Looking to purchase a 2007 GS450H
01-13-12, 12:48 AM
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Looking to purchase a 2007 GS450H
Hi everyone, I'm new to ClubLexus and this is my first post ever. I have been reading a lot of threads regarding the 3GS and is now in the process of purchase a 2007 GS450H.
I have found a GS450H with 108000 km with the price of around 26k. This particular GS450H comes with Nav and the M/L package. This car is quite far from where I live so I will have to fly out to drive the car back, so a test drive is out of the question until I get there to purchase the car. I have asked the seller for a carproof report and the vehicle looks clean, what worries me though is the service history. In the first 10000km, the car had a few services that were around 15 days apart / approx 800km between services. Between 30000km - 40000km there were a few services about a month apart / approx 2500km. Is this normal for the GS450H?
Also should I be worried about the hybrid battery? I have heard a few owners who has had to replace their battery at around 95k miles. I plan on keeping the car for a long time.
Another thing is about the rattles/squeaks. Because I cannot test out the vehicle beforehand and the car is out of the Lexus 4 year/80k warranty, if there are any rattles, will Lexus fix the problem out of warranty? if not, is the rattles/squeaks bad enough to be a deal breaker? Are the rattles constant or are only over rough roads? (I have never heard of any rattles in a Lexus yet so I don't know how bad it could be)
So do you guys think this car is a good deal? and is there anything else I should be worried about?
Any help will be appreciated!
and sorry for the long post 
Terry
I have found a GS450H with 108000 km with the price of around 26k. This particular GS450H comes with Nav and the M/L package. This car is quite far from where I live so I will have to fly out to drive the car back, so a test drive is out of the question until I get there to purchase the car. I have asked the seller for a carproof report and the vehicle looks clean, what worries me though is the service history. In the first 10000km, the car had a few services that were around 15 days apart / approx 800km between services. Between 30000km - 40000km there were a few services about a month apart / approx 2500km. Is this normal for the GS450H?
Also should I be worried about the hybrid battery? I have heard a few owners who has had to replace their battery at around 95k miles. I plan on keeping the car for a long time.
Another thing is about the rattles/squeaks. Because I cannot test out the vehicle beforehand and the car is out of the Lexus 4 year/80k warranty, if there are any rattles, will Lexus fix the problem out of warranty? if not, is the rattles/squeaks bad enough to be a deal breaker? Are the rattles constant or are only over rough roads? (I have never heard of any rattles in a Lexus yet so I don't know how bad it could be)
So do you guys think this car is a good deal? and is there anything else I should be worried about?
Any help will be appreciated!
and sorry for the long post Terry
01-13-12, 05:20 AM
#2
In the first 10000km, the car had a few services that were around 15 days apart / approx 800km between services. Between 30000km - 40000km there were a few services about a month apart / approx 2500km. Is this normal for the GS450h
Nope thats not a problem, owner could have had an issue he wanted fixed really badly.
Also should I be worried about the hybrid battery? I have heard a few owners who has had to replace their battery at around 95k miles. I plan on keeping the car for a long time.
Its one of those rare occasions, most owners have had an issue with the traction battery at around 95kMiles, I see you have 67k miles on the car its not bad and you have a couple of miles before you hit that, honestly the battery only costs $2,755 which isnt bad compared to when they first came out it was around $10k.
Another thing is about the rattles/squeaks. Because I cannot test out the vehicle beforehand and the car is out of the Lexus 4 year/80k warranty, if there are any rattles, will Lexus fix the problem out of warranty? if not, is the rattles/squeaks bad enough to be a deal breaker? Are the rattles constant or are only over rough roads? (I have never heard of any rattles in a Lexus yet so I don't know how bad it could be)
The rattles if present are not intrusive but do tend to bother people, I got mine fixed and they put felt at the contacts points of all the plastic bits in the car. would'nt consider that a deal breaker. BMW, Mercedes have the same issue on some of there cars with rattles so it will be found. There is a DIY for the rattles that has worked for some.
So do you guys think this car is a good deal? and is there anything else I should be worried about?
