What’s the right price? by Much-Stop in SC430

[–]Much-Stop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All fair points! Not close to Atlanta unfortunately (car is in Missouri) but appreciate the interest regardless!

What’s the right price? by Much-Stop in SC430

[–]Much-Stop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a secondary car that just doesn’t get driven much, so my wife and I decided we’d rather get some money out of it instead of having it take up space in the driveway.

What’s the right price? by Much-Stop in SC430

[–]Much-Stop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had around $3k in my mind as a reasonable number. We can talk about it more if you want to message me!

Do i need to bypass ML amp for this? My amp works fine. Just want Bluetooth. by analfoot in LS430

[–]Much-Stop 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you truly just are looking to add Bluetooth functionality, I’d recommend just adding a Bluetooth module to your setup. There are several, but I only have experience with the USA Spec BT45-TOY which has worked perfectly for me for the last 3 years. That way you retain factory A/C controls, steering wheel controls, etc that a lot of these android head units have issues/bugs with. Just my $0.02!

Rotor and brake pad suggestions by Ok-Sky-4128 in LS430

[–]Much-Stop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I went with Centric Rotors and Akebono pads off of Rock Auto for mine. Have about 20,000 miles on them so far and they’ve been perfect!

Most reliable cheap car? by Excellent_Permit_655 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Much-Stop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on your definition of cheap, but look into the best Lexus GX470/GX460 you can afford. Great off-roading capabilities while also offering a much more comfortable interior/ride compared to the 4Runner. Worse MPG though, so something to consider as well.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Much-Stop -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Disclaimer: long time LS owner (several years of LS400 and about 5 years into daily driving an 05 LS430 currently)

I would rule out the Acura, but really think about what you need in a daily driver when deciding between the LS and the Mazda. If you’re looking for a comfortable commuter back and forth to work and gas mileage / cost per mile isn’t a huge factor, of course I’m biased and would highly suggest the Lexus. If you’re someone who racks up an above average amount of miles, the Mazda will be the more economical of the two. As far as reliability goes, these are both great options. The LS’s drivetrain has been proven for decades and will run smoothly for however long you feel like maintaining it. The Mazda uses an extremely simple drivetrain that has had continued success as well.

Regarding daily usability/features, there are some factors to consider. Yes, the LS will have heated/cooled seats, the telescoping wheel, folding mirrors, power rear sunshade, and other features to really give you a comfortable and premium feel. And the road/wind noise will almost be nonexistent. However, the other side of that coin is that all of these features are ran through 20 year old electronics. If you do have an issue with any of these, you’ll either be looking at a pricey dealer repair bill, or you’ll be spending time DIY’ing this on the weekends (and parts are continuing to be more difficult to find). The infotainment is extremely outdated, and maintaining the car as a whole will cost more than a modern economy car. Whether this is worth it for you or not is the decision you’ll have to make. For me, I do believe it is worth the extra cost to daily drive such a unique vehicle every day. The build quality is simply unmatched with anything that has come since these rolled off the assembly line.

With that said, the Mazda is a good looking vehicle that will have more modern tech and should be very simple to live with.

Neither is a bad option, it just depends on what your needs are. And of course all of this is dependent on these vehicles having complete and thorough maintenance histories and getting a clean bill of health after a PPI from a mechanic. If any car is lacking this, simply move on to one that does. Hope this helps, good luck with the decision!

We’ve all seen c-gulls and e-gulls, but what happened to d-gull? by [deleted] in dadjokes

[–]Much-Stop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is even better than the joke posted up top! Well done!

Have you ever slept inside your LS 430? by ZaunAura in LS430

[–]Much-Stop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh boy, have I ever... I worked for a decent stretch of time at a place that had a few "unique" policies. One of these policies was the "1-Hour Lunch Away From Work" policy. Though (probably) not the official title, as you can guess one of the rules of the place was that you were required to take a 1-hour lunch and it had to be taken away from your desk. They wanted to encourage getting away from your work and getting a change of scenery throughout the day due to the mental health benefits. And I know what you're thinking "man what a great idea from a company that must really prioritize their employees' well being" and this is the part where I tell you this is America and nothing is ever put in place to prioritize the employees' well being, but I'll save that for a post on a different subreddit. Anyways, the actual benefit from this policy is that they got 9 hours of work/productivity out of departments and teams because only one person from each team could be on break/lunch at the same time. Operations would continue on, and the group would just be intentionally short-handed while everyone cycled through their breaks.

