JEM

Have decided to sell our LS 430 again (toyed with the idea on this site in February 2008). Have now put an ad on 'for sale' column on this site. We love the car but it's a luxury and we don't actually need it. If anyone is interested, we will accept a reasonable offer from a Lexus fan. It is 2001/51 and has a luxury pack. An interesting add-on is a key to shut off all electrics, to save the battery going flat when left for long periods.

PLEASE SEE PICTURE AT:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...ost&id=3279

Cannot upload pictures - v annoying! Anyone genuinely interested - I can email them to you.

PRICE: Offers around £4,500 - that's rock bottom.

Have decided to sell our LS 430 again (toyed with the idea on this site in February 2008). Have now put an ad on 'for sale' column on this site. We love the car but it's a luxury and we don't actually need it. If anyone is interested, we will accept a reasonable offer from a Lexus fan. It is 2001/51 and has a luxury pack. An interesting add-on is a key to shut off all electrics, to save the battery going flat when left for long periods.

PLEASE SEE PICTURE AT:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...ost&id=3279

Cannot upload pictures - v annoying! Anyone genuinely interested - I can email them to you.

Have decided to sell our LS 430 again (toyed with the idea on this site in February 2008). Have now put an ad on 'for sale' column on this site. We love the car but it's a luxury and we don't actually need it. If anyone is interested, we will accept a reasonable offer from a Lexus fan. It is 2001/51 and has a luxury pack. An interesting add-on is a key to shut off all electrics, to save the battery going flat when left for long periods.

PLEASE SEE PICTURE AT:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...ost&id=3279

Cannot upload pictures - v annoying! Anyone genuinely interested - I can email them to you.

Have decided to sell our LS 430 again (toyed with the idea on this site in February 2008). Have now put an ad on 'for sale' column on this site. We love the car but it's a luxury and we don't actually need it. If anyone is interested, we will accept a reasonable offer from a Lexus fan. It is 2001/51 and has a luxury pack. An interesting add-on is a key to shut off all electrics, to save the battery going flat when left for long periods.

PLEASE SEE PICTURE AT:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...ost&id=3279

Have decided to sell our LS 430 again (toyed with the idea on this site in February 2008). Have now put an ad on 'for sale' column on this site. We love the car but it's a luxury and we don't actually need it. If anyone is interested, we will accept a reasonable offer from a Lexus fan. It is 2001/51 and has a luxury pack. An interesting add-on is a key to shut off all electrics, to save the Battery going flat when left for long periods.

The battery is only about 2 years old from Lexus.

Following discussions with the AA man and the Lexus main dealer, I bought a solar-powered 12 V 1.5W battery trickle charger today from Maplin. I'll see if it offsets the drain on the battery when the car is not being used and sitting on our driveway. Will report back. It'll be good if I can give some useful info to other LOC members like yourself who've been so helpful to me.

If the Battery is only 2 yrs. old from Lexus you should sound them out for a replacement Battery at their expense(assuming that the Battery has failed) You should get a Battery with at least 500a start up(CCA) with a V8 4.3 ltr engine.

Thanks, I'll check.

Even if the car is double locked you can still open it with the key, there is a silver plastic blanking plug in the drivers door handle, remove this with your fingernails or a bit of plastic, as it is quite soft and will mark easily, then use the key blade in your key fob, it comes out by sliding the catch at the base of the key and then sliding it out.

Good luck

Pete

Thanks Pete. Have got in with the manual key. Trouble is, have now set off the alarm. The Battery obviously has just enough to keep the anti-theft alarm going.

Jane

Jane

Good news.... How old is your 430 and is it the original Battery, my original gave up about two months ago at about 7 years old.... got a Bosch Silver with 4 year warantee for about £70 from a motor factor.

Luckily you don't have a Merc as you would have to reset everything when the Battery goes flat, at least yours will remember most things, sometimes you have to reset the windows if the one touch has given up.... just open them all the way then shut them all the way with the button to train them again.......

Good Luck

Pete

Surely it is just a case of charging the battery... ??

John

Can he get in to open the bonnet John? Does the boot open and does the ls430 have a ski hatch type of thing like the is200's have? as most of the time the boot hasnt got a deadlock fitted so you can open it with the key? A couple of members have gone in through the boot with a bit of wire and opened the car by pulling the inner door handle? :)

Unfortunately the fridge is where your ski hole is ..... it is impossible to get in the car from the boot

Pete

Your just rubbing it in now Pete

Yeah I know just couldn't resist it.... I will have a cold one for you next time I'm out, will get it out of the fridge that is behind the massaging and electrically reclining rear seat, below the electric blind, and in front of the rear air con unit with air purifier.....

