TennesseeLexus

Thanks for the great post TOGWT, turns out the car will be indoors for the next month or two as the custom interior is being started ahead of schedule. I'll definitely keep the info you shared handy.

Pictures?????

I realize to alot of you out in LexusLand this color on a car is boring. I happen to like it but when I was looking at '03 LS430s I would pretty much take any color but black. Now I stole my present CPO LS430 (under $35k) and it happened to be white soooooooooooooooooo It doesn't seem to show scratches or swirls and that is my delimma; how do you evaluate the paint on a white car? The car has been garaged and still is being garaged.

I have stumbled across an interesting tool to help wash your car. Now usually I use a high quality open hole sponge with lots of suds or I may try the sheepskin mitts but what about the foam gun? It looks like it could really generate nice suds to start working on your car before you then start to "wash" the car. Anyone have experience with this? I saw the Foamaster Foam Gun for around $60. Also is the sheepskin mitt better than MF? or is the sea sponge the way to go?????

Thanks as always.

I think when you combine your list with TOG's you've got a pretty good arsenal ;)

Thank you for your advice!!!!!!!! I can't wait to tell my wife I am dropping another 2 bills for everything else. :chairshot:

But I can point to you guys on the board as saying that my list is necessary. :whistles:

BTW any advice on the door paint scratches behind the door handle which you pull out.

Also would you use any sort of "California Jelly Blade" for removing the water after a wash or the drying towels?

Guys/Gals,

I have a '03 LS430 that is Crystal White with Tan Leather. Here is what I want to order to keep the paint and interior in excellent shape for the next 4-5 years. The paint seems to be in excellent shape and it has been and is garaged.

Porter Cable 7424 (own it)

Lexol Leather cleaner and conditioner (own it)

Stoner glass spray (can)(own it)

Mother's Powerball and mini powerball plus powerball metal polish (own it)

Most everything below will be from Autopia

Sonus SFX Ultra-Fine Detailing Clay

Sonus Glyde Clay Lubricant

Sonus Paintwork Cleanser

Concours Finishing Bonnet

Sonus Acrylic Spritz

Sonus Dual-Action System Foam Pads: Sonus DAS Pad Kit

Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze

Klasse ALL-IN-ONE Polish

303 Aerospace Protectant, 16 oz.

Sonus Complete Detailing Towel Kit

Am I missing something or is something not logical in my list?

This August when I bought my CPO 430 and I was driving it back from Ann Arbor to Nashville and had the A/C on the entire trip. Around 100 miles into the trip I noticed when I had the radio off I heard a "swishing" or a "psssst" sound that seemed to be coming from my driver's side A/C vent. When I turned the A/C off it went away. I took it to my dealer when I was getting the oil changed and naturally I could not duplicate that noise but I do still have it when I use the A/C. I am not real worried since it's a CPO car and will get it addressed in the near future but could it be water dripping or condensation in the A/C vents?

Thoughts?

Wow I'm impressed by that picture of the '96. Mine is exactly the same color, but there are a lot of stone chips on the front grill (especially down low). My previous '91 had that as well.

Did you re-paint the bumper at some time? Or are the streets just a lot cleaner in your area?

Cleaner and I am REAL anal when it comes to keeping my car clean! B)

Very nice cars! Just curious, did you sell your ls400, how much are you asking for it? or if sold, what ballpark figure did you get for it.

Nope, It's still for sale..........well I haven't been pushing it very hard. I'm asking $9995 for it. If you are interested let me know and I can give you a link to pictures and more of a description.

Wow I'm impressed by that picture of the '96. Mine is exactly the same color, but there are a lot of stone chips on the front grill (especially down low). My previous '91 had that as well.

Did you re-paint the bumper at some time? Or are the streets just a lot cleaner in your area?

Cleaner and I am REAL anal when it comes to keeping my car clean! B)

Would you mind taking a picture of the two side by side and posting it? :)

Here you go:

I arrived back in Nashville about 3 hours ago. All I can say is............WOW! :) It was unbelieveable! I thought my LS400 was quiet but dang it was like sitting in a tomb...and the stereo----------the ML was spectacular. I kept it at around 75-80 mph all the way home.........OK maybe I did get up to 100 mph or so :whistles: on a couple of straight aways but I went over 500 miles on less than 1 TANK of gas! Now the hard part is putting some final detailing touchups on the LS400 to sell. Hopefully it'll sell fast............

