04 Vs. 05 Ls430

[rwallican]

Thinking about purchasing an 04 or 05 LS430. Any major differences in you guys' opinion? I have heard that a couple of kinks with the audio system and power equipment were corrected in 05. I'm seeing the certified pre owneds run about 4k cheaper for an 04. If there is no difference, I'll just get that.

[Will B.]

There were no significant changes made between the two model years. Can't vouch for any minor fixes or enhancements, but they probably aren't worth $4k. I had the same dilemma as you, and chose to get an '04.

[rwallican]

Are you satisfied with the 04? I'm kinda leaning toward that year.

[Will B.]

I'm satisfied with it, yes, but I've only owned mine for four months so you might want some more feedback before pulling the trigger.

[jpilk99]

I'm looking for an 04' or 05' as well - actually been looking for almost a year. What prices are you seeing for one with about 40k miles, Mark Levinson and ventilated seats? I can't seem to find anything lower than about $27k.

Thanks,

Jay

[rwallican]

That's about the same as here in Texas. Maybe a little higher here.

[jasonmckinley]

That's about the same as here in Texas. Maybe a little higher here.

I would get the 2004 and save yourself some $$. Cosmetically, cars are identical; I'm also not aware of any "bugs" addressed in the 2005. I bought a 2004 (unfortunately no Levinson- I didn't want the navigation and Levinson/nav is a package), but it has AC/Heated seats with 70k miles (not certified because of mileage- car was turned in with 70,108 miles) from Lexus in Jacksonville, FL for $22k. Added platinum warranty which covers me for 2 years or 100k total miles for another $2,200. Car was purchased from that dealer, serviced every 5k miles there, and traded in back in 12/07- had been sitting on the lot 5 months. They were asking $28,500 on the internet and after talking to the sales person on the phone for a while, he said $22k and it's yours. I drove 6 hours to get it and it's been awesome. I did a lot of looking (6 months worth) on eBay, Autotrader, and Cars.com and felt I got a great deal, especially knowing the history of the car and the fact that the dealership kept if for so long showed me that they believed in the quality of the car instead of auctioning it off.

PS- If interested in talking to someone at Lexus of Jacksonville, go with Keith Oktem in the pre-owned dept. Good luck.

[rwallican]

I saw a beautiful 05 LS430 with nav and 37k for $28k. I might go look at it this week.

[potown andy]

I saw a beautiful 05 LS430 with nav and 37k for $28k. I might go look at it this week.

Just purchased an 05 with 14K miles for 34K. It is a dream!

[05silverls430]

The 04 had a couple of service bulletins, I believe. One related to the fuel pump and another related the the transmission, which changed in 04 from the 5 speed (01-03) to 6 speed (04-06). I'm sure you can find details if you do a search on the forum. I have an 05 now. No differences that I'm aware of. I'd base your decision on mileage and price, not on year.

[rwallican]

Ended up purchasing the 05 LS430 with 34k miles fully loaded (nav, Mark Levinson, bluetooth, backup camera). Got it for $29k! It still has about 7 months of warranty left. Bought it at a BMW dealership of all places! I had my service friend at a Lexus dealership run the VIN number and it was purchased there. He ran all the service records and it was meticulously maintained! He said they had the same car on the lot for $39,988!!! In 3 years when I selll it and buy the LS460, I should make a nice penny off it.

[05silverls430]

Congratulations! You definitely got a smokin' deal on it! Post pictures if you get a chance. :)

[Konig]

That's about the same as here in Texas. Maybe a little higher here.

I would get the 2004 and save yourself some $$. Cosmetically, cars are identical; I'm also not aware of any "bugs" addressed in the 2005. I bought a 2004 (unfortunately no Levinson- I didn't want the navigation and Levinson/nav is a package), but it has AC/Heated seats with 70k miles (not certified because of mileage- car was turned in with 70,108 miles) from Lexus in Jacksonville, FL for $22k. Added platinum warranty which covers me for 2 years or 100k total miles for another $2,200. Car was purchased from that dealer, serviced every 5k miles there, and traded in back in 12/07- had been sitting on the lot 5 months. They were asking $28,500 on the internet and after talking to the sales person on the phone for a while, he said $22k and it's yours. I drove 6 hours to get it and it's been awesome. I did a lot of looking (6 months worth) on eBay, Autotrader, and Cars.com and felt I got a great deal, especially knowing the history of the car and the fact that the dealership kept if for so long showed me that they believed in the quality of the car instead of auctioning it off.

