chinny4290

Hi all.

Just a little about me, My name's Chris, I'm 21, live in NJ and work for egmCarTech as an associate editor and go to Rutgers as a journalism/PR major.

I'm just wondering if I can get some pointers on what to look out for when looking at GS400/430s. I searched for a "buyer's guide" and couldn't find a comprehensive checklist of problem spots for these cars (which I'm assuming, being a 90s Lexus, there are very very few).

Some of my car history. I am coming from a line of European cars.

My first car was a W124 E320 Coupe that I loved to death. I drove it from 76k to 149k before a freak hydroplane accident totaled it. Average cost per year to maintain ranged from $700 to $1200. Very cheap for a Mercedes and very manageable for me. The most major work I had to do was replace the radiator but that was partially my fault for a minor fender bender when I was learning how to drive at 17.



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Second car...well, that turned out to be a complete mess. I bought a 2002 Jaguar XJ8 Sport in November of 2010 with 98k miles with money I saved and insurance, replaced the tranny in December which has me cleaned out for the time being and now the V8 spun a rod bearing which is still undergoing investigation.



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Now I know, y'all might humor me for buying a Jag, thinking, am I nuts? Well, just to clear up, the X308 has a really good reliability score for Jag, with maintenance and longevity no different than a E38 7-Series if properly maintained. and in 1997, the XJ6 was the third most reliable car sold in America back when JD Powers was somewhat credible and they conducted the survey.

I had it PPIed at a Jaguar Dealer and they found nothing wrong. Car Fax documented its consistent service intervals since being first bought until I bought it. So something is obviously really wrong. My condition even has the guys at Jaguar forums both spooked and confused.

So that has me stuck going towards Japanese cars since the Europeans cleaned my wallet good enough. This is just to get me through college.

I loved my Mercedes, and I love my Jag (despite it not working), so I'm considering Lexus specifically the GS400/430 because to me they seem to be the perfect balance between the two cars I've owned, of reliability, durability, running costs (cheaper hopefully), driving performance, and the V8 plus more practicality of a 4-door. As much as I loved the I6 in my Benz and plus the overall love for I6s, the saying holds true...once you go with a V8 you can never go back...which is what the Jag has me at now.

So what can I look for in GS400s/430s? The 400s seem like the one I can most afford, with one or two 430s in my price range. It's going to be between $8-12k max, which seems it has me limited at ones with around 100-120k miles on it. That as of now doesn't make it a deal breaker because my impression is that of nearly everyone else's: it's a 90s Lexus...they are virtually bulletproof.

My mom had an ES300 back in 94 and my dad had two SC400s before going to BMW.

All of that said, what do I need to look out for with cars around these mileage, other than the usual, a good service history, a PPI and as much research about the car as I can?

In terms of maintenance, I always change my own oil and only use synthetic every 7500 miles which is my golden rule. I can do pretty much any DIY work just short of major tranny and engine work.

Sorry I wrote a book but I felt that all of my details were necessary so you can get a solid idea of my intent and perspective. I plan to keep it stock other than maybe a CAI and exhaust and ECU upgrade.

Thanks in advance. Look forward to potentially joining another car community.

vbuskirk

Well, there is at least one noob who enjoyed your "book", and who is looking forward to some of the replies. (Joining a new community is always so overwhelming for a while.) I picked up an immaculate, local, one owner, 01 Black Cherry 430 yesterday with 105K miles. I didn't have it checked out by a mechanic (but I did purchase a 12 month warranty). So, it is kind of exciting to find out what I've gotten myself into.

So far, I know it has a problem with the radio display not lighting up at night, and the slight "pulling to the right" at Interstate speeds. There is also a worrying bubbling sound behind the dash at idle, but I'm pretty sure there are no radiator leaks.


EDIT: Searching for "bubbling" did the trick for that last problem.

entryspeed

iTrader: (3)

chinny if your looking for a gs4/430 look for a car that is clean and has maintenance records for most of its life. check the under carriage as the 1uzfe is prone to leaks from valve cover gaskets and what not. It is an interference motor so uptodate timing belt changes are key. All that said if it runs good and has good records who knows what will happen a 100 miles down the road after you buy it. its the luck of the draw type of thing. As for you sounds like your due a good one with that jag crapping out really GL

Arcadian

Hey Chinny,
Wow, nobody at my college dove Mercs or Jags. Putting my envy aside, I think you'll really have a good ownership experience with a GS400/430. I think of the GS as the Jaguar built by Toyota. You've likely seen on this forum the usual maintenance issues - timing belt, ball joints, front end bushings, window regulators and starters. Missing from that list are catastrophic trans, diff and engine failures - unless big horsepower mods or big hoonage are involved.
You're pretty handy with a wrench and these cars seem to be fairly easy to work on.
As for buying one, a lot of these cars have led a cushy life, although they are depreciating dangerously close to 'ricer' territory (age happens to the best of us). My gut feeling is that these cars were some of the best Lexus made and you won't see current Lexus' hold up the way these cars can.
So, buy the best one you can afford and enjoy it for a long time.
BTW good luck in the journo/pr career, I jumped into that business after 10 years in auto parts - best move I made, it's a great career path.