lexus is the best car ive ever had, had 1st gen gs300, sold and got gs400 and love it, the only way i will get rid of it is if i get tired of modding and get the ls430, i love toyota so much when my fiance got pregnant and we wanted an suv , i bought a sequoia, again it has been great also, out of my 2 lex and 1 sequoia, ive never been to the dealership except for oil changes, and timing belt change on 1st gs, other than that none of the 3 ever been to dealership, hows that for maintenance, any american car my family has ever had has been a piece of *****.............requiring tons of repair work, ,,,,,,,,,,, and as far as your noises, u ever thought that the interior is so quiet that u hear every little thing on the inside of the car, thats because engine and outside of the car is sealed so good from letting noise in,,,,,,,just a thought, ill take a noisy lexus to an american car anyday of the week..........though i dont feel any of my vehicles are noisy, except seqouia u can hear the motor a little

 

The GS interior is known to rattle, especially sunroof - this is one of the very few negatives of the GS. IMO The fact that Lexus has such great noise insulation lets u hear all the little rattles that u would never hear in other cars. It only gets on my nerves during the winter months when all my windows are closed and i hear it. Right now when i drive even with 1 window half way down, there is so much noise i dont hear any rattles at all.

BTW there is no American brand 4dr sedan that comes even close to the GS.

 

ebruce2

I would much rather loose 50% of 24K than 40% of 43K!! As far as Lexus service when they replaced my headlight due to condesation they left the bolts out of my fender skirt which allowed it to rub the tire. I also gave them the opportunity to fix the shift lever benzel rattle using their TSB and they scratched the surround and mushroomed the shift level benzel. They replaced both with an apology. Why was my transmission overfilled when they changed it at 15K?. Why did Lexus try the used car trick of squirting belt dressing on my belt when it squelled at 23K miles? two weeks later they put a new one on. The same labor poll exists around the country, the guy working at a GM dealership has a neighbor that works at a Lexus dealership. I have every right to voice or as you perceive "complain". My motive behind "complaining" is for the individual who has not purchased one or is considering one so they will know the facts.

The biggest POS I ever owned was a Corvette, but one thing about it, it never rattled which was beyond my conception with its bone jarring ride. What is even more astonishing is it depreciated the least of any vehcile I ever owned. I paid 34K and sold it 3 years later with 15K additional miles for 32K.

As far as selling the Lexus I am giving it one more try to eliminate the rattles. I would love to keep it since it has zero vibration at any speed on any road, a silent running engine, the coldest ac I have ever had, perfect brakes, plush interior and looks good. As I drove to work today with the ashtray removed, and the shift surround removed I still heard the buzzing sound. I plan to pop the center console vent out on the way home to determine if it is the source. I have to resort to a method of elimination because I am tired of getting car sick and violating the seat belt law looking for rattles as my wife drives.

 

I personally agree with ebruce2 here. My thoughts exactly.

Why don't you just get rid of the annoyingly noisy GS300 with a torque curve that sucks and get that Grand Am? It seems like a no brainer decision to me based on your personal experience. I know I would if I were in your shoes and that was my experience.

 

I normally don't chime in much on threads such as these but since I have had both Corvettes and a Camaro I couldn't help it.

Notice the mileage when you are making depreciation comparisons, because when I sold my Vette with 75,000 miles it had a leaking Targa roof, bad wheel bearings, and quite a few squeaks and rattles I lost my @$$. My Camaro after having to have the ECU replaced and once having a Chevy dealer put oil in the radiator and antifreeze in the engine was close to worthless when I sold it with 86,000 on the ODO.

Now take my 1995 200SX that I also purchased brand new like the above vehicles for $12,500 (Yes, I did get a good deal as I do with all my new cars because I fight tooth and nail for every last dime at the dealer) that I just sold for $5,000 in great shape, spotless condition (as were the cars mentioned above except for the leaky vette), with 118,000 miles and no squeaks.

One great thing about my GS400 is that I know if I don't put crazy mileage on it and keep it in the same great condition I bought it in (Used) that I will lose very little to depreciation or have it actually appreciate some once the body style is no longer offered (see 90+ 300Z's in good shape with reasonable miles, some owners actually make a few bucks on resale from what they paid used)

Just my 2 cents

P.S. I found out that all it takes is L-Tuned exhaust and turning the NAK volume up past a quarter turn to get rid of any squeaks you may hear.

 

Hameed

I feel you are right, I did make a bad decision in purchasing the Lexus. I take full responsibility. I have to I bought the car. One of the few times in my life I went with the majority (which I know the majority is wrong 95% of the time) and purchased a car that most people feel is the brand to own. I now realize Lexus was only a legend in their own mind. Being a realist, I probably will not buy the Grand Am, but it is a heck of deal for a College student, but I will buy something. It surely will be domestic, The front runners are the Caddilac CTS-V or possible the Licoln LS more than likely the Caddy, I love HP.

I guess my loss on the Lexus will be about 3K, which is not enough to care about. I am more disappointed in myself for not making a better purchase initially. I did drive a number of cars prior to the Lexus decision, checked the foruums and read the reviews but it slipped under the radar. I will now go on to my 24th purchase of an automobile, after I reinstall my ash tray and center console surround in the Lexus.

 

XYZ, I am truly sorry for your perceived bad experience with the Lexus. Perception, as we all know, is indeed reality. I can only assure that your bad experience is a rare one. I wish you the best of luck with your next vehicle.

 

I think he would have been happier with a GS400...

 

You're kidding us. Right? I switched to foreign cars and never looked back in 1982 when I "inherited" a 1971 Corolla to replace my trashed 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sports. For a car guy, the build quality of the Corolla was the stuff of dreams. It was super tight, no rattles, no leaks, still on its original muffler, and it started every time. What struck me most was the quality of the fasteners. Working on that engine bay was like working on an airplane. It just reeked quality.

Yes, the domestics are definitely improving their quality, but so are the Japanese--specially Toyota. That's my 3 cents on this issue. No amount of debate will change anyone's mind on the domestic v. foreign issue. Only personal experience will.

 

XZYLexus1,
It seems like all you care about are the interior squeeks and rattles. What about everything else about the GS compared to a domestic? The GS's superiority over any domestic sedan in not debatable. It is proven.
Probably the first American sedan that could be considered better is the 2005 Cadillac STS which of course isn't out yet. Let's hope it's better since it's cost will be up to $65k and it will be a an 8 year newer
design. But then we'll see the 2006 GS.....sorry Caddy.

 

No, I was not kidding.

 

Ouch!