LS430 in Gloucester Town

[Cotswold Pete]

Just came across this on Gumtree. 

LS430 - Abbeydale

If someone nicked my 400 tonight I would be having a look at this (as well as being totally miffed that my 400 had been nicked).

Looks like he is a dealer of some sort, mainly cheap runabouts.

[The-Acre]

I slightly better option than the left hand drive one that's still available for 8.5k!  Looks to be a very good deal if everything adds up.

[royoftherovers]

3 hours ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Just came across this on Gumtree. 

LS430 - Abbeydale

If someone nicked my 400 tonight I would be having a look at this (as well as being totally miffed that my 400 had been nicked).

Looks like he is a dealer of some sort, mainly cheap runabouts.

Looks a beauty with an MOT history  which suggests it has been used 12/13k miles annually by caring owners.Good find Pete..

[BigBoomer]

Looks good. Same colour as mine but slightly younger and higher mileage.

Mine is a 53 plate (Feb 04) and had 91k miles in Jan 2018. I paid 4400.

[jonthetourist]

On 4/30/2019 at 5:13 PM, royoftherovers said:

Looks a beauty with an MOT history  which suggests it has been used 12/13k miles annually by caring owners.Good find Pete..

Now on eBay for slightly less money.

[olliesgrandad]

Looks nice and it's a local registered car too. 

[Cotswold Pete]

I would have thought it would have been snapped up by now.

If I had the time I would go and have a look, but involved in a manic refurb of a Nephews new flat, so zero time to breath, let alone look at the car

[Lexusshire]

Morning guys,

I live approx 10 miles from this car, and seriously considering paying it a visit.

I’ve wanted to own an ls430 for the last 3 years, and am now in a position to own one.

I feel like I have so much I need to learn about the car, and am nervous about buying. Is there a faults/buyers checklist anywhere online that anyone could recommend? Secondly, where can I source a Haynes manual, I’m struggling to find one.

I look forward to chatting with you all soon. 

 

Many thanks

Tom

[genius149]

Hi Tom,

I too have my eye on this but you're a lot closer than me and I'm not quite in the position to buy yet.

Here's a checklist someone posted in a thread a little while ago and I copied it into a document to take with me when viewing cars.

Here are a few pointers when viewing potential purchases:
Make sure it has a full or at least a good service history which includes the cambelt change.
 
On driving the ride should be quite smooth comfortable with no noises or creaks from the suspension.
 
Gearbox changes should not be noticeable
 
Upon starting the steering should tilt and retract - test and make sure the mechanism works as motors are very expensive
 
Braking should be quite and smooth - if you get a groaning noise when coming to stop that’s a sign of cheap aftermarket brake pads - they will need replacing.
 
Check colour of gearbox oil it should be red with no smell of burning. Radiator “fix” should be done
 
Check colour of coolant - it should be red - ensure no oil in the bottle
 
Check all electrics work
 
Check the Sat Nav works - there have been reports of some failures
 
Check the sound system properly to ensure no blown door speakers or woofer
 
Check the air suspension works  - when the switch is flicked the car should rise about at inch slowly - and the compressor does not make any noises
 
Check the bonnet struts hold the bonnet
 
Check the car has the correct Toyota red coolant
 
Check for rust around the doors near the plastic trim and around the boot area
 
Check rear quarter panel glass for cloudiness - this indicates the glazing has failed ( pre face lift)
 
Ask if the cabin filter has ever been changed - these are often over looked.
 
Check the bonnet pull works as it should - some of them fail
 
Check toolkit is present
 
Make sure there are no warning lights lit in the dash
 
Ideally you want 3 remote keys
 
Check the car has a matching set of tyres and wether they are branded or not - this should give an indication wether the car has been pampered or neglected
 
Before driving off make sure you have the say nav code and locking wheel nut key.
 

I made a couple of amendments to suit myself but also left in the duplication of the Toyota red coolant - I figured if it needs mentioning twice then it must be important.

Good luck with whatever you buy.

[jonthetourist]

23 hours ago, Lexusshire said:

Morning guys,

I live approx 10 miles from this car, and seriously considering paying it a visit.

I’ve wanted to own an ls430 for the last 3 years, and am now in a position to own one.

I feel like I have so much I need to learn about the car, and am nervous about buying. Is there a faults/buyers checklist anywhere online that anyone could recommend? Secondly, where can I source a Haynes manual, I’m struggling to find one.

I look forward to chatting with you all soon. 

 

Many thanks

Tom

Hi Tom

I also live about 10 miles from this car. (I'm north) I have owned my 430 for four years. If you want to take a ride in mine to do a compare and contrast you are very welcome.

Jon

[Lexusshire]

What an incredible set of responses! Thanks to everyone, really appreciate your support. I’m getting excited about going to look now. Jon, I’ve dropped you a direct message (or at least think I have 😂) a test drive with you would be awesome. Big thanks to genius for the checklist, I’ll print that off and work my way through it. 

Any other suggestions for expensive potential money pits, or things I should check for?

Hope you’re all having a good week so far, and I look forward to chatting with you more, and contributing some support and advice in the future when I’ve learned some more.

[Lexusshire]

8 hours ago, genius149 said:

.

Here are a few pointers when viewing potential purchases:

Check colour of gearbox oil it should be red with no smell of burning. Radiator “fix” should be done
 

What is the radiator “fix” ? 

[The-Acre]

27 minutes ago, Lexusshire said:

What is the radiator “fix” ? 

It's a radiator replacement or an external cooler to prevent water contaminating the transmission, easy to do.

[Malc]

2 hours ago, The-Acre said:

It's a radiator replacement or an external cooler to prevent water contaminating the transmission, easy to do.

BUT absolutely essential to avoid a catastrophe and sooner rather than later

Malc

[The-Acre]

2 hours ago, Malc said:

BUT absolutely essential to avoid a catastrophe and sooner rather than later

Malc

Absolutely, plus it gives peace of mind.

[Lexusshire]

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that has supported me in the run up to the potential purchase of the car. I’ve never been part of a forum so welcoming and helpful.

Thanks for the call Pete, and thanks for the test run Jon.

Sadly I was waiting on the Dad’s best friend (mechanic) to become available to thoroughly check the car out with the advice given above.

The day he became available to view it with me, it had sold on that very same day!

Still on the hunt for a nice example of an 04/05/06 LS430, and will keep my eyes peeled on here! If you know of anyone that has theirs up for sale, please let me know, I’d really appreciate it :)

Hope you are all well, and look forward to being able to contribute something to the forum soon, and hopefully share my new car with you all

Many thanks

[cruisermark]

I’m sure one will come along very soon - just remember cars registered in 2006 attract higher car tax rate : upto 2005 is approx £310 - same car registered in 2006 is over £500 - note these are not exact figures

[Cotswold Pete]

16 hours ago, Lexusshire said:

The day he became available to view it with me, it had sold on that very same day!

 

Tis a shame, especially as it had been for sale for a little while.

Do let us know when you manage to get one on your drive.