Advice required.. Is this worth it?

[Abid221]

Hi everbody

I'm thinking of purchasing a 2003 pre-face lift LS430 but I would like some advice on whether or not it is worth it.

As mentioned it's 2003 and it's been well looked after ie external gearbox cooler installed, Cambelt done, serviced, gearbox oil done, etc etc.. Its black with black interior.

Its got 177k miles on it. Also this one does NOT have air suspension and no rear audio and seat buttons on the arm rest. Nor does it have keyless entry. But it does sat nav.

A few things don't work like the cd player and there's a bit of clouding on the drivers window.

Long MOT with no advisories

alloys been refurbished. The guy wants £2500 for it..

To buy or not to buy...? Please advise

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

 

[Cotswold Pete]

Delaminating windows is the cloudy issue.

New glass (from previous posts) is the answer.  Find out how much that costs to sort if it is just one window.  I assume over time other glass may start doing the same.

If it were me I would be looking at Mk4 LS400, but I know those who own 430 love them, and they are more luxury like in the interior, and having been in one, would vouch for it being a nice car, but not one I would personally hanker after.

 

[RgrWynne]

Just contact Paul Frost for a second hand one, not that expensive, plus he will fit while you wait 

[nickd]

I love my 430 face lift.  I wouldn't miss the buttons in the back, my kids just asre about with them turning music up and down, stations changed.  Used my fridge twice, once when it was freezing outside and I wanted to have cold beer when I arrived home.

I've not as yet had an issue with my air suspension but i'd like to know how a 430 rides with standard suspension.

Yes Paul Frost for bits, very helpful chap. 

I keep on top of mine so if the cd player failed I would replace.  What other things dont work?  Perhaps 2.5 a little on the high side.  In Sheffield I keep seeing a very nice 400 with Lex as the reg.  I didn't always appreciate how nice the 400 was, cleaner lines.  Looking almost classic and modern at the same time, so as Pete says also look at the 400.  However as already said I love my 430, a great car and I try to think that for its age and what it cost, would be as comfortable, fast and reliable as my LS?

[Abid221]

Thanks nickd
 

I've looked at the LS400. I love the design but there something about the 430 that has that extra luxourious touch to it.

 

[Malc]

34 minutes ago, Abid221 said:

that extra luxourious touch to it.

extra dosh to cover repairs no doubt 

Malc

[nickd]

I hope not Malc!!!!!!

[RgrWynne]

38 minutes ago, Malc said:

extra dosh to cover repairs no doubt 

Malc

Not necessarily and Paul Frost has plenty of reasonable parts 😇

[Abid221]

Hopefully the one I'm eyeing is fine with plenty of work done on it.

 

But still not sure if I should take the plunge or go for a face-lift model..

 

[messi]

Go for the facelift, it's got 6 speed gearbox. I mean you'll still get all the issues with it for example air suspension problems, gearbox issue, air con problems, rust on both front doors, subwoofer blowing, CD player not working, vsv sensor fault, that's £58 for the sensor but it's £600 job as it takes 4 hrs to get to the part itself but apart from that they are nice cars. Personally I would have a mk4 ls400

[mrdoofa]

I wouldn’t miss the extra toys in the back of the car and also there isn’t any air suspension worries on that particular car, £2,500 is probably a bit steep, perhaps £2,000 is a bit more reasonable?

The facelift gives you 6 speeds, revised styling, rear camera, radar cruise control on some models and a few other minor modifications, if I was given the choice between an excellent pre facelift example and an ok facelift example I’d take the pre facelift.

As nice as the LS400 is they are now starting to feel and look quite dated to me, the LS430 isn’t any less well made or engineered but it is certainly a more complex car but they feel more modern and are much roomier than the LS400 and also feels more prestigious to me at least.

 

[nickd]

I agree with Messi, if you can find a good one as I think I did then get a 430 facelift.  I have the radar cruise which works well, but again wouldnt miss it.  I do prefer the tweaked styling and I reckon the build quality is superb.  Interestingly a friend of mine has a MK1 LS430 and a 02 Mercedes 500S Class as his Sunday car (nice).  He tells me the S Class is very quick and a great drive, but says the build quality and materials used are superior in the LS.

[Malc]

7 hours ago, mrdoofa said:

and also there isn’t any air suspension worries on that particular car,

quite frankly this issue alone would persuade me to buy the car on offer as opposed to any other, pre face lift or not.

NON air suspension must be such a rarity to find

Malc

[Abid221]

Indeed Malc, non air suspension is very rare.
Amd that's one of the reasons I'm more inclined to buy it. However it can be hit and miss with the air suspension because I have seen Y reg LS430s on 250k mileage still going strong. But perhaps they've had work done on the suspension during their life.

 

How common is the air suspension failures and if they do go then how much is it to repair I wonder?

 

[messi]

It's £700 a side. It's usually both rears that go first and yes it's very common issue. 

