gs400998

GS400 with low mileage, navigation system and around $20k are hard to find. I only found one other sample at slightly higher price - $21,900, 54,250 miles, 17" rims, rear spoiler, navigation package:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=&cardist=1016

Have fun shopping for your GS4.

roguenode

I'm rapidly finding that out. Now, I'm crossing my fingers the car is still there in two days. A couple of cars back I had an LS 400 and fell in love with Lexus quality, after a few years with the audi, I'm ready to come back to Lexus, but with performance as well.

Thanks for the responses. Hoping to an owner again in a few days.

salimshah

For the 98 model, make sure that the "door ajar" lights up when either of the rear doors is opened.

Salim

hawk

i don't mean to be a party pooper....but if the price is low, just make sure you check it out big time--ESPecially if it's coming from a lexus dealer, which should be a tad higher priced than normal.....only other thing i can think of is checking the bolts along the rails that go along the side of the car under the hood, and along the sides from teh windshield to the front of hte car.....push the black weatherstripping to the side, and make sure none of those bolts have been turned....they'll be scratched if they have been turned, and that's one indicator of an accident vehicle......for the rear end, lift the trunk mats up, check to make sure that all welds are original on the body

also, make sure the VIN number stickers on teh doors all match and so forth and so on......Please PM me if you need more help and/or advice on inspecting the car....

good luck

BCK

rouge:

I have a 98 GS400. I bought it used in 99. I just had my 40k service done (I don't drive it much and when I do I have a short commute). I don't have HIDs or heated seats and wish I did. I also wish I got the upgraded(Nakamishi) stero (not sure if yours had this or not) I have had the L-tuned suspension and offset wheels (OZs?) installed. I would highly recommend doing the suspension upgrade, stock was way too soft for my tastes, especially when stepping from my Porsche.

No major items to be concerned with that I can think of. I did have issues w/ vibration but that was with the factory 18" rims and has not been an issue since switching out. The sunroof plastic creaks when exposed to temperature changes (you may want to ask the dealer for a sheet of felt tape so you can fix this if required).

Note, wrt Eshift, you can shift down to 1 and the 3-2 downshift is not smooth (has a big gap). Still, I like Eshift and the GS430 not having it is a major reason I stayed w/ my 98; very handy in traffic or driving on 25/35 mph streets and when "having fun".

Good -Luck -- BCK

Neo

iTrader: (3)

From the threads that have come up here, snow tires are definitely recommended. You might keep the 16s as winter wheels with snow tires.

As for the wheel well, going to 18s will not help unless you are planning to drop it. You can even drop it with 16s if you want to decrease the fender gap.

roguenode

Thanks for the extra advice guys. I am making a list for tomorrow. It's a two-hour trip and I'm going with my father, who's looking at the the rx330 for my mother. If the car has problems, I'll can walk away.

hawk, I'm making an inspection list, with your ideas included. I'd appreciate any more inspection tips you can pass along.


BCK, the car's got the low-rent stereo. I'm under the impression that's required with NAV due to the screen/radio controls.

Neo, As for snow, if I get this car, I'll plan on driving in the 16's and getting some snows from the rack.

To be honest, I'm also hoping the lack of spoiler doesn't bother me too much. At least it's not something that has to stay that way. On yet another note, this will be my first black car and I'm a paint nut. I have a feeling I'll be needing clay bar, Zaino, etc. quite often.

Crossing fingers and hoping this deal will be worthwhile.

hawk

roguenode---I'm always happy to help with any advice for purchasing.....At the bottom here is a copy of a post that I did a few months back for another guy who was about to purchase a GS. The thread also included a couple other good pointers. Here is the link to the old thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...t&pagenumber=1

I HIGHLY suggest that you read all this before you arrive at the dealer, and you should also consider printing this out and using it as a checklist. After all, the average marriage probably lasts less time than this car will. But would you marry some chick after only an hour of checking her out??? (no "test drive" jokes here, guys!) Exactly my point.

Now, if everything checks out, then there's still one last downside to buying the car used rather than new: you don't get to be the first to fart in the driver's seat. here's my original post:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
here are some recommendations from my experience.

1. when buying a used car, your first priority MUST be overall mechanical/structural condition of the car, and not the color combination.

2. have the dealer print out a carfax report AND dealer service history report. they can search the national lexus database for all the times that the car has been to a lexus dealer for service or mechanical issues. this takes them 2 seconds.

3. pop the hood open: see if there are any non-original welds. since you're at a Lex dealer, if you can't tell, all you have to do is compare the welds on one GS to another right next to it. When you have the hood open, check all the bolts that run up the side of the car to see if they have been turned. If they have, that's not normal and may also be an indication of body work......but compare with other used GS's on the lot in order to make an informed decision

4. repeat step 3 but with the trunk. pull up the carpet, etc etc, look for non-original welds. Non original welds, of course, are indications of body work. also under the carpet in the trunk is a natural area for trapped condensation, thus leading to corrosion. check it out.

