2 more potential LS430’s

[mrdoofa]

Hi,

On my ongoing search for a good LS430, 2 more potential candidates have shown up, 1 is a prefacelift and the other is a facelift one. Have a look and see what you think!!! I’ve sent messages to both asking the usual stuff about these cars and am just awaiting responses, the prefacelift states that the steering tilt adjust is a bit hit and miss but in and out is fine, am I right in thinking this is quite an easy repair on the LS430?

Here are links to both:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS-430-Full-Lexus-Service-History-2-private-owners/272971375720?hash=item3f8e5ca468:g:MF0AAOSw3fZaKAM2

https://www.centralmotorco.co.uk/used-cars/lexus-ls-430-4-3-4dr-bradford-201710070066430

Thanks everybody for your continued help and advice!!!

[The-Acre]

Sadly it's not that easy, certainly no easier than a 400 and will need a new motor.  A bargaining point though?  Facelift will have 6 speed.  I was under mine yesterday having a good look as I replaced the rear pads (easiest job ever) and it looks so good for its age.  I think good history is more important than mileage and year.  Mine came with full Lexus history which gave me more confidence. Both look nice.

[dendonc]

Based on what the sellers say & if I were on the lookout for one I would go look at either of these 2, cant 'see' anything against either seller, which, when/if I am on 'the buy' is an asesment judgment I always make prior to going to look. Both cars appear to be well worth looking at but I do not like it when a reg number is blacked because I cannot check the MOT history.

[ambermarine]

Martin

As both of these candidates are dealer sales I would ask them if they would mind if you could take them to a Lexus dealer for a pre -purchase check.

If they have nothing to hide they may agree after all they would agree to a AA or Rac pre -check.

Although Lexus will bring up every conceivable fault to protect thier reputation and exploit service income you are only looking for serious faults that are not known to the dealer .

If Lexus find consumables  may need replacing soon (brake pads etc). you will have to agree with the seller these are not included in the pre-purchase inspection results.

It is only serious onerous faults of the like one of our members as just experienced on a recent purchase of  a 430.

When I bought my Mark 1 way back in the 90s the car went straight into Lexus where the front brake calipers turned out needing replacement the car carried a 12 month warranty so that was taken care of as were a couple of other things later on but that car was 5 years old and a warranty was available ,on these two candidates it is unlikely.

[mrdoofa]

The guy selling the pre facelift one says he’s taken a deposit for the car and is expecting the buyer to collect on Thursday, he said if it falls through he’ll let me know.

I’m hoping to view the facelift one in the next few days.

[dendonc]

55 minutes ago, mrdoofa said:

The guy selling the pre facelift one

That seller is in Bolton, there were some comments on here about 2 or 3 months ago about a commercial seller from the Bolton area (it was not Baz guys) about an add that displayed an immaculate 'looking', (said from memory) car, maybe a user here remembers it & any comments from that post.

The car from a Bolton seller I mentioned above is at the Past below, the bolton seller is 'Moses Gate' carsales, ere is their link below, is your facelift from them?

http://www.mosesgatecarsales.co.uk/used-cars?make=LEXUS&model=LS+430&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=

 

Old Post

 

[mrdoofa]

Yet another LS430 has shown up, this time a prefacelift model, expensive at £4.5k but only done 51k miles, thoughts?? I’ve messaged the dealer to ask about the usual LS430 foibles like steering column adjust motors, air suspension issues, blown speakers etc, also asked how many services and if cambelt has been changed at all, awaiting response.

http://www.davidgraves.co.uk/cars/lexus/ls/430/164101/0

[cruisermark]

Looks a nie car - it does look to sitting a little high all around  maybe it was set to high suspension when the took the pictures.

[dendonc]

Seller says:          Only 51000 miles and 1 previous owner from new UK car with full service history Both retired owners, 1st owner Francis kept it until 2011, it was then sold to his friend Colin              

The seller is a professional, he/she make their living from selling cars, I would not expect such basic mistakes as saying its a one owner car and in the next breath talking about 2 owners.

That said, car looks OK if thats anything to go by but almost no detail from seller, therefor, if I were on 'the buy' (which I am not) thats not one I would bother looking at unless it were within 10 miles of my base. 

