Advice On A Used 430 And Local Mechanic St. Pete Fl

[ottoman]

Hi All-

Just joined- and like a previous poster I am in the market for a used LS430, budget is about $32k. Since I plan to own it long term, I'm already convinced to stay away from air suspension (not an appealing feature for me anyway). Other than that, are there any particular options I should avoid that are not DIY fixes? Nav would be nice, but not if something funky happens with the software that only the dealer can resolve.

Also- can anybody suggest a good independed Lexus mechanic in the St. Petersburg FL area?

Thanks.

[1990LS400]

Unless you have specialized equipment and knowledge, there are many diagnostic procedures for even minimally equipped Lexus LS cars that would be beyond the average shadetree mechanic. It never fails to amaze me how complex the diagnostic procedures described in the repair manuals are and that the manuals do not even show the exact location of many components.

If your budget is $32K, the weak used car market should make it easy to find a very low mileage, well equipped 2006 LS430 produced late in the 2006 model year -- perhaps aim for a car built in June or July 2006 and sold new in August or September 2006. Buying a car produced late in the 2006 model year will give you nearly a year left on the basic 4 year warranty if you stay within the 50,000 mile basic warranty mileage cap. I did exactly this in the fall of 2003 when I bought an off 3-year lease 2000 LS400 that was built in June 2000 and originally sold (leased) on 31 July 2000. The cool aspect is that a car produced late in the model year isn't going to cost any more than one produced early in the model year.

Here is a link to the specs and options list for the 2006 LS430: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/LS/2006.html

[ottoman]

Thanks for the reply and advice. Taking delivery of a 06 LS today.