dellexus

Hi Guys,

I have always been a BMW person but after my accident last year December I'm considering my options for either a 2006-07 GS300 or a 2005 GS430. (Was in a friends Lexus GS who has no clues about cars so thought I'd ask you guys on the forum)

Considering the Lexus as its just something about the GS that has made me make mind up on buying one, BMW's have its perks but would'nt call them reliable

I know I'm definately settling on one which has the Mark Levinson option installed (I Love my music and will be considering installing some subs in the trunk in the future)

My previous cars have always been BMW's
2000 BMW 525i M (Sold)
2005 BMW 530d M (Stolen from in front of my house)
2002 BMW 745Li (RiP'd in the accident)

I have always done the maintenance on the cars myself as well as some big jobs like the dreaded Coolant Pipe job on the V8 745Li N62 Engines.

I just wanted to know what is it that I would need to look out for on either of these models?
Pro's and Con's...

I have read everywhere that the 300's tend to have some sort of transmission problems at some point as well as the ACC failing. are these the only thing I would need to look out for or are there other things?

Your help and input would be much appreciated guys.

Thanks in advance.

XxGoKoUxX

The 06 GS300 has one faulty problem that will never go away really.... Carbon build-up, so I would steer clear of it.... as a coolant pipe job is nothing compared to an engine rebuild.

The 2005 gs430 is a 2nd-gen GS, you're in the wrong subforum if you're looking for input on that .

The 2006 GS430's darn reliable, I own one, am now at 97k with 0 problems. Downfall to owning this vehicle is it has a timing belt vs timing chain like most of the other models.

So far, the consensus (and I don't know if this is due to the fact that they are scarce models, or they really are reliable. Is the GS460 and GS430...

The 350's have recalls, alongside the 300.... That is why I said consensus.

Either way, GL on your ventures!

dellexus

Gokou,

Thanks for your reply, the 2005 GS430 that I'm looking at is the same shape as the 2006 just says 2005 and has the 2005 license plate on it (05 means 2005 in UK Licence Plate).

I have looked at a few GS430 and there all 2005 (Most likely mid 2005) and only one is a 2006 (06 Reg Lexus) but they are all the same shape.

I have posted the pic of the GS430 (in white).

Does that make a difference?

Thanks

XxGoKoUxX

That's so weird LOL! I guess you learn something new, in the US, the GS was in 2006, some years overseas are 2007, and I guess in London it's 2005?

Either way, it's a great car. The gas mileage is pretty decent for a v8 on the highway, people DO indeed get bad mileage in stop and go traffic though. So don't expect too much out of it.

Overall, keep up with the maintanence intervals and you should be in great shape .

dellexus

LOL i know UK can be wierd....you should see what mother nature does with the weather here

Yeh in the UK the 3rd gen GS starts in April 2005.

How much mpg would i be roughly looking at on stop and go?
as long as it is more than 14mpg then im happy

As I mentioned above my previous car was literally a Tank on wheels (745Li)

Thanks again gokou

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

yea in the UK it starts in 05, i believe theres a few UK members on here.

as far as mpg, i always got around 23-24 for stop and go traffic. it also depends on your driving habits.

dellexus

Lol my driving habits for a 26 year old is cruising around and not speeding like a teen high on speed (those days are long gone, now i'd like to see my 2 kids grow up with a father).

I used to get overtaken by little nissan micra's on local roads in my 745 as i obey the speed limits of each road.

And now after the accident I have become more careful lol ****ty drivers scare the living day lights out of me now.

dellexus

Parts wise I have seen that there arent many sellers in the UK i.e spoiler, splitter etc for the GS.

I would definately source through forum guys as I do like doing my cars up and making them look apart.

lex-ative

Stop and go should net you an easy 18 mpg. I get that every time I fill my tank and drive in the burbs (traffic lights, stop signs etc). Freeway stop and go should net you around 16.1-16.5 with heavy traffic. I'm talking long periods of just stopped. It should go back up when you get some clear roads. Highway cruising should net you about 22-23 mpg. Long drives highway cruises should net you up to 26mpg

My average has always been about 18MPG Combined. That's stop and go and the occasional hop on the highway to go to the mall or city or what have you. That is not bad at all for a V8. And that is driving normally.

