BadBtsz4u

What to they exacatly do at say a 60k mile service.I mean dont they basically just change fluids,plugs,etc and look the vehicle over for you.Seems like stuff you could have your mechanic friend or your self do for short money right?If Im wrong please elaborate.

Shogun

Howdy,
Unless you've got $$$ to burn - just about any place other than the dealer will be less expensive.

I have a corner "lube" shop, that I trust, do most of my goodies but they DO NOT test drive the car, re-torque stuff (does the dealer really do that anyway?) or anything else that is value added from a typical dealership.

The GS400 does have some important maintenance areas that you will want to follow - best to my knowledge they are (these are the "lube shop" prices):

Tansmission Service: Manual calls for a "change" - I usually do a more complete "flush". Every 15K - $60

Differential Change: Every 15K - $30

Coolant Flush: Every 30K - $45

Oil Change: Every 3k - $30

Air Filter: Every 15K - DIY $10

Brake Fluid: Every 30K - $75

Spark Plugs: 60K- Will do it myself

Timing Belt: 90K - $No idea

Power Steering Fluid - No idea when or how much

All in all the GS has been a very cost effective car to operate.

If you look at what the Lexus dealer calls for in their 15,30,60,etc. maintenance schedules you will see a very vast difference than what Lexus requires in their owners manual.

Most of the above covers maintenance areas that are critical to the car. All the other things like brakes, flanges, suspension lubing, yada, yada, yada I usually do not fuss with unless I SENSE a problem.

Good Luck,
Eric

meanboy

You guys hit the nail on the head. Everything mentioned is what's on the fax. In fact, it seems that the difference is that at 60k they replace the fuel filter, and at 30k they replaced the wiper blades(no fuel filter). I can't see why it's twice as much but I know I won't be doing the 30k at the dealer unless I need some warranty work done. Of course, they do wash the car. For that price, they should detail it for me.

BTW, anyone's car gets that slight kick from the tranny while rolling slowly from a deadstop going down a moderate hill? I read it's not suppose to do that. Mine does that but only on certain hills.

Kaban

I noticed the hard shift from 1st to 2nd from a slow acceleration from a stop. It seems to be temperature related somehow, my car does it sometimes but most of the time it shifts smoothly. Also remember that maintainence cost from dealer listed are required, one needs to factor in the unexpected costs like wear and tear, minor damage and replacement parts which will also add $ to the list.

ferizzo

Thanks guys. I guess as long as someone does the necessary service on the car properly it doesn't really matter who does it. I guess when I do buy my next car I better find a mechanic I can really trust.

Lextacy400, unfortunately I don't have a VR4, just a regular 2.4 liter Galant S. Thats why I need to move up!

meanboy

When my car makes that hard shift, I am rolling down a hill at about 10mph. It doesn't seem to be heat sensitive. It happens when it's warm or cold and when the car is fully warmed up or just started up.

One thing that is very important to the troubleshooting process is being able to repeat the problems. I think I will be able to reproduce it for the dealer so they can fix it. Now, if I can only do that with my rattles in the dash. I have to find a spot where it consistantly does that so they will fix it or I will just have to dismantle the dash and fix it myself.

If I didn't buy it new I would not care as much.

Iceman

I don't own a GS430 or a TL-S (but I'm trying to make the same decision, so kudos to you on good car shopping taste!), so my input will be for Acura in general. 30K mile service tends to run about $250 and the 60K is around $400. That's cheaper than the prices I've seen posted here for GS service, but then again the TL is a less expensive car.

If you're going to be on that tight a budget, have you also considered fuel costs, insurance, resale value, etc.?

ferizzo

I've seen you post on Acura-TL.com before. Thanks for the vote of confidence on my choices.

I've actually considered fuel costs and insurance costs already. I did get a quote on a 2000 GS4 so I have a ballpark figure on what a 99-00 GS4 might run me for (I assume that the TLS would be a little less). I've also considered fuel efficiency and costs. The estimated 18-23 mpg of the GS4 is not much worse than the 19-29 of the TLS. Both would require 93-94 octane gas (seeing as they both have 10.5 compression ratio). I'll probably not drive the GS or TL as much as the galant since my girlfriend is probably gonna buy a new car, which I can use as well. It might also make sense for her to drop me off at work instead of both of us driving (I live about 7 minutes driving from work).

As far as resale, I know both Lexus and Acura tend to have the best resale values out there. Also, I plan to keep either car for a long time (I plan on getting married in the near future).

What I did not know was that the maintenance costs are so different. All in all I knew that the TLS would be cheaper to maintain but I wanted to get an idea what the difference might be. The GS4 might be a bit of a reach but if I can get the right deal then I can probably swing it.

theanimala

One thing you should think hard about is resale. All cars depreciate, and the GS400 is no exception. Remember though, a new car will almost always depreciate faster then a used car. The GS will already have lost a significant amount of it's value from new. The TL is going to the minute you pull of the lot. I guarantee you that if you bought a new TL-S today and a used GS400 today at the same price, you would be able to sell the GS400 for more money 5 years down the road.

