spinner747

Hello everyone!
We live in Ontario,Canada and I have an opportunity to buy 1998 Lexus GS 400 (silver) with 95000km on it (please note it is KM and not MILES) from a senior seller , he is also a first owner.
Car is in immaculate condition,looks like new, drives really nice, no rust , all maintenance records , etc. I am somewhat hesitating since it is 15 year old car and he wants $9500 for it. As far as I know it still has an original timing belt in it, so i guess i will have to replace it pretty soon if i buy it or is it something that i can do later?
What do you think? Should i spend close to $10000 to get it or is it too much?
Please help to decide since i am running out of time. Thank you all !

cmara2k9

offer him 9......by the way what color is it

kamlung

iTrader: (8)

i'd offer him 8 as a starting point...

spinner747

I already negotiated with him, started from 8K, but he won't go lower then $9500...

TTurboPimp

iTrader: (12)

Sounds a little high to me

RamAirRckt

I bought my 98 GS4 for $6900, better be special at that price.... and older car is still an older car, miles doesn't tell the whole story. Mine had 138k miles on it when I got it, and all maint needed done.

krispl

Thats fair price for car from 1st owner with all records and condition you're describing. Was timing belt job done???? Yeah sure you can find cheaper but it wuill most likely not be in this condition and you will still have to spend about $1k to do major maintenance and tune up.....

spinner747

No Timing Belt was NOT done........I am starting to think I shouldn't pay more than $8000....

ninja6o4

iTrader: (6)

The market is dropping on 2GS, especially now that the new GS is out. However, given your description, I wouldn't hesitate to give him $9k for it. Keep in mind there also aren't as many of them in Canada as in the US..

edit: I would offer 9k and ask him to split the cost on the upcoming maintenance package.

spinner747

Thank you all for your replies!........ I will try to get it for $8500, anything more i think I'll pass.

If anybody else wants to add something , please do, I am new to this forum and will "listen" to any advice !

SBlexus

I bought my 98, 400 in 2000 and I also have a ls460l and i tell u what my 400 is still a bad azz ride it rides drives looks and feel like a brand new car. I say buy it, it's still a rare car first of it kind.

RamAirRckt

Don't be afraid to walk away if he doesn't come to what you are willing to pay. Don't be afraid to leave your contact info he change his mind. I did that on a sharp 01 GS430 and then found my GS400, and about a month later the guy came back with the GS430 willing to deal, but it was too late for him then.

I had a budget and was sticking to it. I came out with a great Bronze Mica GS400..... I am not regretting it....

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

You have to decide how long you want to keep the car. 9K might be ok for that car if you think you are going to keep it for a long time. If you just want a GS to drive for a couple of years, the higher mileage/lower cost ones will be just as good. These car age remarkably well even with high mileage they still look very good and run very well. 15years old means you still have to deal with stuff that ages naturally like the rubber components, spring/shocks, fluids, belts, seals, ps pump, starter, etc. If you do all that on a cheaper GS it will be just as good to drive as the low mileage one. Just remember that in 3 or 4 years when it close to 20yrs old you will be lucky to get 3-4K for that car. If you bought a relatively newer car you could drive it for 3-4 years and it would probably depreciate about the same as your $9K GS will in the same period of time.

Of course if you really want a GS400 and plan to keep it for a long time this one looks good. If you think the GS430 is good you could probably pick up an '03 for the same price as the '98 and you would get NAV also (which is the only thing I wish I had in my '98).

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

Interesting, I was all set to pick up an '03 430 about five years ago but I just couldn't justify spending that much money on the car (it was going for around $25K). About a week later I bought a '98 gs400 with 173K km for half the price. Now five years later it is still running really well. It now has almost 300K km and virtually no rust whatsoever. Paint and interior still look great.

BTW it's Antique Bronze Mica!!

GS714

Folks in California think their car worth like Gold. The only think good about California car is the frame and no rust. See what I meant

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...teo&listType=1