meanboy

I am contemplating trading in my 1999 GS300 with 33k miles and buying a used 1999 GS400. I have contacted a local dealer about one they advertised with 47k miles and CPO. The price is 31k. I am not sure about the trade in yet. Plus, I need to have my bumpers redone because of people hitting the bumper while parking. Plus, I will need to do the 30k service and put new tires on it within 10k miles. Should I put that money towards a GS400 instead? I figure I will have to put about 2k in it for everything.

The question is, should I buy something different or stay with the GS? Or should I keep my GS, drop some money into tires and maintanance, leave the bumpers alone, and help my wife buy a Mini cooper instead? What would you do?

woodyaht

You sound like me. I just bought a new GS300 and my wife just bought a Mini S.

That's a hard decision. 400 would be cool for the extra power, But in my case I would wrap it around a tree, with that much power. The 300 is fine for me.

tomtnc

You can wrap a mid 15 second car around a tree just as easily as you can a 14 second car. A V6 under the hood is no guarantee any driver will save him/herself from their own stupidity.

Save the money and / or trade it in on the the GS400; you won't be sorry.

woodyaht

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tomtnc
[B]You can wrap a mid 15 second car around a tree just as easily as you can a 14 second car. A V6 under the hood is no guarantee any driver will save him/herself from their own stupidity.


I'll agree with you that a "I-6" is no guarantee you won't wrap it around a tree, but it depends on your driving style. If you drive "the straight and narrow" there's no reason for the extra power. If you drive hard core (like me), where your "flat footing" down the road. I don't want the extra power especially when its raining and the traction control is off, to have a little fun. I can get stupid and I don't want my $47000 to be a ins. claim.
Where I live there isn't many cars that I have to worry about, getting in front of me with the I-6, so that's all I need.

Y2KMaxGXE-

how much is OK to pay for a 99-01 GS 400 with under 40K mi?

gs400998

Edmunds, Kelly Blue Book websites will give you an idea what are the retail and private party prices. However, what is okay to pay for one person may not be okay for another person. If you are not in a hurry to buy immediately, just check autotrader.com and cars.com frequently for a low-mileage GS that is selling at a price that you are willing to spend.

meanboy

Foolish as this sounds, I was thinking about a LS400 a short while ago because it's quiet and a good car to show clients(if I go into real estate) but it's not the top of the line for speed/acceleration in the Lexus line. So it's back to the GS. Stock versus stock the GS will handle most LS'. Two different missions. I figure I can tighten the suspension a little and still have a civilized car. And I've decided against the turbo install because of smog and the desire to have minimal maintanance. In addition, I would still have to spend some $$ to buy HIDS and wheels(probably have to with a GS400) if I went stayed with my GS300.

But to be fair, I would like to help out the wife with a car since she doesn't have one anymore. Not a cooper S though because she can't drive a stock. Too bad because I think it's the better deal of the two.

The only thing with the particular GS I am looking at is that it doesn't have Nav. But from past posts I've read, the navs from the 2k on are the best ones to have. Maybe, a portable GPS unit?

I've kicked around this idea ever since learning about clublexus. In fact, I didn't even know about the GS400 when I bought my GS300. Is that lame or what?

DrRick

as a former GS4 owner (and pretty stinkin prominent member of this-here forum) i would say go for the 400 in a heartbeat. this is all assuming that you can get a good deal on one. as far as the CPO goes, i may opt out of that. you can get a good aftermarket warranty for about half of what you would pay for the Lexus CPO. the problem is, is that you would have to front the money out of pocket were you to take it to a Lexus dealer. they only accept CPO warranties. now were you an enterprising sort, like i am, you would take it to your local toyota dealer and let them handle any warranty issues. and they would gladly accept a 3rd party (a/m warranty) for re-imbursement. the truth of the matter is, is that you wont have too many problems with issues relating to the car, period. my only problem in a year and change owning one was a cd changer that went bezerk for no apparent reason. but it was covered, no problem. try warrantybynet.com and see what comes up. prices are reasonable. hth........


Doc

meanboy

Dr. Rick, and everyone else, thanks for the responses. I haven't called back the dealer yet but they have a 99 with cpo for 31k. I will have to research what the cpo covers and if it works for any Lexus dealer. I just tried the link you provided and unfortunately, they don't offer coverage in CA. I'm stuck with the CPO. I'll have to check out the car and then if it's something I would want then I'll have to negotiate the trade-in of our GS300.

We've had the GS300 since aug 99 and it's worked pretty good so far. Rattles are the worst thing about it. I expect the GS400 to be the same(except for the rattles). I thought about the G35 coupe but if I do the sales thing it would have to sell it or buy an inexpensive four door(probably not a good sales tactic).

fisher_price

...all these comments about third-party warranties confuse me--

--as I understand it, certain states have made user car warranties illegal because it was just a way to fleece customers?!

Either way, I heartily recommend the 400. It'll put a smile on your face (as it did to me on Sunday morning on 280 South at... mmm. I plead the fifth).

That said, I bought a 98 GS 400 in 9/01 with 43,500 miles on it-- that gave me 6,500 miles to have the stereo changed (LCD display went out-- replaced under warranty). That and a taillight (also under warranty-- they noticed when I took it in) were the only problems I've had...

(now at 69,000 miles)

f_p

tomtnc

IMO, you don't 'need' a CPO warrnaty and the associated full retail price tag when you buy a Lexus. You can buy privately-owned with confidence and save yourself thousands of dollars if you follow a few basic guidelines on how to buy a privately-owned used car. I've posted some of those guidelines in this CL thread..

Example that may be of interest to you:

In March of this year, I paid $24.7K for a 99 GS400; loaded except Nav, 49K miles, from a private owner. I bought at wholesale price which saved me ~$7,000 - $8,000 over the price of an equivalent CPO vehicle. Here's the catch; patience is the key to success..lol: I searched the internet (Autotrader) for over 3 months before I found the right car at the right price.

Good luck!

meanboy

Thanks for the post. I think I am going to wait a bit now that I realize that it's going to be work to find the right car(and model). And after discussing this with my wife, she thinks that the LS400 might be a better fit for us. Me? I guess that could work if we get a sporty second car.