- 6,092
- Phoenix, AZ
I originally intended to wait to make a thread about my car until it was officially mine and the name was on the title, but seeing as my parents have repeatedly said it'll be mine, and I drive it several times a week and am pretty much in charge of figuring out what maintenance needs to be done and cleaning it, I think that almost makes up for it.
I guess it all started when my dad decided to move up from his then eight year old base model Camry and lease a black on black GS300. To my six year old self, it was a pretty nice car. Three years later, he tired of lease payments and traded it in for a 2006 Highlander. After a week of driving that, he switched cars with my mom and got her 2003 Highlander. He enjoyed the utility and lack of payments that the Highlander offered, but he missed the GS. For four agonizing years, these two Highlanders were the only cars I rode in on a regular basis. On a Friday in March of 2010, I was casually looking at Corvettes on Autotrader, because why not. My dad came in and mentioned to me, out of the blue, that maybe we should look for a car for him, a nice car. Of course, it would be used, seeing as new car smell was one of many smells that bothered him, and he knew all about the new car depreciation hit.
The choices were pretty much any sedan that was nice. This criteria included many 745is, S430s and S500s, E320s and a few LS430s. We went to an used luxury car dealer the following day to check out an E320 and an LS430 that he had found on Autotrader. The LS430 was a base model car in questionable condition, and it had an odd odor. We didn't bother sitting in it. We took the E320, a 2003 with about 80,000 miles on it for a short test drive. I was very impressed, but my dad didn't like the blindspots. Near the back of the indoor showroom was this Cypress Pearl (greenish grey) LS430. Naturally, I went over to it and took a seat inside. From the minute my rear came in contact with the seat, I was impressed. The seat was so smooth and soft, and the interior was so roomy. I brought my dad over and he agreed that the LS was a pretty nice car. Unfortunately, the owner of the dealer confirmed that the car had already been sold to a buyer in Seattle. Disappointed, we drove home in the Highlander and resumed the online search.
Later that day he found what first appeared to be a pretty garden variety ad for an LS430. It had only a few pictures and a short description, but it was a 2002 with only 52,000 miles being sold for several thousand less than blue book value. He called the seller, a Russian jeweler named Peter. It turns out the car was his wife's, and they were only selling it because she wanted a new Mercedes. They were selling it for several thousand under because they legitimately didn't need the extra cash. The deal seemed legit to my dad, and they agreed to meet on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, my dad drove me to school in the Highlander, then to the airport, where he flew to Los Angeles to meet Peter. The deal was done on the spot, and after driving Peter to his house in Studio City, my dad spent the rest of the day driving back home.
He didn't arrive home until around 8 PM that night. My mom and I went out into the driveway to see the Lexus for the first time in person, its black, bug splattered paint shining under the motion light. I sat inside it and took a look, taking in the perfumey smell of the interior, the gadgets and all of the buttons. The Lexus looked impressive sitting in the center of the driveway. Immediately I liked the Lexus a lot, but I didn't start to love it until some time after the Mini had came into the picture. Only two or three weeks separated both cars.
Since then the Lexus has accumulated just under 29,000 more miles of mostly casual city driving, bringing the total mileage to just under 82,000. I've been driving it since 78,000 miles. To be honest, driving it reminds me more of an old Cadillac than anything else. You can't quite steer it with your pinky, but it's definitely on the light side. When you do steer it, you get an extra helping of body roll to remind you that this isn't what the car was meant for. The suspension makes small bumps almost imperceptible, and does its best to send you bouncing, rather than crashing over big bumps and imperfections. Braking is alright, though bringing four thousand pounds to a halt can feel like a bit of a struggle. Planning your stops in advance is essential. If there's one thing it does do well, it's acceleration, at least once you put your foot into it. If you're light-footing it, it feels as tame as any other car on the road, sometimes even slower if you forget to give it that extra dose of gas before it upshifts to the tall third gear.
Cruising in the far left lane on the highway is where you really start to realize the purpose of this car. Engine noise is just about imperceptible at 80 mph, even with the air conditioning on low and the radio off. If you set the radar cruise, the computer will take care of acceleration and braking for you. All you need to do is steer and move over for faster cars. In June, we took the Lexus to San Diego and back over a weekend. I drove about 120 miles to there (in Arizona; you can't drive in other states with just a permit) and about 170 miles back. Despite it reaching temperatures of over 111 degrees, I was cool inside the black car the entire time. Combine the arrow-straight roads and the cruise control handling any pedal action for me, the miles oozed past, only interrupted to overtake and moving over to be overtaken. It was among the most relaxing things I've ever done.
Other than buying replacement parts when needed (the third brake light went out this week, and a foglight needs replacing), I don't have any modifications planned. I can't stand VIP LS430s; they just don't look right. It's like stancing a Town Car. Unless you consider fuzzy dice and hopefully a vanity plate modifications, anticipate only part fixes and pictures to come out of this thread.
