MyGS3

iTrader: (1)

I've admired the 1st generation GS for quite some time; and I am finally on the path to make my dream a reality. I am actively looking for a GS 300, but my fiance posed a question. Does it really make sense to purchase at the youngest a 14 year old car? I planned on purchasing an Acura TL, but due to recent enlightenment, I refuse to pay another car note. So I figured I would kill two birds with one stone by buying the GS. I can get the car I've always wanted and pay cash for the car.


I know I may be asking a bias crowd, but is the GS worth purchasing? How has your GS' performed? Do they have constant issues? Or are they reliable cars even though the first GS was manufactured almost 20 years ago.

deknick

my aristo was build in 1992.05 and is coming up on 19 years old in May of course, and has done me fine.

only had problems, but thats' mailny cause it sat in japan for so long like every other car that gets exported out of there. i bag on it, and have upped the horsepower to more whp than the car came with bhp new, and it's still doing me just fine.

major things replaced so far on it have been the rad, upper balljoint/control arm(which is nothing), all window regulators as the cables snapped, 2 door lock actuators, differential (stock open diff blew, so i put in a torsen LSD, no biggie, it needed it anyway), and the more common issue that was looked after was the crank pulley was replaced after the rubber between the two parts let go.

other than that, it's great, you just gotta find the right one when purchasin, that's all

MyGS3

iTrader: (1)

How many miles does your car have on it?

Luxotic

iTrader: (6)

dude a gs and any lexus for that matter are worth purchasing ... they run run and run forever as long as they are maintained ..... I have owned different lexus over the years and have always bought older ones and high miles ... go for it bro and don't worry about the age or mileage

MyGS3

iTrader: (1)

I currently drive a 1997 Toyota Avalon with 234,xxx miles on it, so I am familiar with Toyota/Lexus reliability. I was just wondering if it made sense to go from a 1997 to possibly a 93-96.

etme

hey can someone help me. I have a lexus GS 300 and my head gasket is blown how do i take it off. do i take the valve cover off and then the cylinder head gasket. okay if so what dose the valve cover look like and what dose the head gasket look like too. thanks

deknick

MyGS3, my aristo has 150,000 km's on it, but i drive it hard, and it's got 360whp, and it's a daily driver, even in winter when temps can go down to -30F with 4 feet of snow within a week, i drive it every day to work, so they haven't been easy km's, that's for sure.

etme, create your own thread, no point filling this one up with totally offtopic stuff

1stGS30

Iv driven my 93 GS300 still all stock under the hood from NY to FL many times and plenty of other places around the eastern part of the U.S. never left me and never no big issue

Just make sure you replace the crank pulley that went on me but still drove 4hours back home when it did go just fine

vipman806

Regardless what small problems I had, they were all fixable but as far the big problems I hadn't had any so it makes very much sense to me.

P.S. The 2JZ is a very reliable motor for any Toyota/Lexus car that has them.

Xcaliber00

I agree. Very reliable. And definitely do your crank pulley when its time with a stock spec unit. I replaced mine last year with a cheap solid aluminum underdrive pulley off eBay and it threw the engine's balance off and caused it to throw a rod, which could've been avoided if I did my research and got an OEM harmonic balancer instead. Replaced the engine after that and haven't had any problems since. Only had to do routine maintenance and have around 175k miles on it now. And the only common things I've noticed to need replacing on these cars are the front upper balljoints, harmonic balancer, and the guage lights, all pretty minor things.

MyGS3

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the responses. You've made my decision a little easier. I will keep you all posted on my GS journey.

jmax.garage

iTrader: (2)

When it comes down to 'making sense', it depends on what you want and what you are looking for.

For example, I did not understand civic owners who do full BMW or GTR front/rear body conversions. I always used to flame people like that saying, "dude, why dont you just get the real thing??? you spend thousands modding the car to look like another car?? Seriously!"... I used to not understand these guys until it dawned on me: this dude really doesn't want the real car, he wants a civic that looks like another car. Period. Thats what he wants. But when a customer asks me if I could modify his civic to have an S-Class front-end, I respectfully decline since i really don't want my name attached to such projects. Nevertheless, I respect them, these guys spend 30K on projects of such nature... what does this all mean to this topic?

If a GS300 has been on your list of 'to-own' cars for ever and If you really like jzs147 as much as I do (I'm down a lot of time and money on mine, definitely worth more than the actual value of the car), then get one, no matter what! If you have the opportunity, DO IT! You will regret it alter (been there, done that).


Now, are they reliable? No car is perfect but yes, they are VERY reliable compared to other model luxury vehicles of the same year range.

The only drawback I can think of is that body parts in general are expensive as hell. The door moldings go bad and look ugly broken and are hellish expensive (bout 500 a pop regular price), and other parts such as a hood goes for about 800 from the dealer and used can run you up to 300; door skins, fenders, headlamps... everything is expensive.

Prices for mechanical parts are WAY BETTER PRICED than any other luxury vehicle though, specially if you compare it to Mercs and Beemers; also, as a toyota car, we have access to many cheap replacement parts from other Toyota model cars as well (supras, LS400, SC300, etc).

All in all, it is a good vehicle to own, but my opinion is biased since i love my car. Heck, i would get another one if I could.

If this has been one of your 'i-would die-to-own' car in your list, there is no better time to purchase a gs300 than now. But again, if you like other newer models and you can buy something newer, by all means, buy something newer.

For the record, before starting my GS300 project, I could have bought an LS430, GS400 or even one of the newer IS's. The reason I didn't is simple, jsz147's are my favourite 4-door sedan cars in the US. Other cars I would have bought (if they were available in the US) include a 97 Crown Majesta, 98 Mark II or 2002 Crown Athlete. Since none of those vehicles are available here, the aristo/gs300 was my only chioice and I like it! Oh, I madly love the new LS460/600h but I don't have that kind of money, so that is on my list of "I will probably never own this amazing car".


Lol, sorry for the long post, but i am passionate about topics of these nature! I have seen many people jump in s147's, spend a bunch of money on them and be desilusioned in the end since it is not what they really wanted, yet I have seen folks with s147's near stock and they are CRAZY HAPPY of owning such car.

Just my .02

MyGS3

iTrader: (1)

Thanks kidzik007, you really seem to love your GS. I will feel the same way once I get my hands on one.

apor1a

Wrong thread, buddy

2turbo4u

I would say it make sense, but if your planning to mod it then you got to think about things clearly