PS- If interested in talking to someone at Lexus of Jacksonville, go with Keith Oktem in the pre-owned dept. Good luck.

looks like lexus ls 2005 are a real bargain these days. If one were to get a 2005 lexus ls with UL package and pre collision around 20k-40k miles with at least 3 months warranty left at a small dealer whats the price like in the states?

[rwallican]

I've seen them between $33-36k. Up to $39k at the lexus dealerships.

[Will B.]

I've seen them between $33-36k. Up to $39k at the lexus dealerships.

Agreed, this seems to be about the listing price, although I'm sure you can get a private lot down to the $30k range, CPO around $32-$35k. The car industry is hurting right now and all lots are just trying to move product, although the best deals are in the SUV realm.

[JadeMonkey]

My 06 Infiniti M35 lease will expire in a month and I was pondering on buying the car for the residual of $28800 or get something different. I looked at the LS430 for a while and at my Lexus dealer I saw a 2005 pre-certified for $30K and decided to get it, since I'm getting a full 3 year or 100K mile warranty with it. It has NAV, Levinson and all that good stuff. It rides much smoother then the Infiniti but then again, the Infiniti is supposed to be the Japanese "BMW". One thing I'm disappointed at was there is no way to play MP3's. The Infiniti had a build-in 6 CD changer as well, but could play MP3's and WMA's. I'm even having a hard time playing CD-R's in the CD changer from Lexus. After I re-burned the songs in slow speed, the disks didn't skip anymore (almost). Now I'm looking to somehow connect an MP3 player to the factory stereo and I'm having a hard time finding anything. I don't like FM transmitters and hooking up an iPod in the glove box to a cable is an option that I would do as a last resort. Ideally I would like to replace the build-in CD changer either with one that can handle MP3's or with a DIN unit that has a build in 3" screen, USB and SD slot and just use the MP3 feature. I can't seem to find a cable harness that would connect to the Levinson and on the other side have RCA connectors to connect to a regular car deck. I don't care if the songs won’t show up on the NAV screen since the deck would have its own screen. Has anybody seen or heard about such a cable harness or a way to do it? Does anybody have pin-outs of the Levinson connectors in back?

How about starting a new thread on “How I made MP3 playback work” (unless it is already there) and describe all the features and list links to usable hardware and cables? I’m sure more readers would be interested.

[SW03ES]

The '05s are a good deal, its the 3 year lease cycle, next year '06s will be a good value too.

[jainla]

Has anybody seen or heard about such a cable harness or a way to do it? Does anybody have pin-outs of the Levinson connectors in back?

How about starting a new thread on “How I made MP3 playback work” (unless it is already there) and describe all the features and list links to usable hardware and cables? I’m sure more readers would be interested.

If you do a search in this forum or the AV forums for MP3 and Ipod you'll find the answers; this topic has been covered extensively. Basically the two most common options are:

1) get thee to an Apple store, acquire an Ipod and either the Vaistech, Lexus OEM, or Dice Ipod adaptors. These put the ipod on the stereo LAN as a second CD changer or MD player. Neat and very slick, again searching the posts will give you the pros and cons of each solution on the market. You could also buy an iPod with a dead battery and/or busted screen and just leave it in the car; it's controlled by the stereo.

2) rip out the Levinson system and start over. All of the technology it uses is proprietary and hard to patch into; the amp is digital and in the trunk (as is the FM Tuner). Also you'll need to keep the touchscreen to use the climate controls and factory Nav (unless you want to replace that too). People have done it; but it's not pretty and all of the interior bits, wiring harnesses etc have to be custom made.

There is a slim possibility that the Japanese DM CD units used in later Celsior models might play mp3/wma CDs (I know they play DVDs) but then you have the whole CDR issue again. These units are also very hard to find; I think the ipod is much easier to live with; if more expensive on the front end.

Some of the Vaistech units come with 2 inputs, one for sat radio/ipod and one for an AUX RCA unit; and I think they make one unit that has 2 AUX units. This might solve your problem.

Hope that helps; I'm sure other people have war stories and pointers....also some guys at Clublexus.com get really into modding their OEM stereos; there are some posts of people ripping out the Levinson unit and replacing it with a double DIN aftermarket unit but it's not for the faint of heart.

[jpilk99]

I just finalized a deal on an 04 LS430 Ultra with 44k miles and $27,000. I feel like I'm getting a sweet deal. The car is mint. Everything works - rear seat recliners with masage. Refrigerator / drink cooler. All the ventilated seats and the leather is like new. Can't wait til the paperwork is wrapped up.

Anybody want to buy my 2000 BMW 750iL???

Jay