ironcondor

Hi all!

I'm about to take the plunge on a CPO '13 GS F-sport. I've done a ton of reading and research, but have a few questions I've been unable to find answers completely for:

1) I'm set on liquid platinum on either black or cabernet. The cabernet looks AMAZING in person and adds so much character. However, I will be driving ~2.5 hrs a day (~70 miles total) and I'm concerned about the color wear with cabernet. I saw a few posts about people having issues, but the dealer comes in and re-dyes? Is this issue common with the cabernet interior? I assume they're much harder to keep clean than black?

2) How many miles do tires typically last?

3) What is the highest mileage 4th gen GS that you know of? I plan on running to 150k+. I'm not worried, but curious. That's why I'm posting here and not in the audi/bimmer/benz forums. Zing. And I'm a 5-series lover...but I know better for what I need from my car.

4) Any last minute tips/advice would be appreciated. I'll be sure to come back with pics if/when this happens...

AJLex19

-Seats: Ensure there isn't any strange leather peeling or excessive wear on the seats, especially the driver's seat. This happened to me and the day I took delivery (flaxen interior), where I saw the driver seat had some peeling leather and my dealership agreed to fix it. If its still under full warranty, they may fix it but under the CPO warranty this might fall under a "wear and tear" issue and they may not. Keep that in mind.

-Tires: Ensure there is decent tread left on the tires. The AWDs eat through the tires a bit more. There should be at least 50-60% tread left on the tires. But I would argue that any tires with 60% or less tread shouldn't be sold with a CPO GS. Tires on the GS should last you at least 25-30k miles depending on your driving style and road/driving conditions.

-High mileage: I've seen high mileage early build 4th Gen GS's for sale at northeast lexus dealerships with 70-90k miles: http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de...4049/overview/

-Brakes and Rotors. Make sure there is plenty of life left on the brakes and not excessively rusted/warped rotors. F-Sport brakes and rotors are particularly pricey.

-Wheels: Ensure the car has no vibrations at highway speeds. Sometimes some of the wheels may be slightly out of round. Ask to take a look at the underside of the car. The dealership will not honor many wear and tear items like wheels/tires unless you buy a separate wheel/tire pkg warranty.

ironcondor

Thanks. How pricey is "pricey" for F-sport brakes? Just curious. My buddy's A7 was $2k...

AJLex19

You might be able to get all the parts for a decent price. Front rotors and brakes will run around $500-$600, rears will be a little cheaper $300-$400. Unless you're mechanically inclined, the labor is gonna be a cost as well.

Ballpark figure: At least $1000 for new brakes/rotors on an F-Sport GS.

ironcondor

Thanks. Not other-worldly, but not cheap either.

jayemko

As one that bought a '13 GS FSport in May, here are my $.02:

It would "wear and tear" similar to a Cabernet-colored couch, or any seating surface in a rich color. Leather protectant will prolong any "potential" fade, but don't get super concerned about it or let it effect your decision. Look at 5-10 year old Toyota/Lexus colored leathers for an idea on actual long term wear and know that improvements have been made since then. Protect the leather as directed (I use Lexol, but there are likely others that people swear by). Worry about dyeing leather when you need to, don't let it stress you now as it likely wont happen while you own the car.

Since you plan to keep it until 150k miles consider how you're going to feel about Cabernet 10 years from now. I LOVE that color, was between it and black just like you. If I were going to lease it for 2/3/4 years I'd be all over it, but buying it outright to keep long term I knew I'd be safer with the more time-tested black.

Side note: Lexus CPO requires a minimum tread depth or else the car fails CPO. If the car is on originals when traded at 30-40k miles, they're usually just replaced.

"Typically" last 30,000 to 80,000 miles depending upon hardness of tire, where you live, your driving style, and your lifestyle/needs. FSport tires are soft tires that lean more towards Track than All-Weather. I'm at 31k miles and I'll be buying some in the next couple of weeks, but someone else would run on my tires for another 20K miles if they had different circumstances.
Your sidebar says "CA" but I don't know if that's never-rain-San Diego, or monsoon-NorCal, so consider your weather. After I bought mine we took it from Seattle over the Okanagan Mountains to Kelowna, BC. in May. It decided to snow and that's when I discovered the FSport didn't exactly have "All Weather" tires, but with safe driving and AWD made it fine.
However:

• Seattle is already seeing some rain, and I expect this winter will actually be a winter-winter here.
• My Wife is 8 months pregnant and due on January 2nd, so now "Neither rain nor snow, nor sleet nor dark of night shall" keep me from getting to the Hospital when that moment comes. I also top off my tank once a week, whether it's $3 or $30, never know.

For those two reasons, I consider my tires "end-of-life" and will be replacing. These are the factors that a tire brochure don't mention, but are important to your safety and sanity.

