Dandydon

You might have some luck with Dr. Colorchip. Go to their website at http://www.drcolorchip.com/. I have a black 2004 LS430 and like their product for minor chips and road rash. Deep scratches might be more than it can handle, but their kit has a very fine touchup brush that should help anyway.

Dandydon

My wife had a little trouble backing out of the neighbor's driveway last night. Now I'm the proud owner of a 14" long scratch on the side of my LS430 at the height of the mailbox she scrapped against.

The scratch is pretty deep so buffing it out is not going to solve this one. An estimate earlier today was $735 to fix the scratch at a local body shop. I'm wondering if I can get decent solution by just investing some time and effort and some touch up paint. I've never tried this before and am wondering how successful it is to touchup paint and somehow sand and polish it level with the existing finish. For the record I am not a crazy about having a showroom (unflawed) finish. The car is about to have its 7th birthday with me so I don't expect perfection. I have a few stone chips and minor scratches already but this "gash" is pretty deep and very noticeable. I'd rather keep the $735 in my jeans and put a few hours in to make the scratch disappear (or at least blend in significantly) if its possible as a DIY.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks much for your reply to my post. I did not realize there was a trunk lock-out button under the dash. Seems like I learn something new about this great car every so often, even after owning it for 2 1/2 years. At any rate, your comment lead me to check further and - walla! - the problem is now solved.

Dandydon

Hi everyone,

90' LS400, 264000 miles. I pushed the interior trunk lock into locked position. I have both the thick and the non thick key for the car (the thick is with the remote). I know I can open the lock only with the key with the

remote - master key? - but I can't push it in, seems like the lock mechanism got problem. I tried WD40, jiggle, wiggle, shake, force, everything to push the key with no luck. Is there a way to remove the small panel from the

dashboard with the lock, so I can play with that? Now I can open my trunk only unlocking the exterior lock, and even there the key seems to be hard to push in. I always have to put some lubricant every once in a

while. I checked the wear on the that key, but seems to be ok, looks exactly the same as the other one, no excessive wear is present. The battery is missing from it, can that be a problem? I don't think so, but maybe?

Thanks

A

My '06 LS 430 looks like it might have had contact with a little sand storm somewhere in it's previous ownership.

Under certain bright light, like at gas station at night, the windshield looks like the sky at night, million microscoptic stars.

Can these be removed safely? Is the windshield clearcoated? Will buffing/sanding ruin a clearcoat?

Body finish has some issues from this possible sand storm/road mess but that is an easy fix.

Sandy,

I have an '04 LS430 with the same problem. I have been told that it is not possible to have the glass buffed so have come up with my own solution, but it is only practical for the larger nicks. I take a permanent black magic marker with a fine point and dot each nick. Let it dry well and then get a sharp razor blade to shave off any extra black next to the dots. When you are in the car looking through the windshield, the black dots are much harder to notice than the untreated ones, since they don't catch the light. You will have to repeat the exercise every few months.

Let me know how it works for you.

DandyDon

Hello,

I bought a CPO 2004 LS430 18 months ago with 28K miles. Sold a 2006 Avalon Ltd with 12K miles in perfect conditon to buy it. Cost me another $4K but it's the best move I ever made in cars, and this is my 41st automobile. I've owned several Cads and Lincolns and lots of other models in between, but this is the ultimate for me. Absolutely the finest one of the bunch!

The CPO guarantee gave me the confidence to buy an older model, but I have had zero problems - zilch, nada! Only thing I added was a nice set of chrome wheels. The 2004 model is significantly improved over the earlier ones, and the 2005 and 6's don't really buy you much more in my opinion. I'm one happy owner and plan to drive this black beauty for a long, long time!. Several of my friends are standing in line to buy it from me if I ever change my mind. Fat chance!

Hello and Welcome.

The LS series will easily go to 300,000-500,000 miles with good maintenance so I'd let things like available maint. records, price and car options guide your decision.

Good luck,

Eddie

Hi, Hubby and I have decided that the Lexus LS430 is the car for us to have. We buy using the death statistics and injury numbers ... add reliability and this one floats right to the top!

We want to keep it in the low 20s for price. My question is, am I better off to buy an older car with fewer miles, or a newer car with more miles?

For example, I am looking at a 2003 with 86,500 miles ... full package ... $23,000

(all maintenance done at dealer, recalls and bulletins taken care of)

OR

2001 with 64,000 miles ... strip package (no nav, etc.) ... $21,000

(not sure about maintenance history .. need to get that from the dealer)

What's the better way to go? Seems like these run forever?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We're going to have to drive several hours to buy one, since we have no Lexus dealer locally (but have Toyota dealer who said they can do almost all repairs).

Thanks a bunch!

Hi, Hubby and I have decided that the Lexus LS430 is the car for us to have. We buy using the death statistics and injury numbers ... add reliability and this one floats right to the top!

We want to keep it in the low 20s for price. My question is, am I better off to buy an older car with fewer miles, or a newer car with more miles?

For example, I am looking at a 2003 with 86,500 miles ... full package ... $23,000

(all maintenance done at dealer, recalls and bulletins taken care of)

OR

2001 with 64,000 miles ... strip package (no nav, etc.) ... $21,000

(not sure about maintenance history .. need to get that from the dealer)

What's the better way to go? Seems like these run forever?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We're going to have to drive several hours to buy one, since we have no Lexus dealer locally (but have Toyota dealer who said they can do almost all repairs).

Thanks a bunch!