First Lexus (Ls430) Friday Hopefully.

[haggettd]

Hi all,

have decided to get myself a Lexus after years and years of new or nearly new 'ordinary cars. I'm fed up losing £3000 a year

in depreciation and the increasing complexity of diesel engines and the emissions controlling rubbish that has to be strapped to them.

(DPFs etc).

I figure that a well cared for 8 year old LS430 will fit the bill and won't cost any more to run than my 60plate diesel Octavia (Which has lost

£3000 in ten months!).

Am looking at one on Friday that sounds good.

04 plate LS430 in Black metallic with cream trim. All the extras. 70k miles. Lexus history to 50k miles then a couple of independent services.

has had new discs and pads at 65,000.

described as very straight and clean one owner vehicle and is for sale by a dealer who buys carefully, preps very well and sells for a small profit.

He's a one man band and specialises in Lexus. Seems like a very good and knowledgeable bloke and very helpful.

I'm treating it as a private sale warranty wise however he does offer a 'top to bottom parts and labour warranty' of one month which he

underwrites himself - sounds reasonable. He's been selling Lexus for years and has only had to replace one reversing camera under his

warranty (£600).

Whilst a full Lexus stamped history may be preferable, I am confident that non franchised services can be carried out effectively so am

not worried about that. Should I be?

I will be checking for accident damage, shut gaps, fit and finish. Wobbles creaks and groans however, coming from a diesel Octavia I'm sure a noisy

wobbly Lexus would still impress!!

Are there other checks I should be making on the engine, gearbox, electrics and suspension etc?

I hope it's a good 'un. Thanks in advance.

Dave

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

Sounds like a good one and you seem to have got it covered.

Check for suspension knocks front and rear when going over rough surfaces and make sure the air suspension is level all around.

Also check the auto headlight level is operational as there have been issues with sensors/links on the suspension.

If you have a link to the car please post it up so we can see.

[haggettd]

Hi Steve, thanks for your reply.

I look forward to getting lots of info from this forum and can hopefully contribute useful stuff too!

Yes, the Air sus is probably the biggest concern. Sounds potentially expensive to put right depending on whats

gone wrong and seems like something that will go wrong at some stage too! Nothing lasts forever though.

So, If I take along a tape measure, find some flat ground and measure wheelarch to ground that will be a good guide.

There will be some variation but I wouldn't know what is acceptable variance. (Up to plus/minus 5mm reasonable?)

How does the headlight auto levelling work and how could I check it?

Will the car be self levelling? I intend to tow a smallish caravan and this will be a boon I'm sure - as will having 280hp or so!

Just wondered if it's possible to get and fit 17" wheels so I can fit snow tyres when the time is right. 18" Snow tyres are very expensive!

Thoughts appreciated.

Cheers, Dave.

[haggettd]

PS,

the dealer hasn't had time to advertise and photograph the car yet so I can't forward a link unfortunately. I'm relying on his description

and hoping it lives up to it.

He's ok for me to have an unaccompanied test drive for an hour or so. That will enable me to have a good fiddle about without having someone look over my shoulder and temper my investigations. I'm sure I will initially be a bit mesmerised by the huge step up in quality, refinement, equipment and power compared to my current Octavia. Must keep my sensible head on!

[kevinsgs300]

hi welcome to the club

[mikeyv]

I'm not sure how common a fault this is, but two of the cars I considered when looking at 430s had lost their steering column adjustment facility.

The fact that neither vendor had repaired the fault before trying to sell made me wonder just how expensive it would be to fix.

Good luck anyway, hope you get a good one.

[dave1]

Depending where you are in relation to a Lexus dealer, it might be worth booking it in for "free winter check" when they will do a visual safety check FOC. Whilst this is not an in depth examination it would almost certainly show up anything ominous. Not sure if all Lexus dealers do this but Coventry and Cheltenham do.

[bookend]

I have a 2001 LS430 that has 17" wheels from the factory so you should be ok to change from the 18" ones fitted

[steve2006]

The rear height sensor is on the driver's side behind the road wheel so a little difficult to locate, it is nomally the linkage arm that breaks. I went with another LOC member to look at a late LS400 and this had one held with a plastic cable tie!

Also as mentioned make sure the steering wheel tilts up and down as well as in and out there have been motor problems and the part is around £200.00!!

Please come back and let us know how it all goes.

[John N]

Hi Dave

I've run a 2001 LS430 for the last 3 years and covered 40,000 miles, it has been the most reliable and best car I've ever had.

17" wheels should be no problem, they were fitted to the early cars and you should be able to pick some up second hand. I run Nokian WR G2 winter tyres in the snow and ice.