5. where the hood meets the windshield, rub your index finger along the end of the hood. if it feels a bit rougher than doing the same thing to a new GS, this is indication of paint work, which MIGHT suggest previous body work, but is NOT a good indication of an accident, because it could be from a branch that fell on teh car, or other minor things, such as a fender bender or who knows what. NEVERTHELESS, this is a good bargaining tool, because any car that has been repainted loses value.

you can also use this test along the edges of doors and the edge of the trunk. (side note: if, when you open the doors, you feel a difference in teh quality of paint along the main body of the car that is normally covered by the door, this, too can be a sign of paint work.

6. Call your insurance company with the VIN number of the car your interested in. Some insurance companies will actually run the VIN number through a special database which indicates all insurance related repairs. i dont' know of any website that goes through the insurance database. the carfax.com website is actually sort of like a "credit check" on a car. i'm pretty sure they even use one of those credit check companies (experion, i think?), which also keeps records on cars. don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that the carfax report and the actual insurance registry check are two different things. one if for issues related to the title fo the car (pass/fail emissions, new owner registered, etc.) and one is for insurance related claims on the car, but i'm not entirely sure how the two differ, but i am sure there is some overlap on several things being reported to both databases.

7. check the fluids. at the very least, if any fluids are low, it may indicate that the particular lex dealership you are at is more concerned with the car's cosmetic presentation than actual mechanical condition.

8. check the wear and tear of the gas and brake pedals (literally see if the brake pedal looks worn, and compare to another GS with similar mileage if poss.), and especially compare the feel of the brake pedal from one used GS to another on the lot or from one dealer to the next (you should be testinga few). if you notice a difference from one GS to another, you should be able to tell which is in better shape.
excessive brake wear can be an indication that the vehicle was driven kinda hard.

9. TEST DRIVE: 1st of all, have a buddy start the car for you while you stand behind the car. check for smoke. also, the car really ought not take more than a full 3 seconds to start.

explain to your salesperson that you will need to take it on a thorough drive (some dealerships have their sales associates guide you along a "predetermined route." screw that, if they want your money, they can accomodate. BUT in fairness, you should tell the salesperson before getting in the car to test drive it, so he or she has the opportunity to let the manager on duty know.

This test drive means both on the highway and on the city roads (find some rough roads, maybe a parking lot with speed bumps--check to make sure that the suspension is working properly). Check for anything suspicious. A CPO car ought to have good alignment, etc etc. Also, find an area with no cars behind you, and only lightly hold the steering wheel as you brake HARD. check to see that the car stays straight as you are braking.

10. FLOODED CARS: a flooded car can most easily make its way past an insurance claim or a carfax report. first, pull the seatbelts out ALL THE WAY. the bottom area where the seat belt re-coils is one of the most difficult places to dry out, and often never even do drive out. another good test are the rails on which the front seats rest. move the seats forward and check for rust. caution on this, though, is that i've seen non-flooded cars of friends of mine with rusty rails simply because they spill crap in their car. so.....it's your deal on making this assessment.

11. OUTSIDE OPINION: if you've found a car that fits your taste and passes your test for quality, you may wish to have your own mechanic check it out. Many dealerships don't allow you to take it to your mechanic, however, they pretty much have to allow you to pay one of those companies (i think they might be called LemonBusters or something like that...not sure) to come to the dealership and check the car out for you. this is the one thing i did NOT do, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt. I've heard of this costing the potential buyer anywhere from $80-125 to have a car checked out.

12. Personal Advice: never buy a car that has been in an accident. i don't care if they say it hasn't had frame damage or not. down the road, you run the risk of increased frequency of alignment problems, abnormal or excessive tire wear, etc etc. a front end accident is even worse than if the car was rear ended, because there are more mechanical parts up there, and you run a greater risk of having ill-effects from an improperly rebuilt car, or a car that was in such an accident as to render it impossible to restore its condition to as-good-as-new.

same advice for a flood. ya never know what kind of flood. if the car was parked at a beach, congrats you got salt particles all up and down and all over that vehicle that will never go away, can be impossible to remove in many cases, and will just eat at it forever. if it was freshwater flood, it's still been in a freakin' flood!!!! would you buy a boat that fell off an 18 wheeler on its way to the boat docks but just ended up skidding around on an interstate for several hundred feet? NO. why would you buy a car that turned into, well, basically a "sunroof floatation device."

also, for a quick lesson on what is and is not a good used car to buy, go to a CARMAX store. this is a used car dealership chain with lots of dealers all over, but not everywhere. to the best of my knowledge, and having known a couple people who work/have worked there, they sell very clean used cars.

