LS 430 3rd is it the best riding car compared to others?

[bladest]

Hello i sold my lexus gs recently 4th gen.450h.
which was lexus president you know, i really loved the car so i am looking to raise the bar one again.

My question for you today is.
Is lexus 3rd gen ls 430 better riding compared to LS 1ST and 2nd generation and also ls 4th and 5th generation ?

Also can someone compared it with gs 4th generation my last car was gs450h 4th generation with adaptive shocks.
I need honest opinion please i cannot fully test all lexus generations ls from 1st till 5th they are simply not available in Bg,
please provide me your honest feedback in ride i am very interest i need smoth and extremely comfortable ride,

I understand thats not a sporty car i dont care how slow car is, but ride is extremely important and also hopefully this car have better corrosion protection compared to Rusty GS .
I understand probably some people will like more s class but i plan to get another LEXUS president top of the line LS. 3rd gen.

[GEN]

Based on my experience (1998 Ls400 followed by 2005 Ls430 and now Ls600hl) while all three offer a beautiful comfortable, smooth ride, I would go for the LS430 with the standard (not the air, unless you're willing and able to spend a lot of money fixing it) suspension.  I think there is general agreement that it is really hard to tell the difference between the air and standard suspension, except for the cost of repairing it. And indeed people who bought LS cars with air suspension, when it failed, more often than not replaced it with the standard version.  Also, the Ls430 is still considered to be the best, most reliable of the three (mentioned above) if not of them all!  I only went with the Ls600hl because at the time I couldn't find an Ls430.

[Malc1]

I think Gen's post might be your best thoughts going forward

Most other Ls owners never get around to wanting to change their cars  ..  take me for instance, 25 yrs with a ( my third )  Ls400 and some 250k miles under my belt I think and could never think why I would want to change ( sideways maybe ) to a different Ls style

Your comparison of knowledge from one specific owner will be very difficult to find methinks

God luck anyway

Malc

[GEN]

7 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

I think Gen's post might be your best thoughts going forward

Most other Ls owners never get around to wanting to change their cars  ..  take me for instance, 25 yrs with a ( my third )  Ls400 and some 250k miles under my belt I think and could never think why I would want to change ( sideways maybe ) to a different Ls style

Your comparison of knowledge from one specific owner will be very difficult to find methinks

God luck anyway

Malc

I didn't want to change either. I just had no choice!

[bladest]

Thank you all for the feedback ,how about rust protection ? Where i live it rains a lot and cars rust a lot specially Lexus and japanese cars my previous car was rusty a lot...

 

if i pick 3rd gen LS, will i have some decent rust / corrosion resistance or i need to go with 1st and 2nd gen LS?

 

I also like and find 3rd gen  cool car. 🙂

i know that some people convert them to shocks and struts instead of air due to the price.

[Malc1]

Rust, just keep on top of it at each and every service and MOT time ........... it's a car, they rust, it's metal, it rusts ....... and our cars are amazingly ancient for a " modern day " car ............. so just make sure when you buy one it's looking as rust free as it can be and get someone with professionalism to check it over from time to time ..  it's metal and it's a car ..  they rarely last forever ...  not even a Lexus 🤔

Good hunting

Malc

[GEN]

Personally I did not have any serious rust problems.....so far.  There were a couple of spots on the 1998 LS but just on the level of blemishes and by the time I could no longer get parts for it and I had to let it go it was 22 years old!

[bladest]

Some lexus models and toyota models rust a lot,

for example i have seen extremely rusty LEXUS IS,

just an example how well ls430 is protected from the rust is it better protected than is gs/es etcs?

[GEN]

Search for " rust prevention" on here and you'll find more information on that subject from people who have had an experience different to mine.

[Malc1]

I've lived close by the sea with all 3 of my Ls400s over 20+ years and 250k miles and I've never taken any precautions to delay the onset of rust from new  .  whether prior owners had I doubt it tbh ....  sometimes one's lucky, other times it's just goddam bad luck how the car has left the factory 

Our Honda Legend at 150k miles and 17 years young doesn't seem to have any rust either, nor rust protection apart from what it started life with from the factory .......... 

The Ls400 has a S/S exhaust and generally is infallible and will outlast the car ......  well, apart from the front end which isn't s/s and will need replacing .  like mine did this last year 🙄

Malc

[BigBoomer]

I test drove several LS400, LS430 and a couple of LS460s before I bought my LS430. The LS400s have softer, floatier suspension but have a lot of body roll. The LS460s both had harsher suspension and numb handling. The LS430s all had soft compliant suspension and handled well for a 2 ton car, so I chose the best one I could find in my budget.

The LS430 air-suspension is somewhat adaptive so in a straight line it wafts along but in the corners it stiffens up the shocks which reduces lean compared to the standard suspension. Yes, it will be expensive to repair but they do 150-200k miles on most before needing attention.

Rust very much depends on where you live and how you drive. If you live and drive in a cold climate the salt will rust any car. I live in SE UK and while they salt the roads here if it snows or freezes, it's not as bad as in northern USA. My LS430 is a 2004 with 139k miles and every year at MOT test time, the tester comments on how little rust there is.