To check the headlight levelling, park the car facing a wall so you can see the headlight pattern. Stop the engine, turn the headlight switch to the 'manual' on position and start the car. You should be able to see the headlight pattern level up as the lights and suspension settle down. Also if it is a later car, turn the steering and check the headlights swivel left and right.

When you check the suspension height, check it with the engine running, on a flat surface, then turn the suspension height to 'high'. It should come up about an inch all round.

See this post about towbars for the LS430: -

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=73528

John N

[haggettd]

Thanks for all your helpful tips and comments.

I am now a proud Lexus owner!

I first viewed a dealer car at Sheffield Lexus - 75k miles, full history £9350. Scruffy bumpers (scratched and scuffed).

Drove nicely but dealer would not tidy up the bumpers nor haggle on price. Thanks mikeyv for your tip; I tried the steering wheel adjustment and.....kaput. A common fault indeed then!

Off I went to Lincoln and saw what looked like a showroom fresh, beautifully prepared jet black LS with cream leather.

Close inspection revealed few flaws; the only thing being a bit of bubbling paintwork under the front waist brightware - under the mirror. The size of a thumbnail. Worst case is I have to call on Lexus' 12 year perforation warranty!

Drove beautifully. History looked incomplete - book not fully stamped up but paperwork showed a good history with full Lexus to 40k then two independents. Due an interim service which will be done this Friday + Diff oil change at a very reasonable £180 all in.

Column adjustment worked as it should, in fact everything did except for nearside front park sensor which vendor told me about. He'd ordered a replacement which I received last night - an easy fit too!

Deal done, lovely drive home.

Checked with Lexus Glasgow who confirmed history and also informed me that they'd just (1 month ago) replaced all brake discs and pads, plus a nearside front caliper and an (or the only) oxygen sensor. That's a result I'd say.

I will send my service book to them to get it properly stamped up.

Drove the 72miles to work and recorded 29.9mpg for the whole journey, including 50 miles of M6 at 70mph and town work either side of that. Amazing.

Hard to believe - all that for £7995.

Will look out for 17" wheels over the next 6months so I can get prepared with winter tyres.

Thanks all

[dekh]

HI EVERYONE Delboy44 here actually joined a few moths ago,but just got round to introducing myself now.In November 2011 i bought myself a Lexus GS 300 SE NAVIGATOR 2001 MODEL WITH 63,000 MILES ON THE CLOCK..I`ve always been an admirer of the mark but never thought i could aspire to buy one, But there it is parked outside shining in the sunlight,its BRONZE,looks like gold to me,I`ve just had it detailed and its not got a mark on it,tell a lie,went to Cornwall in it for a week,Looe actually,and hey seem to have their doorsteps in the middle of the road,long scratch on front valence.Anyway its a fantastc car comfortable smooth running and fast when you need it and unlike one of your other members,i traded in a Jag.xj to buy it and i thought the Jag.was the dogs b.....s,although the Jag. was longer,not by much,the GS is much more spacious an comfortable.Cheers for now got to get back to staring at the Lexus out of the window.

[mikeyv]

Thanks for all your helpful tips and comments.

I am now a proud Lexus owner!

I first viewed a dealer car at Sheffield Lexus - 75k miles, full history £9350. Scruffy bumpers (scratched and scuffed).

Drove nicely but dealer would not tidy up the bumpers nor haggle on price. Thanks mikeyv for your tip; I tried the steering wheel adjustment and.....kaput. A common fault indeed then!

Off I went to Lincoln and saw what looked like a showroom fresh, beautifully prepared jet black LS with cream leather.

Close inspection revealed few flaws; the only thing being a bit of bubbling paintwork under the front waist brightware - under the mirror. The size of a thumbnail. Worst case is I have to call on Lexus' 12 year perforation warranty!

Drove beautifully. History looked incomplete - book not fully stamped up but paperwork showed a good history with full Lexus to 40k then two independents. Due an interim service which will be done this Friday + Diff oil change at a very reasonable £180 all in.

Column adjustment worked as it should, in fact everything did except for nearside front park sensor which vendor told me about. He'd ordered a replacement which I received last night - an easy fit too!

Deal done, lovely drive home.

Checked with Lexus Glasgow who confirmed history and also informed me that they'd just (1 month ago) replaced all brake discs and pads, plus a nearside front caliper and an (or the only) oxygen sensor. That's a result I'd say.

I will send my service book to them to get it properly stamped up.

Drove the 72miles to work and recorded 29.9mpg for the whole journey, including 50 miles of M6 at 70mph and town work either side of that. Amazing.

Hard to believe - all that for £7995.

Will look out for 17" wheels over the next 6months so I can get prepared with winter tyres.

Thanks all

Well done David, hope you enjoy your new car.

Interesting you also came across the steering column problem, it does make me wonder just how common it is.

[Steve]

welcome to the club mate!