Best Lexus ever made!

jonthetourist · July 30, 2023

Many of you will be familiar with this, but some may not. As the 2nd owner of a 2004 in the same colour scheme, I loved this 😀

Tulpen · July 30, 2023

You missed out the bit where it says 'This is one of the ...........' You aren't a leader writer for the 'SUN' are you? 😃

messi · July 30, 2023

I've seen this video ages ago, and it says one of the best, it's not the best lexus ever made, the best for me is the ls400

jonthetourist · July 30, 2023

1 hour ago, messi said:

I've seen this video ages ago, and it says one of the best, it's not the best lexus ever made, the best for me is the ls400

He actually does a brief comparison between 400, 430 and 460 during the video. Much as he likes the 400, he says they are starting to see age-related issues now, particularly with electrics.

Razor61 · July 30, 2023

50 minutes ago, jonthetourist said:

Much as he likes the 400, he says they are starting to see age-related issues now, particularly with electrics.

Yep, especially the brake/stop lights🤣

messi · July 30, 2023

53 minutes ago, jonthetourist said:

He actually does a brief comparison between 400, 430 and 460 during the video. Much as he likes the 400, he says they are starting to see age-related issues now, particularly with electrics.

Yeah because the 430 and 460 are newer and dont show any signs of electrical faults or any faults. But do have air suspension issues, gearbox issues, air con issues, cd player and amp issues, speaker blowing, rust on both front doors, but hey, because he said good things about the 430, they are better than the 400 in your opinion too now?

The-Acre · July 30, 2023

3 hours ago, messi said:

Yeah because the 430 and 460 are newer and dont show any signs of electrical faults or any faults. But do have air suspension issues, gearbox issues, air con issues, cd player and amp issues, speaker blowing, rust on both front doors, but hey, because he said good things about the 430, they are better than the 400 in your opinion too now?

Well I'm not a Lexus owner at the moment, but never say never! Having owned two LS400's, one GS300 and three LS430's, I can honestly say in my opinion the 430 takes the crown. It's easy to complain about the issues they face with age, but you'd be foolish not to expect them with aging luxury cars.

Malc1 · July 31, 2023

10 hours ago, The-Acre said:

but you'd be foolish not to expect them with aging luxury cars.

and indeed MOST other cars of our aged Ls400s etc are reposing as bits and bobs at the crushers

Malc

ambermarine · July 31, 2023

The issues that come with the 430 are by this time well documented and comparative to the 400 potentially very expensive and more of them.

The radiator leading to gearbox failure the struts the windows delam,exhausts rotted out, air con pipes and a few other items ,compared to the issues on the 400 which I have experienced, leaking power steering pump,rust in hard to get to places, suspension parts especially bushings.

The cost of maintaining a troublesome 430 is very much higher than the 400,with regards to the interior the cabin is of the same footprint and odd refinements were made to the 430 but overall it is the same experience in comfort levels.

The 400 was 17 years in development from concept to end of production the 430 about half that period so the facts speak for themselves the best and always will be is the 400.

BigBoomer · July 31, 2023

Mine is better than yours NYA-NYA 🤣

The 400 is older so has more age related issues, but is simpler (mostly) and very well made.

The 430 is younger (but not much) and has a few issues as you mentioned, but not every car has these issues.
The radiator/transmission cooler is an issue, but easily remedied with a new rad every 10-15 years.
The delaminating double-glazed windows only affected some of the 01-03 LS430s and none of the 04-06.
The 430 also has issues with the electronics, especially with the lead-free solder used on the hundreds of circuit boards.
The exhaust does rot after 20 or so years and the y-pipe does crack but the underbody rust is considerably less than any of the LS400s I saw.
The air-suspension does cost a lot to maintain but the advantages gained in the twisties are remarkable.
The water-repellent glass on mine is superb, even after 19 years and 139k miles.

For you the 400 is the best, but for me the 430-facelift is the best, and yes I did drive several 400s (and two 460s) before buying the 430.
The 400 was 17 years in development, but the 430 was 17 years plus 6 years since most of it was based on the LS400.
I think of the LS430 as more of a big-bore LS400-MK5 than an entirely new car.

Malc1 · July 31, 2023

........ and the Mk3 Ls400 is immensely better to own than the Mk4 . of course 🤩 . the steering rake adjustment just cost a 20p steel washer to fix and a tad of mechanic's labour ........ I'm understanding to properly fix the degraded steering rake on later ( Mk4 ) Ls400s and Ls430s and onwards might cost £'000s ........ 🤑

AND I do understand there might be electric/onics issues too . it's old age related sadly ......... any cars, whatever the Marque, if they survive 25+ years are bound to have some issues that you would never experience with other marques simply coz' they've already been SCRAPPED

Malc

Spacewagon52 · July 31, 2023

The comments on his page are also very interesting. Buy the car you like and look after it, and it will look after you.