As I sit here at Midway Airport in Chicago waiting for my flight to Detroit where I will then travel to Ann Arbor tomorrow to pick up my new (to me) car, I have thoughts about an old vehicle that served my well. My 96 LS 400 with 176k miles is ready for a new home. I have cleaned her up and will be putting out the for-sale sign next week. She had every service on time (or relatively on time) and was a blast to drive.

My new car is a 2003 LS430 (CPO) white with tan leather and navigation and only 34k miles. I am really excited about getting behind the wheel of my new ride and driving the 500 miles back to Nashville. I will be using the navigation (if I can figure it out before I leave) and listening to the kick-!Removed! ML stereo. I looked high and low for this car that fit my criteria (CPO, white and NAV) down to the price of $36k. I had my LS400 for 5 years and it was a joy to drive. I shall keep this one for 5 years and then the LS460 will becken. I have learned a lot about my LS400 on this site and I am look forward to learning even more about my LS430. It's tough to part but I want someone else to experience the wonder that is the Lexus LS series.

I know right? i haven't quoted it but that's what the guy on the CL posting said he paid.

You are talking like 30 min of labor max here. A good audio installer would also be able to do it.

What does that do to any warranty on the radio/NAV system?

I purchased both units from VAIS tech directly from their group buy. They were very easy to deal with and they shipped it almost immediately.

Mattazuma (the user in the CL forums) said that it cost about $100 at the dealer to have them install it. From an electrical standpoint it involves unplugging the av link bus from the back of the cd/cassette unit and attaching the vaistech harness and then plugging the harness into the vehicle electrical system and then connecting the harness to the Vaistech unit; the big challenge is getting to it. It's all plug and play and the instructions provided by VAIStech are pretty comprehensive.

There is nothing that elaborate about installing the unit; the greatest danger in the LS is scratching or denting the wood trim on the pieces you have to remove to get to it. I admit I'm still wondering if I should just suck it up and pay the dealer to install my unit as well.

The ML system is definitely worth the extra cost however...it rocks!

I just installed the VAIS unit on my friend's '04 Prius, and I have one in a box for my LS430...I've been waiting for my Parrot bluetooth kit to show up as I only want to take the car apart once (this the new SLI series not the old AVC).

This guy on the CL forums put one in his '01 LS and from what I can tell it works the same way the one in the Prius does. You will see the iPod come up as an MD changer, and the Playlist name will come up as the album name, and the song name is displayed too. You can also control the iPod from the unit; if you press the scan button 8 times in a row the headunit will release it from it's control. The track + and - buttons will still work but you won't see the info on the display. Most of the time you'll probably want to stash it somewhere out of sight and use the stereo controls.

The SLI plugs into the dock port (I was thinking of installing a cradle for it) and it charges the ipod while the stereo is controlling it. Sound quality on the Prius with the JBL sound system was fantastic....apparently the the ML system sounds even better.

Installation on the Prius was pretty easy, the LS is more complicated. You have to take off the 2 lower trim panels and the CD changer door and there are a bunch of screws to remove as well so you can pull the head unit out to get to the plug on the back. The wire can be run from the back of the unit to the lower glove box, where you actually tuck the unit away (apparently they periodically release upgraded software, and they also have a pretty friendly upgrade policy on the unit itself).

As far as Ipod systems go this is the best one I've seen so far. I know Denison makes one that is simliar but doesn't have quite as many features and I don't know if it works with the earlier models of the LS or not. The SLI also adds an additional AUX port, for a DVD player or whatever else you want. They say they are coming out with a combo ipod/xm unit by the end of the year.

When I finally do it I will post pix....

Hi,

I live in Nashville and will be buying a 2003 LS 430 with Nav/ML in the next few weeks. I am interested in the ipod system you have installed in the Prius (and have one for your LS430). Do I buy the unit from the manufacturer and have it installed at a local stereo shop or what? I really don't want just "anyone" working on my car but I know my limitations and car electronics is ONE of them. LOL

Just so I understand, you are saying that it only costs $100 for a LEXUS Dealer to install one of these systems. I don't know of ANY Lexus Dealer that does ANYTHING for only $100!

I just installed the VAIS unit on my friend's '04 Prius, and I have one in a box for my LS430...I've been waiting for my Parrot bluetooth kit to show up as I only want to take the car apart once (this the new SLI series not the old AVC).

This guy on the CL forums put one in his '01 LS and from what I can tell it works the same way the one in the Prius does. You will see the iPod come up as an MD changer, and the Playlist name will come up as the album name, and the song name is displayed too. You can also control the iPod from the unit; if you press the scan button 8 times in a row the headunit will release it from it's control. The track + and - buttons will still work but you won't see the info on the display. Most of the time you'll probably want to stash it somewhere out of sight and use the stereo controls.

