Gs300Rus

Thank you all, I really appreciate your responses !
I will update you if I will find a suitable GS300.

littlebird

my gs is sitting at about 336k miles on it (540,740ish km)
as long as they're upkept they last quite a while.

camry is a good little car to get around in. i personally lean more towards corollas, but that's just cause i have some odd unprovoked dislike for the camry

littlebird

you'd be surprised how much that trunk can actually hold. i've fit four tires and two wheels in there.
and then i also fit in a huge bulky baby stroller (that doesn't fit in my mother's honda civic's trunk) and some other things with the stroller

egs21

The trunk isn't small, it is just oddly shaped. It is comparable to anything else you would find in a midsize sedan.

MattyG

Show me the pics. Lexus wheels and tires or bicycle tires and wheels?

MattyG

Go check out the BMW 5 series and MB E3XX trunks. My 1988 Mazda 626 even had a bigger trunk. It's a mid-size vehicle but it's got a compact trunk. Hence my advice to someone looking for a beater rather than a hobby car.

Edit: don't forget about how those trunk hinges are not recessed and will hit anything that's in their way.

SC4Paulo

iTrader: (2)

too tired to read through the whole thread but my two cents will be:
as long as the vehicle is in good condition and all or atleast most scheduled maintenance has been done go for it. You might as well do ball joints and double check your water pump and timing belt as soon as you get the car, at 250k Id hope the seals have been replaced atleast once. Also check your bushings as they could be old or deteriorated but again could have been replaced. I have 218,580 on my car and it runs like a dream. Not many problems at all with the motor, just need to catch up on maintenance is all.

titangts

I think this thread was somewhat...not needed. There are literally ten's of thousands of Gs300's that are WELL over 200,000 miles with almost zero issues.

honestly, as long as the water pump and timing belt was replaced..it starts, idles, goes to redline, drives straight and doesn't over heat/leak anything... You are good to go with these cars.

My 98gs300 165k..zero issues
my 01 gs300 192k...zero issues
my 01 LS430 171k..zero issues.

Chankeye

240,000 on my 03 gs300, and nobody i know believes that the car has that many miles. The car wasn't perfect when i bought it, but i expected that. i made sure the engine was strong with no noises or issues, that the trans shifted smoothly through various different loads and held firmly when 100% throttle, and that there was also no serious noises going on with the suspension. I've been a mechanic by trade for over 14 years so it's a lot easier for me to jump in a car and hear/ feel issues on a road test then most people usually can. I've had the car for about a year and here is a list of all the things I personally replaced, maintenance wise, within that year.
-radiator (was original)
-timing belt, tensioner (water pump showed no signs of having issues so i didn't touch it, but it had been done by previous owner at about 110mi)
-drain and fill on coolant (used toyota long life Pink fluid/ premixed)
-drain and fill on rear diff gear oil
-drain and fill with new toyota T4 trans fluid
-flush the braking system with fresh fluid (pedal firmness increased tremendously, assuming it hadn't ever been done before)
-spark plugs
-plug wires
-all 4 door lock actuators
-fog lights (were cracked when bought the car)
-de-carbed the throttle body and intake manifold (idle smoothness and driveability increased)
-new HID bulbs for oe HID headlights (had one go out literally last week, they looked very original to the car)
-cleanable/ reusable cabin air filter installed
-cleanable/ reusable engine air filter installed (****DOESN'T USE ANY FILTER MEDIA OIL, K&N AIR FILTERS ARE BAD FOR ANY LEXUS/ TOYOTA MAF****)
-i do oil changes every 3000-3500 miles religiously (i use factory weight Castrol non-syn oil with a toyota D3 oil filter, car doesn't burn/ leak any oil, has no abnormal valvetrain/ vvti noises, and makes great oil pressure)
-installed bc coilovers to replace the worn/ weak 235k original struts and springs (still showed no signs of leaking, but was horribly weak over bumps)
-installed urethane caster bushings from sewell lexus (never been touched on the car before)
-new moog (japan) front ball joints (also original)
-battle version solid aluminum rack bushings (originals were completely shot, fixed the wandering and car following grooves in the road when i got on the highway)
-new toyota thermostat (don't mess with the aftermarket stuff, most are unreliable)
-serpentine belt
-serp belt tensioner pulley (making noise, also original)

