Is it me or the JZS160 is a huge pile of crap!?
09-23-12, 08:37 AM
#31
Lead Lap
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Texas
Posts: 551
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From the carfax you can tell if the mileage was changed. Carfax gives good info, but it doesn't tell full history. I believe Autofax gives more detailed history. I think that is what dealers us to check car history. I think more went on with this car than you knew bud.
09-23-12, 05:49 PM
#32
Pole Position
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've been a wholesale car dealer for 12 years. Between every one I've bought, sold, and owned myself, I have experience with just about every car on the road and feel that I have a very good understanding of what cars are solid and what cars have reliability issues.
Sometimes you can generalize an entire brand as problematic.... for me that is Land Rover followed closely by Mercedes Benz. For every guy online claiming to never have had a problem with theirs, there are 20 guys that don't visit forums that have been plagued with issues since buying the car new.
Other times you can pinpoint a specific model in a brand that is either known for its reliability or lack thereof. In the wholesale dealer community, this includes the 2nd gen Lexus GS. It is a car many bid with confidence on because of its outstanding track record for reliability.
I have a line of credit for business purposes with a very low interest rate... if I choose to, I can buy a car with my line of credit and pay it off as I please before retiring it from dealer inventory and keeping as a private car. Other than my truck, I have only taken full ownership of Japanese made cars because they are the only ones I fully trust.
The Lexus GS is one of the cars I contemplated owning for a very long time. I finally got one, and its history of reliability was one of the major factors in me purchasing it.
Even amongst cars known for their solid builds, longevity, and reliability, there can always be a few bad apples. It sounds like that is what you have on your hands. Either that, or it was severely neglected by its previous owners.
ALL cars have little quirks and issues. Its just that some quirks are mild repairs/replacements here and there, and others are chronically problematic and expensive to keep on the road. The Lexus SC300/400 is a car known to just keep driving forever and ever, and other than wear and tear, most owners only complaint is lights in the dash going out. Not bad for a luxury car whose base model cost $35k in 1993. Compare that to a 2006 CLS 500 with an MSRP of $65k that has serious electrical problems and a Mercedes only interior battery that costs $600. I have seen them fail with 35,000 miles on the odometer. Other failures include sensors and solenoids for things you don't even know existed hidden in various places in the interior. I had a CLK 430 that had a $2,200 instrument cluster stop working at 7k miles.
Don't forget that 2001 is considered an old car at this point. Having minor repairs done here and there is not considered junk, its actually a testament to the build quality of the car..... It's needing items here and there because it has been on the road so long. There are a lot more GS's of that age driving around compared to European cars that are 10+ years old. The rest got sent to dismantlers once they needed something repaired that cost 80% of the value of the car. Who else is going to provide parts for all the other Euro cars that people are forking out $$$ to keep them on the road?
Sometimes you can generalize an entire brand as problematic.... for me that is Land Rover followed closely by Mercedes Benz. For every guy online claiming to never have had a problem with theirs, there are 20 guys that don't visit forums that have been plagued with issues since buying the car new.
Other times you can pinpoint a specific model in a brand that is either known for its reliability or lack thereof. In the wholesale dealer community, this includes the 2nd gen Lexus GS. It is a car many bid with confidence on because of its outstanding track record for reliability.
I have a line of credit for business purposes with a very low interest rate... if I choose to, I can buy a car with my line of credit and pay it off as I please before retiring it from dealer inventory and keeping as a private car. Other than my truck, I have only taken full ownership of Japanese made cars because they are the only ones I fully trust.
The Lexus GS is one of the cars I contemplated owning for a very long time. I finally got one, and its history of reliability was one of the major factors in me purchasing it.
Even amongst cars known for their solid builds, longevity, and reliability, there can always be a few bad apples. It sounds like that is what you have on your hands. Either that, or it was severely neglected by its previous owners.
ALL cars have little quirks and issues. Its just that some quirks are mild repairs/replacements here and there, and others are chronically problematic and expensive to keep on the road. The Lexus SC300/400 is a car known to just keep driving forever and ever, and other than wear and tear, most owners only complaint is lights in the dash going out. Not bad for a luxury car whose base model cost $35k in 1993. Compare that to a 2006 CLS 500 with an MSRP of $65k that has serious electrical problems and a Mercedes only interior battery that costs $600. I have seen them fail with 35,000 miles on the odometer. Other failures include sensors and solenoids for things you don't even know existed hidden in various places in the interior. I had a CLK 430 that had a $2,200 instrument cluster stop working at 7k miles.
Don't forget that 2001 is considered an old car at this point. Having minor repairs done here and there is not considered junk, its actually a testament to the build quality of the car..... It's needing items here and there because it has been on the road so long. There are a lot more GS's of that age driving around compared to European cars that are 10+ years old. The rest got sent to dismantlers once they needed something repaired that cost 80% of the value of the car. Who else is going to provide parts for all the other Euro cars that people are forking out $$$ to keep them on the road?
09-25-12, 08:23 AM
#34
Lead Lap
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 492
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd say you got a car that was not well maintained.
I have owned my GS since 2008 and the only things I have had to replace that went bad were:
-Starter (twice)
-Maf
When my starter went bad at a friend's house, I got the car towed and the tow truck driver said "these are really good cars, in my 10+ years of towing, it's the first one I have had to tow."
Was getting a new tire 2 weeks ago and the first thing the guy said "very good car" and my response is always "but it's so old" and they say "still, a very good car" lol.
Here's my philosophy on cars: they are almost like people. You can have an 80 year old guy who is in damn good shape and not ill and you can have a 5 year old kid with all sorts of health issues! Thankfully, cars are replaceable!
I say fix it and sell it because that is a sign that the car was not well maintained.
I have owned my GS since 2008 and the only things I have had to replace that went bad were:
-Starter (twice)
-Maf
When my starter went bad at a friend's house, I got the car towed and the tow truck driver said "these are really good cars, in my 10+ years of towing, it's the first one I have had to tow."
Was getting a new tire 2 weeks ago and the first thing the guy said "very good car" and my response is always "but it's so old" and they say "still, a very good car" lol.
Here's my philosophy on cars: they are almost like people. You can have an 80 year old guy who is in damn good shape and not ill and you can have a 5 year old kid with all sorts of health issues! Thankfully, cars are replaceable!
I say fix it and sell it because that is a sign that the car was not well maintained.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