The SLI plugs into the dock port (I was thinking of installing a cradle for it) and it charges the ipod while the stereo is controlling it. Sound quality on the Prius with the JBL sound system was fantastic....apparently the the ML system sounds even better.

Installation on the Prius was pretty easy, the LS is more complicated. You have to take off the 2 lower trim panels and the CD changer door and there are a bunch of screws to remove as well so you can pull the head unit out to get to the plug on the back. The wire can be run from the back of the unit to the lower glove box, where you actually tuck the unit away (apparently they periodically release upgraded software, and they also have a pretty friendly upgrade policy on the unit itself).

As far as Ipod systems go this is the best one I've seen so far. I know Denison makes one that is simliar but doesn't have quite as many features and I don't know if it works with the earlier models of the LS or not. The SLI also adds an additional AUX port, for a DVD player or whatever else you want. They say they are coming out with a combo ipod/xm unit by the end of the year.

When I finally do it I will post pix....

Hi,

I live in Nashville and will be buying a 2003 LS 430 with Nav/ML in the next few weeks. I am interested in the ipod system you have installed in the Prius (and have one for your LS430). Do I buy the unit from the manufacturer and have it installed at a local stereo shop or what? I really don't want just "anyone" working on my car but I know my limitations and car electronics is ONE of them. LOL

I doubt if you have to go all the way to an auto auction in L.A. to locate a "2003 LS 430 white, w/Nav and less than 35k miles". There are auto auctions all over the U.S. If your 8,000 unit used car dealer thinks he has to go all the way to L.A., I suggest you drop him and deal with someone else. I wouldn't be concerned with how much a dealer pays for a used LS at an auto auction. Why care? Your goal is to buy a car like you want at a competitive price and the used car dealer or broker's goal is to make a profit large enough to feed his family.

Personally I don't care how much the used car dealer paid at an auto auction for the white 2000 LS400 with 38,000 miles I bought in 2003. I hope he made a buttload of money - he's a great guy. All I care about is that I bought a very nice car -- better optioned than I was looking for -- from him at about $8,000 less than what the local Lexus dealer wanted in 2003 for several 2000 LS400's with similar mileage but fewer options. Like you I wanted a car with a bit fewer miles (36,000) miles but 38,000 miles was close enough -- I suggest that you be a little flexible on mileage and options. Who knows, you might get a nicer LS than what you are looking for -- like I did.

If you really want to buy a car at Manheim in L.A. and want to attend the auction, a roundtrip airline ticket to L.A. is cheap compared to a $35-36,000 price for a car. Hey, I've changed planes in Nashville numerous times so I know there are airports in Tennessee. LOL!

WOW, I appreciate all the feedback but first a few things:

1) I NEVER said ANYTHING about LA! The poster after my initial post made that assumption

2) I know what I WANT to pay for a car I was JUST curious------that's all really. I am VERY confident that my dealer will get what I want.

Thanks but I live in Nashville and I can't be flying to CA for an auto auction. BTW, my dealer will be calling me and conferencing in the buyer who will be looking at the car before he bids. Plus he said that there will be no problems or I can walk away (within reason of course).

I am contemplating buying a 2003 LS430 from a dealer(not Lexus)...........he has been around for around 9 years and has sold over 8,000 cars in that time. He is well known and has a good reputation. I want a 2003 LS 430 white, w/Nav and less than 35k miles. I have a price in mind (around $35-36k). He thinks that his full-time buyer can find one like the one I want. He will be going to Manheim Auctions to find the car.

My question is how much do dealers actually buy these cars for? I know they have to make a profit but I am curious as to what "auction" prices are. I realize a more popular car will command a higher price but other than that what profit are we talking about? $2k, 3k.......................

MarioC

The senario that you experienced happened to me 1 month ago. On my 1996 LS400 (176k miles) my P/S pump leaked on my alternator causing it to fail. I was driving back from Birmingham, AL at 12:00 midnight and pulled into my garage and it died!!! Talk about LUCKY. They are right about the price to repair. Good luck and I know your LS will bring you many, many years/miles of fun and enjoyment.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! B)

Can't wait 3-4 years when I will buy one probably 2008 LS460.

I am looking at replacing my 1996 LS400 (175k miles) sometime within the next 3-4 months. I use it as a company car since I travel a lot but have never missed a scheduled maintenance.

