Speaking of Lexus LS's; 2003 LS430 UL

Last year around this time my dad's LS400 suffered a transmission failure and aside from that had too many other things it needed to be worth the effort to resuscitate. It was a 1993 that I dragged home for $1300 with a bad ECU and restored for him. Aside from less than stellar mpg and the sporadically working gas gauge he loved it, did have to replace the starter but overall it was pretty reliable. It's sitting in my driveway now about to be parted out (holler if you need anything!)

I've been looking for a suitable replacement and was thinking 2nd gen LS400s as they were creeping down to almost challenge friendly pricing around here, P71s and Marauders are more expensive and Park Avenue Ultras were all beat to hell, also was looking at LS430's because I always had a thing for them and love the Ultra Luxury package some of them came with. Saw a couple really nice looking ones get into the $5000 range so I figured I might try to up my budget, justification being I can always borrow it for longer trips since my IS300 is small and doesn't carry much.

One particular car I had been watching was listed almost a month and then the owner dropped the price $500 but didn't renew the ad so it stayed toward the bottom of the listing, I decided if it was still available once I got back from my weekend trip to the snow I'd give him a call. It was and I did, someone was coming to look at it that night and they agreed upon a price but the guy said he'd have to come back with the money and didn't give a time frame or leave a deposit and the owner wasn't so sure he would come back so he agreed to let me come take a look and...

203k miles
Black on black Ultra Luxury package including;
Radar cruise control
Touchscreen and voice navigation
Keyless entry
Power, heated and cooled front seats with memory
Heated, massaging, power reclining back seats
Power rear sunshade
Manual rear side sunshades
Power folding mirrors with tilt for reverse
UV germ killing rear air purifier
Radio and climate controls on rear armrest
Cold box that acts as a fridge for drinks when AC is on behind rear armrest
Steering wheel audio controls
Mark Levinson sound system
Parking and back up sensors
Retracting headlight washer nozzles
Dual paned windows

Vin sticker present on all panels except trunk and rear bumper, no obvious sign of body work, seller says bumper was repainted from low speed parking boo-boo. Timing belt was done within the last 2 years and should be fine for another 85k miles. New battery. AC was fixed/serviced in the not to distant past. Matching tires of reputable brand and still quite meaty. Brakes a little squishy and there's a tear on the middle of the driver seat bottom. Passed smog easily the same day. Drove 1.5 hours home in rain and traffic but temp stayed steady, transmission shifted fine.

Issues to be resolved;
-Needs a thorough detailing
-The VSC light came on immediately after smog but I was able to cure it by jumping two pins on the OBDII port to reset the system. Believe the smog tester OBD tool tripped the system
-Non working mirror switch cured by taking it apart and cleaning the contacts.
-Cup holder is broken
-Windshield washer button lost it's button, needs to be replaced
-Center console armrest lid needs adjustment
-Front passenger and rear driver door lock actuators need replacement
-Rear driver small window sun shade clip broken
-Sun glass holder button sticks, need cleaning or new spring
-Rear armrest controls turn off once in awhile -Outdated navigation dvd (new one on it's way from eBay for $10)
-Front passenger vent doesn't close off, flap is loose or broken
-Need another key or two since it only came with one, might have an extra transponder from my IS300 so just need to get a blade cut.
-Passenger tail light out, saw some condensation in the housing
-Air suspension, rear is toast and sounds like the passenger front is on it's way out. Cheap coilover time?

Already ordered;
Nav DVD
Brake lines
Brake pads
Engine air filter
Cabin filter
Air purifier rear cabin filter
Wiper blades
Serpentine belt

Ordering next;
Under seat cabin filters
2 keys
LED interior conversion
Hood struts
Trunk struts
Door lock actuators

TL:DR - Dad's LS400 died, bought him an LS430 10 years and 2 generations newer. It's awesome and I don't want to give it to him.

Nice. I like LS430s a lot. New enough that they are still pretty easy to find in nice shape, and much more conservative styling than the LS460.

I may have need for some '93 1uz parts... I'll pm.

I've always wondered why the interior of these has not held together. My sexy Lexi I bought from the Pole dancin' girl had trashed interior but flawless engine and trans. Seems like they all melt apart around the third owner...

