The rattling dash in our 06 didn't bother me like it did all the members here, my music was always too loud to hear them. I never understood why people complained so much.
At any rate, we had the rattles but they disappeared on their own. Car now feels tight as a drum. They stopped about 2 years ago. Never had them in our 07.

 

I had 08 and it had rattles. I don't think Lexus ever solved the issue

 

well, by comparison (or the cars that i have worked on), 06 and 07 were worse

 

Or you could wait till the 2013 GS comes out. And get a good deal on a 2012.

On the plus side all of the bugs have already been worked out.

 

there is no 2012

 

Neither my 2006 or 2010 have rattles. I guess I am lucky.

As far as risks, there aren't too many. The only thing I would qualify as a "risk" is that you will miss out on new drivetrain options. I highly doubt that Lexus will retain the same 6 cylinder engine throughout the 4GS lifespan. There may be some other tweaks and upgrades done after the first year as well. I'm more than pleased with my 2006 though, so it's up to you how important it is to you to have the newer engine and stuff.

 

personally i would not be worried... i have gone through many launches with Toyota and when things go really wrong, the big issues, they show up after 2-3 years... things in first year are usually some minor things that get either fixed on production line whenever (fixes are implemented at any time, not at MY change).

 

The only time I ever had rattles in my 2008 was when the temperature got below 10* F. I have had ZERO rattles from my 2011.

 

I don't think its that risky, especially since the 2010 recall fiasco, Toyota really stepped up quality control

 

I don't think it will make a difference if you buy the first year or not. I had the 2010 GX460 which had steering wheel vibrations that Lexus couldn't resolve. I have traded it for 2011 and had the same problems. Sold the POS as pleasure of driving the truck went out the door.

Maybe Lexus is faster fixing issues on high volume runs, but on small like it will be GS they will not if there will be an issue.

One good thing about Lexus, they will try to resolve the issue and give you as good experience as they can. It will not happen when you buy a BMW. That is the only reasong I am willing to give Lexus a try again and buy the 2013 early next year.

 

A. First model year just expect some issues...I would expect fewer from lexus than from BMW, MB if they were all first year models.

B. If there are issues, I agree w Luke in that at least Lexus will try to make it right. I think Lexus believes in making service satisfaction a differentiator.

C. Lets not forget the obvious...each brand rides differently (or at least they used to). BMW tight, sporty...Lexus smooth quiet. The new GS might change things, but at least this is what it used to be.

D. Lexus will offer you more for your money with regard to options.

Good Luck.

 

Interesting post....Having owned several BMW's and now a 2008 Lexus GS, my experience and opinion is much like what "bam" and "MelYW" wrote.
My 2 cents though: The reality of 1st year car problems will be less with Lexus than BMW and may not even be the type that that one would consider a 'deal breakers'. I suspect it would be electronic glitches but nothing that will leave you stranded. Afteralll, the engine is carried over from the current 350GS with no apparent modifications.

If it were my purchase decision (2012 Lexus GS or the new 2013 3 series) I would lean heavily towards the Lexus just because of overall reliability, 1st year glitches notwithstanding.

 

lol…the plot thickens…holding out for newer powertrain options seems like a good reason to wait…but then with new powertrain comes potentially new problems, so probably best to wait for the next model year after that

if the reviews of the car are positive, I'll still consider buying sometime next spring/summer

 

with the ls460 there were some bugs in the 1st year (2007) that were fixed in 08, which is the model year i bought... but like some cars its kinda of an exclusivity thing when having a brand new vehicle because people will not see them on daily basis like for example a year or two into the cars production where the car is more familiarized with the general public.... just my thoughts...

 

Buying a first year Lexus is no big deal. Don't really need to worry about anything mechanically. Its the little things that could cause problems. My 06 IS350 dash rattles. I talked to my service rep, and he said had I mentioned this before the basic warranty was up, Lexus would have taken care of it. Supposedly they fixed the problem in 08 by changing the clips in the dashboard. If you do experience a problem, Lexus 99% of the time will take care of it. Sometimes they won't acknowledge problems though. The 99-00 RX300 transmission was prone to failure, although it was usually after 80,000 miles. Lexus never recalled the RX transmission like Acura, who had the same problem in the TL and MDX, did. Also the 2002 Lexus ES300 gets a huge amount of complaints about transmission jerkiness. On occasion I have experienced this in my 02 ES300, but 99% of the time it drives perfectly smooth. Lexus did release software updates for the transmission, but from most accounts they either didn't fix or worsened the problem. Another thing to look at, as mentioned in other replies, is engine change. The 3GS debuted as the GS300 and GS430. In 2007 the GS300 became the GS350 and in 2008 the GS430 became the GS460. I have a feeling this might happen again with the 4GS. I would wait it out and see what happens. If Lexus does change the 4GS motor within a year or two it will make the values of the 12-13 models fall, and then you might be able to get a pre-owned one for a great price.