Amuse350z

iTrader: (3)

I came from a 08 BMW 335i coupe (many Hondas/Acuras/Nissans and IS350 prior to the BMW) to a recently purchased 15 F sport with 37k miles on it. I got it for 26k and after said and done 27.5k out the door from a Dealership. It was not certified but I did get the PPI done and was all good. No leaks or rusts. I did buy additional warranty thru my Lienholder until 100k just to have a piece of mind. This warranty was $1400.

I do like the BMW's stiff steering wheel but long term maintenance was not worth it for me. I only kept it for 2 years. Definitely not worth keeping it especially when your warranty ends.

As for Lexus, I've owned 08 IS250 (had no issues over 3 years) and now I'm in love with my 4GS.... I'd wanted to opt in for 16 F Sport, but the cost difference was significantly higher and I'm glad to have settled for the 15 with the price I got. I have a 7 month old and just put in the infant car seat with a car seat protector. I do have to move up the passenger seat up a bit (due to the car seat being a little longer for comfort) but still no problem for my 5'4" wife to get in/out.

Hope this helps and good luck finding the car you want! You cannot go wrong with the 4GS. Just be patient and maybe keep an eye out for a lower mile vehicle just so you feel better about it. F SPORT FTW! Don't settle for a base unless you have to. Either way, great car!

Check out the stickies on this section. Should definitely help you pick out what you want and what options to look for
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-pictures.html

JDR76

In my experience, brakes and tires have not been an issue on my GS - but note that my GS is AWD so my tires are not staggered and I do not have the more expensive F Sport brakes, which are on the RWD models only.

I drove my '15 GS for about 23k miles (37k km). I had about half of my tire tread left and more than half of my brake pads left.

My IS350 had staggered tires and I was on track to get about 25k miles on them before replacement.

Tarmac88

Thank you all for the response. I jumped on edmunds to compare 2015 and 2016, i noticed a difference in length of the car from 2015 (190.7 inches) to 2016 (192.1). I know it's not much but it's clear the length did not contribute to the front or rear room since all the measurements are staying the same. I suspect its probably the fascia extended? Or does anyone have any idea what the difference is from?

I wanted to share my test drive experience with you guys, i walked into my local richmondhill dealer and wanted to test drive the gs 350 fsport. The salesperson said they only had one left and it was in the showroom, so couldn't get it out. But i did test drive the IS 350, i must say i was impressed. I was wondering why i didn't buy the IS 350 when I opted for my BMW 135i. The IS 350 is a little small, I am 6-foot guy, the cockpit is very nicely situated and ergonomics are wonderful. The engine noise, well wow! I must saw lexus is really starting to grow on me, who knew the 3.5-liter engine has so much attitude and sound. I put the car into sport mode+ and I felt I was driving a serious sports sedan. Now, i did sit in the gs 350 in the showroom, its slightly bigger. It sure doesn't feel like the difference you get coming from a 3 to 5 series or even an a4 to a6. But the gs 350 does seem to still retain that tight cockpit as the IS. I am on the fence now because the IS 350 is going to be a car i drive for work (25,000km a year), the staggered tires are the only thing that is pushing me away from this vehicle. But checking costco canada online and it really isnt that expensive on tire about $600 for rears. The one thing that worried me is a large number of forums on tire wear due to soft bushings that make the car toe in on braking. Well, i am one step closer now to buying a car. I almost convinced myself of the Acura tlx 2018 a spec, but the number of negative reviews about the transmission, parking brake, oxygen sensor failure on this vehicle scared the hell out of me.

superboy74

I have a 2015 GS350 fsport AWD, the 2016 GS is longer only because of the refreshed front grill and bumper, there are no interior gains in space. As for the IS350, you can't go wrong with that car but for me I am 6'5 and it's too small and it's missing some key luxury features. As for tires for me, in the summer, I have a summer tire and rim set up and in the winter I put back the stock rims with all season tires.

Good Luck

JDR76

I think it was nonsense that they wouldn't take the GS out for you to drive. Do they want to sell it or not?