[bladest]

1 hour ago, GEN said:

Search for " rust prevention" on here and you'll find more information on that subject from people who have had an experience different to mine.

i want good rust prevention from the factory i dont plan to spend 20.000 euro to fully galvanize and protect the car....

1 minute ago, BigBoomer said:

I test drove several LS400, LS430 and a couple of LS460s before I bought my LS430. The LS400s have softer, floatier suspension but have a lot of body roll. The LS460s both had harsher suspension and numb handling. The LS430s all had soft compliant suspension and handled well for a 2 ton car, so I chose the best one I could find in my budget.

The LS430 air-suspension is somewhat adaptive so in a straight line it wafts along but in the corners it stiffens up the shocks which reduces lean compared to the standard suspension. Yes, it will be expensive to repair but they do 150-200k miles on most before needing attention.

Thanks for your feedback i will definetely go with LS430 , is your car with air suspention currently ? Also what is the other option for suspention ordinary or adaptive struts/shocks suspention like adaptive dampers ?

Also do you see any rust in your car somewhere and do you keep in parking garage or outside ?

Also, i have noticed some ls430 cars have seats in bad shape, is it easy to change the leather or  the car will make totally different compared to the factory leather?

[Malc1]

I'm thinking you might be best off buying the Ls430 that max's your budget provided you ensure all is well with the car 

Take someone along who can grovel underneath to check for rust and good at understanding the mechanics .  especially the MOT Advisories and service records

20.000euros would be totally bonkers to spend on an old " banger " to bring the body and underside and interior up to near new methinks

Malc

[bladest]

17 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

I'm thinking you might be best off buying the Ls430 that max's your budget provided you ensure all is well with the car 

Take someone along who can grovel underneath to check for rust and good at understanding the mechanics .  especially the MOT Advisories and service records

20.000euros would be totally bonkers to spend on an old " banger " to bring the body and underside and interior up to near new methinks

Malc

Hi in my country not many cars are available, so i need to source from abroad one and i can rely on pictures and videos only. For how much did you bought your car and how much you spend on repairs so far 🙂 ?

So far i find normal price around 10.000gbp for left hand drive without service history unfortunately... not sure if this is a good or bad price...

 

My maximum budget for left hand drive is max 10k gbp.For that amount i can find without proper maintenance and service history.

[Malc1]

joro, where are you then ?

is there an import duty to pay if you source an older car from the UK ?

Malc

[bladest]

23 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

joro, where are you then ?

is there an import duty to pay if you source an older car from the UK ?

Malc

Hi i am from Bg here we drive left hand drive and if car is imported you pay expensive shipping of the car +  custom fees and other taxes , it doesnt matter from where car is curently the cheapest car. Which can be imported final price with everything starts at 10.000 gbp as a min.it doesnt matter older or newer car taxes and shipping are simular we cant drive also here right hand .

[cruisermark]

3 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

I test drove several LS400, LS430 and a couple of LS460s before I bought my LS430. The LS400s have softer, floatier suspension but have a lot of body roll. The LS460s both had harsher suspension and numb handling. The LS430s all had soft compliant suspension and handled well for a 2 ton car, so I chose the best one I could find in my budget.

The LS430 air-suspension is somewhat adaptive so in a straight line it wafts along but in the corners it stiffens up the shocks which reduces lean compared to the standard suspension. Yes, it will be expensive to repair but they do 150-200k miles on most before needing attention.

Rust very much depends on where you live and how you drive. If you live and drive in a cold climate the salt will rust any car. I live in SE UK and while they salt the roads here if it snows or freezes, it's not as bad as in northern USA. My LS430 is a 2004 with 139k miles and every year at MOT test time, the tester comments on how little rust there is.

this is pretty much my opinion - plus the facelift LS has the best interior and exterior looks aswell as being just the right size

[Malc1]

you're in Burkina Faso then ?  Bg

Malc

[bladest]

Hi i am from Bulgaria.

[Malc1]

easy'ish drive then

[Malc1]

And I doubt very much you’d find a left hand drive Ls of any sort in the uk for sale 

…… imported from Japan of course where they are right handed same as uk 

[bladest]

Hi i dont live in the uk,

and i am looking for the car in the whole Europe 🙂 so i can import car from every country in the Eu or i can import 1 from USA/Canada as well.

 

Can someone confirm  is the regular suspention for LS430 adaptive can you change hard/soft of the suspention dampers or its regular ?

In regular i mean in less levels trims or once air suspention have been converted to regular.

[Malc1]

Good luck with your investigations coz this forum is really specific to the uk and a general mindset and experience with comparative tiny uk ownership …….  of these wonderful cars in the diverse uk terrain and climate that is maybe miles away from that of left-handed global users ……. USA Canada Europe generally where the majority of these cars might be discovered outside of Japan 

good luck 

Malc 

[bladest]

For my Previous Lexus which i owned until today,

i bought 99% of the parts from Uk lexus dealership! 🙂

My priority is same like you guys,

i want to drive this car for long journey to relax and enjoy in it to be comfortable etcs...

i am not a car racing driver... but i bet car will be much better compared to my current one japanese car from 1993.

[Malc1]

buying OEM parts from Amayama and Rockauto is often ££££ better than from the Lexus Main Dealer we find joro

Malc

8 hours ago, bladest said:

my current one japanese car from 1993.

what car is it btw ?