I'm about to pull the trigger on a '98 GS 300 with 104K on it. Firm on $6000 price. Original, one owner, garage kept. Completely stock. Clean CarFax and Autocheck. I also was able to track the car in the Lexus owner site until 2011 and about 32K. Drove and inspected the car yesterday. Here's what I know it needs. Timing belt service has never been done so that's pretty high on the list. Passenger front door lock actuator has failed. No leaks underneath, absolutely zero rust anywhere. Not driven in winter. Suspension makes no noises at low or highway speeds (ball joints have no play). Car idles smoothly and has no hiccups in power delivery. Transmission shifts properly. Brakes feel solid and it stops straight. Brand new Goodyear tires all 4 corners. HVAC modes work (saw the mode motor failure can be common) Exterior has a few scratches here and there and the insterior has no rips or tears in the leather.

I'm not looking for a pristine vehicle but one that will serve me well for some time to come. I may do the timing belt service myself but have a couple quotes from local shops of around $11-$1200 to do the job. Door actuator looks to be a pain due to access but I think I can tackle that.

Any thoughts on the price based on what I've relayed here. Are there other things I should look at?

Thanks in advance.

 

Without knowing the market where you are I won't comment on the price except to say it sounds like a really nice, well kept car that costs a quarter of what a new car would cost that may not hold up anywhere near as well as the second generation GS300 has.

Definitely get that t-belt changed. If you elect to diy be sure and take your time when installing seals that have been known to leak oil if not.

And until you get the door lock fixed don't leave stuff laying around visible to klepto's. Heck for that matter even with doors locked since the smash n grab thief don't let a little glass get between their sticky fingers and your stuff.

Sounds like a nice car.

 

Bykfixer--
The market here (Central New York State) can be a mixed bag. There are other gs300's out there will a lot more miles for $2500-$4K. They're often in not good shape. I've seen newer model Camry's with 130-200K on them for 7-8 grand that simply makes no sense to me. This GS300 fell inot my budget based on price and the rest I found out afterwards. Being a 1 owner, garage kept car has a certain appeal. It has a few needs and will likely develop others over time.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

When you think about overall cost you have to consider the purchase price + timing belt, water pump, and all the front engine seals, transmission service, front lower balljoints and that door lock actuator.

 

Congrats - sounds really nice. If it was kept well by the previous owner - sounds like it was - I'm sure it will give you years of good service. Do the VVTI seals while you're in there. They leak and they're pretty cheap and easy to change with all that apart. Maybe you would anyway, but get a new hydraulic tensioner and replace any worn idler pulleys. The radiator (if discolored - they're originally black) and hoses, are probably worth replacing as well. Peace of mind if you're going to keep the car a while. Good luck!

 

And if replacing hoses, replace clamps too if you have the type you pinch with pliers to make them expand, which allows you to remove them as you get to squeeze them a couple of times and often they no longer tighten onto the hose like new. You may get 20 squeezes with no issues or you make get a leak after the second time. With all of the places on these engines where water temperature plays a role in things like idle or fuel mixture a small leak in hard to reach areas can be prevented with new clamps.



This kind



Or this kind

I have discovered that the hard way on engines with very little room to work. Do that for any hose you replace.

 

KyleH--
I figured on replacing the hoses, serpentine belt and the crank and camshaft seals as long as it's all apart. I guess valve cover gaskets as well along with anything else we find that's shot or questionable. My brother feels that he and I can do the job. Between the two of us we have 80 years of putzing with our cars and many years of flashlight holding for our Dad. But I have time to make that decision and may have the work done in the end. Thanks for the input.

 

Bykfixer-
Didn't think about the hose clamps so that's a good suggestion. Sometimes it's the small stuff that bites ya in the butt.

 

My son had a power steer pump whine that we could not figure out for the life of us why the fluid kept foaming. No leaks, no fluid loss, so one day I noticed just a wee bit of wet at a connection point so we swapped out the factory clamp with a screwdriver tighten type and the whine magically went away.

 

I don't know.. I paid $900 for my 98 with 150,000 mi and it just needed Cats when I bought it. Straight body, no rust, clean interior. Remember, a car that sits develops a whole different type of issues than one that's ran a lot. You will be dealing with hoses gaskets and plastic components failing pretty soon after driving it a lot. Radiator, things like that. The hot to cold heat cycles are what keep these things somewhat treated and flexible. Sitting makes them hard and resistant to flex from heating/cooling. Anyways, dozens of these are for sale at all times here and go for in the $2,000 range with various mileages. I would't pay that much for one.

 

So caiman, did you buy the car?

 

Hey Bykfixer,

Sorry, works had me a bit tied up and didn’t update. Yes, I bought the car. Was able to get the seller to drop the price to $5K. Overall I am pleased with it. Other than driving it home I’m waiting on the registration from the state and then I’ll actually be able to start driving it. Planning on some basic maintenance this weekend. Oil change, filters and diff fluid change. Gonna check the brakes and front end components as well. Still haven’t decided if I’ll do the timing belt or have it done. It’ll be a good project to keep me busy. It’s not a daily as I work from home and the wife has her Highlander to drive. So, I have time to work on it.

Thanks for the follow up!

 

Eh, perhaps next pandemic Amazon will have taken over DMV too and we can get our title and registration done via drone.

 

Hahaha! I was pleased that I'm in one of the few counties in NY that allow submitting all the paperwork via the web but at the expense of it taking several days. It is what it is. Really funny thing is, they're building the largest Amazon warehouse in the country a couple miles from my house...and we're in a drone corridor.