Buying Lexus LS400 or LS430

Discuss the best sedan 4-door to get or not to get....

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Buying Lexus LS400 or LS430

Postby firasdxb on Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:49 pm

Hello all,

Ok, am planning to sell my old car and get another one. (lexus)

first option was ES350 2008, and honestly that car has got lots of specs including safety and luxury, it coasts arround 155K AED. I though to pay in advance 50,000 and get a car loan from some bank.

My brother in law purchased LS 460 L, and when i stepped inside and drived that car i went back home in a complete comma, and i cannot describe what i felt, so i though of buying ES350.

I live in Al ain and drive daily to Abu Dhabi, which is 300 kilometres daily.

SO getting a brand new car will decrease the value in future because of high mileage. In this case i started looking for 2nd hand car from the same family and i prefer either LS400 1999 or 1998, and prefer the larger family LS430 which starts from 2001.

For both LS 400 and LS430, you will find modern technology and systems such as GPS, park assists, zenon lights, airbags everywhere, seat cooling...etc.

Now in terms of a good deal which makes benefit out of your money, the LS400 is worth 50,000 and LS430 starts from 90,000.

I hope i can find someone to share me his ideas based on experience.

Thanks a lot for reading

firas
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Postby T.N.T on Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:30 pm

The first thing I'll advise is to stay away from imports and stick to GCC spec.
If I were you, I'd get the LS430. Newer and much more improved, and if you can afford it, then why not!
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Postby firasdxb on Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:01 pm

well thats the point am talking about...

I am driving currently LS400 1993, american specs, and it is wonderful. I mean i am fine with US specs, but i know the gulf specs are different.

Anyway, i found 2001 LS430 ultra edition which is :

leather seats with massage and cooling.
phone system (not sure if it is bluetooth compatible, i will see)
GPS
TV
CD changer
dirven 100K miles.
zenon lights
airbage
car park assit (front, rear)
shaft doors

and its worth 80,000 AED, and the guy is not a dealer, he ordered it for his colleague at work thru his fmaily in amercia, and then his colleague changed his mind. (they are partners i guess).

he mentioned over phone some scrateches that happened while shipment, otherwise the performance is excellent.

I am gonna make a test drive after two days.

there is German specs in the market, but as per my experience, anything German gets heated in summer and makes your life like hell, i had an amercian specs for 3 years and all i changed was oil, brake pads.

Now the engine cost is 600-800 AED + labor
gear cost 500-800 AED + labor, this is for my old car.

if you can guide to a better deal..thats will be nice, and am gonna have some snapshots from my test drive and have them posted after eed.
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Postby root on Mon Dec 17, 2007 11:03 pm

300 kms daily is a lot!!! I feel pain for you!

The best you can do is get a decent car so you arrive less tired. The Lexus is a great one there...all models. The new LS supposedly beats any other luxury car brand in comfort and drive.

Now to your unique problem:
- You will be clocking a lot of miles. 300x200 working days = 60,000 km just by your work trips in a year.
- You are worried about depreciation. Well in 2 years, your car would be 120k+ kms and it aint gonna find many buyers.

How about going for a leased car instead? Leasing is normally more expensive, but then you dont need to worry about mileage and 2nd hand value. And they normally give you new cars for long lease contracts if it breaks you get a new car straight away.


Do the maths! You can sometimes get good deals on long-term leasing (minimum 1 or 2 years).
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Postby firasdxb on Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:44 am

well in terms of math and business ... i find the leasing option is a total loss, in my opinion what i pay for leasing will with no turn over, means after two years i still have to search again for a car, and we all know the increasing symphony affecting all international markets especially cars...

now the new land cruiser basic is worth 185K, while in 2001 the basic was 135K. A corolla onw costs 70K so you can imagine after two years what would be the prices..

however, in leasing it is hard to find cheap prices with comfortable luxury specs..such as GPS, rear assist, telephone, bluetooth, DVD, memory seats ...etc..and if you find, it will be on high price...

ok, for todays search in markets, i found LS430 ultra 2001 worth 80K. Now the word ultra means a lot for any lexus users...and it includes:

screen monitor
navigation
TV
Telephone
massage seats
front and rear electric seat control
full loaded, zenon, car park assist, sunroof, 17 inch alloy wheels...etc

Now this car is being newly imported from US and not thru a dealer, well, he is guy who owns a company in Jebel Ali and he has someone in US who helped him getting two of these cars, one which he used and the other was supposed ot be for his friend who changed his mind for an SUV.

the guy on phone told me that he is not a trader and that wants his money sonet on this car only with no premiums.

A friend of mine in Al Ain told me that Al Futtaim will never allow me to do service within their centres, but he advised approaching "Al Bahwani" which is like AL Futtaim in Oman, and they have a branch in Braimi area which is a very close to al ain city..

Also i recieved quotes for minimum 90K, which made me feel suspicous about the one am talking about. Also i found a resource who can check the car history in US using the chasis or PIN number which shows any accidents or sinks ..etc..

