Lexus LS 400/LS 430

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Comments

  • cibcib Member Posts: 5
    Guess I'd have to agree, some get attached to a car, (Lexus?). I found it was bad enough buying something my wife had not ridden in-- But now that she has decided she likes it, if I tried to trade without consent, she would be looking for a new husband with her LS. Good luck getting her to drive, but once she does, I'm sure she will like it. Possibly you made too big a thing about the difference between front and rear wheel drive. CB
  • trentpatrentpa Member Posts: 26
    I want to get a cell phone for my '01 (because Lexus effectively doesn't have one for that model year). Any suggestions on what works well (unobtrusive and good hands-free features). Ideally, I'd like something that taps into the microphones, etc. from the Lexus Link or GPS system, but I suspect that's just wishful thinking.
  • bcleepebcleepe Member Posts: 53
    aggie76 - my 2002 Custom Luxuary includes the laser cruise. It was not listed on Lexus Web for CL package but it is part of the package.
  • chuck02chuck02 Member Posts: 1
    For n16el: I have driven a 91 LS400 for 5 years, keep looking for reasons to replace it, can't find enough to justify the cost, as it does everything superbly. That year they mounted the power steering with the fluid in it above the alternator, so when the PS unit leaks, and it will, you get the fluid dripping in your alternator, it will be ruined very quickly, plan on that, they all do. Everything else is just fine, mine has 176,000 + on it, and you won't believe how tight the engine is. After my wife's Honda retires, we will pick another late model LS400/LS430, we both agree. Silver is a good color for that car, and from a senior citizen, you can't go wrong...good luck. ChuckW.
  • litovitzlitovitz Member Posts: 2
    I have an '03 ls430 and solved the phone problem to my satisfaction by combining a voice activated cell phone (Motorola V60i) with a car attachment made by Navigator Plus for that phone. This attachment plugs into the cigarette lighter and contains a microphone and speaker. It works very well in an almost completely hands free mode. The installation though not as neat as a built-in unit is really quite good and very convenient.
  • rahulrahul Member Posts: 4
    Would like to get some help in purchasing an LS 430 here in the Houston area? My father is interested in the base model which in this area comes with Sunroof and A/C seats. We wanted to get the Mark Levinson system but would have to get the Navigation System as well and my father did not want to go the touch screen route for his radio buttons etc.

    The invoice on the car is 50,000 and the dealer's original price was 57600 but after I got some quotes he has come down to less then 53,000. Can I do better on the price? What should be a fair offer? My father is also interested in purchasing an extended warranty and the dealer quoted $2245.00 for the lexus 7 yr 100000 mile platinum warranty (0 deductible) Can we do better on that as well?

    I also noticed that today's Wall Street Journal had a Lexus addvertisement with the December to remember sales event starting Nov 28-Jan 2. It does not mention any prices but was wandering if Lexus itself is offering some kind of rebates etc to dealers to sell more cars (besides the hold back)

    Appreciate any help.

    Rahul
  • tisliztisliz Member Posts: 13
    I have been avidly reading the discussion ever since the '03's came out and I am curious about how one takes delivery when the sale is over the net or phone. Do they deliver to your Lexus dealership that refused to "deal" or to a Toyota dealership or what? Also, if you are a stranger to the selling dealership, when does the money change hands? Does the local dealership suddenly become involved if there is damage in transit or something is amiss with the car they transported?

    I am anticipating buying in December or January and can use any tips any of you can offer. I'm excited!
  • botuerkbotuerk Member Posts: 3
    I once bought a Suberban in Idaho to be built to my specifications and delivered in Denver. The money was paid to a bona fide Chevy dealer in Idaho who placed the build order with GM. The car was delivered to a dealer in Denver who had refused to deal with me but who later cheerfully did my service and warranty work. Chevy told me, when I inquired, that the warrantys were from them and I should let them know if the delivering dealer gave me any trouble. (The dealer never did but they asked me why I didn't buy the car from them. I replied that I tried) I am not sure who becomes responsible for damage in transit. I am sure that a question before you purchase can answer that. Hope this helps. It was a pleasant experience.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    I bought an 01 C4 through greenlight. "Assigned" dealer was in NC. I took delivery at the factory, then picked up the car at POE and drove it home to Seattle. Never met the dealer/salesman except phone and Email.

