Hello everyone, been lurking on these forums for a while.

it's been 10 years since i wanted to drive a leus, but for some reason or another i ended up with other brands.
Current benz lease is up in 3 months. i'm planning to purchase a CPO gs350, 2013-2015.
i'm looking at several CPO models around my area. I'm located in NY.

i'd love to hear your thoughts on these:

2013 with suspiciously low miles:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...4933/overview/

from same dealer as above, 2013 with higher miles but same price:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...2061/overview/

just some questions:

1) i noticed these are the only ones under $25k, i set a limit of $25k, am i being reasonable?

2) any significant difference between 2013-2015?

3) AWD is a must for me, from reading the FAQ i see RWD models get the 8 speed tranny. Any other significant changes?

4) any big improvements between 2013 and 2015?

5) F sport for gs models: what does it add? just body kit + wheels? where is the LFA style digital cluster like the IS/RC?

6) For F sport models, does it have different suspension vs standard model? does it cost more to maintain/fix?

This time around, i finallly decided to take it slow and do my research. Please guys, any feedback is appreciated.

thank you!

 

2) The biggest being the change from 6 to 8 speed tranny (in my market). I've only driven the 6 and it's wonderous. My brother has only driven the 8 and he didn't buy the vehicle because of it. Chris Harris' review of the GSF 8 speed concurred. Only you can be the judge.

As the years went by I believe the electronic alerts became more active, my 2012 assists seem entirely passive. I believe the newer models have full range adaptive cruise and lane keep assist, mine conks out at 40km/h. Hopefully someone can give you specifics for your market.
In my market all but the base model (which didn't sell) have the monochrome HUD , but it became coloured at some point.... Have a feeling that was either the 15 or 16 model. Sorry I can't be more specific, but you can keep an eye out for these subtle differences.

3) Sorry AWD isn't available here. At least the AWD has cheaper rotors. There's a good thread on AWD at the top of the list.

4) read the threads about swapping nav units around, they reported the 15 models having a few extra features, before the revamp in 16. Nice, but not worth basing a decision on.

5) I think the cool cluster was in the 16+, getting one with a HUD makes it a non issue. F sport adds body kit, bigass front rotors, huge rear tyres, adaptive suspension, rear wheel steering, variable gear ratio steering, noooiiice seats, etc....in my region.

6) Yes, adaptive suspension. An yes, more expensive to maintain, I should imagine. It's pretty cool, it makes me feel like I'm driving a fancy car!

Most importantly buy one with a colour combination you fall in love with. I had no interest in a Lexus sedan until I saw the Garnet interior on carsales, I bought it the next day.

 

I don't think the miles are "suspiciously" low. I only put a little over 6k a year on my '15.

Yes, I think you are being reasonable.

What comes to mind is the availability of power folding mirrors, power trunk, flush parking sensors and the auto function on the heated/vented seats (climate concierge). The other difference is in the nav. The '15s got the updated navigation system (3D view, one shot address entry, etc.) which include free lifetime traffic/weather data. On a '13-'14 you'll have to pay SiriusXM a subscription fee to get that data if you want it.

On a premium model like you are looking at, the differences would be that an AWD model sits 0.6" higher and has a small bump in the floor board in the driver's footwell. I have AWD and I really love it.

See my response to point 2 above.

As Cwang correctly noted above, the F Sport cluster is available on model years 16 and on. On an AWD model, the F Sport adds the different front fascia, aluminum interior trim, black headliner, 16 way driver's seat, 19" wheels, and the adjustable suspension. The F Sport package on the RWD model adds the larger brakes and variable gear ratio steering and adds the option for the rear wheel steering, but those are not available with AWD.

Yes, it's different. Some different hardware and the previously mentioned adjustability.

Of the two cars you listed, I'm not quite sure why the white one with higher mileage is the same price. They seem to be optioned the same (premium package and cold weather package). Perhaps the lower mileage one has some more wear and tear on it. All else equal, I'd get the Nebula Gray Pearl one.

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer each one of my concerns.

i'm going to be taking a look at both cars over this weekend. Kind of early considering i have 3 months left with my current lease. But who knows, maybe they make an offer i can't refuse

 

When buying my 2014 Lexus GS a couple years ago, I considered a car from Lexus of Manhattan as well - If you're going out of your way to visit the dealership, I'd make sure to call to make sure that it is still available - The dealership seems to keep their inventory up to date (e.g., I inquired about a car on the morning of the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2016 and they said someone came in and put in a deposit earlier that morning - by the next morning, the car was no longer listed), but if it's gone or there's a deposit on it, you don't want to waste your time going there.

For NYC, I wouldn't say 27k miles on a 5 year old car is suspiciously low -just the realities of living and working in a city and rely heavily on public transit - the carfax shows that the car was registered in Queens - likely a weekend car or grocery store car at best. Keep in mind that city miles are tougher on a car than freeway miles.

