Front Strut Replacement For 2003 Ls430

[03whiteLS430]

I recently sold my 2003 LS430 and the buyer took it to a local shop for a 120 point inspection before finalizing the transaction. I would highly recommend considering that type of inspection before you buy any used Lexus since he informed me my car had been in an accident and there was body work on the trunk panel behind the rear door on the driver side. They also discovered one of the front struts was leaking and offered to replace them for $900. I think the dealership was more like $1200.

I confirmed one strut was leaking, ordered a pair at Irontoad for $230 and with a friends help and a maintenance manual got the job done in 1 hour and 42 minutes. I took it for a wheel alignment the next day so total out of pocket was $310.

If anyone in the DFW area needs front struts, PM me and I can help you with it. Of course I had sellers remorse after replacing the struts, the car rode really nice afterwards!

I also believe if you have the air ride system that you can switch to standard struts instead of paying something like $3000 to fix that.

After looking around for a replacement car, I realize there isn't anything I really want or like because I won't spend $40K+ for a new car and most other used cars in the $25K range are not as reliable or nice as the LS430. I should have just spent the extra $$ for a 2005 LS430 with NAV and ML stereo a year ago when I bought this car which is what I really wanted. I also learned that you should never fly to a city to buy a car you found on eBay cause you allow yourself to overlook some details that would have kept you from buying the car had it been local and you just drove to see it. I knew I should never had bought the Lexus I had - it looked good in the ad but the dealership lied about the car not being in an accident and I was dumb enough not to notice that.

I might have to keep a look-out for a good deal on a 2005 or 2006, preferrably with leaking front struts so I can get them to knock $1200 off the asking price.