GO TO CARMAX EVEN IF THEY DON"T HAVE A GS IN STOCK. Why? because you need to chat with the salesperson, and ask him/her to demonstrate how they know a car is in good condition. At the carmax stores i visited, they also had a car parked in teh lobby which was labeled "REJECT." it's actually a car that has been in a bad accident that carmax says they would never sell on their lot, but they have it for display purposes to show how you can rebuild cars to meet cosmetic standards but have been in bad accidents. Ask, and hopefully the salesperson will go over the car with you showing you what details about it prove that it was in an accident.

CHECK WITH A FAMILY FRIEND/RELATIVE: ....if you have a friend or relative who has purchased a car from a lex dealership, see if they were satisfied with their experience, and if so, then go to the same salesperson and tell him/her that 'so and so' sent you specifically to him/her. Salespeople LOVE repeat customers and, as such, may be more willing to guide you to a car that they know to be in better condition.

WHEN BUYING THE CAR: i personally would never trade in a car to a dealership. i'd sell it privately, because you can make the most money that way.

think about a trade in this way:
dealer pays you for car. ==1st instance of profit
wholesaler purchases car from dealer==2nd instance of profit
"ma and pa" street corner dealership purchases car from wholesaler=3rd instance of profit.

either way you go about it, if you don't sell the car yourself, you're not making as much money as you should. and remember, in highline cars such as lex, bimmer, benz, there can be $10,000++ difference between what you sold it to the dealer for, and what it eventually sells to someone else for.

ALSO, when arranging payments (if you finance the car): work the price of the car ONLY off final delivery price. NEVER, AND I REPEAT NEVER, let them negotiate the price of the car based on what monthly payments you can make. figuring out the math for this is 99% of the time too confusing for the customer, especially in teh context of time constraints (since, at a dealer, you sorta feel obligated not to waste time, etc).

In fact, your best bet for purchasing a car (NEW OR USED) is to work on the "walkout" price. this is the price of the vehicle with tax, title, license, everything. By doing this, you can avoid any other "service charges, documentary fees" etc etc. i mean, a dealership is a dealership and they almost ALL have BS fees such as documentary fees, but you should just bother with the walkout price.

When with the FINANCIAL MANAGER (again, only if you plan on financing the car), you have now already agreed on a set price. He/she should point the computer screen over to you, and you should be able to view how much your down payment will affect an interest rate (at lex dealer, CPO cars should get same interest rates as new cars). often times, you should be able to choose how long you want to be making payments, etc etc. There are lots of variables in this process, AND DO NOT RUSH YOURSELF. take your time to make sure you understand everything, and be sure to ASK how much, when all of this is done, you will be paying in interest down the road.

go to www.bbb.gov (i think that's the address). that's for the better business bureau. you can use that website (it's free) to check each dealership in your area. Most of the time, every single dealership, whether ford or lexus, will have at least one complaint. That shouldn't be the problem as much as whether it is noted that there are few complaints for the size of the dealership, and that efforts were made by the dealer to rectify any customer complaint. the easiest way to determine a dealer's reputation with the bbb is to see if the bbb notes whether or not the dealer is in good standing, or has something like a "BBB excellent business award" (for example, i don't know if something like that exists)

roguenode

Hawk500sl,

Thank you for the grreat list. I have already bought the car, but this list will come in very handy for future purchases and to pass on to friends/family. FWIW, I got a couple of used car checklists from websearches and managed to do just about everything on your list in terms of onsite checking. I didn't fully investigate the Lexus dealer though. After checking the car, including getting under the car and checking cv joints/boots, etc. I went through every listed service in the lexus database for the car. Just about every recommended check was done early and there were no repeat problems, etc. No idle issues. The last service was the car prep before putting up for sale. They checked all fluids, the diff's and brakes at that time. As well as replaced one of the hid bulbs.

After having the car 4 days, I haven't found any issues yet. no leaks, no oddities from the engine, transmission, brakes, or susupension. I hope this continues to be the case. With any luck, I'll be getting Tein Flex c/o's installed soon, at which time I plan on having my trusted local mechanic go over the car adn give me an idea of anything I should have checked. I'm not sure what checks are recommended at 70k, but I'll have him do anything that lexus recommends at that mileage.

Thanks again for the tips. I think I covered the big ticket items well, i.e., giving the car a good check for smoke on startup/high revs, checks for paint inconsistancies, and checks in the doorwells, engine bay, and trunk for bolts that may have been turned, etc. -- as signs of a wreck.

-Chris

Skizza20

Great post, Hawk. Those tips are great advice for buying ANY car, not just a GS. Good looking out

bluelex

wow... i've seen wheel wet b4 but that wheel was drenched....

hawk

huh?

bluelex

i meant that the pic with of the wheel that had the silicone, was drenched in it...i've seen wheels with wheel wet but that one looked like they slapped it with a mop of wheel silicone..

Blue98Gs3

iTrader: (1)

lol, I can see the dealership taking off each individual wheel off and dumping it in the huge vat of wheel silicone

bluelex

lol.... thats what i meant...a bottle per wheel...don't get me wrong the car looks fantastic, i would definately jump on it i was just laughing at how thw dealer did the wheels...