Seriously Considering Ls430 6 Speed

just rolling · February 17, 2007

I recently sold my LS400 Mk 3 (on Ebay) and looking to upgrade. I had a look at a LS430 6 spd in Croydon today £24k 53 plate with 45k miles. Alutian Grey with Beige lthr, awaiting preparation. Lexus were going to replace the alloys (with new ones!) repair all the scuff marks etc. The salesman said that the facelift 430 was more of a drivers car and that the early 430's were rather too floaty to drive that was the main reason the model was changed so quickly. I know he was trying to sell the car to me, but I said I would give it some thought. He phoned me within 30 mins to say the car had been sold.

My question is this, are the later spec 430's in demand and holding a reasonable price, despite the introduction of the new model? Plus has anyone seen a later spec 430 for under £20K?

AdiH · February 17, 2007

I recently sold my LS400 Mk 3 (on Ebay) and looking to upgrade. I had a look at a LS430 6 spd in Croydon today £24k 53 plate with 45k miles. Alutian Grey with Beige lthr, awaiting preparation. Lexus were going to replace the alloys (with new ones!) repair all the scuff marks etc. The salesman said that the facelift 430 was more of a drivers car and that the early 430's were rather too floaty to drive that was the main reason the model was changed so quickly. I know he was trying to sell the car to me, but I said I would give it some thought. He phoned me within 30 mins to say the car had been sold.
My question is this, are the later spec 430's in demand and holding a reasonable price, despite the introduction of the new model? Plus has anyone seen a later spec 430 for under £20K?

I recently sold my LS400 Mk 3 (on Ebay) and looking to upgrade. I had a look at a LS430 6 spd in Croydon today £24k 53 plate with 45k miles. Alutian Grey with Beige lthr, awaiting preparation. Lexus were going to replace the alloys (with new ones!) repair all the scuff marks etc. The salesman said that the facelift 430 was more of a drivers car and that the early 430's were rather too floaty to drive that was the main reason the model was changed so quickly. I know he was trying to sell the car to me, but I said I would give it some thought. He phoned me within 30 mins to say the car had been sold.

My question is this, are the later spec 430's in demand and holding a reasonable price, despite the introduction of the new model? Plus has anyone seen a later spec 430 for under £20K?

I also have a 03 430 and agree with your thoughts but don't let the Lexus sales people try and push you. There are loads of them out there, and I picked mine up from a non-dealer with the premier pack and all extras for £19K last July. It did have 71K on the clock but was fully serviced including the expensive can belt change completed early. The wheels were a little scabby but I took it to the local Lexus dealer and they agreed to change them FOC because the white rust should not be on a car of that age.

Check out the Lexus web site and Autotrader site you will find one for less than £20K with the premium pack, and then take out an independant warranty package for around £550 per year.

Good hunting.

Adi

chips229 · February 18, 2007

Hi,

Like AdiH says the LS is not the sort of car that sells like Hot Cakes,id have a look at the ealier LS430 version and have a test drive and see if you can really tell the difference in the way it handles and drives against the newer versions ;)

GoldfingerLS · February 18, 2007

I saw a 6 speed LS430 go for £22,500 with only 32,000 miles on the clock it was gold with cream leather. I saw another 6 speed ls430, dark blue with cream leather (the best combo in my opinion :) ) with 124,000 on the clock go for £17,000 although prices like £17,000 are not common yet.

I wouldn’t lose much sleep over missing out on an LS430 at this point in time. These things (like any other big engine car 4ltr and above) depreciate like a grand piano being thrown down a flight of stairs and the recent introduction of the LS460 has meant that the car has lost its selling point of “the latest model” status. Like Mr Chips says these cars are not easy to sell because of their running costs.

The later LS430s have really started to come down in price. Just you watch and pretty soon you will start to see the Mk2 LS430s go for 20k and slightly under.

I’ve been watching prices closely myself because I’ve been considering selling my Mk4 for a Mk2 LS430, but right now I’m still undecided if the replacement for my Mk4 will be another LS or not. Still investigating the spec/features and servicing issues with this model.

maneesh · February 18, 2007

Go for the 6 speed version. It's impressive for a large saloon. I drove one round a testing track in 04.

Err, Lexus dealers do not have queues of people waiting to buy a used LS as it's image is pretty crap. Don't get conned by Lexus dealers.

just rolling · February 18, 2007

Go for the 6 speed version. It's impressive for a large saloon. I drove one round a testing track in 04.
Err, Lexus dealers do not have queues of people waiting to buy a used LS as it's image is pretty crap. Don't get conned by Lexus dealers.

Thanks for your views. I think I will wait for the prices to come down a bit more. I will arrange some test drives next week for comparison. The later 430 I think has got the nod purely on the basis that it has the latest features: Bluetooth, reverse camera, more airbags and looks better etc.

I am driving around an old Toyota corolla in the meantime, which is far from satisfying, reliable though!

LexasPete · February 23, 2007

Hi Guys,

I thought I got a bargain a year-and-a-half ago when I paid around 30k for my 04 model, ouch! After some pretty lousy 'Customer Care' from Lexus GB over failed rear shocks at 61,000 miles, following the well known air suspension failure at 58,000 - but that's another story, and being unimpressed with my local dealer who put a nasty scratch on the back bumper whilst replacing said shocks and never checked the air filter on service, I'm thinking of selling Lexie. The kind of p/ex prices I got are interesting and give a fair guide to the value of the car, it's an 04/53 with 63,000 so a wee bit up on miles: 19,500 from the local prestige dealer to 21k from an online dealer. It's a lot of car for that sort of money of course, I'd say the improvements compared to the earlier model are worth having for the slight extra cost. Just the 'sharper' look to the front end is probably worth it? The reversing camera's handy but with parking sensors I rarely use it. The 6-speed helps with economy, I get around 27, and nearly 30 on a long run. The 18" wheels are very handsome but there's more tyre noise than the 17", I added loads of 'Dynamat' to the bulkhead and doorskins, it really makes a real difference and well worth doing, though a bit messy of course. The 'steering' headlights are good, especially on country roads at night. And Bluetooth for the phone is a dream compared to fitting an integrated phone kit.

That's my 2 pennorth anyway and if you're anywhere near Devon or Cornwall and thinking of an LS430 you're welcome to come over for a chat and demo, I'm on 01503 220061.

Cheers,

Pete :)

GoldfingerLS · February 25, 2007

" failed rear shocks at 61,000 miles, following the well known air suspension failure at 58,000"

Wow I dont want to be buying an LS430 to be forking out for new air suspension shocks that sounds pretty expensive, especially to be doing it after only 61k on a car thats 3 years old. Is this a common fault on the LS430s ?

This is why I havnt made my mind up if the next car should be an LS430, just want to know a little bit more about its "common problems".