Damani

Hi everybody!

I'm a new user from Canada and had a few questions regarding the GS300 1st gen.
(1) what should I look for when driving and inspecting the car before purchasing?
(2) how much does it cost to service, and how often?
(3) is there anybody from Canada on this board?

all replies are greatly appreciated

financial guy

(1) Look for the VIN stickers on the fenders doors and hood. If they are all there and match the vin of the car, they are original equipment and have never been replaced. Look at the bolts that hold on the hood and fenders, make sure they look like there has never been a wrench or socket on them. (They are painted after assembly at the factory and should not be damaged in any way.)

Get a CARFAX report on the car you are interested in before buying it. I am not sure that CARFAX has Canada under there sphere of influence, but it is worth looking in to.

If you can't tell that something is wrong by driving the car, bring someone who can

(2) Lexus cars typically require little maintenance. If the car has been taken care of, continue to take care of it and enjoy it. If it has been neglected, you may incur some costs associated with bringing it up to your standards. The engines, if treated well, will perform perfectly with 250,000 miles on them. 415,000 km +/-. If your question is one of (Does this car take as much money to maintain as a Mercedes?) The answer is a LOUD NO!

(3) I dont know

GSX-R1000

My not so local Lexus dealer wanted $1400 for the 60,000-mile service. I'm having the same service performed at the local Toyota dealer for $700. What’s up with that? Granted the Lexus dealer is not so local in Westport, CT. The Toyota dealer is in Poughkeepsie, NY. Big difference in average yearly income per person.

Pianoman72

Well, in your dealer's defense it is a real pain in the *** to change the spark plugs. You have to remove the throttle body just to get to them. I just did it last weekend and there were a few moments when my friend and I were at our wits end.

Make sure they change your rotor and maybe your distributor cap if you need it.

Cost me over $100 just for the plugs, cap, rotor, and air filter. Even the parts stores jack up their prices when they hear the word Lexus, so get used to it now. Same stuff for a Civic was around $20.


Oh, welcome and enjoy your new GS!

2Lexos

that is way to much money!!:eek: i've never paid over $700 for a complete service on my GS and it has 155,000 miles on it. but it could be cause of the region that you are in. come to chicago for the service....you'll save a butt load of cash

Rover

2Lexos, bro, you got it good over there in Chicago.
I'm about to move over there and save me a bundle
of money.
Damani, welcome to the family, brother.
(1) Shocks on the trunk and the hood.
Cup-holder, sounds insignificant but it is at $300 a pop.
Exhaust might have a rattling sound, this means they
need to change the bracket in there. It's located near
the catalystic converter. Lexus Co. actually did
come out with an improved part for that, since our factory
brackets kept on braking, just like cup-holders.
(2) $2,100 every 60K. But that's just me. And then you have
little things like oil changes, cutting your rotors, changing
transmission and cooling fluids, and so on. Your car will never
brake if only you maintain it.
(3) Sorry, bro, can't help you with that.
Once again, welcome.

geees300

Welcome to the family Damani!
I'm from Alberta.
Keep in mind the plugs and the timing belts are to be replaced every 90K kms or less depending on the driving. My 95' geees 300 has about 103K kms and not winter driven and rain (if I can help it). With that much mileage I had the brakes redone, plugs and t- belt and all the fluids replaced - all done by the dealer. It cost quite a bit but it was done right by the experts.

blue wax

welcome damani,

all has been said here already.......

have fun , buy that car it's a wonderful machine

yezzzzzzz

alexamparo

go to your lexus dealer with the vin and get the cars history. lexus keeps a nationwide network. i did this with mine AFTER i bought it however i got lucky and found out whoever had it took it to the dealer even for oil changes and had it serviced by the dealer right up until i bought it. mine had 133000 at time of purchase so i wanted to make sure it was maintained. you should do the same. besides the report is free and takes like 5 minutes...it even denotes car washes, who did the repair/tune-up(the dealer not the tech) and it says when it was test driven. definetly worth it.