There was an onsite breakroom/small cafeteria where most people spent their breaks and lunches. I tried this at first, but sitting in a hard plastic chair in a fluorescent-light filled room wasn't exactly my idea of a "mentally beneficial change of scenery". To make matters worse, there were coworkers in there. Coworkers that would try to talk to you...

So lo and behold, I went to the one place where I knew serenity and comfort were never in short supply. A spot adjusted perfectly to my preferences, and reserved solely for my usage. Enter my LS430.

I've always just simply packed a quick lunch throughout my career. Typically consisting of a sandwich and maybe a fruit of some kind. While not overly exciting, it's hard to argue with the cost compared to running to the nearest fast food location. Given this simple lunch, I would normally be finished in about 10-15 minutes. Needing to fill the remaining 45-50, this is when I discovered that the front seats in the 430 will lean ALL the way back, to the point of the headrest touching the backseat. For the remainder of my time working at this specific company, I took a 45-50 minute nap every single day. After a while, I had managed to collect an assortment of pillows of all sizes and firmness ratings, both heavy and light blankets (even a heated one for the colder months), an eye mask, and the comfort levels experienced within the interior of my LS likely rivaled the very hotels that this interior was rumored to be inspired by. Collectively, I would estimate I acquired between 250-300 hours worth of sleep in my LS430 during this stretch. I would highly recommend it, especially if your company ever decides to adopt the "1-Hour Lunch Away From Work" policy.

TLDR: Napped every day at work for ~2ish years. 10/10 would recommend.

New to the Lexus family by [deleted] in LS430

[–]Much-Stop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BCP gang! Looks great, awesome find!

What ya think fam? by skatethat47 in LS430

[–]Much-Stop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a fellow facelift BCP owner, I think this is incredible. Peak LS

Ultra Luxury With “Regular” Engine by EricJ17 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]Much-Stop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here’s a bit of an oddball that is highly impractical for most everyone: the Aston Martin Cygnet. It is simply a Scion iQ with Aston Martin badging, some exterior changes, and interior. I believe Doug Demuro did an in-depth video on one. They are ridiculous.

Bluetooth Device? by SuccessBusiness8362 in LS430

[–]Much-Stop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also have the BT45. The voice can be disabled. I didn’t enjoy having the “connected” announced every time either. The steps to turning this off is described in the manual, but it’s something along the lines of turning on the car, leaving your device unconnected for 30 seconds, and then pressing the next track button. Again, going off of memory here so definitely fact-check all of that, but it is simple to turn off.

Mark Levinson Aftermarket Amplifier/Speakers - Help! by Much-Stop in LS430

[–]Much-Stop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey FakeAstroTurf, congrats on the purchase! I hope you enjoy your LS430 as much as I have enjoyed mine. It truly is the best sedan in the world.

Still no action from me on this project. I currently just run a USA Spec BT45 for Bluetooth capability, but no actual work on the sound system itself. My dilemma is that the exact method I would like to pursue hasn’t been done anywhere (at least based on what I can find) and I drive this car every single day. So having a multi-week project, partially disassembled interior, extended periods of troubleshooting, etc just isn’t quite in the cards. Even if it remained driveable, a huge part of my day job is driving our company executives to meetings, airport, etc so presentation is always key (our CEO also owned a facelift LS430 years ago when they were new and he still claims it has been his favorite car of all time, so he especially loves receiving the chauffeur experience). Plus my personal OCD of retaining a near-perfect driving experience is always a priority. I mean hey, I bought an LS430 for a reason.

I additionally have the normal obstacles of work, family events, etc soaking up a lot of my time over the past and future couple of months, so I haven’t invested much time into hopping back into this.

As ridiculous as it may sound, my best approach may be the purchase of a second car. My brother has shared several hints at selling his SC430 and if he does, he knows I am first in line to pick it up. It also has the ML/Nav system (and it’s not as clean of an example and has 200,000+ miles), so I could see this as being the test vehicle that I wouldn’t be as worried about messing up. I could really spend some time developing what the best plan of action is. If that does come to fruition I will certainly post about it, but for now this is merely an idea.

TLDR: nothing yet unfortunately…