BigVIPness

I went out to lunch today with a freind that goes to hopkins (on a side note on the way to pick him up I saw a modded lex so tight I was going to wave but all I could do was stare) but back to the story we were talking about my car. For those of you that don't know a few months ago I was faced with the choice of either getting a 98 GS3 or a 94 GS3 and modding it. At the dealership I backed out of the 98 and went to the 94. The issue was not one of money it was one of prefrence. I LOVE both cars, I think the 2nd gens are absolutly beautiful. However I think the 1st gen body style is just so sexy, so classic, so... I dunno... timeless? I just had to have it. Before I got my car I went thru a few other ones (93 camry, 90 supra, 00 trooper, 00 camry) I just couldn't find the perfect car and I was always thinking of what other cars i'd rather have. Since I got my lex i've actaully been content with myself and I couldn't imagine driving a diffrent car. I was wondering what 1st gen owners think (and people like D who moved on to the 2nd gen) about the whole thing.

If you had the choice would you do it again or would you get a 2nd gen? what do you think of the whole 1st/2nd gen?

Pianoman72

They are so, so different it's a really hard decision. I still prefer the 1st gen GS over most other lexus models. I think the 1st and 2nd gen LS400 also have that timeless quality in design.

I can see picking a modded 1st gen over a stock 2nd gen gs3. Tough, though. The 2nd gen is also so nice.

Seize

I prefer the styling of the first gen over the 2nd gen.

Basically it's like this - The first gen is a piece of work where the Italians have done what they were good at which is designing it and where the Japanese have done what they are good at , incorporating their ingenuity into it. Just my 2 cents

Regards,

-Seize

Wald GS

iTrader: (1)

If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose the 1st gen over the 2nd gen.

The original intentions were to drive a nice car, but one that is not too luxurious. The 1st gen seems to keep the sportiness and luxurious, while the 2nd gen looks pure luxury.

Having a 2nd gen fits into the crowd, while having a 1st gen makes you unique so to speak. Though I like the 2nd Gen alot, I have enjoyed every moment with the 1st gen.

SLVRGS

I always seen the potential in the 1st generation GS in the mid 90's and when I finally went to search for them in 2000 there was only a few of them out there. So I was debating buying a 98 in 2000 but had a hard time liking what I could afford in a stock 98 300 and I didn't want to have to mod the car a lot to enjoy it so when I found my car I fell in love with the 1st generation more. I am glad that I chose the 95 cause I enjoyed my car. I have been debating trading it in within the past couple months, especially since I see so many nice 2nd generations on this site but decided to wait a few more months. I don't regret buying mine but I am gonna upgrade soon (I want coilovers and 20's) but think my GS looks good where its at now. The funny thing to me is when I tell people I want to get a new one they think my car is almost brand new and they are like come on what do you want a 2004 wtf, cause they don't know its a 95... timeless

BLKCISCO

I must say this is a very interesting topic. I have a blk 94 gs300. It is shown in some of the pic's from the south fl. meet. I fell in love with the 1st gen. a long time ago. I love the body style. When the 2nd gens came out i was like wow, and i test drove some of them thinking i might get a second gen. The car was wounderful, but there is something about the 1st gens that i cant let go. After going to the meet this past weekend and seeing all the 2nd gen GS there,and all the mods they have done to them. Then looking at our little group of 1st gen GS. I fell all the way back in love with the 1st gen GS. We cought the eye of a lot of people out there with the way our cars looked, and for them to be all 95 models or older they all were looking real sweet. . Its a wounderful feeling knowing that we can still look that good and catch the eye of our 2nd gen family

blue wax

exactly said here, the 1 st gen is one af a kind nowadays, they become rare here in europ, never been a lot anyway , (lol), they look so elegant, soft sport accents, with a few mods on body, rims.....they're well ahead of the 2nd gen in styling. But the 2nd gen has more high tech and speed.....

love my car

yezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

D2-AUTOSPORT

Great thread man. I would have to say that my determining factor was money! I would imagine most of you guys that have 1st gens have them paid off or maybe owe 3-4k on them. When you look at the Lexus prestige (this is especially outside major metro areas like New York, people just give ANY Lex its props!!), the quality, and the beautiful design, not to mention the engine potential, these cars (1st Gen) are a great value, since you can now buy a 95 for about 10-12k in GOOD condition!!

The thing that drove my decision was purely financial, I'd started sliding upside down (owe more on the car than its worth) and it was only gonna get worse. Its alot easier to love your car when its not gonna be pulling money out of your pocket for the next 2-3yrs!! LOL I bought my 96 at a Lexus dealer with 59k, CPO for 21k in 2001. My CPO was well worth the extra few grand i spent when I got a new tranny and a month loaner for free when I messed up my own tranny!
Anyway back to the point, i did not see the point of making payments for 2more years on a car only to end up with a 9yr old car that I FINALLY own! I figured, if I'm gonna be making payments I might as well have a newer car. Also, I was at the crossroads, I wanted more power, and it was either drop 6-7k in my 96 to turbo it, or get a faster car! Well obviously I chose to get a newer, faster car, with the added incentives of model updates, lower mileage, etc etc.