I have looked at 2003 LS430s with and without the navigation. Obviously the cars (with approx equal miles) cost $1-2K more. I am looking at cars that have between 30-40k miles. I know a lot of people really like the navigation package but I have also seen many reports (on this site) talking about problems so I guess my question is over the long-haul (next 4-5 years of car ownership) will it be "worth it"? It looks to me that I will have many more "fixes" with the navigation system. Thoughts? Opinions?

Finally, people on this board have been talking about a "flood" of LS430s this fall when the LS460 comes out. So do I wait until this fall (Oct/Nov) to look at cars and will the 2004s be "any better" than the 2003s?

In terms of buying a car I have been looking at eBay motors and autotrader. I see that a lot of the eBay motors sellers do have a fairly long track record of sales but I am leery. Anyone who has purchased lately where did you get your LS430s/400s?

I have been on here awhile and have come to valuable opinions on this board so fire away!

The water pump is driven by the same belt as the alternator, not the timing belt.

I'm pretty sure the power stearing pump leak is NOT the cause of the alternator failures as many have reported. I repaired my power stearing pump myself and the leak wasn't substantial enough to really do any damage to the alternator. The problem with my alternator at 100k miles was that the slip ring contacts have worn down to nothing the slip ring brushes looked good for another 100k miles.

Unless the water pump is leaking I wouldn't bother with it.

I have a "dead" alternator that was shorted due to the PS leaking. I have a 96 LS400 with 172,000 miles. That was the exact cause. It also caused the alternator to "short" which fused/melted two sensor wires together which made my check engine light come on. My IM charged me $800 for the alternator and labor. To replace the sensors (I didn't get exactly which sensors were needed but I trust my mechanic) I am having him replace my TB and WP since the engine is torn down to that level anyway. He is charging me $75 for the TP and around $210 for the WP. It is expensive but this means that my TB is now changed. When I sell the car in around 5 months all service will be done.

This post will be updated with new information

Recommended Tire Choice for the LS 400-All Years

Michilen HydroEdge--All Seasons

Firestone Affinity LH30--All Seasons(Stock Wheels)

Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Symmetrical--All Seasons(Stock Wheels)

Yokohama AVS DB S2--all Seasons(Stock Wheels)

Members please add more Tire Choices, and I'll merge them into one Post.

←

For the LS, I would add:

- Falken Ziex ZE-512

- Toyo Proxes TPT

- Yokohama Avid H4S & V4S (depending on the speed rating you want / need)

- Goodyears new 'Assurance' line which are either the Comfortreads OR Triple Treads. (the GY Triple Treads trump the Michelin Hydroedge because of the ice traction they are capable of) B)

I have the Avid V4S on my 1996 LS400 and they are great. they are also inexpensive from tirerack.com around $78/tire.

It is the 2004 model.

2004 LS430 Recall

I see some units that have air suspension and/or a Ultra Luxury package (vibrating seats etc) and I want to know if it's worth the extra money. I have seen a 2001 with the Ultra Lux package for around $28,500 (58k miles) and wonder if buying this car would be buying major problems down the road. I have seen 2002s with around 55-60K miles around $30k. Does anyone know what options/features that came on the 2001/2002 that have been proven to be a major headache in terms of ownership. I am looking locally in Nashville but also on autotrader.com and cars.com. Any other websites that might be helpful? I do carfax any car I am looking at but I know that is just a cursory overview. I like to see the chain of ownership of a car.

I have a 1996 LS400 with 165k miles and the only thing I didn't have on it was the air suspension (my mechanic was disappointed with that since he told me he could have put his son through private school with it :D )

Suggestions, websites

I currently own a LS400 ('96) with 165k of mostly highway miles. It is in great shape but I drive a lot for my job and have had the car for 5 years. Do I HAVE to change cars?-------no but I just love the LS430s (2002,2003). My dilemma is that my lovely wife, Mrs. TennesseeLexus wants me to look at the GS430 (or GS300) because she thinks since it is a smaller car it will cost a lot less. I am looking at around $28-30K for a LS430 but I know next to nothing about the GS line except that the GS430 (2003 and above) are really fast and more of a sports car than the LS430.

I realize this is a GS430 forum but any feed back would be appreciated---pro or con. I really don’t know what I am going to do. YOU MUST KEEP THE MRS. HAPPY THOUGH. I would be looking at a 2004 and above for the GS430. I am also posting this same message on the LS430 forum.

Thanks and happy motor’n.