Also, that car has to low mileage for me, 51k & seemingly kept in quite a damp winter climate as is Ilkley moors for 16 years........ney baaa tat, not for me.

[The-Acre]

Way overpriced, by 2k I would say.

[messi]

Agree way over priced and if your gonna spend that much on an ls430, I would get the facelift model instead, but be very aware that you will get the same issues as you would with the earlier models

[dendonc]

36 minutes ago, messi said:

you will get the same issues as you would with the earlier models

I only know about the suspension probs, but not how widespread that issue was. So, as far as that prob goes, someone on here within this past 10 days or said they were quoted 700 quid per wheel, if an LS430 were bought at a reasonable price I don't think a spend of 1400 quid is too much, are there any more 'common' probs with them other than that?

 

[royoftherovers]

7 hours ago, dendonc said:

Seller says:          Only 51000 miles and 1 previous owner from new UK car with full service history Both retired owners, 1st owner Francis kept it until 2011, it was then sold to his friend Colin              

The seller is a professional, he/she make their living from selling cars, I would not expect such basic mistakes as saying its a one owner car and in the next breath talking about 2 owners.

That said, car looks OK if thats anything to go by but almost no detail from seller, therefor, if I were on 'the buy' (which I am not) thats not one I would bother looking at unless it were within 10 miles of my base. 

Also, that car has to low mileage for me, 51k & seemingly kept in quite a damp winter climate as is Ilkley moors for 16 years........ney baaa tat, not for me.

Den,

The advert seems sensible to me. One previous owner (Francis) means one owner prior to the person currently registered (Colin) and the current seller has not registered the vehicle.

[dendonc]

OK got that thanks, the problem with buying any  used car is that the car might well be 100% hunky dory, you drive off with it, get round  the next corner & something major goes wrong, or you go 300k in it and nothing goes wrong, thats the real way of it with any used car regardless of age, mileage or make. 

[royoftherovers]

Is Den replying to Post No 13 or which one ?

[dendonc]

The first 4 words were in reply to post 13, the rest were general comments I made. 

[The-Acre]

10 hours ago, dendonc said:

I only know about the suspension probs, but not how widespread that issue was. So, as far as that prob goes, someone on here within this past 10 days or said they were quoted 700 quid per wheel, if an LS430 were bought at a reasonable price I don't think a spend of 1400 quid is too much, are there any more 'common' probs with them other than that?

 

The suspension is the main thing that would break the bank, although it may not happen.  Replacement of parts is fairly straightforward, just eye poppingly expensive. The cheapest option is to replace the whole setup with coilovers.  A set can be bought for around £800 plus an hours labour on each corner.  I've had two LS400's and two 430's and I can't tell the difference between springs and air.  They both glide beautifully!  If you replace all air struts and sensors you'd be looking at just under 5k for parts alone.  I don't really think there are any other "common" problems as such, just wear and tear as with any ageing car.

[dendonc]

1 hour ago, The-Acre said:

I can't tell the difference between springs and air.  They both glide beautifully!

I remember hearing more or less that long ago, I am unable to find any fault with the LS400 comfort, most comfortable car I've ever had, it just does not have the bells & whistles the later cars in question have, so I guess I''ll just have to carry on missing a few episodes of Coronation St & try & learn cope with that along with not having my back scratched or vibrated or whatever it is, life is tough sometimes

[The-Acre]

4 hours ago, dendonc said:

I remember hearing more or less that long ago, I am unable to find any fault with the LS400 comfort, most comfortable car I've ever had, it just does not have the bells & whistles the later cars in question have, so I guess I''ll just have to carry on missing a few episodes of Coronation St & try & learn cope with that along with not having my back scratched or vibrated or whatever it is, life is tough sometimes

The toys/gadgets that the LS430 has are mostly for the benefit of rear seat passengers anyway, which I've never got to enjoy.  I did recently drive back from Yorkshire with a friend in the back who said it was great and promptly fell asleep.  I once drove down to Somerset in my LS400 with my dog in the passenger front footwell and had to wake him up when I arrived!  It would be hard to find such quiet and comfort in any car made even in 2017.