Think of tires like a beer. If you're at home watching the game, you'll finish your beer before you go grab another. If you're AT the game, 30k people, lengthly beer lines, the last quarter/period/inning starts in 2 minutes (meaning, only 2 minutes left for beer) and you have less than 1/3 in your cup-- you're going for more beer.

It's a Toyota with a timing chain (don't require replacement), if you perform or have your scheduled maintenance done and replace worn or broken parts as needed, you will hit 150K miles no problem. What will prevent you from reaching that mark is any servicing you deem "not worth it" (cost of repair vs value of car to you). Hop over to the 1st-Gen model forums and read some threads to get an idea of what your car will be like at that age. It's usually more cosmetic/appearance-related posts than engine/transmission rebuilding.

Do what you feel is right, not what others tell you to do:

• If buying the extended service contract will help you sleep better at night, buy it. This forum will not come fix your car when it breaks.
• If you don't feel right about the tread life on the tires (or your SO doesn't feel right about it) then buy new tires when that time comes. This forum can't swoop in to save your family if you're talked into keeping tires longer than you feel you should.
• If you want less cosmetic maintenance (or don't/won't have time for it) then buy the paint and fabric protection package if you feel you should. This forum wont come wax your car for you every 1-3 months, nor come clean your black/cabernet leather seats when your child has a blowout in their car seat.

Lastly- just do it, and enjoy the hell out of it.

ironcondor

Awesome, thanks. The GS in question that I've found has brand new tires. I noticed some weird indent on the right side bolster on the passenger seat. It's right where a passenger would put their hand when getting out of the car. You can see it indented if you look closely enough. The glove box is also kinda scuffed. I'm not a super particular person, but it's enough to annoy me so I'll be bringing it up.

The rest of the car is amazing and it drives fantastic. Liquid platinum on black. After researching all of the cabernet comments, I decided to pass and stick with black. Dang the cabernet looks sweet though. The black is awesome, but not quite as stunning.

Wish me luck. If all falls into place, it may happen this weekend.

Latest maint entry:
PERFORMED CERTIFIED SAFETY INSPECTION PERFORM CERTIFIED USED CAR INSPECTION
BRAKES F: 10/32 AND R; 10/32 TIRES F: 2/32 AND R: 3/32
PERFORMED MINT RECONDITIONING TO: PAINT CENTER FRONT BUMPER PARTIAL, 4 WHEELS PERFORM MINT RECONDITIONING
PERFORMED 30K SERVICE WITH FILTERS AND WIPER INSERTS AND KEY BATTERY
INSTALLED 4 NEW TIRES AND BALANCED WHEELS
PERFORMED 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT

10/32" (why not 5/16"? lol) brake pad left....that seems like still a decent amount?

EyeKutr

iTrader: (5)

Bumper painted ???? wonder why

AJLex19

[QUOTE=EyeKutr;9234595]Bumper painted ???? wonder why[/QUOTE

Probably the bumper isn't acceptable by the dealer's "CPO" standards so they repainted it. Here in NYC, everyone's bumper looks awful hence the proliferation of those bumper shox/bumper bully things...

My dealer painted both my bumpers before I took delivery because I asked him to even though they weren't awful - couple of scuffs and minor scratches. It tacked on a couple hundred more but I was getting such a great deal I felt the cost passed down to me was negligible to have the car "look" perfect.

However, the OP could simply ask why they did that to at least hear what they would say...

designzio

Last week I just purchased a silver/cabernet cpo 13 from a Lexus dealer in NorCal. How many miles and what price point are you looking in? I did a lot of shopping.

ironcondor

I suspect the bumper was painted because of chips/freeway rash. It's brutal on some of the freeways out here. Your front bumper gets pitted really quick depending on which freeways you have to take. Some areas are worse than others. I'm definitely going to ask about it though. Will let you know.

It has 32k miles and listed just over $37k. Seems like a rather fair price, but I'm going to see what deal I'm able to get anyway...wish me luck, boys

designzio

The best deals for a CPO GS350 F Sport with less than 30k miles in NorCal right now are at Lexus of Fremont. 26k miles for $38k and 13k miles for $39k.

Both are liquid platinum with black interior. There are a couple at Serramonte as well. If it were me, I would play both of those Bay Area dealers against each other.

ironcondor

Bumper was painted due to several chips and road rash. They cleaned it up nicely.

Trigger has been pulled!!! I am now the owner of a '13 cpo GS350 F-sport, liquid platinum on black, 32k miles. LOVING IT

-F-sport pkg
-BSM
-Levinson
-Nav
-IPA
-Illuminated door sills

AL13NV8D3R

Congrats man! Welcome to the 4GS club!

ironcondor

Thanks! I'm very excited!