Buying a 3rd gen GS. Advice?
12-02-17, 07:05 PM
#16
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I have a 2011 GS 350 AWD and it does have a USB port inside the arm rest. It is a little picky about how you format the USB to get it to read, but it is fast and works great. To update the nav costs something like $170 at the dealership, so I don't mind mine being six years old. Roads haven't changed that much. I bought mine with 15,000 actual miles with one owner for $22K. It is worth every nickel. Everybody who rides with me says it is like being in a Rolls Royce, with all the wood and super-quiet. There were only a total of 3,400 of these Lexus models made in Japan that year, so yes, they are hard to find. I looked for 18 months to find this one. But on Cargurus, there are always a few popping up, and some with low mileage. Just be patient and you'll find that dream car.
That sounds like a great deal to me. I was hoping to get this one owner 2011 with 39k but they won't budge on price. They want 22k out the door and i offered 19,500 out the door.
I feel like that one is calling ny name but dont want to go over 20k right now.
i want to try to re negotiate the price but i got a feeling they just wont budge none.
12-02-17, 07:10 PM
#17
Lexus Champion
The cons:
- The brakes on my car are terrible on my car. It might just be mine, though.
- The engine sound is terrible. That's more an issue with the Lexus (Toyota?) 3.5L V6.
- I read about the rattles, but I still can't believe that a 6 year old car from a luxury marque could have that many rattles. It's not desperately bad, but I would expect not to hear a squeak.
- The ride is jittery over rough roads.
- I love that there are LEDs almost everywhere, but the few random places that don't have LEDs are ridiculous. The best example is the mirror puddle lights and the DRLs. It's quite inconsistent. And, yes, I know that those can be replaced relatively easily, but it speaks something about the car in my opinion.
- The brakes on my car are terrible on my car. It might just be mine, though.
- The engine sound is terrible. That's more an issue with the Lexus (Toyota?) 3.5L V6.
- I read about the rattles, but I still can't believe that a 6 year old car from a luxury marque could have that many rattles. It's not desperately bad, but I would expect not to hear a squeak.
- The ride is jittery over rough roads.
- I love that there are LEDs almost everywhere, but the few random places that don't have LEDs are ridiculous. The best example is the mirror puddle lights and the DRLs. It's quite inconsistent. And, yes, I know that those can be replaced relatively easily, but it speaks something about the car in my opinion.
The biggest thing you mention there is the brakes, they are pretty bad. I've got plenty of pad material left on mine, but every time I brake I feel like the car is pushing me forward (as if the engine is still turning the wheels to go) and the car feels heavy like I'm stopping a truck. My Camry is much lighter on its feet despite an inferior mechanical setup. I thought it was just my car too, but it seems like other GS owners are having a similar thought.
12-03-17, 08:42 AM
#18
Driver School Candidate
I agree with every one of your cons, though I don't find those major annoyances to dissuade me from liking the car.
The biggest thing you mention there is the brakes, they are pretty bad. I've got plenty of pad material left on mine, but every time I brake I feel like the car is pushing me forward (as if the engine is still turning the wheels to go) and the car feels heavy like I'm stopping a truck. My Camry is much lighter on its feet despite an inferior mechanical setup. I thought it was just my car too, but it seems like other GS owners are having a similar thought.
The biggest thing you mention there is the brakes, they are pretty bad. I've got plenty of pad material left on mine, but every time I brake I feel like the car is pushing me forward (as if the engine is still turning the wheels to go) and the car feels heavy like I'm stopping a truck. My Camry is much lighter on its feet despite an inferior mechanical setup. I thought it was just my car too, but it seems like other GS owners are having a similar thought.
12-03-17, 08:46 AM
#19
Driver School Candidate
The engine in the GS is the same engine they use in today's IS, GS, and RC350. It's at least 10 years old if my 2007 has the same basic engine.
I agree it's not the most pleasant sounding engine. It can sound like a tractor from the outside cause of the direct injection. Because of the timing chain, there is no real major maintenance required on the engine. This is amazing coming from a Honda J series. I just give it oil and gas and it runs. It is inexpensive to fix and easy to fix compared to other makes.
It has port and direct injection, so we're not plauged by the DI-only carbon build up issues that other makes are having. I.e. Ford, Audi, BMW.
The 2GR-FSE was in the Ward's 10 best engines for 4 years, so despite it sounding very bland it's a good engine. Mine burns little to no oil, and has decent power and mpg at just over 120k miles. I cant say the same for my old TL with the J series that burned half a quart or more before oil changes, and that only had 95k. I've learned to admire the tractor utility engine that we've got. It's a workhorse, plain and simple.
as far as your other complaints, try bleeding the brakes. I think the brakes might be slightly diff from AWD and RWD though. after bleeding my RWD, the pedal is much firmer. Not sure if I agree with jittery over rough roads, the RWD GS is like a boat. I wish it was a little more stiffer. Been toying with the idea of getting F sport sways and replacing my shocks...but it might just not be worth doing.