[messi]

Me personally would have the ls400. I've had many Lexus ls430's, Gs300, Gs430 and now sc430, but the ls400 mk4 is best of the lot for reliability and comfort, infact I didn't notice any difference between air suspension and the ls400 suspension 

[dendonc]

Old Baz has been under discussion here a couple of months ago  because some people were 'implying' he was often selling 'duff' cars as well as implying he was running a full time business.

On that same post at least 2 & maybe 3 people came in on the post and said they had bought from him and that he was a straight forwards who sold the odd car. I researched him a bit & found he goes back to the days of the late Teddy boy era (late 50's early 60's) with 'flash' cars (photos) along with teddy boy outfits etc. My opinion (for what thats worth) was & still is that high level cars has been his lifetime interest, hobby & passion & he buys & sells a very small number of cars as & when or if he gets one he feels fits that bill, he is not a commercial seller other than that, >there are reasons I can think of why his mechanic did not give him a receipt.

If I were in for an LS 430, and taking into account the LS430 you've linked so far the car above is one I would be getting up dressed (no wash) & go & see, personally I think (opinion) he is a very honest guy & if you ask the right questions he will give a truthful answer in as far as he knows the answer. Also, I did spend a good couple of hours trying to research him & found not one single >established< thing against him, there are some photos of him on some site way back in the early 60's in his teddy boy gear of that period with big flash cars, hope that helps, but, as I said, if I wanted an LS430 I would be up there pretty quick, just check out MOT history on the DVLA site, good luck

[mikeyv]

I agree with the above post, transmission failure would probably write the car off, for me.

Suspension would make my eyes water a bit, but I'd bite the bullet and replace the lot with conventional struts, which should be a one off solution.

Fixing one corner wouldn't work for me, I'd just be waiting for the next one to go pop.

I'd also replace the radiator immediately after buying a 430, again, for peace of mind.

 

[dendonc]

20 minutes ago, mikeyv said:

Suspension would make my eyes water a bit, but I'd bite the bullet and replace the lot with conventional struts, which should be a one off solution.

Fixing one corner wouldn't work for me, I'd just be waiting for the next one to go pop.

I'd also replace the radiator immediately after buying a 430, again, for peace of mind.

 

I think thats a good idea & reasonable thing to do if its within the means of any buyer and the buyer 'expects' they will keep or want to keep the/a top end luxury  car for 5 years or more.

I think 'cause buyers look a them as an old, out of date cars they should last another 10 years with nothing spent on them 'cept oil changes and the get scrap value to go towards an LS 600, lets face it......once a top end luxury always a top end luxury car

[dendonc]

On 12/13/2017 at 12:20 PM, The-Acre said:

Way overpriced, by 2k I would say.

I think your out of date on contemporary prices, heres todays ebay list, almost non below 4k and most are above that, maybe you mean more than you think they are worth, is that correct? Used 430's for sale will probably be fewer now than a few years ago, that makes them more expensive because someone looking for one is going to find them harder to find, as I've mentioned before

Thinking on that factor my own '95 400 would almost certainly bring more now than I paid for it, after all, where else are they going to get such a rare car for sale from?

Todays eBay list of LS430's

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=&_osacat=9800&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR10.TRC2.A0.H0.Xlexus+ls430.TRS0&_nkw=lexus+ls430&_sacat=9800

[The-Acre]

13 minutes ago, dendonc said:

I think your out of date on contemporary prices, heres todays ebay list, almost non below 4k and most are above that, maybe you mean more than you think they are worth, is that correct? Used 430's for sale will probably be fewer now than a few years ago, that makes them more expensive because someone looking for one is going to find them harder to find, as I've mentioned before

Thinking on that factor my own '95 400 would almost certainly bring more now than I paid for it, after all, where else are they going to get such a rare car for sale from?

Todays ebay list of LS430's

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=&_osacat=9800&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR10.TRC2.A0.H0.Xlexus+ls430.TRS0&_nkw=lexus+ls430&_sacat=9800

A pre facelift LS430 can never be worth more than 2.5k regardless of what eBay prices are.  Mine is superb with main dealer history but I'd be doing well if I sold it for over that.   The LS400 will always demand a higher price because in all honesty it's a better car.