DMPesso

Last thing I want is an overpriced low miles 400. I want one like my 430. Normal miles super well maitenaned from someone who just wants a newer car. Found my girl a mint 98 gs4 for 3800 looked brand new no one believed it was 98 has new dealer cats and everything. Then she crashed it 2 months later. Boy will I miss that one...

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

it wasn't over priced lol. it was $9500. not bad considering the mileage. keep searching.

MattyG

You certainly did. It still sticks in Canadians craw! Although I usually cheer for American teams since I'm not that pro-Canadian anyways.

Yep. Bone stock. I don't have the budget to do anything with it so it's just a daily driver. I would love to move to the States! I wish my family had gone there originally instead of Canada.

I guess we'll know the answer to this thread in about ten or twenty years.

MattyG

I'm in Lethbridge and there are three of them in town here.

I drive over to Calgary from time to time. I haven't noticed that much of a difference as far as attention getting looks. I think yours has aftermarket wheels and tires so maybe it's more noticeable.

Yes the Aristo name ironically has more cachet nowadays. I sometimes wonder if Toyota would have been better off bringing the GS over as a Toyota-branded vehicle.

mccrimmon

iTrader: (2)

You hit the nail on the head there Matty. If Toyota had released the Aristo in the U.S. it would have been huge! They could have launched it in the same manner as the FRZ/BRS/86.

I'm just giving you a hard time about Canada. Canada is beautiful! I just hate the cold which is why I moved from Denver to Arizona. Warm weather is car weather!

Lowering the 2GS makes a huge difference appearance wise. IMO the one drawback of the 2GS is the stock stance. Sporty car with a commuter stance. BMW's look good off the lot because their stock stance is already pretty decent.

aneidiaz

--- Dammmmmmm bro. That's a bummer to hear man. I hope she's alright. The car can go. As long as ya'll safe. That's all that matters. God bless.

MattyG

Lol. Very true. It's a performance car with commuter looks!

Bimmers always look like they're on the Autobahn or something because they fill out the wheel wells and look hunched and ready for action.

I have thought about it before with Ebay spring/shock combos like Stagg/Vogtland. But I live in "Winter World". I worry about ground clearance.

What is your lowering combo btw?

SZA

iTrader: (1)

I am happy with my KYB shocks and Eibach Springs. Simple and efficient.

Crumvoc

I have a 2001 GS430, Cinnabar (red). Third owner. I paid $10,000 for it and have owned it for 5 years. It now has 149k miles, completely stock. Flawless original paint. By far, the best car I have ever owned.

I can afford to buy about any car I might be interested in (within reason), and I have from time to time considered buying something newer with less miles. But, try as I might, I just cannot find a car that is just the right size (like the GS), comfortable and quiet (like the GS), effortless power (like the GS), and rock solid dependability. Granted there are cars that are more sporty, some are prettier. I’ve considered german cars, but just don’t want to give up that Toyota dependability. The Lexus IS is nice, but a bit cramped. The newer GS’s are… ugly, at least to my eye. I love that this car is still a mechanical device and not a computer.

So, I’m keeping the old thing. I decided to invest a little in it, slightly larger wheels, better tires. New shocks. A couple of little repairs: steering rack bushings and a door lock activator. Those are literally the only things that need attention on this car. (I've already done the front lower control arm bushings, and the 90K service.)

A couple of years ago the car did develop an odd problem - the car would lose power periodically. After researching for a while, I decided the problem was with the throttle pedal position sensor. I learned that the sensor was just a mechanical potentiometer, like an old fashioned receiver volume control. Remember how those would get scratchy and you would repeatedly cycle the **** until you knocked some of the crud out? Well, I did the same to the throttle position sensor... banged on the gas pedal about 50 times... and it fixed it! Permanently!) Anyway, I figure it's good for at least another 50k with no problem.

Sometime ago, I gave the keys to my brother and we drove out to the country on a lonely road. He was commenting on how nice the car was, how well put together. I told him run it up to 3500 RPM, hold it in 3rd and then stomp on it! After he settled down a bit, he said “I gotta get me one of these.”

Exactly.







My 2001 GS430 at the Craters of the Moon.

lextout

I wish it would turn into a classic, yet not sure due to its mass production.

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

People are driving these into the ground, or buying up clean cars and turning them into haggard stancemobiles. It will be a long time before these are considered a "classic" though. By then, we'll see how many have survived.

8M6

iTrader: (2)

I don't think cars of the '90s have quite the same potential as cars from earlier eras. Some of the GS's styling cues are still unique today, but that alone doesn't count for much. I wouldn't give the first-gen Ford Taurus classic status (other than the SHO, and that was no Buick Grand National or even 1994-96 Chevy Impala SS) just because it broke the mold of sharp-edged and slab-sided cars.

On the plus side, the 1SC, 1IS, and 2GS are pretty much in the same group as the original performance/enthusiast Lexuses, but even among these three, the 2GS feels like a distant third in desirability nowadays. That doesn't even include the 1LS, which basically has its own ticket punched for classic status one day for being the first Lexus.

The GS's production numbers were much higher than the 1SC and 1IS, and Toyota didn't do anything special to really set the GS apart in export markets aside from the initial effort to take a performance crown for half a year with the GS400. Apart from the GS400's achievement which really only boosts the GS400's desirability ever-so-slightly, there was no performance marque, no manual transmission, and no special edition until the SportDesign, which isn't anything special by today's standards.

badblackgs

iTrader: (1)

Best car ever made. Without a doubt. Almost every night I go out into the garage and just look at my 02 gs 430 black on black. walk back inside smiling.

gsean400

When i see threads like this it does hurt me a little. I feel like my GS is a person. Or more so my kid. That doesnt get as much love and attention as the other kids do (mercedes and bmw) the GS has soooo much unseen potential. its overlooked in almost every aspect. Only GS owners will understand what a great machine the GS is. The only thing i can say is unleash the power potential of the 1uz/3uz engines and that will be the day the value will shoot up. The 2jz is already a legend. When people see the GS flying down the track overtaking modded skylines, vette's and mustangs.. With a UZ engine. They will think, 1uz or 2jz. Then there will be only 2 types of people who will own the car. the people who can afford to mod them, and the older croud who knew what they had when they bought it.

kevin3344

Haha, me too. Just sold my Suzuki GSXR750 so looking for something else to fill the garage with (maybe a low mileage SC430). My GS400 is not for sale, ever...