JLAWS Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 It was more of a sad than happy day driving in my STS for the last time to the dealer to pick up the nearly new 2001 Jet black Lexus LS 430 with only 19.5K miles on it. I actually cried briefly the night before when I spent about 2 hours taking out all the extra accessories I put into the STS. He was good to me for the nearly 4 years I owned it. I decided to trade it because it was getting outdated and my warranty ran out. The dealer only gave me $10,500 for it with 72k miles on it. I was insulted. American cars and their poor resale value!!! I toyed with the notion of buying the new STS. I looked at one without navigation for about $48K. But that was way above my budget. Also I wasn't moved by how the new STS looked. It definately has a "unique" look but overall it looks like an oversized CTS which took a while for the looks to grow on me. Then out of the blue I find a mint 2001 Jet black Lexus Ls 430 with sport package and navigation for mid $30's. It only had 19K miles on it.!!! I did the research on Lexus and is know for relability and good resale value so I decided to buy it. I must say it truly a superior vehicle compared to my STS. A whole lot more punch from take off and on the highway. Everything is so solid. The ride is firm due to the sports suspension and 17" tires but never uncomfortable over any size bump. I noticed it the suspension doesn't bottom out like my STS did. The engine is extremely quiet. It doesn't have the same V8 roar as the STS but more of a refined muted Ford mustang GT roar that fades which is cool for an "oversized Toyota" Oh yeah Im getting about 18.5 mpg compared to the 12mpg with the STS. I've noticed my gas stations trips are actually less frequent The options are endless. It has everything the sts has plus the following rain repellent glass (truly repels water!!!) , folding mirrors, auto focus headlights with purple hids, auto trunk closer, transmisson button for normal,sport and snow driving, auto swivel climate vents, voice recorder for personal reminders or just to have fun and the main attraction is the voice command navigation system. It is a touch screen system which allows you to control the climate, audio, personal event reminders etc. It tells you the nearest gas stations around the area, hotels, police, hospitals ect. I was blown away at how accurate the system is. The nice female voice tells you exactly how to get to a location. I am so bad with directions that the navi system will help me to never get lost again. Last week I got lost and I just simply pulled over, typed in the address and I was on my way. It was kind funny since the first command was to perform a u turn, I was way off Appearance wise, it looks almost like the current Mercedes S class which is the epitomy of automotive class. The wheel base is spread out longer than the sts which makes the car look larger than it actually is. The interior space and trunk is massive. There is soo much more leg room in the back seats compared to STS that it almost feels like a limo. And it seems as if my head is 5 more inches further away from the ceiling compared to the STS. In conclusion, I will always love, respect and root for Cadillac, but I now have a new found respect for Lexus. Maybe in a few years i'll trade up the Lexus for the 2005 STS and make a similar post about how amazing the Caddy is on the Lexus forum here are pic below of what my LS looks like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLAWS Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 another pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLAWS Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 modification possibility Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msilva954 Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 congrats....youll love the lexus....pretty soon you wont be comming here anymore and you will hate cadillac hahaha... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschunke Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 See you at the U.S. "lexusownersclub.com" ls400/ls430 forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 I decided to trade it because it was getting outdated and my warranty ran out. The dealer only gave me $10,500 for it with 72k miles on it. I was insulted. American cars and their poor resale value!!! Good luck with your Lexus in the future. I think you'd find that taking a hit on selling the car...because the warranty ran out...are kind of mutually exclusive concepts. You'd spend WAY less on any repairs to that car in the future than you lost on the resale. By the way, that's one reason why I don't mind this country's complete lack of faith in its own product -- it allows me an opportunity to own fine pieces of machinery for cheap that were thrown out because the warranty expired! Best regards, and come back an' see us sometime. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac STS Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazglenn3 Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 I recently sold my 1993 LS400. Great cars. I second the suggestion to join the gang over at lexusownersclub.com they are as fine a group as this one! Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 When I bought my 99 sts I was looking at a GS400 also.. both about the same price for the same year 98/99 when I bought it.. It was quite a difficult decision... I think that the decision was forced to the cadillac's way just because of the sheer lack of GS400's that existed that I could test out in my area.. there were plenty of caddy's and I love the color and the 'feel' of the caddy.. the lexus' are very nice but I like the muscle car type of feel that you get from the sts while still retaining luxury. There is a fine line between the two.. for instance the Deville i think is more comfortable than the STS but you can't really feel the road at all in the deville lol.. it just floats you down the road which is prefectly fine if you drive slow, but I'm not at that stage yet. I was looking at a S600 AMG mercedes, a SL55 AMG too.. those are freggin nice but they are so far out of the price range that I wanted and the non AMG versions didn't pack enough punch for me :> After I get the 450HP northstar engine(that i am building and using aftermarket ecu,etc.) into my STS and the suspension modifications, nothing else will probably compare. navigation systems and anything like that can be added to any car, but it's way more difficult to change the way the whole car feels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 I love the color and the 'feel' of the caddy.. the lexus' are very nice but I like the muscle car type of feel that you get from the sts while still retaining luxury. There is a fine line between the two.. for instance the Deville i think is more comfortable than the STS but you can't really feel the road at all in the deville lol.. it just floats you down the road which is prefectly fine if you drive slow, but I'm not at that stage yet. I have a Deville and I agree 100%, however you tend to get used to that loose floaty feel. I was used to my 91 Seville that was much tighter and highlighted the loose feel on the Deville. It could be accentuated because I need struts, but it had this feel at 46K miles. I will get back to the Seville one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 I wish i had a button to switch to deville like suspension when i'm tired and i don't feel like driving but floating.. just not an option though I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theGman Posted November 7, 2004 Report Share Posted November 7, 2004 Good luck. To be honest, the Lexus looks like just another Toyota. They all look alike. In other words, as good as the Lexus is, it's just difficult to get excited about one. I guess, for me, a car has to look good too. Pls don't take offense/none intended; just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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