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Hello folks, I just moved to the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) and since I am a Lexus lover I started to look for a GS350.
I recently found one with a fair price with 110,000 miles on the dash, I confirmed they are actual. The car was purchased at the local Lexus dealer here on 2006, so no records on the Lexus drivers webpage, and they have a maintenance record only till 2011 (47,000) miles after that seems like the previous owner did all work somewhere else.
I plugged my scanner on the car and no codes where pulled, the only thing I noticed are just exterior details such as a loose passenger door moulding, the bumper seems loose like there are broken tabs on both sides where the fender meets the bumper, there is no splash shield under the engine and the no left and right inner fender splash shields either.
The passenger side headlight have condensation, and some other details on the outside, on the inside the car looks great, the only light on the dash is the AFS OFF light which is not blinking but solid yellow, didn’t press the AFS OFF button behind the wheel so no idea if its simply disabled, also I noticed a lot of rattle from the dash!
I confirmed with the owner that the timing belt has not been changed yet, with that said what else should I check out on the car? Do you guys think its worth to buy a car with that kind of milage?
Dude, no car with 110,000 miles on the clock is going to look mint
As for the car, no codes is a good sign. If it rides well during the test drive, it probably is mechanically sound. As for AFS, I don't know if it defaults to ON and has to be disabled every time the car starts, or if it stays off when you push the button once – either way, just push the button and test it before you buy
The loose bumper and missing splash guards makes me suspect that some body work has been done before, and probably not at the highest quality shop. My mom got her bumper replaced last year (a truck tread got kicked up by the car in front of her) – the new driver side fender liner that the shop installed doesn't quite fit correctly, and I recently noticed that some of the radiator clips were not fastened properly so the radiator was flopping around a bit (the paint job itself is very good, you would never be able to tell that it's not the original bumper cover). Did the owner disclose any accidents or other body damage, or at least explain why the splash shields are missing?
With missing splash guards, broken bumper tabs and the AFS light on I can tell you that car has been in an accident. Check the paint for signs of overspray and masking.
It was probably repaired as cheaply as possible, skipping the under covers, a bumper replacement and they replaced the headlight with an aftermarket non AFS light hence the light on the dash.
I would also look at suspension components too because I've came across many threads where people who have lowered their cars having afs issues also. All signs lead to the car at one point being in an accident or minor fender bender; or at the very least have been modified. I'm not sure how the tuner/vip scene is where you are at, but that could be another thing to look into also.
Hey thanks a lot for the advices! The owner said no accidents on the front and the stock headlights installed. He removed thr splash because it was touching the ground and with bad noise so he removed it by himself.
after some negotiatiom car was lowered to 9.5k, the car suspension is stock. I know the car needs some live and caring but its mehanically good ad far as i can see. Anything else i should check? I will try to performn a full check in a serious shop.
Hey thanks a lot for the advices! The owner said no accidents on the front and the stock headlights installed. He removed thr splash because it was touching the ground and with bad noise so he removed it by himself.
after some negotiatiom car was lowered to 9.5k, the car suspension is stock. I know the car needs some live and caring but its mehanically good ad far as i can see. Anything else i should check? I will try to performn a full check in a serious shop.
Well since he doesn't know that the car has a timing chain, maybe you can get the price down a little bit more by telling him you'll need to get the timing belt replaced!
Find out if he still has the splash shields, they aren't cheap if you have to buy them new
Taking it to a shop or Lexus dealer for a PPI would be best, but if you can't do that, push all the buttons and make sure everything does what it should. Also, check that the transmission isn't slipping. Also, find out of the water pump has been replaced (they tend to fail after about 80,000 miles, so every 80K is a good service interval). And maybe check the radiator and front end for any signs of damage or repair, in case he's not being completely honest about why the splash shields are gone
if you do buy it, replace the water pump if it hasn't been done already. Also, do a few drain/fills of the tranny fluid and replace the differential fluid, and an oil change wouldn't be a bad idea!
it sounds a bit tired. no splash guards and odd bumper alignment are immediate signs that its been in an accident and not been repaired to a decent standard. look for differences in the paint. also a 2007 GS350 has a timing chain not a timing belt which is a good thing. i would move on from this car. you aren't looking for some garage queen, mint condition car but you owe it to yourself to try to find one that hasnt potentially been hit and thats a little more tidy.
After some love treat and care this car have turned lovely!
Installed everything that was missing, splash guards, cam recall at the dealership, oil change, seafoam treatment, 4 new rotors and brake with shims al oem, new carpets,18 oem wheels, fixed the AFS blinking issue, removed all 4 registered keys from the ECU and only left the ones i got, changed spark plugs for ngk, put all oem clips wherever they were missing, new battery, cleaned the leather with leatherique soaking for 2 two weeks refreshing every 4 days, replaced front headlighs with new oem ones, removed the drl (hate that stuff), replaced front speakers with oem new, put Vaistech module, new engine oil, oem filter, diff oil, coolant flush, brake fluid flush, change one of the passenger courtesy light, balanced the wheels and alignment to the front and rear, replaced gear ****, polished all interior wood trim parts, replaced center console tray, fixed the car paint, fixed thr car starter (was making noises), changed the serpentine and muffler tips new oem.
Most of the things preformed by myself, learning a lot from the gs and loving even more!
Planning to keep for many years..or.. if a black gs460 deal appears in front of me, well.
I'll flash my lights when I see you on the streets. I also moved recently and got a 2006 GS300. Only thing wrong with mine was the driver side ballast was out and got it replaced. I wanted to ask, where did you get your rims. I have 19' OEM from a current gen RX, and don't like them much (bought it with them on).
BTW, mine is a Red Mica, the second one I have seen in the country in red. Black seems not so common either.
Last edited by Milonga; 06-18-17 at 08:10 AM.
Reason: Adding more info
I'll flash my lights when I see you on the streets. I also moved recently and got a 2006 GS300. Only thing wrong with mine was the driver side ballast was out and got it replaced. I wanted to ask, where did you get your rims. I have 19' OEM from a current gen RX, and don't like them much (bought it with them on).
BTW, mine is a Red Mica, the second one I have seen in the country in red. Black seems not so common either.
Got the wheels used locally, the only wheels i dig for the GS are the 5 spokes gs430 and the gs460 with the fan blade design.
02-09-17, 08:31 PM
Going for a 2007 GS350 need advice