CT and NJ dealerships might have something you like as well (as well as the other NYC Lexus dealers - all under the same auto group) - I bought from Greenwich and they were solid, visited Prestige and Westport as well - Prestige was fine, the condition of the car at Westport was pretty bad for it being CPO (but that specific car could've been an outlier). Tri-County was shady and played a lot of bait and switch games. I've serviced at Hoffman (E. Hartford) and they're pretty good as well.

Another thing to keep in mind with buying a 2013 vs 2015 is the warranty - it's 2 yr/unlimited miles + remaining factory warranty (4yr/50k). So 2013s will all only have 2 yr/unlimited miles at this point, but if you find a 2015 that was purchased in say 12/2015 and under 50k miles, then you'd have 3 yr 1 mo/unlimited mile warranty. You can also add up to 5 more years/unlimited mile plantimum warranty through Lexus.

I bought a 2014 in 11/2016 w/ 33k miles that was originally purchased on 12/24/2013, so my warranty is good through 12/24/2019, but I purchased the additional 5 year warranty, so my warranty is through 12/24/2024 with unlimited miles (which is great now that I average 20k-25k miles/yr). The additional 5 year warranty was $3100 extra for me (some wiggle room in the price - some dealers mark up more than others) - Already had ~$6k of work done under warranty.

 

1) i noticed these are the only ones under $25k, i set a limit of $25k, am i being reasonable? You should expect to pay over $25k for a certified GS. But from my personal experience, I would stay away from the dealerships in the local boroughs that you are checking. They tend to tack on a dealer fee and your total price out the door is usually a lot higher. Sometimes, they'll even advertise the pre-certification price and then when you get there, will tell you that the certified version of the car costs $3k more. But definitely you can get an L certified car for around $25k. Here's a nice example: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...6902/overview/

2) any significant difference between 2013-2015? For AWD models, not much...but in 2014+ power folding mirrors and power trunk were available options. 2015 saw infotainment updates to the nav/traffic/apps across the board.

3) AWD is a must for me, from reading the FAQ i see RWD models get the 8 speed tranny. Any other significant changes? You won't find many RWD cars in the northeast area. The AWD will still have the 6-speed. AWD models use the standard brakes/rotors (RWD F Sport models have bigger brakes/rotors).

4) any big improvements between 2013 and 2015? Most folks say that the 2015 infotainment changes are worthwhile. To me, its not a dealbreaker and you'll save $$$ if you go with a CPO '13 or '14 considering that the full screen nav and upgraded interior didn't happen until 2016.

5) F sport for gs models: what does it add? just body kit + wheels? where is the LFA style digital cluster like the IS/RC? For AWD models, you get the F sport badges, front bumper/grilles, rear lip spoiler, f sport rear valence, bigger 19" wheels with non-staggered tires, F sport steering wheel, aluminum pedals, aluminum interior trim and the Sport+ w adjustable suspension. As mentioned the LFA style cluster is on the 16+ models along with the full screen nav.

6) For F sport models, does it have different suspension vs standard model? does it cost more to maintain/fix? It has a different suspension setup from the other models in that its always/frequently adjusting the suspension based on driving habits/road conditions/etc. Some folks with F-Sports have seen their shocks/struts go bad earlier than expected.

Hope you join the club sooner than later but glad to hear that you're taking your time - thats the smartest thing to do when purchasing. Good Luck

 

i know exactly what you mean as far as dealerships in a metro area.

last time i had benz of manhattan vs helm bros duking it out for my lease. helm bros ended up beating the other dealers offers by $37 a month. multiply that by 36 months.........yeah. Plus i was given free pre-paid maintenance, so zero out of pocket service costs during my lease.

At the time i wanted to lease a RC350 when it first came out, but lexus of queens was a **** hole to work with (they are literally 10 minutes from me and i refuse to go there). Also the car was overpriced to hell, they wanted $550 a month with $4k down and 10k miles a year. I tried 3 days to negotiate it to at least $500 a month, which is a fair price.

I ended up going to mercedes because they treated me like royalty, and they were willing to negotiate. My car was not a floor model with just premium pkg, my car was fully loaded to the bones minus driver assist package. and still both dealerships were willing to fight for my money.

I'm not planning just to go to 1 dealership. nope, i'm gonna make these folks work for my money. i'll be comparing similar models between dealerships.

i hear Lexus of route 10 is pretty darn good in NJ, i might give them a visit soon. just a 40 min drive from me.

 

I just purchased a 2015 gs 350 f sport awd here in long island NY, got it CPO from Rallye Lexus in Glen cove. $31,500. Going to be picking it up in a few hours 👍👍👍

 

damn, you must be excited to pick it up. i love that feelign when all is said and done and you just going to pick up a car.

how was the whole process with rallye?

$31k kind of out of my range, but congrats anyways

 

​​​​​​Yeah, keep hunting you'll find it. The 2013s seems like a good deal.
​​​​​​Yeah excited, Rallye was not to bad. I dealt with a salesman who was named Dave. Probably the least amount of pressure I felt while at a dealer. I think your in the right track, get a CPO and you should be good.