I think its a good deal since most of the GS 450h are selling higher than that here, and some have more miles. I think the price is good, but maybe a warranty is not a bad thing to consider, unless you do most of the stuff yourself.
Nope thats not a problem, owner could have had an issue he wanted fixed really badly.
Also should I be worried about the hybrid battery? I have heard a few owners who has had to replace their battery at around 95k miles. I plan on keeping the car for a long time.
Its one of those rare occasions, most owners have had an issue with the traction battery at around 95kMiles, I see you have 67k miles on the car its not bad and you have a couple of miles before you hit that, honestly the battery only costs $2,755 which isnt bad compared to when they first came out it was around $10k.
Another thing is about the rattles/squeaks. Because I cannot test out the vehicle beforehand and the car is out of the Lexus 4 year/80k warranty, if there are any rattles, will Lexus fix the problem out of warranty? if not, is the rattles/squeaks bad enough to be a deal breaker? Are the rattles constant or are only over rough roads? (I have never heard of any rattles in a Lexus yet so I don't know how bad it could be)
The rattles if present are not intrusive but do tend to bother people, I got mine fixed and they put felt at the contacts points of all the plastic bits in the car. would'nt consider that a deal breaker. BMW, Mercedes have the same issue on some of there cars with rattles so it will be found. There is a DIY for the rattles that has worked for some.
So do you guys think this car is a good deal? and is there anything else I should be worried about?
I think its a good deal since most of the GS 450h are selling higher than that here, and some have more miles. I think the price is good, but maybe a warranty is not a bad thing to consider, unless you do most of the stuff yourself.
01-13-12, 09:24 AM
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and I'll add some to what bigblack06 said:
your powertrain warranty, which would cover the gas motor, is good for 72 months or 70k miles, however your Hybrid warranty, which would cover the battery and the rest of that system, is 8 years and 100k miles.
Our '06 has minor dash rattles/squeaks and it's just on my to-do list to chase them. Frankly the car is so quiet, you'll hear the smallest thing (or just turn up that sweet ML stereo and that is all you will hear).
Specific to the '07 GSh: realize the trunk is pretty small, the '09s on up got a bit larger trunk but a standard GS is double the size of an '07s trunk. The price on this car to me is not impressive -- I have seen GSh's with less miles for that money. If you keep an eye on the Lexus CPO site there occasionally will come up a nice deal, and those will come with a 3yr. CPO warranty (I've seen a 48k mile '07 for $29k in the past month, for example). And they do negotiate on CPOs, btw...
Have you driven one yet? Any GS450h, or even any hybrid? It's a very different drive and one that some folks can't get past. We were very close to buying one and ended up not after a good long test drive. I expected it to be quieter under hard acceleration and you really hear the 6 cylinder. Having everything "shut down" at stops would take some getting used to and it had an annoying clunk as soon as you moved from a stop. Our tester had 18k miles on it and the salesman said they all had that little clunk. I could have gotten used to it, but that was the end for my wife (I had to talk her into thinking hybrid in the 1st place).
Last, specific to "fly and drive" purchases: You can not get enough information or do enough homework. We had a disaster trying to buy a GS460 that was a CPO from a Lexus dealer. I thought I'd done all my due diligence (and amongst many things) had asked the salesman to walk slowly around the car several times and tell me what the absolute worst flaw was -- "a couple of tiny stone chips in the hood that were touched up", he said. He Lied, or never looked at the car. We flew in and the car had major body issues: front bumper ugly repaired and a crap job of paint and the driver's side from the mid rear door back all had been buffed through the top coats of paint to the base coat and then waxed. It was ridiculous and we were furious (actually, we were stunned and got furious on the plane ride home). The dealer picked up the cost of the trip and we almost stopped looking at anything that we couldn't or wouldn't drive to.
So, ask for more pictures of anything that looks suspicious. BE suspicious, if at all possible, get someone else (independent) to look the car over. Our experience was hopefully a very rare thing (and unbelievable through Lexus) -- so just be cautious and I wish you the best of luck.
your powertrain warranty, which would cover the gas motor, is good for 72 months or 70k miles, however your Hybrid warranty, which would cover the battery and the rest of that system, is 8 years and 100k miles.
