Thinking of buying an 05 or 06 430.

[jcrome04]

Hey guys. Been a while. I've had my 06 Maxima for almost 10 years now, and thinking of getting back into an LS. As title suggests looking for an 05 or 06. 

In the past I have owned a 91 and 97 LS and miss how bulletproof they were (other than the guage clusters). I'm tired of all the little random repairs, and now tranny work that I never had to worry about with any old LSs. Just wondering if there are any issues with the 3rd gens, or anything to specifically look for when buying an 05 or 06.

 

Thanks everyone in advance!

[2ton]

Our '04 LS430 is a great car. Powertrain is well designed and will last 300,000 miles + if cared for. I would want to see service records before purchase. The timing belt 100,000 service is costly. Michelin tires are great if installed. The optional GPS electronics package seem marginal, as is optional ride control. I would stay away from a car so equipped. 

We bought the car 8 years ago with 100,000 miles on it, and knew the original owner. Car was always serviced at the Lexus dealer, a GREAT find on a used LS.

Things that went south on our LS in 8 years: tires, brakes, O2 sensors, passenger door lock, headlight movement, steering wheel movement, back window screen, hood and trunk struts, driver seat leather. 

 

[jcrome04]

Thanks for the info. I'll be keeping that in mind.

[raymond123]

I had a 1996 ls400 with 240,000 ,only major  service was a timing belt $900.00 which was worth the investment . Only reason I no longer have it was the LS 400 was no match for a large deer .

I now  have a 2006 LS 430 with 69,000 miles ,   If you want a car for life the LS series is the answer .

[Wildlyfastwill]

Agree. LS are the best car available. No issues ever.  Timing belt replacement is on U-Tube. Cheap if you do it yourself. Easy to do. Love my LS 430. Love my 1993 LS 400 too.

[Seve7]

the only biggie is the timing belt, ensure that it has been done recently, if you are a decent wrench theres writeups available and i dont remember anything particularly challenging other than harmonic balancer bolt.  i had to resort to starter bumping the engine with a long breaker bar on it to get it off.  first time expect 8-10 hours of work, second time you can probably get it down close to 4 hours.