Pete

Thanks for the tips, Pete. The car's 2000 and we got it in 2005. The Battery isn't the original as I know we replaced it, but I can't find my records at the moment. Have been reading an interesting LOC 5 page thread started by Rod on July 3, 2007: ‘Battery failure, Failed to start after holiday RX400H’. Someone there recommends a larger Battery by TOYOTA, an Optifit 70 amp hour part no. 28800-YZZ.

Have been researching Battery chargers but don't feel confident to use one myself at this stage. Will call the AA and see what the state of the current Battery is.

Sorry, my mistake - the car is Sep 2001.

I would not recommend buying a battery charger, they can do more harm than good. If the battery will not hold charge you must replace it. The battery should have a date on it, if it is over three years old ( the normal warranty period) then replace it .

If the battery does hold charge then you either have fault with the alternator or a drain on your battery when parked with the ignition off.

If you leave your "smart" keys anywhere near the car it will cause your battery to go flat, the keys must be at least 15 feet away from the car.

Thanks for that. The smart keys have been closer than 15 feet away. The Battery is only about 2 years old from Lexus.

Following discussions with the AA man and the Lexus main dealer, I bought a solar-powered 12 V 1.5W Battery trickle charger today from Maplin. I'll see if it offsets the drain on the Battery when the car is not being used and sitting on our driveway. Will report back. It'll be good if I can give some useful info to other LOC members like yourself who've been so helpful to me.

I would be concerned if my battery regularly lost it's charge over a period of just 1 week. If the correct size battery is fitted and you are not just using the car for VERY short distances( 2 or 3 miles ) then the battery should not discharge in such a short space of time unless something is draining it. Dependant upon when you last replaced it then it could just be "old age".

AFAIK the remote should still open the car as the alarm function has backup to help guard against your battery being disconnected or wires cut by wouldbe thieves.

Thanks for that. I didn't use the car for 2 weeks. The Battery was replaced about 2 years ago at Lexus. There must be a lot of electronic gizmos draining the Battery.

Even if the car is double locked you can still open it with the key, there is a silver plastic blanking plug in the drivers door handle, remove this with your fingernails or a bit of plastic, as it is quite soft and will mark easily, then use the key blade in your key fob, it comes out by sliding the catch at the base of the key and then sliding it out.

Good luck

Pete

Thanks Pete. Have got in with the manual key. Trouble is, have now set off the alarm. The Battery obviously has just enough to keep the anti-theft alarm going.

Jane

Jane

Good news.... How old is your 430 and is it the original Battery, my original gave up about two months ago at about 7 years old.... got a Bosch Silver with 4 year warantee for about £70 from a motor factor.

Luckily you don't have a Merc as you would have to reset everything when the Battery goes flat, at least yours will remember most things, sometimes you have to reset the windows if the one touch has given up.... just open them all the way then shut them all the way with the button to train them again.......

Good Luck

Pete

Surely it is just a case of charging the battery... ??

John

Can he get in to open the bonnet John? Does the boot open and does the ls430 have a ski hatch type of thing like the is200's have? as most of the time the boot hasnt got a deadlock fitted so you can open it with the key? A couple of members have gone in through the boot with a bit of wire and opened the car by pulling the inner door handle? :)

Unfortunately the fridge is where your ski hole is ..... it is impossible to get in the car from the boot

Pete

Your just rubbing it in now Pete

Yeah I know just couldn't resist it.... I will have a cold one for you next time I'm out, will get it out of the fridge that is behind the massaging and electrically reclining rear seat, below the electric blind, and in front of the rear air con unit with air purifier.....

Pete

Thanks for the tips, Pete. The car's 2000 and we got it in 2005. The Battery isn't the original as I know we replaced it, but I can't find my records at the moment. Have been reading an interesting LOC 5 page thread started by Rod on July 3, 2007: ‘Battery failure, Failed to start after holiday RX400H’. Someone there recommends a larger Battery by TOYOTA, an Optifit 70 amp hour part no. 28800-YZZ.

Have been researching Battery chargers but don't feel confident to use one myself at this stage. Will call the AA and see what the state of the current Battery is.