I dont know what to say more, buying a car is an easy matter, after all my brother told me as long as you are buying with 80K, then you should go for Caprice LS 8 cylinders, 368 Hp which is brand new worth 96K.

What do you think ..?

i prefer lexus as a ride...its different...
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Postby root on Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:10 pm

Get the history checked if its possible. You dont want to end up with an accidented/salvaged vehicle with a body job done.

Also spend a few hundred and get it thoroughly checked-up to see that everything is fine inside and under the vehicle.

I do believe that Al-Futtaim will service your car. They charge you so why would they refuse that. I think your friend might be talking about warranty but a 2001 is no longer under Lexus warranty.

On the leasing, you are right that you might not get full options. My calculations were on for example a Toyota Fortuner 4.0 liter. Diamondlease offers it at 3200 per month on a 2 year contract:
- 3200 x 24 = 76800 AED is your cost (now without any complex present value calculations)

If you buy it, you are paying:
- Cost: 110,000 AED
- Insurance 2 years: 9,000 AED
- Service 2 years: 12,000 AED (at 1,000 AED per 10,000 km)
- Tires every 50k: 7,000 AED
- Time/Hire car cost in 2 years of car gone for service or repair during accident: 5,000 AED
Total: 143,000 AED (probably should add some financing cost in there as well, but can't bother ;))


Now, the difference in cost is 66,200 AED. If you believe you can get more than 66k for a 2 year old Fortuner which has clocked 120k km then you should buy, otherwise not.
You can do similar calculations for other car models as well.


In your case you are already looking at a 2nd hand car that has depreciated through the maximum already, so the case is different.
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Postby T.N.T on Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:22 pm

The GPS etc. won't work here unless you buy yourself a CD with UAE maps from Al-Futtaim.
The car is driven 100k miles already = 160k kms!
root is right, no harm in checking out some lease options, atleast do a bit of research.
Try looking for a GS, you might get something newer for the same price.
Once again, avoid imports. Your car must be working fine but you can't be 100% sure about the next ride you are planning to buy.
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Postby firasdxb on Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:36 pm

ok,

guys i like the discussion, really i appreciate your support..

i have another option kinda less in expenses...

I found lexus LS400 1999, with full options (GPS, ...etc) no camera assist.

Now from my experience in old lexus, these cars imported or gulf specs can really drive and stand too many circumstances, in addition to having lots of technicians and workshops who can fix its bugs, what i mean is its not like someother brands (volvo, renault, infinity..) wihch can hardly be fixed in workshops due to complication and less knowledge in fixing procedures for such cars...

now the LS400 1999 owner quoted 49K, and i can bargain to get it at 45K. In the used cars market all 1998 costs 45, so getting 1999 at 45 is kind of a good deal. All errors are known to myself as am driving the same brand but older and bugs are familiar to me.

Also in my future plans i might shift my home to Abu Dhabi, then i'll go for brand lexus, where at least i wont drive 300 kilometres daily, and this will save the car's health for long term..

do you think this would be a good option ?

am going to test the LS400 1999 today, and i shall update you with my feedback..

thanks buddies..
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Postby T.N.T on Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:22 pm

Once again, GS is a good option too.
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Postby root on Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:11 pm

You seem to be in love with the LS. Its a known phenomenon of LS owners, which I not being one would never know.

My thinking is that if I do 300 km a day, I want a car that is in great condition and want to be sure about that. Last thing I want are some technical issues while driving at 160 kmph or half-way in the middle of nowhere.

Going with an almost 10 years, maybe imported, sketchy history does not provide the above comfort.

My advice, try to find something with lesser miles, possibly just 1 owner and slightly newer model.
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Postby T.N.T on Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:52 pm

root wrote:My advice, try to find something with lesser miles, possibly just 1 owner and slightly newer model.


Absolutely!
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in love with LS

Postby firasdxb on Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:29 am

hi guys,
Well u can say that am in love with ls400 grade, because i tried it, and repairing it is easy and costs less.

Now, the latest news

Ls400 model 1999
115000 kilometres
1 owner
Full options
Silver outside
Black leather insiide
6 Cd changer
Touch screen
Gps working
Original telephone lexus brand working speaker system
Zenon lights
No sun roof.
Germany specs.
Used only inside town, no long trips involved
Parking assist
Abs

The owner quoted 49k
I will take the car for testing technicals tomorrow. If everything is fine, i will offer 45k.
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Postby T.N.T on Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:00 pm

I was gonna advice the same thing, offer 45k after getting it checked out.
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Postby firasdxb on Sat Dec 22, 2007 1:24 am

am going to check the car tomorrow morning,, i hope everything goes fine. And i shall spare some time to post the results with some photos. Also i need to sell my old car ls400 1991 . .
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Postby firasdxb on Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:58 pm

hi guys,, i think i didnt do my homework properly for this deal. The car costs only 35-40 k in market.

My decision finally is to for ES350 brand new from al futtaim. End of story.

www.lexusuae.com

Check it and advice.
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