As I mentioned before, I've had both the IS350 and the GS350. Both are great, but in different ways. I don't think I could go back to an IS after being spoiled by the GS, but you really can't go wrong with either.

Good luck with your decision!

PlPete

I was in a similar boat and was sort of set on getting the IS350, except the RWD since my area doesn't require to have AWD. It's more of a nice to have and I wanted the 8 speed transmission more. I drove a few is350 cars and really liked them. Plenty of power for my needs and I almost bought one but it was snatched a day early.

I started looking at the GS350 and that's what I ended up with. The only hesitation was the lack of folding rear seats but after some testing I was able to fit my road bike in the trunk with no wheels so it became a non-issue. The only other thing I sort of wish I had was the digital cluster the IS had. Really liked that and couldn't quite spring for the '16 model that has that update. Having said that, the gauge cluster on my '14 has really grown on me and looks very clean and will age well. I have been genuinely surprised by how sporty and nimble the bigger GS feels. It's not that heavier and has plenty of pep.The suspension set up and how much aluminium components there are really contributes to this. The fit and finish is a bit nicer than the IS I think and the interior will age much better. Probably one of the nicest interiors out there. I have the Cabernet red on white paint.

I wouldn't fret over tires too much. it's a wear item and I haven't heard of GS models eating front tires much. When I replace my current Bridgestone Potenzas I'll go for a summer performance tire - Firestone Indy 500 which I can get a staggered set for around 700ish in US. Pretty reasonable for 19" wheels. Go test drive the GS at a dealer that wants your business. I haven't had one dealer say no to this request in my search and in most cases I was in the car within 10 minutes of walking onto the lot. Do your research, know what you want and remember that there are far more cars than buyers I have found in most cases, actually, in all cases, I knew more about the cars than any dealer. Do a VIN search on the Lexus site to confirm what features and options the car has. Dealers are notorious for getting this wrong. I can't tell you how many have priced their F-Sports as a Crafted Line and tried to charge more. Also, sign up for the Lexus account and look for past service records. Super useful.

Tarmac88

Hey guys, sorry for the long response time. Work got crazy. Its been a tough challenge to find a gs 350 that is ready to be drive, they seem to always be inside the dealership and or in the basement level. I am also noticing that in Toronto on any given time there is about 8-10 models up for sale (with fsport) package between 2015 to 2016 model year. I have done more reading on these cars and they seem to show about 7k CDN in depreciation a year from built date to about 4 years old, 5 year is the sweet spot. I figure since i am buying this car next year a 2016 should be right around the 32-35k cdn price point. What i am not sure about is whether or not i should be buying a lexus over 100,0000 km mark (60k miles), they seem on one hand to have completed all expensive maintenance (sparks, brakes atleast twice) and they cost cheaper vs. a 70k km lexus.

PlPete

Have you told the dealer that you're looking to buy next year? If so, that could be a reason why they are not making a test drive as easy as it should be. They are looking to make a sale now so they probably don't want to invest any time for a potential buyer that may or may not come back.

My recently purchased car was a 2014 at 58k miles and in fantastic shape. Like others have said, mechanically, these cars seem to be very stout with pretty easy maintenance. Since I was coming up on a scheduled major maintenance at 60k miles and the tires may or may not pass next inspection, I used that as a bargaining chip to bring down the price a bit. The 60k mile service is about a $1k at a dealer but can be done for a small fraction of that if you are a DIY kind of person.I set myself a limit of no more than 65k miles and stuck to that. You're in Canada - get a PPI and have them inspect the under body for any rust and etc.

2016 saw a face lift so there will be a premium there. Personally I prefer the look of the 2014-2015 exterior wise on the F Sport. The only thing I really like on the 2016 is the digital cluster. I'm not sure at what year Lexus started adding all the typically optioned safety bits but it could be 2016 - something to consider if those features are important to you. I didn't care.

Byprodrive

iTrader: (1)

I average 30 MPG with my 2015 F-sport.