I agree it's not the most pleasant sounding engine. It can sound like a tractor from the outside cause of the direct injection. Because of the timing chain, there is no real major maintenance required on the engine. This is amazing coming from a Honda J series. I just give it oil and gas and it runs. It is inexpensive to fix and easy to fix compared to other makes.
It has port and direct injection, so we're not plauged by the DI-only carbon build up issues that other makes are having. I.e. Ford, Audi, BMW.
The 2GR-FSE was in the Ward's 10 best engines for 4 years, so despite it sounding very bland it's a good engine. Mine burns little to no oil, and has decent power and mpg at just over 120k miles. I cant say the same for my old TL with the J series that burned half a quart or more before oil changes, and that only had 95k. I've learned to admire the tractor utility engine that we've got. It's a workhorse, plain and simple.
as far as your other complaints, try bleeding the brakes. I think the brakes might be slightly diff from AWD and RWD though. after bleeding my RWD, the pedal is much firmer. Not sure if I agree with jittery over rough roads, the RWD GS is like a boat. I wish it was a little more stiffer. Been toying with the idea of getting F sport sways and replacing my shocks...but it might just not be worth doing.
As for the ride; it's like a boat over smooth roads, but as soon as they get rough it becomes very unsettling.
12-03-17, 10:34 PM
#20
Things to look out for if you're still searching:
1. Suspension noise or rattle when going over bumps. Check the upper joints and bump stops are okay.
2. ABS pump noise. If it makes noises a lot when unlocking car, or leaving the car.. or even while driving, it's time to change and its expensive.
3. Interior trims such as AC vent parts, check them and make sure they're secure and not broken.
4. Transmission fluid.
1. Suspension noise or rattle when going over bumps. Check the upper joints and bump stops are okay.
2. ABS pump noise. If it makes noises a lot when unlocking car, or leaving the car.. or even while driving, it's time to change and its expensive.
3. Interior trims such as AC vent parts, check them and make sure they're secure and not broken.
4. Transmission fluid.
12-06-17, 01:06 PM
#21
I bought a 2011 GS recently and I'm somewhat disappointed.
The pros:
- Reasonably fast
- I've yet to properly test the AWD in snow, but in the dry or wet it's very good.
- Reasonably comfortable
- Decent sound system (ML)
- LEDs almost everywhere
- Ventilated seats (optional, I believe)
- Rare
The cons:
- The brakes on my car are terrible on my car. It might just be mine, though.
- The engine sound is terrible. That's more an issue with the Lexus (Toyota?) 3.5L V6.
- I read about the rattles, but I still can't believe that a 6 year old car from a luxury marque could have that many rattles. It's not desperately bad, but I would expect not to hear a squeak.
- The ride is jittery over rough roads.
- I love that there are LEDs almost everywhere, but the few random places that don't have LEDs are ridiculous. The best example is the mirror puddle lights and the DRLs. It's quite inconsistent. And, yes, I know that those can be replaced relatively easily, but it speaks something about the car in my opinion.
- The front wheel well gap is enormous. My guess is that it's due to the AWD system.
There are more things to mention, but I can't remember them off the top of my head. My advise is; drive the car for a good while to listen to it and to get a feel for it. I needed a car so I bought it quite quickly. If I had more time to look, I would've probably gone with something else. It's a shame because I REALLY want to like the GS.
The pros:
- Reasonably fast
- I've yet to properly test the AWD in snow, but in the dry or wet it's very good.
- Reasonably comfortable
- Decent sound system (ML)
- LEDs almost everywhere
- Ventilated seats (optional, I believe)
- Rare
The cons:
- The brakes on my car are terrible on my car. It might just be mine, though.
- The engine sound is terrible. That's more an issue with the Lexus (Toyota?) 3.5L V6.
- I read about the rattles, but I still can't believe that a 6 year old car from a luxury marque could have that many rattles. It's not desperately bad, but I would expect not to hear a squeak.
- The ride is jittery over rough roads.
- I love that there are LEDs almost everywhere, but the few random places that don't have LEDs are ridiculous. The best example is the mirror puddle lights and the DRLs. It's quite inconsistent. And, yes, I know that those can be replaced relatively easily, but it speaks something about the car in my opinion.
- The front wheel well gap is enormous. My guess is that it's due to the AWD system.
There are more things to mention, but I can't remember them off the top of my head. My advise is; drive the car for a good while to listen to it and to get a feel for it. I needed a car so I bought it quite quickly. If I had more time to look, I would've probably gone with something else. It's a shame because I REALLY want to like the GS.