It might look like a lot, but this is also spread throughout the year, so its really not that bad. This will kind of give you a basic idea of things that might need looking into replacing on a high mileage car. I still have a box of stuff waiting to be installed (brembo 14inch front kit for when its time for brakes, cam seal, crank seal, waterpump, valve cover gaskets, window regulators, turn signal switch.........). it's kind of a vicious cycle of buying, storing (until i have time), and installing parts LOL. Toyota/ lexus did an excellent job building the 2gs's in terms of reliability and if taken care of can last for a very long time.

Good luck to the OP with his car search!

littlebird

lexus wheels and tires, don't be ignorant. the wheels and tires are now ON my car, so feel free to send me some tires if you want photographic evidence that the trunk can hold them.

MattyG

Haha. I'm supposed to send you tires to prove your point even though you're the one who made the assertion. Okaaay.

Relax. I'm making a comment about the practicality of these cars vs their hobby aspect. Did you squish those tires in there? 16's, 17's? What? On or off rims? And a baby stroller too. Great.

I already tried this experiment last fall long before this thread was started. You can basically get two 17 inch Lexus wheels with tires in there. That's about it. The rest go in the back seat. The trunk hinges intrude into the space.

littlebird

You're the one that wanted me to prove it to you.
And I never said the baby stroller was in at the same time as the wheels.
They were 18s. Two wheels were on the tires, two tires has no wheels.
A friend of mine that drifts was excited and said that we could use my trunk for extra tires for him. So yeah I totally made it up. Take your **** measuring contest somewhere else.
I know what we did or didnt do, so your opinion really means nothing here. So dont tell me to "relax" when youre being sarcastic and rude

MattyG

And another thread arguing about nothing. OP I hope this doesn't turn you off on these cars. They're all good. Test drove a GS3 and ended up with the 4.

I'll be the bigger man here. Lil Bird insists on her point and I know there's no photographic evidence. Since I'm a video guy. I have no way of proving the point either way. So time to let it go.

Washed my beautiful original GS4 today. I may end up over at the German car crowd yet, because I've owned the V-dubs. But this is still one of the best "bang for the buck" cars you'll find.

littlebird

well of course you're the bigger man, seeing as i'm not one, haha. but argument over. there's really no point. we can agree to disagree and leave it at that. i know what i know/did, and you know what you know and that's that

as for the v-dubs. what have you had? i've only ever been behind the wheel of a Jetta that i had as a rental from a friend. i liked the way it drove, but i didn't like the car itself.
i love my GS3 but i'd like to have something else to mess around with and drive (especially once the 3 is repainted, swapped, and done). i'm still debating what i'll want to get as a second car.
(off topic i know, sorry)

but overall, back on point, high mileage isn't a biggie with the GS, they're troopers as long as maintained properly. i wouldn't give mine up for anything. easily the best car i've owned.

MattyG

Yeah I have to say it doesn't matter whether you're looking at a GS3 or a 4. They drive great and once you do all the deferred maintanence that the previous owner didn't do, you'll have a rock solid ride. Mileage really doesn't matter on a lot of Japanese cars.

Back in the day. I had three 80's era Rabbits and an 88 Scirroco. They all drove amazing for fwd. And the ride was great. The Scirocco was an interesting car. 1.8/5speed manual.

It made a redneck blow his GM pickup truck motor on the highway trying to push me. My brother in his 76 Chevy Laguna with a Corvette motor had a hard time with me too.

I would say the Germans have been up and down on quality control. Really you're gambling unless you know exactly what the maintenance history is on a VW. I like the Jettas, about 09 to 10 with the 1.8 turbo motor.

A Golf two door hatch or a Jetta might be nice. But with the Germans it's buyer beware