cannoli33

Hi, I own a 2001 VW Passat and have been pretty happy with the car. My friend is selling a 1998 Lexus GS300 for a good price. I am considering selling my passat privately and buying the lexus because the money I wil have left over I can use to pay debts. The Lexus also has more power. What I wanted to know is whether the Lexus will cost much more to maintain than the passat? The lexus has 90,000 miles and my car has 24,000. Since Lexus has a better reliability record would it cost less to own, or are Lexus parts so much more to replace?
Thanks,
Dave

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

No answers? From my experience on a 99 GS300 with 96k, no problems AT ALL. Parts $ are about the same at Toyota, not marked up b/c it's a "LEXUS" unlike BMWs and MBs that are about 3x as much. Only regular maintenance and oil changes every 3k for me. You will have no regrets.

LexFather

Yeah, VW warrenty is what 24/2. Once your friend maintened the car, it will be trouble-free for you.Lexus is the most reliable car new AND after 5 years of ownership. I believe the GS is the most reliable car in it's class according to JD Power. THe Passat is a fine car and the GS 300 is a wonderful step up from it.

gs400998

90K is the time for timing belt and water pump. Try to have your friend do the 90K sevice, timeing belt and water pump

LeXsGs3

I think I have a responsibility to chime in this thread, being a previous owner of a 2000 Passat (aka B5); and moving into a GS300 because of the very reason you have mentioned. I was at 93,000 on my Passat. I bought an extended warranty up to 75,000 miles, because of the fact that coming from a Honda Accord, I was apprehensive about owning and maintaining a VW. Let me summarize my experience with my Passat:

40K miles: busted valve gasket $450 (covered by warranty)
50K miles: busted vacuum hose, check engine light went on $260 (out of pocket)

30K - 90K miles:
4 lights go out (head, interior); oil leak; changed front brakes 2X and rear brakes 1X ($300 / brake job) ~ mandatory rotor change with pads.

*here's the doozy*

92K miles: ABS control module, or speed sensors, or intrument cluster failure: The reason why I say OR is because of the horrible service from the dealership. They could not pinpoint the problem and could only suggest to repair one thing at a time, to fix the problem. To fix all these problems = $2,400.

so I decided to part with my Passat and move "up" to a GS300. A vehicle I wanted for a long while.

I was very pleased with the performance of my car, especially with the suspension and wheel upgrade I did to it. ALTHOUGH, it did not off set my distaste for the lack of reliability and very poor customer service.

VW v. LEXUS = night and day

Although I've had a couple setbacks with the door actuator and the master brake cylinder (both covered by warranty), these are the only true known defects in the GS aside from a throttle position sensor.

BUT the service is superb, bar none and after most of the typical GS problems are now fixed, I am looking forward to thousand of miles with smiles.

If you have any questions, PM me, btw as far as the power goes, I had a 1.8T and it's nothing compared to my GS. I love it.

Also, are you a memeber of clubb5.com, you can find alot of info about Passats specifically. It help me get through all my woes. A pic of my ride is on it to. I have the same user name.

My suggestion: get the GS, get the cash, and run. You can't lose.

KVA

Easy one...go with the Lexus and don't look back. Two totally different classes.