The-Acre · July 31, 2023

10 hours ago, Malc1 said:

and indeed MOST other cars of our aged Ls400s etc are reposing as bits and bobs at the crushers

Malc

As it happens I bought one of those other cars about 8 weeks ago. A neighbour had a 1999 VW Polo on her drive gathering moss and going nowhere for three years. The very day the scrap man offered her £100 I upped it to £150. I've made it a bit of a quick project. It now has a clean MOT and only 16k on the clock! Surely even Greta would thank me for that! I still have to pass two LS400's locally when walking the dog and without fail I give another glance!

jonthetourist · August 1, 2023

23 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

The comments on his page are also very interesting. Buy the car you like and look after it, and it will look after you.

He actually says there are very few on the market but sometimes you get one where the owner has gone for a lower mileage model, which is what I did. Sold the previous one for more than I paid for it 4 years previously (ex Irish super discounted sale) and spent a fortune on a one owner, low mileage, FLSH in a colour I preferred.

For the record, the fact that I enjoy an expert mechanic praising a car like mine, does not mean I am criticising anyone else's choice of model.

Jon

Razor61 · August 1, 2023

As this is all about the LS430, what you think of this one for sale on Facebook?
I'm very tempted to have a look on my way home to Lancashire from Middlesbrough tomorrow.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/977410556943337/

Spacewagon52 · August 1, 2023

1 hour ago, Razor61 said:

As this is all about the LS430, what you think of this one for sale on Facebook?
I'm very tempted to have a look on my way home to Lancashire from Middlesbrough tomorrow.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/977410556943337/

Looks a peach from the photos.

Dust covers, tracking need to be checked. Also offside front shock absorbers ........ would this be connected to the air suspension? That could be expensive?

What copuld you buy for £6000?

Mercedes E Class (11) 102,000miles?

Jaguar XF (12) 120,000 miles?

Leaf (16) 29,000 miles?

No thanks - I will stick with the Lexus!

Razor61 · August 1, 2023

22 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Looks a peach from the photos.

Dust covers, tracking need to be checked. Also offside front shock absorbers ........ would this be connected to the air suspension? That could be expensive?

Does something not look right on the pictures with the suspension height?
I'm not very familiar with checking the air suspension, apart from checking if the suspension goes up and down.
Lot's of discussion about the air suspension and cost of around £4k for all 4 air suspension struts, 4 x normal/standard struts would cost around £1k anyway so it's £3k extra compared to normal/standard struts/shock absorbers.

BigBoomer · August 1, 2023

Or buy 2 of these and fit them. Only £200 for each front air-strut.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175372956143 with a 2 year warranty.
Air suspension is only expensive if you buy OEM parts and pay Main Stealer labour prices.
It's what I will be fitting when any of mine die. Who wants to spend £4k on a car that's worth maybe a little more than that?
The gains over standard struts is worth it to me.

The suspension height looks fine to me, but the pictures are all angled so not easy to see.

Razor61 · August 1, 2023

1 hour ago, BigBoomer said:

Or buy 2 of these and fit them. Only £200 for each front air-strut.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175372956143 with a 2 year warranty.
Air suspension is only expensive if you buy OEM parts and pay Main Stealer labour prices.
It's what I will be fitting when any of mine die. Who wants to spend £4k on a car that's worth maybe a little more than that?
The gains over standard struts is worth it to me.

The suspension height looks fine to me, but the pictures are all angled so not easy to see.

That is a cracking price for the air struts, that makes a big difference to buying a LS430 or not. Just front struts though, is it the case that the front struts are more common to go bad compared to the rear struts?

Supafly · August 1, 2023

I've seen with my own eyes, more LS430's with the rear on the floor than the front. Not exactly an expert opinion with a large sample size but considering how few of these there are and how many I've seen (6 or 7) that are sitting incorrectly it's significant to me.

I think I read a while ago that you can get oem parts to retrofit traditional coil spring suspension from the early production years.

Malc1 · August 1, 2023

3 hours ago, Razor61 said:

As this is all about the LS430, what you think of this one for sale on Facebook?
I'm very tempted to have a look on my way home to Lancashire from Middlesbrough tomorrow.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/977410556943337/

I would say a cracking time of the day to take the piccys ... who knows what's hiding in the shadows !

She reads ok apart from the air stuff but only a close inspection will show up any window delamination etc .. the dust covers are cheap and the tyres, well, whatever you wanted to spend eh !

AND it's far from being a bargain at that price ........... or am i nuts too ?

Malc

Razor61 · August 1, 2023

What’s the dust cover thing?

The-Acre · August 1, 2023

2 hours ago, Razor61 said:

That is a cracking price for the air struts, that makes a big difference to buying a LS430 or not. Just front struts though, is it the case that the front struts are more common to go bad compared to the rear struts?

In my experience there's no difference as to which go first. I passed a gold LS430 today and it looked very sad right down low. I think it's a real shame that air was ever used because I believe, and it's only my view, the LS400 does have a better ride as far as the suspension goes. That's just my experience having had more than one of each.

Malc1 · August 2, 2023

14 hours ago, Razor61 said:

What’s the dust cover thing?

a rubberised protective cover for the unit . used to be expensive as bespoke for the car but now they produce a universal adjustable type unit covering .. mine on my Ls400 cost £40 " all-up " a few months back

Malc