It is for that very reason that I generally only purchase lower mileage used cars from reputable manufacturers with a manufacturer warranty. It is very hard to get burned.

Iceman

The first SUV was called an SLX, 1SickLex.

Now please define "terrible" resale value. As ferizzo pointed out, both Acura and Lexus do much better than average.

You are correct that "cheap screams it", but if you think Acuras are cheap then you're more blatantly biased than I thought.

ferizzo

I'm surprised it took you so long before you had something bad to say about acura (I may be a newbie/driving school candidate but I have been on both forums for months)! I'm not hating but you do seem to have a general dislike of Acuras and their owners but then again you've had some heated arguements on Acura-tl.com so I can understand. Don't worry, even if I get the Ac I won't be fooling myself and thinking I can take a GS4, or a vette, or a 540, etc. I've driven both (not extensively and far apart from each other) and came away pleased, although the GS4 is fresher in my mind and I was like "wow, this bad ***** has got some power!" (excuse the french).

As for your comments, I have been on Acura-tl.com and seen all the complaints about trannies, hid thefts (which is a concern since I do go to NYC a lot and its one of the places notorious for hid thefts), and rattles. Thats why I am carefully weighing my options and doing my research. I see what you're saying about getting what I really want and being happy, even if the initial cost is greater.

theanimala, i hear you. For a while I wanted a brand new car...I wanted to be the first and only one who'd driven it, but your right about the depreciation. This is something I recently started taking into more consideration. Thanks.

Iceman

Very well-written and well-considered opinions, 1SickLex. It scares me when we start to agree on so much...

ferizzo

1sicklex, I hear you. Like I said, I've been on the Acura forum and there is certainly more fuss about quality there then here or in the IS forum. I Don't think the TLS is a bad car, maybe not a GS, but its still a pretty good car. It has a great engine and some luxury, but I do know they had to cut corners somewhere to keep that price so low and if I do buy a TLS I'll go in not expecting a perfect car.

At this point I would love a GS4, I just need to find the right deal! I am shooting for March at this point although there is a certified 99 GS4 for 34000 at one of the dealer's around here (only 16,200 miles)!

When I get either the GS4 or TLS the mod bug will hit but like I said the future wife has already laid the smack down!

1sicklex, I know you're not a *****, well at least not all the time!

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

GS400 is much much better looks wise, luxury wise, power wise, prestige wise, reliability wise....what else can I think of? lol :-)

My cuz has a silver TL and he got it in Jan and I went crazy I was like wow, he had the touch shift and everything, I drove it and it was awesome...lol, then next month in Feb I bought the GS400, then I was like DAMN! and ever since then he has felt like making his TL bow down to my GS....

also, we both bought our cars used, both 99's, and even though mine had a lot more miles on it, I still payed about 40% more for the GS4 than he did for his TL.

And ever since he got it he has had lots of problems...I don't remember specifically, but just last night he was telling me about bubbles forming in his paint near the bottom where it scratched, he said if you get a deep enough scratch then you get air bubbles, and I replied I don't have any on the GS...he himself said, "well the GS probably has better paint"

It really is apples to oranges....I mean, look, honda's popular car is accord, so the luxury version is TL....toyota's popular car is camry, so the luxury version is ES300.

You can compare the ES300 to TL-S, because I think they both offer just about the same, except maybe TL-S is a little sportier.

Also with the resale value, buy a TL-S right now for like $35k I guess, and buy a GS400 for $30k and 6 months later you MIGHT be able to sell the TL-S for $28k but you WILL be able to sell the GS400 for $26k....its just the "law of new car deprication" :-) , the minute you drive it out of the lot it depreciates in value!

Plus I see alot more TLs around than GS300/400 and GS does have a larger interior and I think a larger trunk too?

On fuel economy though, you will spend considerably more on gas for the GS400 than you will on the TL-S....cause GS's reported mpg of 18 city is for like normal city driving, but with the GS's power you won't wanna drive normally

Why don't you just test drive both of them?

See now since I drive the GS4 all the time, I went to my cuz's place and drove his TL and the same TL that I loved to drive in Jan before I had driven then GS I hated to drive then...just so unresponsive, slow, it felt like I was just driving a regular car....actually I think my uncle's 01 Maxima drives better...oh well....ofcourse TL-S is different, but you really need to test drive both and experience the DIFFERENCE yourself

meanboy

Let me tell you..you better buy the GS4 so you can get as much can right now cause the smack down ain't changing!

If the dealer just had a GS4 in stock when I bought GS4. #$!