Glad you've now got into your Lex :D You would of thought the dealer would of been able to tell you what Pete said to try?

Yes. I'm going to have something to say to him tomorrow!

The last time they collected and delivered the car, the driver hit the kerb in our road and there was a bit missing when we got the car back. The same driver is still working for them. That says a lot for the dealership.

I think the alarm may have a separate back up battery but who needs a Lexus dealer when you have LOC

Thanks. It stopped after a periodic low-key sounding for about 8 mins.

Even if the car is double locked you can still open it with the key, there is a silver plastic blanking plug in the drivers door handle, remove this with your fingernails or a bit of plastic, as it is quite soft and will mark easily, then use the key blade in your key fob, it comes out by sliding the catch at the base of the key and then sliding it out.

Good luck

Pete

Thanks Pete. Have got in with the manual key. Trouble is, have now set off the alarm. The Battery obviously has just enough to keep the anti-theft alarm going.

Jane

Will buy a Battery charger tomorrow.

Hi Jane, have you had a look at your other post? as Pete (Haylands) Has replied to it about your problem? :)

Thanks very much - have just seen it.

Even if the car is double locked you can still open it with the key, there is a silver plastic blanking plug in the drivers door handle, remove this with your fingernails or a bit of plastic, as it is quite soft and will mark easily, then use the key blade in your key fob, it comes out by sliding the catch at the base of the key and then sliding it out.

Good luck

Pete

Thanks Pete. Have got in with the manual key. Trouble is, have now set off the alarm. The Battery obviously has just enough to keep the anti-theft alarm going.

Jane

Can anyone help please?

Lexus main dealer tells me (on the phone) my car has deadlocking as I can't get into it and haven't used it for a fortnight. They say they don't know how to get into it. Can this be true for their flagship model??? They told me to call the AA!

I need them to MOT it this month.

Jane

Battery

My Battery always goes flat if I don't use the car for over a week. Any ideas please?

Dead locked

This time I left it for 2 weeks and can't even get into the car. Usually the Battery goes flat and the car is unlocked. Now the Lexus service man tells me on the phone that it must be 'deadlocked' because I must have pressed the fob twice when I locked it. He says he doesn't know how to get into the car and suggested I call the AA!

Can this be right? Shouldn't the very expensive main dealer know how to help?

Has anyone else had this problem? All suggestions (polite please) would be most welcome.

Jane

Hi

Nice looking car but if you want to sell it then I would suggest taking that black mat out of it, get lower and take a better angle of the dash, or even sit in the back seat and take a picture like my avatar. Outside take the photograph from a low angle with a 3/4 view, i.e. from corners.

Can't understand why you are selling it, what are you going to replace it with??

Pete

Thanks for that Pete. I'll have another go at the dash.

Why are we selling? - We've got 2 sons at uni to support with their cars too. It was a toss up between keeping the Lexus or the Volvo V70. We love the Lexus; it's a dream to drive, and beautifully smooth and quiet. There can't be a more luxurious car. But, at the end of the day the Volvo is more of a work horse and practical for our purposes.

What about.... Keep the Lexus, sell the volvo and buy a trailer, get student rail cards for the kids and sell their cars...!!?!?!???!?

But seriously I know what you mean, you can always buy another later....

Good Luck

Pete

I know. There's no contest. When we got out of the Lexus on Sunday after a long journey, we didn't feel as if we'd been in a car at all - completely refreshed! The best car I've ever driven. It's very tempting to change our minds.

Hi

Nice looking car but if you want to sell it then I would suggest taking that black mat out of it, get lower and take a better angle of the dash, or even sit in the back seat and take a picture like my avatar. Outside take the photograph from a low angle with a 3/4 view, i.e. from corners.

Can't understand why you are selling it, what are you going to replace it with??

Pete

Thanks for that Pete. I'll have another go at the dash.

Why are we selling? - We've got 2 sons at uni to support with their cars too. It was a toss up between keeping the Lexus or the Volvo V70. We love the Lexus; it's a dream to drive, and beautifully smooth and quiet. There can't be a more luxurious car. But, at the end of the day the Volvo is more of a work horse and practical for our purposes.

I have been studying the market for the last year, and finally got a LS430 2001Y very good condition 56K on the clock one owner for 10K.

at 106K you should be able to get at least 9K private sale, there is a lot of interest in the LS 430 as it is the flagship of Lexus, it would be a enthusiast who would more than likely buy it .