    First ordered the car in July 98, firmed it up in Sept, 99 w/deposit. Dealer, Barrier Porsche, sold MY car when it arrived without even calling me. Denied having deposit and then refunded it by mail two weeks later.

    Ordered second time through Carrera Motors in Bend Or, FULL deposit this time. Same story, dealer even changed car specifications knowing they wouldn't sell it to me when it arrived. Refunded my deposit.

    Internet, the wave of the future.
  • carfan4surecarfan4sure Member Posts: 49
    All of the issues you mention are negotiable. I didn't pay until I saw the car, either the purchase price or delivery expenses. So, the risk of loss during transit was on the dealer. I would negotiate your best price and then raise the issue of seeing the car before paying for it. Once they know they have a certain sale, they are likely to be more accomadating on these details.
    The delivery was made to an intersection a short distance (2 miles) from my house. The trailer was too big to be driven into my neighborhood, or it would have been delivered to my driveway. The transport driver was kind enough to drive my old car home and I returned him to his truck in the new car.

    The best price quotes I received were in Southern California. Dealers in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado were thousands more, even with the transportation costs of $650. Lots of competition in LA, I guess. My local dealer has not given me any grief with the 1000 mile maintenance. Although I've heard Las Vegas dealers won't trade cars with LA dealers cause the LA dealers "steal" too many sales from them over the internet.
  • tisliztisliz Member Posts: 13
    carfan4sure, thanks for such a complete answer to my question about how to negotiate/buy and get the car delivered. I live on the Kansas/Missouri border and I was thinking I'd have to go to Colorado or Texas for a deal. It looks like I'll have to search a lot farther away from home and just have them trailer it here. Your information is very valuable. Wish me luck. Will keep the board posted with my progress or lack thereof.
  • nofeernofeer Member Posts: 381
    My lease is up dec 04, any ideas what changes for 04?
  • sysweisyswei Member Posts: 1,804
    We should get a facelift in 04. I have read that Lexus is considering introducing AWD across the entire product line. This would make sense given that the MB S has AWD and Audi is advertising AWD as being available across its line. Whether we get it in 04 on the LS is unclear...personally, I have decided to hold off on an LS (currently we have an LX and an RX) until it does get AWD...hopefully I won't have to wait until the next major redesign, which presumably would be 2006.
  • mall610mall610 Member Posts: 24
  • mall610mall610 Member Posts: 24
    Check out Autospies:

    www.imakenews.com/autospies

    Looks like the LS430 is about to look like a S-series.
  • nealm1nealm1 Member Posts: 154
    I am dubious about the story attached to that link. The "spy" saw drawings of a radically redesigned LS at "a dealer"? Since when would a "dealer" have drawings of a redesign that has not previously been announced? Hell, I can't even get a brochure for the GX from my dealer, and he is supposed to have the car next week! And for Lexus to be remaking the car entirely, inside and out, they would have had to have started the redesign almost as soon as the last LS was being unveiled to the public. The timing just doesn't seem right.

    Having said that, I would love to see the LS take the design direction indicated in the article.
  • oac3oac3 Member Posts: 373
    According to the story, "...Our Spies were at their last dealer meeting where they showed pictures of the car..."

    So you can see that the car was never at the dealers place, but at some meeting, if we are to believe the story.

    I am very much interested in the '05/'06 model of the LS, at which time I will be in a position to buy it brand spanking new... Cross my fingers... I fully anticipate a freshened exterior and a huge HP engine. Maybe a de-tuned V8 making 350+bhp.

