someguy117

Hi guys,
I was in the market to purchase a GS350, and I found two vehicles; One 2007 GS350 RWD with 30k miles on it and the other 2008 GS350 AWD with 41k miles. I just wanted to know what you guys think i should go with?
THe price is similar but I wanted your opinion which year and model I shoudl go for. Have you guys encountered any problems with these year models or any problems I should look ? I've read few forums and they said they have problems with disc brakes and there was a service bulletinen to address this issue. Anymore I should be familiar with
Thanks

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

It really depends on your area, do you get snow, if so which I'm guessing you do than you should go with the AWD if that isn't a problem than my choice would be RWD it has 10k less. What features do they have are they the same or one has more than the others.

TWong350

iTrader: (8)

First off, welcome to Club Lexus!

bigblack06 hit the nail on the head with his answer. It appears that you live in Ontario Canada so you could probably benefit from the AWD.

Another thing to consider too is, are you planning on modifying the car? Specifically lowering it? If so, stay away from the AWD as they're notorious for bad vibrations at idle once lowered.

Whichever you choose, good luck and post photos of if once you take ownership!

MichaelPea

Hi Guy,

I'm just curious; what color is the '08 AWD with 41K miles on it? I traded mine in a month ago in PA with 41K miles on it....It was dark blue.

spwolf

if in Canada, AWD is your best bet... I had it and not a single problem... your biggest issue might be some squeaks in interior in cold mornings :-)

someguy117

Hm. Well we do get a lot of snow where I live but I've met few people who said if you get reasonably good tires, the RWD shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm kind of hesitant about the AWD because I’ve heard awd can cause a lot of problems in the future and read a lot of people had trouble with it as well.

Thanks TWong, I don’t plan on doing any mods to my car!

Hi Michael, The one I was looking at was in New Jersey and it was black(2008 model)

I’ve been reading about that a lot of people are encountering these squeaking noises from the interior is that something common between all Gs?

MichaelPea

Guy, if you're feeling a little unsettled by the prospect of future problems with AWD system I think first of all, your fears a probably unfounded. I owned the 2008 AWD since new and haven't read a single posting (that I can recall) of anyone having a transmission failure in an AWD car. Secondly, I'm not certain that being unsettled can't be resolved by just buying an extended warranty. Lastly, living in southwestern PA we get our fair share of slippery conditions every winter and our topography does tend to leave cars with less that good slick road performance either on the side of the road or in my way. I ran winter tires on all 4 corners of the car and rarely even slipped a wheel and never got stuck. I have had cars that handled winter conditions better than the GS but none were even close to the performance and comfort of the GS. All in all the AWD system is a must if you live where it snows and I never felt like I compromised reliability or anything else for that matter.

Of course, the wild card is driving skill. If you've had trouble on slick roads in the past driving cars that typically have good performance in slick conditions, maybe you should avoid any car that doesn't minimize poor driving skills. After all, even the most capable vehicles are often in the median stuck since it seems that some people like the "go faster" part of all wheel or four wheel drive but forget about the fact that "stop betters" beat "go fasters" any day.....

someguy117

[QUOTE=MichaelPea;6797721]Guy, if you're feeling a little unsettled by the prospect of future problems with AWD system I think first of all, your fears a probably unfounded. I owned the 2008 AWD since new and haven't read a single posting (that I can recall) of anyone having a transmission failure in an AWD car. Secondly, I'm not certain that being unsettled can't be resolved by just buying an extended warranty. Lastly, living in southwestern PA we get our fair share of slippery conditions every winter and our topography does tend to leave cars with less that good slick road performance either on the side of the road or in my way. I ran winter tires on all 4 corners of the car and rarely even slipped a wheel and never got stuck. I have had cars that handled winter conditions better than the GS but none were even close to the performance and comfort of the GS. All in all the AWD system is a must if you live where it snows and I never felt like I compromised reliability or anything else for that matter.

I don't think the extended warranty is good idea for me, because I plan on buying the car in the US and plan on importing it to Canada. The reason I was aiming to get the RWD car is because of the low mileage. The RWD only has like 31k on it where as the AWD has like 41k, the 10k is a huge difference when it comes to maintenance for it. What kind of maintenance have you done to your gs so far?

AudioBob

I would get an awd because of where you live. I really like it in the snow and rain as well and on dry pavement my car feels like it is glued to the pavement. The Lexus system is very solid and I have never had any issues at all.

I have not had any issues with my GS350 and have only had to change the oil, air filter and cabin air filter the entire time that I have owned it. I have had the valve spring recall completed and Lexus handled that flawlessly as well. My car has zero dash rattles and squeaks and that has been a common complaint that is easily remedied.

spwolf

i dont think u have heard of anyone having issues with AWD in GS350. You should buy AWD.

MichaelPea

[QUOTE=someguy117;6798942]Well, my Black Sapphire baby is gone now. I traded her in for a RX450h a couple months ago but up until that time, I had routine maintenance (oil changes, wiper blades, etc.) and service bulletins (valve spring recall) done. At about 30,000 miles, I had the appropriate maintenance interval performed. It cost about $270.00 to have that done. Aside from that, it's all just routine oil changes, etc. Not a terribly expensive car to maintain at all and most issues I had were taken care of by the manufacturer warranty. Notably, I had the brakes replaced twice. Once for excessive dust and the second time for squealing. Both times were covered by warranty so no out of pocket costs for that.

Of course, there were expenses over the years for a variety of work that I had performed at the dealership but that was elective work. Case in point, I had two sets of OEM wheels for the car. One set for summer times and one set for winter tires. The GS has a switch that allows the car to be programmed for 2 separate sets of TPMS sensors so that when you change the wheels, you just flip a switch and the other set of sensors is already assigned. When I had the second set programmed to the car, they charged me for the mount/balance, etc. In another instance, when I had the valve spring recall done, I had the spark plugs replaced since they were out anyway. The dealership charged for the plugs but not the labor since they had them out in the first place. Again, not terribly expensive.

All in all, the GS doesn't seem to be a particularly expensive car to maintain but i only had it for 3 years. I'm quite sure that as time went on, the cost to maintain it would have gone up too. With respect to the extended warranty, I'm not sure but I think a Lexus warranty would cover you in Canada too but you should pose the question to the experts. I'm a long, long way from being an expert......

lofidelity

I just bought a 2007 GS 350 AWD in Toronto and I couldn't be happier with it so far. I would definitely get the AWD if you do any serious driving outside of the city. I remember barely surviving my commute to Waterloo in a snowstorm last year, and that was in a FWD car. I can't imagine what it would be like in RWD.

rajmichael

I bought my 08 GS 350 two months ago. It is CPO and had 36k mi on it. I love it! But I'd like to find out more about this dash rattle, think I may have it.

someguy117

You commute to waterloo? What do you do there? I used to live in Waterloo and used to commute on the 401 a lot.

lofidelity

Just a contract, I'm glad I'm not doing that anymore. The main reason I got the GS is because it's easy to drive and quiet when I need it, and also have enough power when I want it.