I guess it all started when my dad decided to move up from his then eight year old base model Camry and lease a black on black GS300. To my six year old self, it was a pretty nice car. Three years later, he tired of lease payments and traded it in for a 2006 Highlander. After a week of driving that, he switched cars with my mom and got her 2003 Highlander. He enjoyed the utility and lack of payments that the Highlander offered, but he missed the GS. For four agonizing years, these two Highlanders were the only cars I rode in on a regular basis. On a Friday in March of 2010, I was casually looking at Corvettes on Autotrader, because why not. My dad came in and mentioned to me, out of the blue, that maybe we should look for a car for him, a nice car. Of course, it would be used, seeing as new car smell was one of many smells that bothered him, and he knew all about the new car depreciation hit.
The choices were pretty much any sedan that was nice. This criteria included many 745is, S430s and S500s, E320s and a few LS430s. We went to an used luxury car dealer the following day to check out an E320 and an LS430 that he had found on Autotrader. The LS430 was a base model car in questionable condition, and it had an odd odor. We didn't bother sitting in it. We took the E320, a 2003 with about 80,000 miles on it for a short test drive. I was very impressed, but my dad didn't like the blindspots. Near the back of the indoor showroom was this Cypress Pearl (greenish grey) LS430. Naturally, I went over to it and took a seat inside. From the minute my rear came in contact with the seat, I was impressed. The seat was so smooth and soft, and the interior was so roomy. I brought my dad over and he agreed that the LS was a pretty nice car. Unfortunately, the owner of the dealer confirmed that the car had already been sold to a buyer in Seattle. Disappointed, we drove home in the Highlander and resumed the online search.
Later that day he found what first appeared to be a pretty garden variety ad for an LS430. It had only a few pictures and a short description, but it was a 2002 with only 52,000 miles being sold for several thousand less than blue book value. He called the seller, a Russian jeweler named Peter. It turns out the car was his wife's, and they were only selling it because she wanted a new Mercedes. They were selling it for several thousand under because they legitimately didn't need the extra cash. The deal seemed legit to my dad, and they agreed to meet on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, my dad drove me to school in the Highlander, then to the airport, where he flew to Los Angeles to meet Peter. The deal was done on the spot, and after driving Peter to his house in Studio City, my dad spent the rest of the day driving back home.
He didn't arrive home until around 8 PM that night. My mom and I went out into the driveway to see the Lexus for the first time in person, its black, bug splattered paint shining under the motion light. I sat inside it and took a look, taking in the perfumey smell of the interior, the gadgets and all of the buttons. The Lexus looked impressive sitting in the center of the driveway. Immediately I liked the Lexus a lot, but I didn't start to love it until some time after the Mini had came into the picture. Only two or three weeks separated both cars.
Since then the Lexus has accumulated just under 29,000 more miles of mostly casual city driving, bringing the total mileage to just under 82,000. I've been driving it since 78,000 miles. To be honest, driving it reminds me more of an old Cadillac than anything else. You can't quite steer it with your pinky, but it's definitely on the light side. When you do steer it, you get an extra helping of body roll to remind you that this isn't what the car was meant for. The suspension makes small bumps almost imperceptible, and does its best to send you bouncing, rather than crashing over big bumps and imperfections. Braking is alright, though bringing four thousand pounds to a halt can feel like a bit of a struggle. Planning your stops in advance is essential. If there's one thing it does do well, it's acceleration, at least once you put your foot into it. If you're light-footing it, it feels as tame as any other car on the road, sometimes even slower if you forget to give it that extra dose of gas before it upshifts to the tall third gear.
Cruising in the far left lane on the highway is where you really start to realize the purpose of this car. Engine noise is just about imperceptible at 80 mph, even with the air conditioning on low and the radio off. If you set the radar cruise, the computer will take care of acceleration and braking for you. All you need to do is steer and move over for faster cars. In June, we took the Lexus to San Diego and back over a weekend. I drove about 120 miles to there (in Arizona; you can't drive in other states with just a permit) and about 170 miles back. Despite it reaching temperatures of over 111 degrees, I was cool inside the black car the entire time. Combine the arrow-straight roads and the cruise control handling any pedal action for me, the miles oozed past, only interrupted to overtake and moving over to be overtaken. It was among the most relaxing things I've ever done.
Other than buying replacement parts when needed (the third brake light went out this week, and a foglight needs replacing), I don't have any modifications planned. I can't stand VIP LS430s; they just don't look right. It's like stancing a Town Car. Unless you consider fuzzy dice and hopefully a vanity plate modifications, anticipate only part fixes and pictures to come out of this thread.
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I'm not really a fan of chrome, that's the only thing I would ever change on that car...
and I will repeat what you already know : Awesome car
