NitroShredder

Ok guys, well after a very SHORT discussion over dinner last night with my wife.. looks like it's the GS430 over the 540. SO I have some final stretch run questions heading into my impending purchase....

* What owners club or forums are there for the GS/Lexus out there besides CL? Someone mentioned this is an "unofficial." Where's the official one?

* Also what about local clubs in the Houston area? Are there any currently?

* MY dealer tells me that 99% of the GS430 ordered black onxy/black leather have the chrome alloy 17's. YecH!!! I prefer the plain alloy 17's. Less pimp, more "racey." Anyways, I was thinking if they can do a swap out, maybe get the Supertourismo L Tuned 17's as an even swap for the chrome alloy 17's? But I havent seen pix of those wheels. Any pix would rule so I can decide.

* Lastly, what type of "deal" do you guys think I can get. I checked Edmunds.com and in this area.. looks like I should be able to get a GS430 about 4,000 off the "list" price. So for a fully packed GS (minus L Tuned susp and ECU) about 51k. Sound reasonable? Any tips on helping me get more mileage out of the deal?

Thanks again guys.... I"ll keep you guys posted as I approach the deal.

Pete

Ag02M5

430430430430430!!!!

ClubLexus is THE Lexus club. I think by unofficial, it is not affiliated with Lexus. I don't think there is one like that.

I've been trying to find some Lexus enthusiasts to meet up with in Houston so we got two!!

Not sure on pricing...is it an 02 model or 03? If 02, I'd shoot for $50k even.

Hope to see it soon.

Ryan

I'd say drive it like it is for a bt before L-tuning it. It will let you enjoy the car for a bit and give you something to look forward to.

ebruce2

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on a good decision, and welcome aboard. I would just research all of the tips on the Edmunds site , for example:

-go in towards the end of the month when the sales folks may or may not have made their number for that month....they can sometimes be flexible if they haven't.

-go to the dealer when there are only a couple of hours left in their work day. Those poor guys work 12 hour days all the time.

-Do the "holdback" research if you haven't done so already.

-Also get printouts from the site with the Fair Market Value and all options you want. Bring your own calculator (they hate this one the most)

- if trading a vehicle in, establish it's value and then have them write it down committing to it, THEN work on the new car.

These are all things that have worked for me in the past. Hope they work for you. Please post after you get your deal and let everyone know how you did. Good luck

Eric

Shinchan

I have 17" L-Tuned Wheel.. looks too small on GS.... plus they are a pain in the A$$ to clean.. too many spooke... I used the L-Tuned now as the Winter Snow Tire...

anthracitetarga

iTrader: (1)

Pete, WELCOME ABOARD man. U will find lots of useful info here while making many friends i might add. About CL being unofficial, i don't believe there is any other Lexus forum on the web that is as good as this one, period. Clublexus is also growing everyday. It is not "officially" recognized by Lexus corp., but Lexus dealerships are now finding out that CL is the real deal and not some cheesy forum and are supporting it (events, etc.) Ever since Ethan (static911) has taken over from Kilty, there has been nothing negative about CL. Hope u like it here and congrats on ur choice (BTW: props to ur wife for helping u make the best decision)

Shinchan

Pic of my Car with L-Tuned 17"

At the time the pic was taken.. I think I have the Tein HA or maybe that was with Eibach/Bilstein installed already.. look at that huge gap.. with 17"...

Ag02M5

Go with the staggered 18" L-tuned setup from Steve and sell your chromes. Maybe get the dealer to credit you.

Steve has a really good price on the wheel/tire setup I believe.

Late.

dipstick

I agree, look for under $50k, if location is not a serious problem. Also, you should be able to sell the Lexus 17" cromes easily - they are excellent quality rims. Finally, about the dealer comment so many black/black etc. I have been looking at GS430s all around for 6 months, and see more new in white and silver, and black with ivory. Only one pine, one blue onyx, a couple of gold. Good luck with your new Lexus!

NitroShredder

Thanks guys... amazing.. a simple few questions leads to a deluge of answers. You guys rock and are so very helpful.

I have done some thinking.. and will stick with the stock OEM 17's (either alloy or chrome). I have seen pix of the L Tuned wheels and I"m not terribly pleased. I plan to get the L Tuned springs/shocks installed.. and order the ECU from Steve.. and do the mod myself. Unless they "throw it in." I should be able to get a deal about $51k or so for everything installed.

Thanks... stay tuned. =)

Pete

Toog4me

Hey. I have a black/black GS430, and i love the color combo. I think its one of the nicest, other than silver/black. Black looks really good with the chromes, but unless your getting a silver one, the stock alloys dont look too good.

Black on black, with black tints, looks really good with the chromes.

BTW- L-tunes rims looks way too small. When you look at the 17s in certain angles, they look way way too small. I say the way to go is Rmoda 6s chromed like TXSTYLEs GS, but thats just me.

Anyways, welcome to Clublexus. It's the LS430 of lexus.

dipstick

IMHO the silver alloy wheels don't look really good with the millenium silver car because the two silvers are not the same -- the car paint has more gold? tint. I had a 2001 blue onyx pearl with painted alloy 17s and thought the color was great, but as most agree the wheels look a little small, expecially the rear. My C5 has 245-45-17s in front and 275-40-18s in back. I think the GS would look best with 17/18 or 18/19 rims. But I'm not planning on trying that.

SCWells72

I don't know how many there are in the Houston area, but there are quite a few in Austin and quite a few in Dallas...maybe a few in San Antonio as well. With Houston as large as it is I'd have to think there are more than a couple floating around there as well. Anyway, these guys put together all-Texas meets occassionally so you're definitely not without neighbors even if they're not immediately close!

whitels

You'll get more mileage out of your dollars by getting the 17s and selling them on eBay. Chromes have sold for about $1,000 +/-, while the non-chromes for $600+. You can then turn around and buy the rims of your choice.

n228

Yeah, shoot for around $50K. I've been dealing with dealers here in the Northern VA area for about a month now. Ask for total "out-the-door" prices. For a 2002 GS430 with Nav/Lev, spoiler and 17" wheels, my best deals have been $53,018.97 ($50,900 sell price) and $53,647.70 ($51,618 sell prices) ...these are total costs, out-the-door (includes all taxes and fees). Those prices were offered w/o haggling and were their first offers. I dealt a lot with dealers online, i.e. emails, and on the phone.

Good luck!
e

GS4Will

scal,

gs430, msrp ~$56200, selling at ~$49500-50000+tax and fees