GS - 2nd Gen (1998-2005) Discussion about the second generation GS300, GS400 and GS430 (1998 - 2005)

deciding on gs4

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Old 05-29-02, 10:36 PM
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rominl
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Default deciding on gs4

hi guys i am new to here and this is my first post.

i am now in the market of getting a car and my coworker is leaving the country and is selling his gs4. it's blue with tan interior. the car is 1998 and it only has 32k miles with it. my coworker keeps the car well and it's in excellent condition.

it has cd changer and spoiler, but no hids and only the stock alloy wheels. he is asking for 26k

what do you guys think? is it worth it? please convince me to get it if you guys think it's a good deal

i am currently driving the acura tl-s, and if i get the gs4 i will be switching cars with my gf from time to time.

thanks!
Old 05-29-02, 10:57 PM
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biggie27
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thats a pretty good deal for a car with low miles, as for the HID's you can always upgrade with an aftermarket kit which costs between $450-$500, the blue is a very rare and desirable color, the best way to tell if the car is for you is to take it out for a test drive and see if your comfortable with it, Im geussing he has the pioneer system in it which isn't bad at all, I had that system in my car and all I got were complements but later on I just changed it out. Ive seen GS400's with 40K+ miles go for $30k or more, so just have the car inspected and if its clean then thats a great deal
Old 05-29-02, 11:34 PM
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rominl
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thanks for the reply

yeah he doesn't get the audio upgrade option when he got the car so it's now stock. i guess that's the pioneer one you talking about?
Old 05-30-02, 12:19 AM
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biggie27
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yah pioneer is stock, and Nakamichi is the upgrade for 98-00, and then they changed to Mark Levinson in the 01-up GS's

and if you want to know if you have the Nak. system, it has I think 4 or 5 little ***** under the tape deck, while the pioneer doesn't have it
Old 05-30-02, 12:29 AM
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rominl
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ah that's some good info, gotta check it out asap thanks
Old 05-30-02, 02:19 AM
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mooretorque
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Simpler just to look at the head unit. If it has the Nakamichi trademark and name on it, you're set. But as biggie says, the standard system sounds ok.

And that is a good price, assuming nothing amiss. Test drive and inspection will answer that question. Good luck!
Old 05-31-02, 03:01 PM
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soakgame
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i think dat's a very good price in my opinion... i got mine for about that much ($25,300... before taxes) but w/ a lot more miles on it (67K miles)... in the bay area... i've seen prices ranging from $28K to $32K on a GS4... so if I were you... I'd probably get it...
Old 05-31-02, 03:45 PM
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Murph
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romini,

Get the car but check it out thoroughly first. You'll love it. Don't let your girlfriend drive it, she won't give it back.

It's always good to know the previous owner as well as the history of a used car. Since you know the seller, you should be comfortable with buying it if you are comfortable with the him. Listen to how he talks about his GS. It will give you an idea as to how he cared for it. Ask to see the service records. If he's never changed the oil, the low miles is moot. Ask him if it's been in a major crash. Don't worry about minor fender benders, they can happen. If you're unsure about that, bring it to a body shop. They'll tell you in 5 minutes how much has been done if anything.

Lastly, even though the GS4 is a great car, if you hang on the CL board you will catch "Mod Fever". It is not curable but spending good money on modifications does help the condition somewhat.

Good luck in your decision.

Murph
Old 05-31-02, 08:29 PM
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thanks guys for your input

mooretorque - i am heading down to LA (i live in san jose) next weekend to check out the car closely. if everything is cool then we will most likely get the car. this time i will make a huge checklist on the car to make sure i check everything. it's not fun to go between LA and SJ too often

soakgame - yeah you are right. actually i checked on kelly blue book and also edmunds.com. the car is going for 28 to 32k in private party, and 26k is actually the trade in value. so it's a really good price. now if everything on my check list is ok .... and above all, i love the color!

Murph - yup you are right, i need to check the car closely before my lose my consiousness with the car actually i said i won't get any used car anymore, but this time it's different coz' i know this owner and the way he drives. he's an old guy, around 50, so he usually only drives fast from time to time. he has reached 130 before but the good thing is he never drags. and of course he never put in any mods in the car.

yup i will ask him to show me the maintainance record too otherwise i would jack down the price even more

and tell me about modding cars. when i got my tl type s i didn't know much about car mods. but as soon as i jumped on the acura board boy, i got tons of mods on the car already....... and now with the gs....... there are even more mods for me to choose from!!! though they do come in high price tags
Old 05-31-02, 10:10 PM
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Thats a good price for a couple of reasons.

The blue is a rare color

32k is low miles and it sounds well maintained.

Stock spoiler is always nice.

I say you have found your car now go lock up the deal your gonna love it.
Old 06-01-02, 07:48 AM
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You'll find out 50 isn't so old...It only seems that way when your young. That's what's great about these cars. They transcend all age brackets with a common bond.

Murph
Old 06-01-02, 09:38 AM
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whitels
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That's a good deal for $26K at 32K miles. Since it's a 98, check out the first date of inservice so you'll know the end of the 4-year warranty. If the warranty ends next week, take it to the dealer before end date and have them check on every thing or issue you can find or think of. This way, they can look and have a once over and give your car a clean bill of health before bumper-to-bumper warranty lapses.

One more thing. Have you seen the GS with the navigation? You might like this option so much that later on would make you regret buying one without it. Just a friendly advice since buying a car should involve due diligence, too.

Last edited by whitels; 06-01-02 at 09:45 AM.
Old 06-01-02, 12:37 PM
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That's a great deal on that gs400. I bought my black on black used one for $28k and it had 37k miles on it, so you are getting a great deal. Just like every said tho, make sure it is in good shape and GET IT!
Old 06-01-02, 04:37 PM
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cool! i guess i just need to make sure the car is in good shape and it's a killer deal.

me and my gf test drove the gs4 today at the dealer again, and this time she finally agreed to drive it. she likes it a lot, though her only complaints were that the steering wheel is not tight enough and also the car is big.

for your info, with a budget of around 25k, initially we were thinking about the rsx-s. we test drove the rsx (not type s) today as well and she likes it a lot too, mainly of it's size. if we ever get the rsx-s we would get the type s, so the biggest problem for her would be learning stick.

another 7 days to make a decision...
Old 06-02-02, 12:08 AM
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GET THE CAR, IT IS A SWEET DEAL FOR THE MILEAGE IT HAS. Maybe you can try to bargain with him even more, hehe. Try to get it for like 23-24k.

And yeah, there's no real difference between the Nakamichi system and pioneer system. The Nakamichi has deeper bass on it cuz it has an amp in the trunk, but in terms of clarity, it's the same. One thing i like about the pioneer system is that it doesn't have the ***** for tone control. It has a "joggle" button for tone control. In my own opinion, i like it more than the ***** on the Nakamichi.

One thing, MAKE SURE IT'S NOT A SALAVAGED TITLE.

Last edited by GSquicksilver; 06-02-02 at 12:10 AM.


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