Lexus Ls Puns

I am in college and after letting my car sit in the driveway for the 2 years, it’s racked up too many problems and now won’t pass inspection. I have a 1999 Mercury Mountaineer - great car and I loved it all thru high school, it’s been extremely reliable, but cosmetic and engine issues are making it a pain to repair. It gets 10mpg on a good day as well. It was given to me so I don’t complain.

I am eyeing the ‘02-‘06 model of Lexus LS. After reading a lot of reviews + watching a lot of videos, it seems like a very reliable car. I am looking for something comfortable (preferably tan leather seats), EXTREMELY reliable (preferably Asian), since I am a student and my savings are valuable to me, as well as good on long distance seasonal road trips (I plan to use this vehicle to travel back and forth from college and save on plane tickets 400 mile trip there and back once a semester.

I am also eyeing a 2003 Acura CL Coupe. I love the body style, seems very comfortable and reliable for trips, has my tan leather, and is Asian. I have seen good examples of both cars around 10k which is my max. I plan to keep the car for 4+ years as I am attending grad school. Id prefer not to finance because insurance would be thru the roof, but I may have to at the 10k mark.

• Is there any car I should add to my watchlist?
• What are your opinions + tips on making either of these purchases?
• Should I just spend the 2-3K to repair my current car?
• Thoughts? ANYTHING? I’m really curious lol this is my first big purchase. Thanks!

I'm coming from a 1999 GS. I'm trying to decide what car to get next. What are your thoughts on these two cars? I am also open to other cars!

However, I am having a really hard time finding something with under 120k miles and a non-black interior. The supply chain issues are obviously effecting the used car market so, any tips or tricks would be appreciated. Also your opinions on other luxury sedan’s are appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration!

I’m currently looking at 02-06 LS for reliability and comfort, but I’m a college student and not sure if dishing out 10k for a car is smart. I would keep the car as long as I could (4+ years to get me through grad school).

Pros: I need something that can make a trip home from college reliably 400 miles to save on plane tickets. Also, really want leather interior and soft ride. I don’t plan on modding the car, maybe tint but that’s it. Also I hear these are extremely reliable investments.

Cons: nice examples have crazy premiums, and the ones I can afford are often 150k odometer plus. Does this matter if the car will run 250k+? Im also debating financing vs cash. 10k cash is a lot of money, but wouldn’t that help me save on insurance?

Any help would be great. Thanks!

Unclear if allowed, but i have some questions about the car:

I see it gets decent gas mileage, it looks amazing, and the V8 is acclaimed “to last forever” by multiple people. But it’s unclear whether or not the transmission and ecu are shot. Is the ecu a big problem? Are ecu’ sand transmissions for these cars fairly easy to come by? Are there any other major problems i should know about? Thanks in advance r/Lexus

So I found this Lexus ls 1992 with over 200k km its close to me i needed help with regular stuff like what to look out for common issues etc etc
I'm really sorry for the bad pics the advert pictures looked like some one took em using a pressure cooker

https://preview.redd.it/275qwwisnm181.png?width=451&format=png&auto=webp&s=60487054a1a7a4c37a443051ad187925e3d2c295

https://preview.redd.it/uzl47yisnm181.png?width=981&format=png&auto=webp&s=1bc0bdc983858af6a9d8567f2d67cf1e9179a7df

I'm on the verge of having the ability to finally buy the LS430 I've wanted for a couple years. I've been shopping casually and today I came across this maybe-bargain. Here are some screen shots showing the dent just in front of the driver's side door and scuffed bumpers. There are about 30 pictures of the car; the rest look good!

I tend to be a cheapskate and love a bargain.

I don't care much about the dent or the scuff marks; I want the LS430 for its quiet smooth ride, sound system and reliability. I'm retired and see myself driving around the US in it, visiting friends and relatives and seeing the sights.

Kelly Blue Book estimates the price at around $9100. That's for a car in good condition; this one probably rates poor condition. I didn't see the option to specify that on KBB. It used to have that option. Maybe KBB doesn't have enough poor condition data points for LS430s.

Making the point that it seems like a good deal, KBB showed LS's in my locality:

• $600 cheaper with twice the mileage

• 70K more miles and nonetheless $2800 more

• 20K fewer miles but $7000 more!

I looked the service history up on the Lexus site. It's spotty: regular servicing for the first 35K miles, then nothing for 60K, then regular servicing for the next 10K, then nothing during the last 20K. Assuming owners are consistent about getting their cars serviced at Lexus or not, the service history implies that there have been 4 owners. OR perhaps only a couple owners, both of whom eventually decided that Lexus servicing costs too much?

It's 120+ miles to the dealer. That's too far for a casual inspection: if I drive there it will be with a friend who can drive my car back, and I'll want to be 95% certain that I'm going to buy it.

I asked the dealership if they would be OK with having the nearest Lexus dealer do a thorough inspection (at my expense). They haven't gotten back to me yet.

What else should I be asking the dealer?

There's no indication on the web site about whether this is a UL, etc. I assume it's the base model.

What do you think? Great deal?

Thanks for your advice!

Edit: I've read that I should budget for a bunch of initial repairs, when I finally buy my LS430. I can afford them -- but I want to minimize the expense. If this LS430 has all of the common problems, I want to know before I buy. What are the common problems that I should be looking out for? What forums should I be reading to learn more about LS430

I'm mostly a highway driver who was happy with my 2002 Lexus RX300 when the transmission went kaput after about 300k miles. It's been a drive, but the repair was quoted at about $3200, which started my search for a vehicle of similar reliability and relative ease of maintenance while taking the mileage down around 100k.

I've found listings for a 2003 Lexus LS 430 and 2006 Lexus RX 400h within my budget. There's no collision damage to speak of, save for cosmetic dents and scratches on the former. Both cars have about 200k miles on them, but the RX400h seems to have a more explicit record of regular maintenance.

This would generally make me jump for the RX400h, but reviews note the higher price point of dealing with the water pump, hybrid engineering/battery. By contrast, the LS430 is listed as a luxury brand, albeit a 19-year old model, so I expect parts to be more expensive.

I'd appreciate any insight you'd have in helping me to make a decision or in how to handle this purchase moving forward!

I’m looking at a 2008 Lexus LS 460 with 120,000 miles for $13,700. Is this a good deal or a money pit?