cheaper precaution re the transmission would be to simply disconnect the fluid unions on the radiator, clean, replace the o rings and re tighten, it's rust around the o rings that cause the problem. Although replacement gives you the added confidence of a new radiator and fresh coolant.

Malc · June 3, 2017

but when one's on a tight budget then the prospect of just another £1000 or so for a repair, once or twice or more, really throws the car out of the ball park !

I know I've always been tempted to buy a £5/6/7k 1970/80's Bentley, coz they look great and are often in fabulous condition, especially at classic car shows

BUT I do know with some certainty that even a regular brake service can run into £000's and what becomes a budget luxury car suddenly turns into another throwaway.

People with money throw these cars away rather than spend cash on them, they just go order another new one at ££££STELLAR

SO back to your dilemma, buy a great Ls430 with the problems already sorted at some other poor souls expense and then your nephew will have a great car and probably just about trouble free