kjhouston

Hey, I'm looking into taking the plunge and purchasing a GS430. Needed some input from you pros. Is it worth purchasing stock rims, navigation and levinson system??? Would I be better off not and doing it all after market??? For those of you with a black GS, how much do you regret having to wash so often???

Also could you list mods that you'd recommend and prioritize (1 must have - 5 down the road).

Thanks.

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

If I were you I would get a fully un-loaded one, without rims, nak, levinson, or spoiler. You can get MUCH better stuff and thousands less !

GS4Will

KJ,

first, a warm welcome is in order.

now let's talk shop.
1.color- are you picky when it comes to the cleaness of your ride? though as you know, blk is coool when it's just been washed, the upkeep is too much for me. i had one BLK car(94 gs) in my whole life, and that was it. now my choice is either silver/ white.

2.options-do you have to have the navigation? if yes, then as of right now, you have to get the ML system to go with the NAV. at least that is how the gs430s are equipped in S.CAL.

personally, i do want the nav. but as far as the ML system, several of our stereo guru recommend after market speakers that are waaay better. it all comes down to whether you have the budget and if NAv is your priority.

also if you get the nav+ml, you will get the factory 17" chrome most of time. too much money, imo. but if you like the chromes, that is another story.

3.the factory, none chrome, 17" wheel option of $172 is def. worth it.

4.as far as the list of mods, go to page 2 of the gs forum, the topic was "what mods to do nest", manaray, one of our experts, has compiled a list of stages of mods you can use.

5.have you gotten any price quotes for the gs430? let me know if you want some pricing reference, i have helped several members getting extremely good deals.
you can also use the Private Message box to reach me.

good luck

RealMarty

Welcome kjhouston,

IMO, it all depends on how you want to approach it and how you feel about maintaining the warranty after shelling out 50 large. I've just gone thru this prior to ordering my GS430. Here are my opinions.

1. Black - I've owned one black car in my life -- that was enough. Hey, they really look great when they are clean. And under lights at night they can look spectacular. How much time do you want to spend washing and waxing? I go for silver/gray. Easy to maintain and classy looking.

2. Sound system - I originally was going to go with the premium system and do the speaker upgrades discussed widely here (see the electronics section). I wrestled with this one a lot (I even had to call the dealer 2 weeks after ordering the car to change it) and finally decided I didn't want to pull the doors and back package shelf off of a brand new car (and void the stereo warranty) so I went for the Mark Levinson for a grand and I figure if it's not good enough I'll at least be starting with better amps if I want to upgrade speakers later.

3. Wheel upgrade - IMHO the best $$ you can spend on the car. Not the chromes. They don't do it for me, but $172 for 17 inch rims and tires (even though I think the Bridgestone 030s suck) is a bargain. If you want to go bigger later, there are lots of folks who've sold their 17s on this site and put the $ towards 18"+ rims/tires.

4. NAV - It's cool but not for me. Just doesn't seem worth the $$ for the amount of use. Maybe if you are really into it as a gadget or travel a lot it would make sense to you.

5. Spoiler - Don't like the look. I think it ruins the lines of the car. My current GS400 actually came with the spoiler (ordered it without it and it came anyway) and I had the dealer remove it before I would take delivery.

(BTW, you can get any of the available Lexus options if you're willing to order and wait 90 days or so...and if you negotiate the deal it doesn't have to cost any more than buying off the lot.)

6. L-Tuned shocks springs and steering ecu - Also great bang for the buck. First mods I'm going to make. IMHO, it turns the 430 from a luxo turnpike cruiser into a much better handling machine. Have them installed by the dealer and you still have full warranty.

7. TRD sways - also great for flatter cornering. Not L-Tuned so only comes with 90-day warranty. However, having them installed by the dealer will smooth over most problems down the road.

(Order 6 and 7 from Steve at Carson. He'll take good care of you and save you major $$.)

8. Wood dash kits - Tempting, but I'm not sure I'll like the look over time. Still debating this one.

Have fun choosing (might as well enjoy the process) and if you want to discuss it further feel free to post here or pm me.

NVRENUFHP

I bought my GS430 a few months ago. It has the nav/Levinson stereo and I love 'em. The nav is the best thing I've purchased in a long time (besides the car, itself).

I am in the Chicago area and its mapping software is fantastic. I tried out the navs on things like the BMW, the Mercedes and Acura and found those systems to be pretty much useless. Their software didn't have many of the places I fed into the computer and the routes were suspect in many cases.

I also tried the Lexus nav with addresses in other parts of the country (relatives, etc.) and it recognized everything I fed it. The routes for distant places also seemed reasonable, although I wasn't familiar enough with the best routes to really know if the nav was spot on or not.

Plus, the Lexus system is DVD, rather than CD, so mapping for the whole country is loaded into the system. With CD (BMW and Mercedes, last I was aware, and I don't recall about Acura), you have to buy about 8 CDs to cover the country -- at about $150 per.

The Levinson is really good, as well. Sounds much better than the standard stereo, though I thought the Levinson in the LS430 sounded much better than the Levinson in the GS430. I wonder why?

Guys are telling you to save money by putting in aftermarket stuff. But, man, an aftermarket nav will have that tacked on look and will you really save $ if the aftermarket system is equivalent to the OM system?

Ditto with the Levinson.

csxpert

The Acura DVD navi system is the ranked the best... I've owned the Lexus DVD nav (made by Denso) and the Acura one (made by Alpine)

the Lexus nav. is nice and far superior to the crappy BMW and Mercedes, especially the GDT coverage however the Acura nav is superior than even the Lexus.

The Acura system is 4-channel (as opposed to 3-channel with the Lexus), so it can display altitude as well and is more accurate.

The Lexus system has a limited POI database because it uses the Navtech one, the Acura uses the InfoUSA database which is much more comprehensive (3.5 million listings!)...however Lexus can upgrade this with a DVD update.

The Acura software which drives the DVD nav is better than the Lexus one in terms of guidance and presentation. The approach bar is very cool which graphically guides you in "feet" as you approach an intersection. Also, POI icons have logos overlaid on the map which makes it easy to spot a "Chevron" or "Texaco" station for example because you can see the logo right on the map.

And finally, the Acura system is functional when the car is in motion...the Lexus disables itself. While this can be viewed from the safety perspective, I think that the driver should be the best judge about safety. You can still use the Lexus navi to do a "Local POI search" etc. while the vehicle is in motion which means that the Lexus safety argument does not make sense.

Both are great systems. However the Acura navi is much better.