    Is this wishful thinking or probable ? I guess I'll have to wait and see in a couple years from now.
  • sysweisyswei Member Posts: 1,804
    I would like to see it happen but am skeptical. When is the last time that Lexus (or Toyota for that matter) did a big redesign (rather than a facelift/refresh) in the fourth year of production? I don't think they have. Normally it is 6 or even 7 years between major redesigns. Only a facelift typically comes in year 4.
  • sysweisyswei Member Posts: 1,804
    Since the Autospies story is supposed to be based on a "dealer meeting", maybe we should all ask our local dealers what they've heard.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    Remember it's the dealers who have/know the customers and having one or more sketches available for dealers to react to is certainly quite logical. It was probably only a handful of the largest dealers anyway. Their feedback in conjunction with independent consumer market research would be mission critical. So I would not discount it completely. As well it has been widely reported that a 360hp engine will be at least optional in 2004, so an aggressive complimentary re-design is not out of the question.

    Let's also remember that Toyota is a powerhouse financially and can do whatever they want. If they have broken even or made money on the capital outlay on the LS430 already (a good bet particularly given the better than expected sales and favorable exchange rate) its all the more possible. They also want Lexus to be more successful outside of the US borders, particularly in Europe where they are warming up. They have more than $25bln in cash, great results and are a Wall Street darling. They may be going for the jugular here given MB reliability issues and 7-series styling miscues.

    Dealers will never tell you what is going on if such a big move is planned. They need to keep the sales chain going particularly this early in the model year.

    GX470 brochure - not surprised - The 2001 LS430 brochure was also hard to get. They make great cars but when it comes to marketing they need more training.
  • rcf8000rcf8000 Member Posts: 619
    Lexus sales in Europe are warming up? I spent two weeks in France, Italy, and Spain last summer and saw exactly one Lexus, an SC430. Which brings up a subject that I have wondered about for a long time: how have the European countries managed to prevent the importation of Japanese cars (compared to the U.S.)? I assume it's high tariffs or some other kind of restrictions.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    Plenty of Lexus cars in the UK and developing now on the continent. You have to realize that the nationalistic pride on the continent, particularly in MB and BMW luxury cars, is very difficult to overcome - even for a European name plate let alone a Japanese one. That's why I question VW's wisdom with the Phaeton. Even Audi has a hard time on the high-end. They have sold less than 100k A-8's worldwide in 8 years - thats about 12k per year. The LS430 has sold at more than 2x that annual rate just in the US and Lexus sells well in Asia but under Toyota's name plate (which is now also differentiating its name plate in Asia to Lexus and Toyota). As for Europe and Lexus - near perfect reliability is impossible to hold off long-term. Eventually Europe always follows the US lead in developing product lines.
  • tdo123tdo123 Member Posts: 102
    I too live on the Kansas/Missouri border and I understand you pain working with our local dealer here. You should also try St. Louis and Springfield. They are good to bid against for KC business.
  • drcomputerdrcomputer Member Posts: 82
    We also forget that the average price for gas in most European countries is above $4 a gallon. The LS430 with its sub 20MPG is not a great value in the long term for many people. Lexus designs cars for the American market--large engines, high horsepower, and clean-air standards... most of which are not on the top of most Europeans' minds. I did see, however, many IS200's on a recent trip I took to Ireland. When I told someone I owned a car with a 4.3L engine, he just laughed and said his tractor had a smaller engine. We are just spoiled.
  • wwestwwest Member Posts: 10,706
    are about torque at low, LOW, speeds, 13 to 18HP for many farm tractors.
  • docladocla Member Posts: 15
    I am looking at buying a new LS 430. Anybody knows if there is going to be a radical change in the design for 2004? is the story of "Autopsies" true? any other web site that shows the new design?
    Lastly how much Lexus is discounting the LS during the december to remember sale event?
  • whybuy1whybuy1 Member Posts: 43
    Autospies says Lexus will come out with a new body style and then shows a drawing of a MB concept car as an example of what it will look like. Is this a joke? It sounds like the ever-popular Lexus the MB wannabe ribbing. Somebody somewhere is having a good laugh.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    It's usually a leasing/financing type of event. The dealers try to push through extra sales though so they may tend to discount more agressively but that is a local dealer issue(thus it will vary) and not a national Lexus one. But Lexus Finance does push through better leasing and finance rates on the cars.
  • tisliztisliz Member Posts: 13
    Is the deposit greater for sales which take place over the phone or internet AND trailering the vehicle is involved? Do you Fed Ex the check to them or just drop it in the mail? Do you pay the driver when you accept delivery at your home or again Fed Ex the check or just drop it in the mail?
  • carfan4surecarfan4sure Member Posts: 49
    This is all negotiable; no rules. A deposit is probably fair. I placed no deposit. I bought a car in stock. I returned the contract with my check in an overnight provided by the dealer after inspection of the car. I knew the VIN number before it was shipped and confirmed it on arrival. I paid the delivery guy with a cashier's check after inspection of the car/arrival.