Trust me when I bought my car I was a little disappointed because I used to the ride of my old ES. but over time it have been growing on me everyday, especially when I hop in any friends car and hear how loud and cheap their car is. The GS is a very solid car.
12-06-17, 01:10 PM
#22
12-06-17, 07:58 PM
#23
Driver School Candidate
Originally Posted by tayslexus
For the harsh ride it's a GS for god's sake what do you expect? And if you live in Montreal it's even worse with all the potholes. keep in mind my car has 245/40/18s all around so the ride is harsher than the stock 17''.If you want comfort go for an ES or LS.
I also remembered another con: the headroom is a bit poor. I'm 6'4", but the by looking at the car from the outside, you'd expect a ton of space, but on the inside it's relatively small.
12-07-17, 11:46 AM
#25
The thing with the ride is that it's neither comfortable nor sporty. It's way too boat-like to be sporty and it's way too jittery over any roads with imperfections to be comfortable. It's neither here nor there.
I also remembered another con: the headroom is a bit poor. I'm 6'4", but the by looking at the car from the outside, you'd expect a ton of space, but on the inside it's relatively small.
I also remembered another con: the headroom is a bit poor. I'm 6'4", but the by looking at the car from the outside, you'd expect a ton of space, but on the inside it's relatively small.
12-10-17, 01:30 AM
#26
The GS460 is a very different car to the GS350.
Braking is superb. The 8 speed continuously downshifts when you hit the brakes. So it's very smooth.
The AVS suspension is stable. Great balance between comfort and sport.
Engine sounds great.
So if you like the GS, go for a late model GS460
Braking is superb. The 8 speed continuously downshifts when you hit the brakes. So it's very smooth.
The AVS suspension is stable. Great balance between comfort and sport.
Engine sounds great.
So if you like the GS, go for a late model GS460
12-18-17, 11:35 AM
#27
The 3GS is a set of pros and cons.
There is the 4 door coupe styling, however the wheels are mounted too in-board by today's standards.
The GS450h has a tiny trunk due to the battery placement.
The original 2006 GS300 had a silky smooth 3.0, which is more economical, idles and revs more smoothly than the GS350.
However, the 350 has more brawn, and is quite a sling shot.
The GS460 V8 is smoother than the V6's, but not as much power as you'd think.
The GS350 would be the pick of the bunch for performance and handling.
The 450h is by far quickest in a straight line, but that trunk and handling is severely compromized.
The 3GS has very soft springs, so the turn-in is quite blunt.
The GS460 V8 has a very heavy nose with even slower turn-in, while the GS450h is an all too heavy vehicle.
The ride is very soft and floaty, but also very limited in suspension travel to limit body roll and weight transfer.
The GS460 V8 & GS450h have 18" standard, resulting in a very "choppy" ride with virtually no benefits to handling whatsoever.
The 3GS and even 2IS cruises very quietly.
The 3GS' 315 Watt Mark Levinson is a bit lethargic and weak; the new 4GS has an 835 Watt system, while the new 2018 5LS has a 2400 Watt system!
After 115k, haven't had any problems with 3GS, no problems with engine or tranny at all - other than squeaky brakes due to brake dust build up.
New 4GS seems to have a superior brake cooling duct system which reduces the amount of dust built-up on the front rotors for naturally less brake squealing.
3GS requires monthly high pressure water on front brake rotors to remove brake dust build up to prevent squealing.
The 3GS is prone to a flexing body with creaks and rattles on the dash as a result.
The 2IS uses the same platform, but a shorter wheelbase, so it feels much more solid over impacts.
The longer the wheelbase is stretched, the more the vehicle will flex.
.
There is the 4 door coupe styling, however the wheels are mounted too in-board by today's standards.
The GS450h has a tiny trunk due to the battery placement.
The original 2006 GS300 had a silky smooth 3.0, which is more economical, idles and revs more smoothly than the GS350.
However, the 350 has more brawn, and is quite a sling shot.
The GS460 V8 is smoother than the V6's, but not as much power as you'd think.
The GS350 would be the pick of the bunch for performance and handling.
The 450h is by far quickest in a straight line, but that trunk and handling is severely compromized.
The 3GS has very soft springs, so the turn-in is quite blunt.
The GS460 V8 has a very heavy nose with even slower turn-in, while the GS450h is an all too heavy vehicle.
The ride is very soft and floaty, but also very limited in suspension travel to limit body roll and weight transfer.
The GS460 V8 & GS450h have 18" standard, resulting in a very "choppy" ride with virtually no benefits to handling whatsoever.
The 3GS and even 2IS cruises very quietly.
The 3GS' 315 Watt Mark Levinson is a bit lethargic and weak; the new 4GS has an 835 Watt system, while the new 2018 5LS has a 2400 Watt system!