My Choice in IVXX's situation would be this:

If given the chance, unless MONEY was in short supply, I dont think I could choose a 94 over a 98. But if money is a factor, then by all means 1st Gen, money in the pocket and mods on order!!

I cant lie, the only thing I miss about my 96 is the SHINE I had worked into the paint!! I had really formed a detailing relationship with that car, and it takes a while to train paint on a new car! The 2nd Gen 400 is a really nice vehicle though, and in order to still be a little different I just got a rare color!! LOL

Wald GS

iTrader: (1)

hehe D!! That is a beautiful color, but a lazy mans. hehe j/K. You don't have to wash your car for a month.

D2-AUTOSPORT

To be honest, this color has been working me harder than the navy!! When I got it, I must have waxed/polished/compounded it 6-7 times in ONE WEEK!! The toughest thing about light colors is the depth has to be captured from a certain angle, like my dark car, any time you looked at it, you could tell it was BLANGIN!!, with the light color car you have to make the light hit it, to see a reflection, then you go, oh thats BLANGIN! LOL

BigVIPness

Ah! so much stuff to respond to!

First off just want to make it clear that its not like "money isn't a option" its just like I had saved for years so I was going to get what I wanted, cept if I got a 2nd gen that'd be the end of it, the only mod I would be able to afford would be like... half and airfreshener.

One of the reasons I say it has such a timeless desgin is because alot of the time people don't know if its a 2002 or a 1994! Props to toyota for that design, talk about hitting the nail on the head!

Also on kind of a random note, I must say the 1st Gen GS's have the coolest taillights ever, I have yet to see anything come close to that tight of a desgin, closest thing I could find so far would be the 300zx.

Also at least in MN I just do not see 1st gens anywhere and I pay more attention to the cars on the road then the road itself sometimes Just the other day I saw a 40 year old guy with his buddy in a jade green 1st gen and we both just stared at eachother in shock, I was thinking how crazy it is that hes drives a 1st gen that he takes good care of (you could tell by the rims and paint alone he took care of that like a baby) except i'm sure he was just thinking "whats the punk *** kid doing in a lexus?!"

As for getting props for the lex, maybe its just cause I live in minnesota which has almost no modded cars at all, but people give me a ton of props for the lex. You never use your car to get chicks... but they gotta find out what you roll in sooner or later and when they do it always puts a smile on my face (and thiers)

LB Lex

I love both versions of the GS. I love my 1st gen because it is a timeless design. Yesterday I was at a muffler shop fixing a cracked exhaust pipe and all the customers were looking at my car because they thought it was fairly new and they were asking me how much I paid for it. They loved my car They were astonished when I told them it's 10 years old! The 2JZGE is a strong engine that lasts a long time, but aside from adding a turbo there isn't much to do to gain quite a bit of horsepower.

I also like the 2nd gen, but for other reasons. I would really love to have a V8 engine. There are so many aftermarket parts for this engine. The design is very nice too. The interior is also great, there is no substitute for Lexus design and quality The leather is also softer on the 2nd gen (from what I heard, the 1st gen came with a harder leather).

In a couple years, I want to do what DGOT20s did: get a 2nd gen GS4. His car is pretty tight. I love the gold paint (just like mine), the V8 engine, and the larger amount of aftermarket parts to chose from.

D2-AUTOSPORT

Yes the leather is ALOT softer in the newer car! Surprised me to be honest. Also the ergonomics of the new car are pretty well thought out, the 98 seat bottom does not go back as far as my 96, yet i'm always in the perfect position! Weird man!!

The 96 front seat was a tall mans dream!!! I'm 6'4" and when I sat in my old car, my legs were almost fully extended!! LOL

Marx

Did someone say that the body design came out of Italy? Thats pretty interesting. Has anyone got more information on the history and Development of the First GS3/Aristo?

I drive a first Gen LS now, but I crave something sportier....

BigVIPness

I don't know about that. I don't own a 2nd gen but i've driven it at the dealership, been in my freinds dads, and my uncle has one as well (but he usually takes his CTS) I do however own a 1st gen GS and maybe its just my leather but it seems that the 1st gen GS is infinitly softer then the 3 GS's i've seen/driven. Again I don't own a 2nd gen so maybe its just my car but it just seems soooo much softer in the 1st gen. Also a friend of mine is getting 93 SC300 and the leather in that is even softer then mine (I only mention that because they are such similar cars) Then again todds got a ES with the hard-as-rock coach leather and he seems to perfer that over mine.