I’ve got some questions for you experienced Lexus owners.
This summer I am being transferred to Kuwait for the next two or three years. I can’t take my current car (it’s right-hand drive), so will have to buy something while I’m back in the States in July/August. I’ve been researching all sorts of cars and SUVs, and have decided that I want to get a used LS430. I’ve always loved the LS-series, but having spent most of the last 14 years in Africa, there haven’t been too many opportunities to get one.
There are some conditions that I must abide by. The vehicle cannot be more than 5 years old, cannot have any dents or scratches or rust (these are Kuwaiti rules for importing automobiles), nor can it be a pickup truck. Due to the security situation, we will not be allowed to leave the city limits of Kuwait City (which is fairly large...about 2.5 million people), except for occasional trips to one U.S. Army base about 45 minutes south of the city. Roads are smooth and in good condition, but people drive like maniacs...speeds on the major road IN the city are often above 100mph. Speeds outside the city are whatever your car will do, so a powerful engine is necessary. Fuel economy is not a consideration because gas only costs about $.80/gallon! Traffic accidents are frequent, so a vehicle with good protection is definitely a necessity.
From what I can tell, the LS430 certainly seems to fit the bill. What I don’t know is if there are any issues with cooling...for both the engine/transmission and the passenger compartment. Are there any known problems with overheating? Would it be necessary to fit an auxiliary engine or transmission oil cooler? Is the original air conditioning system adequate for temperatures in the 135-140 degree Fahrenheit range? I don’t mind hot weather, but that’s beyond “hot”...plus the humidity because it’s right on the Persian Gulf.
It’s been well over 15 years since I’ve bought a used car, so I’m a bit out of practice. I see mileages on 2002-2004 LS models ranging from 25K to 75K or more. Assuming that one of these cars is given reasonable care (regular oil & filter changes, get the scheduled maintenance done, etc), at what mileage would one expect to start having little things go wrong or start to wear out? 50K? 75K? 100K?
Also, this CarFax thing seems to be very little help. Most of the reports I’ve seen show the date that it was sold, and then 3 or 4 years later it was sold with 45K miles, and nothing in between. There is very little info on services. Often there are obvious ownership changes but the CarFax printout lists it as a single owner. To me, there are so many errors on these things that I don’t think they’re worth the money to get one run on a particular car. Some of the dealers selling cars have a free CarFax report in many of their ads, but they seem to be fairly non-committal too. Any opinions on CarFax?
Lastly, the warranty... At first I was looking at the Certified Previously Owned cars, even though they seems to cost a bit more. However, I sent a note to Lexus asking about the warranty if I take the car overseas, and they politely but firmly said that the warranty is totally invalid once I take it out of the country. I pointed out that there is a licensed and certified Lexus importer in Kuwait, but their response was that if I wanted a warranty in Kuwait, I would have to buy a car there. Cars cost 15-25% more than in the U.S., so that is not an option for me. Since I’ll be buying a car that won’t have a warranty, reliability is paramount.
Any help or advice I could get from the good folks on here would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Mac
