Lwiecz01

Hi all,

First time on your forum, and the only hope is in you
I'm thinking of buying Lexus. My funds will allow me to purchase ES300 or GS300 from years 94-95 (ES 300 from 1996).
Unfortunately I cannot find any info on Polish sites about differences between theese models.
Someone told me, that GS300 has R6 Supra engine and is RWD, but I'm not sure about that, as 3,0 R6 Supra engine, in the lowest version (224hp), has slightly more power than GS300 (212hp as far as I'm concerned). ES300 is suppose to be more like Toyota Camry than Lexus.
I can't find what is the size of trunk in both models, number of airbags, how much petrol does it take in the city/mixed driving/highway, is it possible to put gas installation in it (preferably 4th or 5th generation - not to lose the power)... Are the costs of repairs much higher than in Toyota Camry ? What should I check in the 1st place while buying GS/ES300 cars?

Maybe you could give me some answers or links where I coud find all the info about GS300 1gen and ES300 ?
One more thing - Im thinking also about Toyota Camry V6 3,0 form 1998. Wouldn't be better to buy 3 years younger car ? Is the difference in comfort so big, that I should think of the older one ?

Thank you in advance for all posts and sorry for all the mistakes (that's not my mother language)
Best regards
Lukas

Pianoman72

Well it looks like you have done real well on your research so far. The GS does share the Supra NA engine (inline 6), the Camry/ES300 has a V6. Why is there a difference between the HP #s on the NA Supra and the GS? Not sure.

ES probably does better with the gas mileage.

ES is FWD, GS is RWD.

Is the ES a Toyota Camry? I'm not touching that one.

What do you mean by "put a gas installation in it?"

What should you check? Check the power antenna, make sure it goes up/down, make sure the window trim is flush with the frame of the doors. Those are common issues, other than that it is a VERY RELIABLE car. I have not spent very much on repairs at all.

I have some articles about the GS I can email to you but it will be 4.5 megs if that's ok. You can PM me your email address if you want them.

Hope that helps.

Lwiecz01

Thanks Pianoman

Can you put in another words sentence "window trim is flush with the frame of the doors" ) I can't understand it, sorry...
Well, I ment maybe sth. happens with air conditioning engine, or check sth. particular in suspension (eg. shock absorbers...). Well I don't know what else could brake down

I think I know why you could misunderstand me with gas installation Saying "gas" I didn't mean petrol I ment "gas" like in "gas chamber" but not poisonous...
Now I will write sth. about it. If you know that, don't be nervous
The petrol in Europe is very expensive, and we have also some pollution problems. That is why in Italy and Holland scientists had invented gas installation, which is being put into the car. Saying gas, I mean mixture of propane and buutane (fifty-fifty).
Gas is very cheap and produces much less pollution than petrol. There are 5 generation of installation. 4th and 5th gives the same or grater power. But, you need to choose really good installation to engines with grat power, if you won't... - you get car with 20-40% less ph... Of course you can turn it off and ride with petrol, but what for pay so much for not using it ?
Our currency is cheap, and we earn a lot less than people in the USA, but if you would take the average salary, 4th generation costs 3 salaries, and 5th can even cost 5 salaries. Where is the point ? Gas is cheper more than 3 times than petrol, so generally 4th installation starts to bring profits after about 16 000 miles thats one year or less. After that you travel nearly for free

I would be glad, if you could send me those materials. My email - lukasz.wieczorek@centertel.pl
I can't answer shortly due to the time difference

thx one more time.

Lwiecz01

Oh, Pianoman. I would forget...

Divide those materials on 3 parts, my firewall won't let me to receive mails bigger than 2 MB.

Pianoman72

Ok, I'll send them in three parts.

This is a picture of the top of the door. This is where the problem is with the window trim. Make sure it is not sticking out like in this picture.

(this is my car)

Lwiecz01

Oh, now I know what you mean ))
Waitin' for those files. have a nice day. I'm going to sleep

Lwiecz01

Hello P.,

I've just read Article 2 (in fact that is the only one I've received by now). That's what I needed Only the measures I need to translate into European kilometers, liters, and meters
Waiting for two others.
If you sent them, I didn't get it. Try to compress and divide the files with WinRAR or some other archiver.

Thx man.

LB Lex

Welcome to the club! Pretty much everything Pianoman said is true. The ES and GS are both reliable cars, the question is what do you want out of it. The GS has more room inside (except for the trunk) and has an excellent engine (the Supra engine). The GS is longer than the ES, so this might be a concern in Europe where smaller cars are preferable. The ES is based on the Camry but its standard equipment is the optional equipment on the Camry. Also the GS is rear-wheel drive and the ES is front-wheel drive, so if you are in the snow the ES might be a better option. Also, the GS requires premium fuel (at least 91 octane), but I'm not sure about the ES' fuel requirements.

Lwiecz01

Thx Eric for warm welcome
So I suppose I need to think some things over. Concerning ES300 ('96) and Camry ('98 with full optional equip.) I would choose Camry then
But I like GS300 much. First, I need to try those cars. I didn't drive GS300, so I can't see the difference between it and the Camry now )
Petrol will not be a problem - I'm going to put inside "propane-butane" installation - it will lower costs much. Moreover there are only 3 kinds of petrol in Poland : - 95, -98, and shell's super 99
I need a big car and I like the big cars - that is not a problem for me, either.

What do you mean that trunk is smaller in GS300 ?
I've found, that it has 515 litres (in gallons it would be 136) - I don't know how the capacity is measured in USA. That is pretty the same as in Camry, so how big is trunk in ES300 ?

Winter in Poland ? 4-5 months during a year, maybe 2 months of snow, if it falls at all Rather ice on some smaller roads could be a problem... I envy you sunny California ))

Jmai22

when he says the trunk is small i think he means the cargo space. NOT the gas/petrol tank.

Lwiecz01

Well, I mean the same - trunk as the cargo space
Travelling across Europe I need to have plenty of space in the trunk for luggage