I def was not thinking in terms of size or a V8 when comparing the 100 to a car. Everyone values the 100 for diff reasons. I would def put the Camry up there also. CVTs are tricky transmissions for most manufacturers, Nissan still hasn't got it right. But you can get a couple extra MPG and about 15 extra HP when you do.
What's the car equivalent of the Hundy?
- Thread starter RND1
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Anyone want to guess which car i'm leaning towards? I bought my 2005 LS430 ML Edition with 42,500. CA. car that was brand new inside and out. Never had anything go wrong with it all i've done was scheduled maintenance.
1999 4X4 of the year. I purchased a one owner well maintained rig. On a sunny day no snow or mud i would trust the 430 over the 100. Only reason is less things to break, but love them both.
1999 4X4 of the year. I purchased a one owner well maintained rig. On a sunny day no snow or mud i would trust the 430 over the 100. Only reason is less things to break, but love them both.
I would say the LS430 for sure is the 470/LC car equivalent. I'm looking at late 90's SC400's as my DD. Those cars are phenomenal if you can find one that hasn't been absolutely Fast & Furioused.
I don't know what you crazy people keep bringing up Subarus for. Those cars fall apart so fast. A hundy will go 300k on it's timing belt, a Subaru's will break 2 miles past the design limit.
Drove a crosstrek after plugging a tire for a friend of the wifes. It had that gimmicky engine shutoff at idle bologna. Felt rinky-dink to me and didnt give me the feeling of bulletproof reliability, but more of a epa hack to bolster their city mpg tests. A week later the wifes friend came back for me to scan her check engine light. Hill-start-assist issue... Why an automatic car even has that 'feature' is unknown to me. That thing has less than 50k on it too.
When i return from deployment ill be in the market for a beater/gas saver. Im thinking a 90's camry or accord wagon as long as i can get it in manual. Or a 03-06 accord v6mt. Cant lie, if i cant find a good manual ill be searching for a ls430(cheap) or a 96+ ls400 (good cond/mx history). Japanese manual station wagons first though. (Not subaru tho... I dont trust them past 150k after researching them)
When i return from deployment ill be in the market for a beater/gas saver. Im thinking a 90's camry or accord wagon as long as i can get it in manual. Or a 03-06 accord v6mt. Cant lie, if i cant find a good manual ill be searching for a ls430(cheap) or a 96+ ls400 (good cond/mx history). Japanese manual station wagons first though. (Not subaru tho... I dont trust them past 150k after researching them)
I've got a lot of love for '89 - '92 Volvo 240s. Don't know why they came to mind when I saw this thread, other than bulletproof, run forever (another vehicle where 300K is not a cause for celebration/wonder, but rather just ticking off a usual milestone), easy to work on, great online folks, easy to work on and diagnose, GREAT in the snow (RWD, but put snows on'em and they're tanks). Hmmmm... maybe I do know why they came to mind... 
On the other hand, they are old and certainly not in the luxury league of most of the other vehicles discussed in this thread.
On the other hand, they are old and certainly not in the luxury league of most of the other vehicles discussed in this thread.
How does 2004-2006 LS430 compare to 2007-2010 LS460? The owners of these two respective year model groups claim theirs are better than the others' 
But seems both parties agree that the LS430 is quieter and smoother while the LS460 is more sporty/stiff but more modern?
I've heard also some owners say LS460 is not as reliable as LS430 (possibly because of the added gadgets and features for LS460 model?)
But seems both parties agree that the LS430 is quieter and smoother while the LS460 is more sporty/stiff but more modern?I've heard also some owners say LS460 is not as reliable as LS430 (possibly because of the added gadgets and features for LS460 model?)
Last edited:
LS430 by far. Refined, reliable and ride quality that is hard to match. These two vehicles (LS430/100 series) were made during the same era. Same build quality and engineering ingenuity. I’m not sure Toyota will ever be able to achieve the same balance they did with these two flagship vehicles ever again.
Nice photography and taste in vehicles.
I have to second all of this. Owned several, including a '93 white 245 my kids affectionately named "The Daddy Wagon." I don't think people understand how great these actually are in the snow. The engineers knew what they were doing when they made the front track width way wider than the rear. With a set of snow tires, they were absolute tractors. With chains, they could defy gravity. They did have a certain spartan luxury in their day (certainly weren't cheap vehicles) but they don't come close to the refinement of the 100 series, so I think that would take them out of the running. Still miss mine though.I've got a lot of love for '89 - '92 Volvo 240s. Don't know why they came to mind when I saw this thread, other than bulletproof, run forever (another vehicle where 300K is not a cause for celebration/wonder, but rather just ticking off a usual milestone), easy to work on, great online folks, easy to work on and diagnose, GREAT in the snow (RWD, but put snows on'em and they're tanks). Hmmmm... maybe I do know why they came to mind...
Sell it to me. I'd be happy to drive it for you. My favorite car of all time was my '93 E36. Drove it year round in salt city, frigid snowy winter USA for ten blissful years and joyful 235K miles (well, only 175K of those were me.. the PO put the first 60K on it) until the salt finally ate it.
You won't believe how many offers i get to sell that car. I've maybe put 100 miles on it in the last 4 years as life got in the way.
Bought it in 03 at 43k and now has 114k. Mostly trips to see the girlfriend at the time in Austin.
I don't think I'll ever sell it honestly. It's a nasty love hate relationship we have with each other.
Just out of curiousity, and sorry for the thread drift... but what's to hate? The love part I definitely get.. genuinely interested in the issues you've found with the car.
The little things, having to go through two water pumps, radiator, fan, door panels falling off, vanos noise, power steering leaks, subframe bushings, control arm bushings, trans and engine mounts and an ac that isn't worth anything. These was all sorted by 60k and it's been great for the rest of it.
Keep in mind, these are mostly hot climate issues, excluding the water pumps.
All in all it was trouble free, never left me stranded (after installing an oem wp) and generally was great.
Really my fault for buying, at the time, an 8 year old car with only 40k on it. A lot of things dried up.
CloudCity
LuxCruisers
I would say the 5-series BMW others have mentioned, or an old W123 is a good analog if it's one that's been maintained. I personally would also never buy another Subaru, they fall apart and get rattles the moment the warranty expires it feel like and the visible edges of the sheetmetal tells you so much about the build quality of their cars. Thin, tinny and meant to last you just long enough to get into a new model. The older ones were better and still driven by many people but once their sales numbers went up and they were forced to keep up with demand much of that quality went out the window. I did enjoy the low position and center of gravity of the Boxer engine tho.
CloudCity
LuxCruisers
I have mentioned this to people and I get laughed at. lol Ever see the pic of the slammed 100-series? You'd swear it was a Forester.
That's just wrong.