[Abid221]

18 minutes ago, messi said:

It's £700 a side. It's usually both rears that go first and yes it's very common issue. 

Wow £700 a side... That's made my eyes water.

Well the guy who I'm intending to buy the pre face-lift 2003 ls430 from has now got down to £2000 from his listed price of £3000. But it'll take me £300 to get it home because of the distance.

 

So £2300 for a 2003 pre face-lift 180k mileage non air suspension LS430 with Cambelt and water pump done a few thousand miles ago, external gearbox cooler installed, serviced BUT some clouding on drivers window and cd player not working and a few front and rear parking sensors not working. alloys just been refurbished.

£2300 🤔

 

[Malc]

3 minutes ago, Abid221 said:

Wow £700 a side

that's actually each corner i understand !

so at £2000 + £300 fare seems a lot better than before methinks 

Malc

[The-Acre]

I would take issue with any of the aforementioned problems being "common" We've said this many times, you usually only get to hear about the problems so it makes us think they will all suffer from them. There are plenty of happy owners out there with high miles and no problems.  

[GSLV6]

I agree.  Problems happen because there has never been a car made (whether prestige or not) that doesn't wear or have a few design or quality issues.  Inevitably wear happens as much to cars as it does to their drivers!  Considering any 20 or 30 year old car with over 150K miles which hasn't had a meticulous eye kept on it and a bottomless wallet which has paid for every little replacement or repair needed means that something will be required.  I wouldn't be put off buying any LS marque except for the last two which once they went hybrid just became rather pointless by sacrificing useful boot space for batteries that make sweet FA difference to rear world fuel economy (real reason was reduction on paper of emissions to drive down the tax band for directors considering one as their company car!).

I'd happily buy any well looked after LS400, 430, 460 or later non-hybrid model knowing, eyes wide open,  that it will cost a bomb to run (fuel, taxation, servicing) but it'l likely still be running fine in a decade's time and that there are few if any other cars this side of a £150 to £200K Rolls, Bently or top spec Mercedes Limo that offer the same ride or luxury.

Looked at from that perspective, 2.3K is silly cheap and probably looks more like the bi-annual champers Bill of those who can now afford to buy the equivalent new car.

One thing though that I would check and that's rust.  It is the enemy of any car that age.  I would look carefully at the underside for evidence of any serious rot on suspension linkages, wishbones, sills, sub-frames etc of any car I buy, as well as the bodywork.  I wouldn't go there if there was any.  Rot is easy to prevent or treat if caught in time, but left too late it's something that would make me walk away from any vehicle deal.

[RgrWynne]

2 hours ago, messi said:

It's £700 a side. It's usually both rears that go first and yes it's very common issue. 

Where is your evidence for it being a very common issue ? I have spoken to a number of Lexus independent specialists who tell me it is not very common at all, plus speak to Paul Frost, who dismantles more than any body else. I do know Paul Frost has seen LS430’s with huge mileages with no problems. This is all scaremongering , for what reason ?

[messi]

14 minutes ago, RgrWynne said:

Where is your evidence for it being a very common issue ? I have spoken to a number of Lexus independent specialists who tell me it is not very common at all, plus speak to Paul Frost, who dismantles more than any body else. I do know Paul Frost has seen LS430’s with huge mileages with no problems. This is all scaremongering , for what reason ?

Have you got an ls430, if so, when and not if , when it happens to yours, then come back to me and say yes you were right and then I'll just say, I told you so. You know the huge mileage ones Paul Frost has seen, how do you know that they haven't had the air suspension replaced? Oh because Paul Frost said so. 

[RgrWynne]

3 minutes ago, messi said:

Have you got an ls430, if so, when and not if , when it happens to yours, then come back to me and say yes you were right and then I'll just say, I told you so. You know the huge mileage ones Paul Frost has seen, how do you know that they haven't had the air suspension replaced? Oh because Paul Frost said so. 

Please do not get aggressive with me, just because I do not accept your view.

[messi]

Sorry I'm not being aggressive, far from it, Its hard to get me aggressive. I'm a nice guy. But I will say I told you so and laugh at you when the suspension fails on your ls430. Then you can go back to Paul Frost and say the guys on the Lexus club were right.

 

I know Paul Frost sells a lot of air suspension for the ls430, I wonder why, oh because nothing goes wrong with them and owners just want to replace them for the fun of it

[Tulpen]

Qamar, you and Malc should start your own forum. You could call it '400 perfect...…..everything else rubbish'    🙂 

[messi]

2 minutes ago, Tulpen said:

Qamar, you and Malc should start your own forum. You could call it '400 perfect...…..everything else rubbish'    🙂 

Good idea. But I used to have an ls430, luckily the air suspension was replaced by a lexus main dealer, it was a nice car, nice cabin, but then, CD player stooped working, subwoofer stopped working, air con stopped working, it needed a vsv sensor too, I thought what else could go wrong and so I sold it. But besides that it was a nice car. It was the facelift model