After 115k, haven't had any problems with 3GS, no problems with engine or tranny at all - other than squeaky brakes due to brake dust build up.
New 4GS seems to have a superior brake cooling duct system which reduces the amount of dust built-up on the front rotors for naturally less brake squealing.
3GS requires monthly high pressure water on front brake rotors to remove brake dust build up to prevent squealing.
The 3GS is prone to a flexing body with creaks and rattles on the dash as a result.
The 2IS uses the same platform, but a shorter wheelbase, so it feels much more solid over impacts.
The longer the wheelbase is stretched, the more the vehicle will flex.
.
Last edited by peteharvey; 12-18-17 at 11:41 AM.
12-18-17, 06:33 PM
#28
My GS460 is about to hit 190k and it has never rattled at all since I got it with 135k, I read on the history on the lexus owners website it was brought in twice when it was pretty new for rattles and whatever the dealer did seemed to permanently fix it, wish I knew what they did so I could tell you guys. The engine in the 460 I think sounds great under acceleration but if you're at a drive through just idling with the window down you also get that ticking almost diesel truck like sound which was weird coming from a 2GS you could almost not even hear running. But with the windows up it's quieter inside than that car was and I don't hear the ticking at all. Only thing I've had to do on this car was the starter died at 170k
12-19-17, 05:41 AM
#29
Driver School Candidate
The 3GS is a set of pros and cons.
There is the 4 door coupe styling, however the wheels are mounted too in-board by today's standards.
The GS450h has a tiny trunk due to the battery placement.
The original 2006 GS300 had a silky smooth 3.0, which is more economical, idles and revs more smoothly than the GS350.
However, the 350 has more brawn, and is quite a sling shot.
The GS460 V8 is smoother than the V6's, but not as much power as you'd think.
The GS350 would be the pick of the bunch for performance and handling.
The 450h is by far quickest in a straight line, but that trunk and handling is severely compromized.
The 3GS has very soft springs, so the turn-in is quite blunt.
The GS460 V8 has a very heavy nose with even slower turn-in, while the GS450h is an all too heavy vehicle.
The ride is very soft and floaty, but also very limited in suspension travel to limit body roll and weight transfer.
The GS460 V8 & GS450h have 18" standard, resulting in a very "choppy" ride with virtually no benefits to handling whatsoever.
The 3GS and even 2IS cruises very quietly.
The 3GS' 315 Watt Mark Levinson is a bit lethargic and weak; the new 4GS has an 835 Watt system, while the new 2018 5LS has a 2400 Watt system!
After 115k, haven't had any problems with 3GS, no problems with engine or tranny at all - other than squeaky brakes due to brake dust build up.
New 4GS seems to have a superior brake cooling duct system which reduces the amount of dust built-up on the front rotors for naturally less brake squealing.
3GS requires monthly high pressure water on front brake rotors to remove brake dust build up to prevent squealing.
The 3GS is prone to a flexing body with creaks and rattles on the dash as a result.
The 2IS uses the same platform, but a shorter wheelbase, so it feels much more solid over impacts.
The longer the wheelbase is stretched, the more the vehicle will flex.
.
There is the 4 door coupe styling, however the wheels are mounted too in-board by today's standards.
The GS450h has a tiny trunk due to the battery placement.
The original 2006 GS300 had a silky smooth 3.0, which is more economical, idles and revs more smoothly than the GS350.
However, the 350 has more brawn, and is quite a sling shot.
The GS460 V8 is smoother than the V6's, but not as much power as you'd think.
The GS350 would be the pick of the bunch for performance and handling.
The 450h is by far quickest in a straight line, but that trunk and handling is severely compromized.
The 3GS has very soft springs, so the turn-in is quite blunt.
The GS460 V8 has a very heavy nose with even slower turn-in, while the GS450h is an all too heavy vehicle.
The ride is very soft and floaty, but also very limited in suspension travel to limit body roll and weight transfer.
The GS460 V8 & GS450h have 18" standard, resulting in a very "choppy" ride with virtually no benefits to handling whatsoever.
The 3GS and even 2IS cruises very quietly.
The 3GS' 315 Watt Mark Levinson is a bit lethargic and weak; the new 4GS has an 835 Watt system, while the new 2018 5LS has a 2400 Watt system!
After 115k, haven't had any problems with 3GS, no problems with engine or tranny at all - other than squeaky brakes due to brake dust build up.
New 4GS seems to have a superior brake cooling duct system which reduces the amount of dust built-up on the front rotors for naturally less brake squealing.
3GS requires monthly high pressure water on front brake rotors to remove brake dust build up to prevent squealing.
The 3GS is prone to a flexing body with creaks and rattles on the dash as a result.
The 2IS uses the same platform, but a shorter wheelbase, so it feels much more solid over impacts.
The longer the wheelbase is stretched, the more the vehicle will flex.
.