    The dealer was quite trustworthy for someone who did not know me. I'm 1200 miles from the dealer. We had several phone calls and many emails, so trust ensued.
  • tisliztisliz Member Posts: 13
    Just test drove LS yesterday. Dealer in MO offered an insulting "discount." His words: We can "help" with that luxury tax by discounting the sticker "somewhat." This is after I told him that in this day and age, I'm not limited to shopping locally. When I asked about the ad that talked about $5,000 off the RX, he said that was a special package that Lexus was giving $2K off and the dealership was matching plus if you got certain other options, another $1K got deducted. He also said they had a 2-month supply of RX and ES 300, but only had 5 LS 430's on the lot. I left and sent out email to dealerships in various parts of the country including those that were posted on the board for Riverside, CA and Glendale, CA. Carfan4sure has been very encouraging about long-distance buying and trailering.
  • tisliztisliz Member Posts: 13
    When I test drove the LS, the dealer made a big deal out of the half day they spend with the customer customizing the settings on the car. How is this customization accomplished when you have the car trailered in from a remote dealership?
  • mheni1mheni1 Member Posts: 41
    FM radio reception in my 2001 LS 430 is "lousy". Have ML sound system. Is problem peculiar to my location in Wash, DC? Any thoughts on improving reception short of new radio? Thanks.
  • nealm1nealm1 Member Posts: 154
    I live in Alexandria and work in DC; my ML's reception is terrific. Are you getting multipathingo r are you losing stations on the road? If you are havong real problems, my guess is that the tuner needs to be repaired. Remeber, much of "official" DC was a swamp, the surrounding areas are elevated, and SOME signal loss is inevitable with any radio.
  • flint350flint350 Member Posts: 250
    "....Remember, much of "official" DC was a swamp..." I live in this general area also, it's still a swamp, but for different reasons.
    Still, my radio reception seems O.K.
  • trmgatrmga Member Posts: 50
    I left DC 5 years ago and retired to Williamsburg, VA. "Swamp" is probably the nicest description I've heard of DC. Not much to do with the LS 430 but just couldn't resist the comment. Sorry host. Happy Holidays to all.
  • helmarhelmar Member Posts: 15
    My '03 LS430 will be delivered this month. I plan to lease it for 24 or 36 months.

    I was looking for other, non-Lexus leasing sources so that I can have something to compare the Lexus lease with.

    I haven't found anyone else that leases automobiles.

    Is there somewhere I can find such alternative leases?
  • rennyboschrennybosch Member Posts: 329
    Try Google, type in Auto lease. There are quite a few. Good luck. Let us know what you conclude.
  • sploguesplogue Member Posts: 53
    A half-day explaining the car? When I picked up my new LS430, the salesman asked several times if I had done lots of research on the internet. At first, I didn't know why he kept asking me that (my response was the equivalent of a shrug), but later I realized that it was because he didn't know *anything* about the car.

