jonthetourist

It could have been a lot worse. A scaffold pole could have taken your head off😱

1 hour ago, BigBoomer said:

VERY overpriced, especially for the time of year.  There is a 99k miles 2004 on eBay for £6k that I would choose over that one.
In other news, my 2004 is in for it's MOT on Saturday 😁🤞

That one has done 10,000 miles in the last 15 years, and was off the road for a long time. Which doesn't mean it's a bad buy of course.

3 minutes ago, GEN said:

It is somewhat expensive: I bought my previous Ls430 which looked just like this one but only had 60000 miles for a couple of thousand less from a dealer but these are now getting quite rare...

I paid £8.5k for mine 4 years ago - one owner, FLSH and 42k miles. Of course money is not what it was . .

Last night I took a regular short cut back to the M5 from a family gathering but hadn't counted on the football ending at the Hawthorns just before we arrived. The tiny lane has no lines and normally nobody would park there, but for matchday it was lined, which meant everyone else had to squeeze past with inches to spare, with rain falling and people dashing across constantly.

I was concentrating so hard it took me a while to notice I was following a silver LSE430 - LT54 from memory. 

Member on here?

Jon

Sounds ace. Make sure you have a secure support when you do the struts - that bonnet is really heavy. (ask me how I know 🙃)

If bean counter means accountant, you will enjoy the (lack of) depreciation on your new purchase.

Enjoy!

Jon

On 10/28/2023 at 6:19 PM, Cotswold Pete said:

Not sure if you know about Osaka in Newport,  I used to use them when I had LS, chap I dealt with was ex lexus mechanic, genuine guys, and one of t hese garages that more than happy to get you under the car and point out things and never demeaning when I asked my not so informed questions.  They are near the Transport Bridge

Second the rec for Osaka. I have been taking my 430s there for 8 years. Knowledgeable, helpful, good value.

I lived briefly in Germany with some drug dealers at the end of the 70s. Their sound system was by Nakamichi Research Corporation, which I had never heard of. They assured me it cost over £10k then - they didn't pay that as many of their clients were from the local USAF base with access to discounted goods. It certainly sounded good.

On 10/2/2023 at 1:15 PM, jenkiadr said:

Hi All,

I sold the car last month to a fellow Lexus owners club member. Thank you for your interest.

Regards,

Adrian

Interesting. My conclusion after driving an LS430 for years was that my next car would be . . a better version of the same. Hope he / she is enjoying yours.

Wow, I thought I had done well to get 433 miles at 32 per gallon on my last tank. 39 is wild.

Many thanks for this guide. I have just done mine. The surround has not blown in this instance. The actual speaker had a lump missing. 

Looking forward to better sound from now on. 

Thanks again

Jon

Had one of those days where motorway traffic was busy, but moving quite well. Speedo mainly showing 65 to 70.

Saw a number for mpg  I have never seen before. 

Jon

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

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.

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 😀
 

1 hour ago, Lexus_2023 said:

@lex - eleven  Just a quick question - will this boot liner fit on 2002 Lexus LS 430?  I recently ordered one from Lexus parts direct and they couldn't confirm whether this item will fit on 2002 version (Lexus notified they never made an official boot liner for 2000/2001/2002 Lexus LS 430!). thanks!

Well their description says - 

Lexus LS Phase 3 Boot Liner

Suitable for Lexus LS Phase 3 2001-2006

I would buy one, but can't bring myself to pay £30 postage. 

Good luck in Alaska Rory. I got my first 430 from an Irish guy who had been posted to the Caribbean to start a new life.

From a purely selfish point of view, I got my current 2004 430 in Bolton (small world) 4 years ago for £8,500. I am the 2nd owner and it has 62k miles now, so good to see prices holding up.

Hope the car finds a good new owner.

Jon

You could certainly raise the back of the seat to get out, then drop it again once you are in. Probably commit two settings to memory. I am 6' 5" and find the 430 very comfortable.

Jon

Thanks folks. How big a job is replacing the lamps? (not bulbs!)

Jon

I suspect this topic has been covered, but I can't find it - sorry.

My driver's side dipped headlight is intermittently not working. So not as simple as just a bulb replacement. I have read about ballast, but don't really understand it. I also looked up the bulb at Halfords and noticed they won't fit it. My feeling is probably replacing bulb and ballast both sides is the right way to go, but how big a job is that likely to be, and is there any danger in it?

Thoughts appreciated.

Jon

15 hours ago, Redefined said:

Another thing I forgot to update and don't wish to miss in my timeline of this beautiful car. Regards the timing belt worries and no service history. Miraculously I managed to find a wad of paperwork (not sure how I missed it) with documentation of the last 10 years of service history. Mainly at the same place down near the Cotswolds.

Filled me with a warm feeling all over and explains why the fluids look clean each time I've serviced the one's I've managed so far. Though the aux belt which I looked at today whilst under the front end looked a bit tired so will still get both belts done very very soon 🙂 God Willing...

Any more details on the "place near the Cotswolds"? A few of us on here from Gloucestershire.

20 hours ago, ambermarine said:

This is a very interesting video from the states and this guy is an authority on Lexus vehicles and a Toyota master technician.

Be sure to watch the video all the way through as there is a update featured for the touchscreen that replaces the oem version and is a vast improvement.

(3) New Toyota Problem I've Never Seen Before! More LS430 Goodness! - YouTube.pdf 2.01 MB · 4 downloads

Has anyone installed this unit? It looks great, but I can't find it anywhere, and a second recommendation would be encouraging.

That's the one. 

My 2p is I have a main dealer 10 miles away, but drive 50 miles to Osaka, a specialist, because the work is done by a man who served his apprenticeship on 400s and 430s, and knows them inside out. 

Choose up

The metallic fleck in the paint is sparkling so brightly the camera has really struggled with it. Looks better in the flesh.