03whiteLS430 Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 Hello, figured since I plan on buying a 2001 or 02 LS430 I should join the "club". Just sold my 300C SRT8 and want something different. I'm checking eBay, cars.com, autobytel.com and Craigslist for my car. Not in a hurry, just want to find a great deal on a well maintained car. Any other ideas on where to look would be appreciated. I also promised the wife I would not join another forum and mod the heck out of my car like I did with the SRT8. After looking around on this forum, it might be a promise I can't keep! :D Regards, Wez from Dallas
1990LS400 Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 I might start by looking at Sewell Lexus over by Love Field: http://www.sewelllexus-dallas.com/HomePage I've known people up here in the Kansas City area that have bought LS cars from Sewell. How you buy is dependent on your goals. Personally, I focus on condition and features with price being less of an issue. Make sure you know what you are buying. Review the options for the various model years of the LS by modifying the year in this URL or by looking in the CPO Model library on the Lexus website: http://www.lexus.com/contact/pdf/2001/2001LSspecs.pdf Hey, if you see a geezer pumping gas into his LS430, ask him he wants to sell it. That actually happens.
dcfish Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 Hello, figured since I plan on buying a 2001 or 02 LS430 I should join the "club". Just sold my 300C SRT8 and want something different. I'm checking eBay, cars.com, autobytel.com and Craigslist for my car. Not in a hurry, just want to find a great deal on a well maintained car. Any other ideas on where to look would be appreciated.I also promised the wife I would not join another forum and mod the heck out of my car like I did with the SRT8. After looking around on this forum, it might be a promise I can't keep! :D Regards, Wez from Dallas Welcome to the club Enjoy your time here B)
03whiteLS430 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Posted March 26, 2009 Jim, Thanks for the links, I was hoping to find the original window sticker info from 2001 and that helps a lot. I walk past a nice 01 or 02 LS430 in the parking lot at work and am hoping to find out who owns it because they should be ready for an '09, LOL. I'll keep my eye out at gas stations, too! Hoping to find a nice one for $12K or so.
jcrome04 Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 Hey man welcome to the club. This photo may not help you stop from modding the car! :D :D :D You should go for an '04. They face lifted it that year so it's just a tad bit more refined. Good luck on the car search. Remember to keep us posted on what you buy.
rickatups Posted March 29, 2009 Posted March 29, 2009 I am on the look-out for an "01" or and "02" as well .... ( LS 430 ) ... one place I go to a lot to look around is AUTOTRADER.COM .... I think the best thing is to not be in a hurry and to find the lowest millage car that has all the things you want in your [new] LS .... I have also learned the hard way that WHO you buy your car from is just as important as the car itself ..... I think a truly fastidious owner will be proud to break out with all his service receipts .... I want to see that he really did the transmission services and that he honestly kept up with every other fluid the car uses .... I have also noticed that a CARFAX report that says the vehicle has no history of rebuild (body / paint work) is not necessarily to be believed. You gotta really, really look ... and be sure. I have had 2 deals in the recent past that had a clean Carfax that said the vehicle was free of rebuild, but both times it was incorrect. I have noticed that Sewell often has many LS models of this vintage ... I have never been a customer of theirs (yet), but I would be willing to ..... last time I checked they had a very good Better Business Beauaru rating ... they do a lot of volume and repeat business seems to me .... I have also noticed that they seem to always practice full disclosure about their pre owned cars ... Oh .. and yes .... welcome to the club ! This is a great resource for the Lexus owner ... you are gonna like it ... !
03whiteLS430 Posted March 29, 2009 Author Posted March 29, 2009 Rick, I drove over to Sewell today to look at an 03 LS430 amd met Jonathan who does some of their eBay business. They fully disclose everything and IMO are worth a few extra $$ for the knowledge of what it is you are buying. I'm like you on finding a car with excellent service records, seems like a lot of Lexus owners have pride in ownership and it shows on the maintenance. It's just going to take a bit of time to find the right one, good luck in your search as well. I originally thought I'd be happy finding one with 90,000-120,000 miles but the lower mileage cars are really nice, too. I hope I can be patient enough to find the right one.
03whiteLS430 Posted April 2, 2009 Author Posted April 2, 2009 Woohoo, I bought a 2001 Parchment color LS430 at Park Place Lexus in Plano tonight. The previous owner took it in for the 90K service yesterday, had all the fluids changed, new spark plugs, etc. and I guess when he saw the $1000 bill he decided to trade it in. The timing belt and water pump was replaced at the 85K service back in September. It's a two owner TX car with 15 pages of routine service records that they printed out for me from their computer. This car was well maintained. It has 17" chrome wheels and the Mark Levinson stereo and drives like a dream. They are detailing it tomorrow and I'll be picking it up on Friday and will post some pictures. I'm an official owner now and that is no April Fool's joke!
Lucky13 Posted April 2, 2009 Posted April 2, 2009 Congradulations, you will not be disapointed with the car.
Schnitz Posted April 3, 2009 Posted April 3, 2009 Congrats! If you don't mind would you let us know the price you paid? Only reason I ask is that I'm on the hunt as well and would like to have a good grasp on market price. Thanks either way.
SACLS430 Posted May 17, 2009 Posted May 17, 2009 Congrats!!! :D :D :D Fellas, I'm fairly new to the Club also. I just picked up my 04' LS430 from Mesa, AZ and paid $21,310. Car is CA specs and had 64K. Took it to the dealer in Co Springs and the tech said not only had it not missed a service appt since mile 000001, it had been serviced at 60K...I was pleased to say the least. With my trade in, I financed $15K and haven't looked back. I'm probably going to put some Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds on it this week. One question for anyone else w/experience. Can I put 05' LS430 stock rims on my 04 (that is...if I can find some)? The chrome rims are nice but I really like the look of the newer ones. Thanks/Steve
McSwine Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 Congrats!!! :D :D :D Fellas, I'm fairly new to the Club also. I just picked up my 04' LS430 from Mesa, AZ and paid $21,310. Car is CA specs and had 64K. Took it to the dealer in Co Springs and the tech said not only had it not missed a service appt since mile 000001, it had been serviced at 60K...I was pleased to say the least. With my trade in, I financed $15K and haven't looked back. I'm probably going to put some Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds on it this week. One question for anyone else w/experience. Can I put 05' LS430 stock rims on my 04 (that is...if I can find some)? The chrome rims are nice but I really like the look of the newer ones. Thanks/Steve Congrats on your car. You might want to reconsider the TripleTreds, however. While great in the rain, they can be somewhat loud on some roads. I posted on one of the forums after I got mine, and some dude remarked he thought the TripleTreds were too "coarse" for the LS. After owning them for a year, I would probably agree with that assessment.
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