    Earlier in the week I got the story about how they really "do it up right" when someone buys a car from them. Yeah, right -- they couldn't even find the keys for three weeks. And, this is an Elite dealer!

    I'd say you are just as safe buying a car over the internet or phone as local. After all, they aren't more competent just because they are nearby. At the very least, do it so that you'll know how much you should be paying.

    Sean
  • carfan4surecarfan4sure Member Posts: 49
    The sending dealer did all the customization. The manual will tell you how anyway, and the local Lexus service dept would probably do the same, if asked. The car is user friendly, even the Nav system.
  • agent0986agent0986 Member Posts: 64
    does anynoe know how much it would cost
    to replace a side view mirror on a 01 LS430.
    maybe not even the whole mirror. the mirror is fine, just a little piece of the out the other part broke off. thanks so much
  • anthonycecilanthonycecil Member Posts: 68
    The ls430 is a little more than a year old. While filling car up, noticed when we re started, the gas gauge went to half full, and then dropped down to empty, and stayed there. Most of the other functions continued to work, and car did not quit. Will take it in next week, so be on the lookout for this problem. Tony
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    If you have the piece that broke off they can use an automotive glue of some kind to put it back together. The same thing happened to me on my LX470 and the dealer repaired it. I also thought I may have needed a new mirror. I assume you are talking about the mirror's metal housing and not the glass itself.
  • agent0986agent0986 Member Posts: 64
    well it was a small piece that broke, which i have, but there is also a minor crack or 2. i tried fixing it myself but could not get the piece to fit correctly. I will take it to the dealer tomorrow. The glass part is perfectly okay. I would assume that an entire new mirror would be quite expensive, so i hope it can be repaired otherwise. What happened was, while backing into the the garage, the right side view mirror hit the garage and bended completely in the opposite direction(very dark and raining). I was able to correct that but then the small piece came off the edge and would not fit correctly.
  • ljflxljflx Member Posts: 4,690
    That's exactly what happened to me. The housing clipped the rubber padding around my garage door frame and the pressure caused a small bottom part of the mirror hosing to break off. I was rushing to get my son to the bus stop and was too close to the right side of the door. They should be able to fix it for you. The break line is also not noticable if you put some touch-up paint on it.
  • whybuy1whybuy1 Member Posts: 43
    I'm not sure this will help, but I once found my gas gauge at 1/2 full just while driving away from the gas station after a fill up. I then noticed I hadn't replaced the gas cap. After I replaced it the problem went away. Did wind or an air pressure difference due to the Bernoulli effect affect the gauge? Was it coincidence? The problem has not reoccured
  • bluestar1bluestar1 Member Posts: 112
    replacement of a side mirror (housing and mirror) costs ca. $400 installed. Had one performed on mine not too long ago, tho' I didn't have to pay for it - Lexus customer care did it for free.
  • woppenhewoppenhe Member Posts: 61
    It seems to repair itself with time. Just wait. It took a few weeks, after I concluded that the 'repair' was not worth the hassle. It is accurate on the low end; the needle just appears a little sticky on the high (full) end. It is not sticky, however, and I believe it has something to do with how the computers sense that the the tank is full. It is not just a mechanical sensor link.
  • aloog8aloog8 Member Posts: 11
    3722: When my LS430 UL was trucked in (150 miles), the salesman came along and spent 3 hours going over every detail.

    3731: I was always concerned that my mirrors would strike the garage door frame. The Park Assist isn't sensitive enough to resolve the problem, so now I retract the mirrors before entering and leaving the garage.
  • docladocla Member Posts: 15
    I keep reading on "autospies" that there is a major change for the LS next year. They say the 2004 will have a different body style and will be called LS500. I am planning on buying/leasing an LS this year but I am concerned about this news. Has anyone heard or know of a change for the LS next year? any web site that has this information besides autospies?
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