VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

Hello everyone, I have been browsing the forums for a a year and I am excited to finally become a member of the Clublexus community.

I come to you today with questions though on a vehicle that was for sale near my city and I wanted opinions on whether or not this vehicle should be a serious candidate or not for purchase.

Attached for your viewing pleasure are two PDFs. One is an auto check that I ran and the other is the Lexus history report. Some questions though that I do have is at the intervals of 15,000 and 30,000 of the Lexus service history report, it was written by the dealer that they had "Replace Automatic Transmission" and "Re-Torque Drive Shaft Flange Bolts". Seeing this two times on a service history I was starting to have questions as to whether or not this vehicle had its transmission replaced two times or was it just standard maintenance.

I pulled up a maintenance schedule for 98-03 Lexus GS 300's and it seems to state at 15,000 miles and 30,000 miles there should be a Replace Transmission Fluid and Differential Fluid along with Inspect Bolts and Nuts on chassis body. Could these be the two services that were done to the car that could account for the " Replace Automatic Transmission" and "Re-Torque Drive Shaft Flange Bolts"?

I plan on viewing the vehicle tomorrow But i have no idea if I should be wary. I am just nervous seeing as this is my first vehicle purchase and I want to make the right choice.
From what the owner also told me has he no idea if the timing belt/water pump has been changed. Also, I have no idea if the Ball Joints have been replaced either.

Vehicle In Question-
https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/4424917010.html

Gs300 98-03 Maintenence Intervals-

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...-01-gs300.html

Lexus Service History Report-
Plus Auto Check history-
Attachments:

I also attached some images of the Interior Engine Bay.

Thanks again for viewing though guys, hopefully I can get some opinions on the vehicle.

2GSKaizen

iTrader: (1)

at 69,334 they had change transmission fluid, which I think is a 60k recommended service. this makes me think maybe they did have to swap out the transmission. But twice?? that's pretty rare. It's actually rare for these GS's to have any tranny problems with the exception of certain transmission solenoids going bad. I also don't see the yellow sticker they usually put on the camshaft cover to denote when the timing belt was replaced. Doesn't mean it wasn't done, but that makes me suspicious. Do you know if they did their service at the dealership?

VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

That is why I was suspicious to when i viewed the service report. From what I was told after the first owner of the car sold it at 107k mileage, neither the owner now or his friend whom he purchased it prior to have any recollection of changing the timing belt/ water pump. Also, prior to those owners, it was also owned for two years by someone in Grand Rapids, seeing this, I feel there is no way to tell seeing as the maintenance record was lost between the year 2010-2012.
Thanks for your reply

2GSKaizen

iTrader: (1)

What are you pulling this report from? Is it from Lexus? If not I would go to a local dealer with the VIN and see if they have anymore information.

VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

This report was from the Lexus Dealer Site,
https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home

You are able to create an account, enter the VIN number and then it should tell you the history of the vehicle if it was maintained through a Lexus dealer.

The only downside to this is that by if the vehicle was serviced by an independent shop or somewhere else, it won't show up on the service history from Lexus.

I Pulled the owner history though from Autocheck.
I asked the owner about it and he has no clue about the grand rapids owner.

VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

I decided not to pursue this vehicle any further, its just to many questions about maintenance that leave me being unsure. Hopefully in due time I will find my Lexus. But until then I will keep searching. Thanks for your help 2GSKaizen.

If anyone knows of a well maintained/documented 2nd gen Lexus GS with few owners/miles being sold in the Grand Rapids Area let me know.

egs21

I have a 02 GS300 that fits your description. I'm not in Michigan, but am in the midwest. PM me if you are interested.

VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

Hey thanks for the response, I would totally interested but i am looking for a local car as it would be easier for me to view the vehicle. Being a college student is kinda of a downside because I am limited in mobility. Thank you though.

tmillagegb

Hopefully in due time I will find my Lexus.

Lukas99GS

I've read through my cars history and the first owner had the trans fluid changed like 4 times in first 100k, pretty sure it's just part of the service interval, although technically you really don't need to change it that soon, rich first owners want to take the best care of their cars, I recently had mine flushed for the first time in 90k and no problems

raytseng

i would not be concerned about the line items saying automatic transmission. This represents 10 years of history, so the text codes may have changed over time, i don't think it means they changed the actual transmission.

Remember this is back in the 2000s with Type IV and not WS.

And given that this customer has stuck with the same "Stealership" service for so long, and came in regularly every 6months, it is more likely that the service advisor upsold the owner on this service and I would not think it represents an issue with the car.

You went through the trouble to see it? You need to go test drive it. See if the suspension and steering feels OK to you. That's where there will be the money pit.

It also doesn't indicate the timing belt or spark plug change which is due or overdue.

One concern is it does seem like you are in a snow area, and buying a car that has gone through 13winters
of snow is different then buying a car from say snow-free california.

VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

That is what I am afraid of. Mainly, why would the previous owner neglect to do the 90k timing belt/ water pump job at the dealership. Also, it seems that the owner that is currently trying to sell the vehicle had only had it in his possession for a month. Now, his reasoning was that he needed to pay tuition bills which is why he is selling the vehicle but i just feel there is alot of uncertainty after 107k mileage with the maintenance.
I did not go through with seeing it yet as I have told him I may see it tomorrow. I just have slight worry though on why certain maintenance weren't done.

VKGS300

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the replies guys. Should I be wary though of so many title changes in a span of 3 years?

raytseng

To be honest, your expectations are a little too high to be satisfied.

It is going to be tough to find a 10+ year vehicle with the documentation requirements you are talking about.
This one is actually really really good that you have 10years of dealer records until 2010. Most would come with nothing since by this time there is more than 1 owner.

It is also easy that even with full service records and everything up to date, there will be problems or unforeseen problems and you will blame the previous owners (when they actually didn't do anything abusive).

So you should just decide if you like the car. and are willing to put up with an old car.
Then, you need to decide independently if the car is mechanically sound or set aside a budget for repairs.

While records are nice to have, they are not the whole story. So if you want to pony up for it, you can ask to pay for a inspection at a trusted shop to see what they think.

If you need reliability, you need to change your parameters and buy a newer car, with less wear, and potentially still has a CPO or warranty. Even if this means you are going with something less cool

raytseng

I suppose why the last 2 owners only held onto it for less than 6months is something odd.
But you need to get the facts and get the car checked out.
not just try to guess based on reports