I would use and always have used Parkers, as how many people have assess to glasses guide!, normally you have to pay or be in the trade.

when I bought mine I was fully aware of the MPG and it has never been a worry for me, if you want power you are going to use more fuel.., and it does better (slightly)on MPG (on the motorway) than the GS300 I had before!

A car is only worth what people are willing to pay for it!

i have only ever bought 1 (my first ) car from a garage, if you trade in a 10K car you will loose 2k (compared to a Private sell) and pay an extra 2 k for the new car.

As the 430@s have only just crossed the 10K price line, it would be a good time to sell. another year and there will be a lot more on the market at lower prices.

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experience. I wouldn't want to give such a lovely car away to a dealer. Will try and post some photos as soon as I can, too.

Here are some photos.

I have been studying the market for the last year, and finally got a LS430 2001Y very good condition 56K on the clock one owner for 10K.

at 106K you should be able to get at least 9K private sale, there is a lot of interest in the LS 430 as it is the flagship of Lexus, it would be a enthusiast who would more than likely buy it .

I would use and always have used Parkers, as how many people have assess to glasses guide!, normally you have to pay or be in the trade.

when I bought mine I was fully aware of the MPG and it has never been a worry for me, if you want power you are going to use more fuel.., and it does better (slightly)on MPG (on the motorway) than the GS300 I had before!

A car is only worth what people are willing to pay for it!

i have only ever bought 1 (my first ) car from a garage, if you trade in a 10K car you will loose 2k (compared to a Private sell) and pay an extra 2 k for the new car.

As the 430@s have only just crossed the 10K price line, it would be a good time to sell. another year and there will be a lot more on the market at lower prices.

Thanks for the advice and sharing your experience. I wouldn't want to give such a lovely car away to a dealer. Will try and post some photos as soon as I can, too.

Parker's online is good place to start:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/

Hi Barney

Thanks for that. Yes, I've now looked at Parkers and at Whatcar. Now have price at around £11,875, but think that's optimistic. A chauffeur suggested we advertise it on Autotrader, but I've got to get photos sorted and downloaded to our computer for that and am having problems with it.

Rgrds

JEM

Are you sure you're not just trying to advertise it here?

JEM is a gold member & entitled to offer it for sale and has here :)

Hi

We're thinking about selling it. Just started researching.

JEM

Parker's online is good place to start:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/

Parkers price of £12k is, I think, over optimistic. Have been searching for a nice 430 for the past 2 months and believe an offer of £9k+ is probably the best you could hope for. Sorry to bear such bad news, but I purchased mine (LS400 1999) a little over a year ago for £8200 and now would be lucky to get £5k.

Unfortuneately, you are caught in the trap of selling a big car (prices dropping like lead) and downsizing to a smaller car (prices at a premium).

Best of luck anyway, Graham.

Hi Graham

Thanks for that. A chauffeur suggested that it will be attractive to private chauffeurs, and told me that the mileage is not a problem as they go on for ever! He said to advertise in Autotrader. I need to provide photos to do that and am having trouble downloading them to our computer at the moment.

We're not in a hurry. I'll see if I get any interest locally, first. It has the Premium pack, which is great, and a electric 'moon roof'. Also has ultrasonic parking sensors; but have these turned off at the moment as the rear one kept coming on. We didn't need to use them, so decided not to pay Lexus an enormous amount of money to sort them out. It may not be a big fault.

I arrived at a selling figure of £11,875 from Whatcar (not incl Prem pack), but know that's optimistic.

It's such a great car to drive - so quiet and smooth. We also have a Volvo and that's got a lot of road and engine noise in comparison.

Regards

JEM

I'm thinking about selling our LS 430, but am having problems working out how much it is worth. It's a beautiful luxury car and so easy to drive, but after a couple of years with it we've decided we ought to downsize.

Details are:

LS 430 with Premium Pack. Year 2001/51. Platinum ice with Sussex leather. 106,000 miles on clock. Full Lexus service history. Is about to have a service. MOT is til September 2008.

1 previous owner. Has built-in sat nav and all the other luxuries you would expect.

Generally good condition, but some wear and tear. Small dent in near-side door. Some tiny chips in paintwork. Small tear to back of front passenger seat. Has ultrasonic parking sensors, but there is a fault with the rear ones so they've been turned off. Alloy wheels are showing signs of wear (I understand this is a weakness with Lexus).

Would appreciate it if anyone could give me an idea of value.

Thanks.