InvisibleM

I agree with the reliability aspect of this vehicle. I have a 2006 GS300 and have had no issues with the carbon buildup as of yet. (though I can imagine a possible future scenario occurring as at my last oil change i burned about a quart of oil for the first time) but with the recall you can still get the repairs taken care of without cost ( at least in the states from what i understand).

other than the oil burn. Ive had zero mechanical issues and im sitting on 108,000 miles

Majek

I like the European market GS's having the turn indicator light on the front fenders. From the looks of the image you posted of the white GS430, the front emblem looks to be the one with radar cruise built-in. An added and expensive bonus if you didn't know!

dellexus

Is it the ACC (automatic cruise control)?

How could you tell by looking at the front emblem?

Majek

I suppose it's the same thing, but we refer to it here as Dynamic Radar Cruise Control and Pre-Collision:

2007 GS430 Lexus Pre-Collision System (PCS) and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control $2,850
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lexus/2...0-ar34310.html

That's a special option. I can tell it has this feature by the front emblem being in a 'bubble' (like the new Lexus hybrid logos, except in black). The black at the top of the front emblem has a slight glare, which would not have happened with a regular GS since it has the chrome emblem and is black hollow plastic inside.

If indeed I am correct in seeing the emblem, you are looking at a rare buy. Make sure to check it out. However, perhaps in UK this is normal for GS's there.

XxGoKoUxX

IMO, with extreme stop and go, I can go as low as 16mpg's, on avg with ALL city (no HWY) I get 19-20, it's all about your attitude. On a GS430, you hit the gas with medium throttle, until you get up to speed and STOP there, cruise on the 30mpg mark and you're good to go for 19-20mpgs..... Also note that you have to coast A LOT, and let people pass you constantly if you want to save on gas. The way I see it, I drive like I'm the ****, I want people to pass me and see who's driving that Lexus .

That's not too bad for an AWD IXI! You're lucky in the aspect that you gs300 owners get great gas mileage .

Mind sharing what happened in your accident? I've come into many close calls due to wreckless teenagers driving in college......... zipping through parking lots are my biggest pet peeves. You never know when there are idiots texting on their phone and walking (like me LOL).

It isn't right? People in my fam think that since I drive a v8, I get in the lower 14-16's on the hwy+city..... I always have to correct them that Lexus did a great job on the gear ratio and these cars get GREAT mileage for what they are .

dellexus

I had an accident last year just before christmas on the 3rd of December, me and my friends attended a friends wedding on the evening of 2nd December at 7 or 8pm and then after the wedding some of us decided that since after a long time we have met up (as we don't very often due to personal commitments) we would go and have a late night meal in another city (about 100-120 miles away).

On our way it started raining and started becoming cold and since it was getting late we decided to turn back and go home and separated as we were all going home.

The media exploited the situation and was printing that we were racing (they were saying that I was doing in excess of 140+ mph and racing with my friends 5er, which after the investigation turned out to be all false due to the CCTV).

It was separate accidents which coincidentally happened in the same place as the 5er (they confirmed it was a ditch on the highway which caused a huge puddle which caused the cars to aquaplane), the police also confirmed that it was separate accidents and I had nothing to do with the 5er (again I say see how the media exploited the situation) the accidents happened about a minute apart.

They also confirmed that I was not doing that speed and that I was not racing and dropped the charges of 'causing death by dangerous driving'.

I lost 2 friends to that accident and still feel uneasy to sleep at night and am **** scared when I drive on the motorways or drive at night as I you never know what might happen.

The picture i uploaded was of after the emergency services cut the roof of my vehicle open but the police did say that my car did not sustain a high speed damage that you would get from 140+ mph (but the 5er did, and again see how the media exploited it by printing pictures of after the roof was cut and not before).

The car on the tow truck was mine and the 5er was my friends.