So when is the LS getting an LS? Or are we not doing that yet?

In reply to fidelity101:

This would be a good candidate for it. It needs a healthy dose of power to bring it up to modern era acceleration

Nice looking car, I am sure your dad will love it

Oh yeah, when I was looking at these a ways back, my wife told me if I got one with the massaging rear seats, she'd never ride in the front seat again.

Finding any black/black LS430 is hard, let alone a UL. For some reason a lots of the people who bought them new went for either bland (white/beige) or icky (seafoam/offwhite) color combinations. When we were shopping for my LS430, we saw a beautiful UL in black with an almost white interior. Not at all what I wanted, but looking back I wish I had bought it for my wife.

Enjoy it, you might want to replace the timing belt (including water pump, tensioner, etc.) unless you have records of when it was last done. These are interference engines.

Additional bit of trivia - in Europe the Ultra Luxury version was called the "Presidential."

eastsidemav wrote: Nice. I like LS430s a lot. New enough that they are still pretty easy to find in nice shape, and much more conservative styling than the LS460.

Thanks, I too prefer the styling over the LS460, I think it has aged well. I think the original demographic that purchased these took better care of their cars as well. Plenty of low mileage cream puff examples around even now, 14 years later. Mine is no cream puff at well under $5k but is still a very nice place to be.

Trackmouse wrote: I may have need for some '93 1uz parts... I'll pm. I've always wondered why the interior of these has not held together. My sexy Lexi I bought from the Pole dancin' girl had trashed interior but flawless engine and trans. Seems like they all melt apart around the third owner...

Mostly everything is available from my LS400, gone are climate control, front seat belts and headunit, plan on keeping the Engine/ECU/Cats/Harness but may be persuaded, not like 1UZFEs are hard to find.
From my personal cars as well as junkyard encounters the Japanese just do not use the same quality leather the Germans do. I am the third owner of both the LS400 and LS430, LS430's split driver seat is not even a split seam, not sure how it happened. Leather is dry and hard, hoping a good cleaning and a few rounds of conditioner will bring it back around.

fidelity101 wrote: So when is the LS getting an LS? Or are we not doing that yet?

0-60 in 6.6 and 1/4 mile in 14 something, this thing is faster than my IS300

Billy_Bottle_Caps wrote: Nice looking car, I am sure your dad will love it

Thanks! his birthday is coming up in a little over a week, it's going to be hard to hand over the keys. I have been finding excuses to drive it every day.

eastsidemav wrote: Oh yeah, when I was looking at these a ways back, my wife told me if I got one with the massaging rear seats, she'd never ride in the front seat again.

My girlfriend prefers my uh, less refined, smaller, less well optioned and lowered IS300 on thin tires and upsized wheels. I must be maturing I am really digging the LS430 experience, she thinks it's new toy syndrome but I feel like a million bucks driving that thing.

SEADave wrote: Finding any black/black LS430 is hard, let alone a UL. For some reason a lots of the people who bought them new went for either bland (white/beige) or icky (seafoam/offwhite) color combinations. When we were shopping for my LS430, we saw a beautiful UL in black with an almost white interior. Not at all what I wanted, but looking back I wish I had bought it for my wife. Enjoy it, you might want to replace the timing belt (including water pump, tensioner, etc.) unless you have records of when it was last done. These are interference engines.

Thanks! Owner claims timing belt was done and there's a Gates sticker on the engine bay with mileage and date, will look through the manual that came with the car to see if there are any receipts to corroborate that.

I dunno, call me weird but if I had the choice between white on beige with the light gray wood and this I might have gone for the white on beige. But then again I've been buying too many white cars and this is my first black exterior or interior car and has really grown on me. I bet once I clay and polish it will really be hard to give it up (notice how I keep referring it as my car? it is until I deliver it to pops!) What I really pine for is a black exterior with the saddle interior, but those are super rare and the ones I've seen are still in the teens-20k range.

Ultra luxury package is like a whole different car than a base. U/l is the only one I'd get. I prefer the styling of this to the 460 as well. Nice car/good deal at that $

Hey Cuz, need any Celsior badges?