Our '06 has minor dash rattles/squeaks and it's just on my to-do list to chase them. Frankly the car is so quiet, you'll hear the smallest thing (or just turn up that sweet ML stereo and that is all you will hear
).Specific to the '07 GSh: realize the trunk is pretty small, the '09s on up got a bit larger trunk but a standard GS is double the size of an '07s trunk. The price on this car to me is not impressive -- I have seen GSh's with less miles for that money. If you keep an eye on the Lexus CPO site there occasionally will come up a nice deal, and those will come with a 3yr. CPO warranty (I've seen a 48k mile '07 for $29k in the past month, for example). And they do negotiate on CPOs, btw...
Have you driven one yet? Any GS450h, or even any hybrid? It's a very different drive and one that some folks can't get past. We were very close to buying one and ended up not after a good long test drive. I expected it to be quieter under hard acceleration and you really hear the 6 cylinder. Having everything "shut down" at stops would take some getting used to and it had an annoying clunk as soon as you moved from a stop. Our tester had 18k miles on it and the salesman said they all had that little clunk. I could have gotten used to it, but that was the end for my wife (I had to talk her into thinking hybrid in the 1st place).
Last, specific to "fly and drive" purchases: You can not get enough information or do enough homework. We had a disaster trying to buy a GS460 that was a CPO from a Lexus dealer. I thought I'd done all my due diligence (and amongst many things) had asked the salesman to walk slowly around the car several times and tell me what the absolute worst flaw was -- "a couple of tiny stone chips in the hood that were touched up", he said. He Lied, or never looked at the car. We flew in and the car had major body issues: front bumper ugly repaired and a crap job of paint and the driver's side from the mid rear door back all had been buffed through the top coats of paint to the base coat and then waxed. It was ridiculous and we were furious (actually, we were stunned and got furious on the plane ride home). The dealer picked up the cost of the trip and we almost stopped looking at anything that we couldn't or wouldn't drive to.
So, ask for more pictures of anything that looks suspicious. BE suspicious, if at all possible, get someone else (independent) to look the car over. Our experience was hopefully a very rare thing (and unbelievable through Lexus) -- so just be cautious and I wish you the best of luck.
01-14-12, 05:17 PM
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Thank you for the helpful replies.
I am currently driving my mom's Toyota Sienna and on occasions, my brother's Toyota Avalon. So I'm used to a quiet drives. I'm looking for a more sportier ride while being comfortable and luxurious, not to mention Toyota/Lexus' reliability. So I thought this is a perfect car, it will be an upgrade either way. I test drove a 2011 GS450H just last week and I'm very impressed, but did found it a little hard (but I can get use to, love the handling). btw are there any changes that I should know from 2007 vs 2011 other than the minor exterior & interior changes and bigger trunk? I heard they used a different leather material but I don't think it's a deal breaker for the price I am getting.
The GS450H I'm looking at has had no accidents and I also noticed that it has a 3m carbra installed on the front, the body looked pretty good from pictures. It comes with a spare so I'm guess it has normal tires instead of Runflat. So far the car looks good and I'm about to pull the trigger. Hopefully I will soon to be a new GS450H owner
Terry
I am currently driving my mom's Toyota Sienna and on occasions, my brother's Toyota Avalon. So I'm used to a quiet drives. I'm looking for a more sportier ride while being comfortable and luxurious, not to mention Toyota/Lexus' reliability. So I thought this is a perfect car, it will be an upgrade either way. I test drove a 2011 GS450H just last week and I'm very impressed, but did found it a little hard (but I can get use to, love the handling). btw are there any changes that I should know from 2007 vs 2011 other than the minor exterior & interior changes and bigger trunk? I heard they used a different leather material but I don't think it's a deal breaker for the price I am getting.
The GS450H I'm looking at has had no accidents and I also noticed that it has a 3m carbra installed on the front, the body looked pretty good from pictures. It comes with a spare so I'm guess it has normal tires instead of Runflat. So far the car looks good and I'm about to pull the trigger. Hopefully I will soon to be a new GS450H owner
Terry
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