Hi everyone, I am trying to purchase a 98-2000 GS400. I have seen a few so far and had a few questions to ask.

The push button shifter will not let you go to first gear? Only 2nd - 5th?
If I were to manualy shift gears through the gate how much resistance should be felt fron 2nd to 1st? The reason I ask is because the car I drove this weekend required considerable effort to shift into 1st. I actually had to smack it with the side of my hand to get it to go into gear.

Timing belt and water pump service every 60,000 Miles? On average what does this cost?

During the test drive the car stalled out on me at a light! I haven't had a car with an automatic ever stall out on me. Is this a common (easy to fix) problem?

Any thing I should look out for on a high mileage car (110,000) or should I just stay away from over 100,000 mile cars?

Thanks,
Anthony

 

from how u made it sound.. the car sounds like a piece.

 

The eshift buttons don't let you go into first just because they don't want you to overrev the engine. You can stick in first by selecting L in the gear selector. As for it being hard to press in, yes it's there for that reason as well. I usually shift it in there fast and it goes in without much effort, otherwise just chop it with your hand like you said .

Timing belt and water pump is every 90k miles. I think the average cost for the V8 is around $700-1000 or so depending on the dealer. I have the GS300 so it's a bit cheaper for me. Also, the stalling problem is a common problem with the GS400. Most people here refer to it as the "low-idle" issue. If the AC is off and you're at a stop light then the rpm's will drop pretty low and maybe even stall out. Just do a search on it and you will get plenty of results. Good news is that it's an easy fix, just turn on the AC

There are plenty of people here clocking waaay pas 100K and still running strong as ever. If well maintained, these cars should run 250k+ miles with no major problems.

 

I have a GS400.

Don't have issues with my idle.. It idles right at 500-600rpm and just stays there...

Check the ball joints and make sure there is not jitters with the steering. These joints generally go out at about 100K miles.

The waterpump and timing belt are at 90K and will run you about $1,000.. Make sure you get the waterpump done at the same time as the timing belt.

Little things like window and lock actuators go but for the most part they are bulletproof and you can get 3-400K miles out of one easy as long as it is maintained properly.

Just make sure you know the history and get service records for any vehicle you ultimately purchase.

Good Luck!

Theo

 

I've got 187k miles on mine and it runs like a champ. I have replaced the control arm bushings with the Daizen bushings and I just recently had to replace the pedal position sensor. I do all my own work, so both items were pretty minor really. The steering is tight, power is great, motor still runs smooth and doesn't burn any oil, tranny shifts perfectly, and fuel economy is still over 24 on the highway. Typically for Toyota (and Lexus) really. I'm planning on pulling the motor next year and rebuilding it so that I can put a turbo on it without worries. I'm really curious to find out how much wear has really taken place on the internals of the motor. BTW, this is on a '99 GS400.

Like people have mentioned before, check the service records and make sure you can trust the guy selling the car. Any vehicle can become a POS if not maintained properly.

 

So it sounds like it is behaving normaly. The owner is asking $11,000 it was in a accident (rear ended) about 1 and 1/2 years ago and all the body work looks to have been taken care of properly. Along with all the service records being up to date. What should I offer him?

Anthony