Luxurious

Hey, everyone.

I currently drive a Mazda Miata. Been wanting a nice Lexus for the past 4 years but never came around to it..

... till now.

I love the look of the GS300.

Instead of Google, I was hoping to have a nice convo here about some questions I have.

What is the highest trim for the Gs300 second generations?
Are the Gs400 motors more reliable then the Gs300's? Meaning the V8 vs. V6?

Are these good dailies?

Let's hope I don't get trolled.

Thanks!

johhntran

iTrader: (1)

all pretty reliable in my opinion. i guess technically speaking the sport design for the 01-05 gs300 would be the highest trim. but if you had the money i would say shoot for the gs430. gs300 uses the inline6 2jzge, gs400 uses a v81uzfe and the gs430 uses a v8 3uzfe. very good dailys, they have their little nick nacks but i love my 300.. common stuff such as the lower ball joint, and various bushings going out and squeeking noises, ac/ door servo/actuators ... but the motor is solid

monkey92

iTrader: (3)

like johnhntran stated above, the car does have its common problems, but are pretty minor and easy fixes with the DIYs on here. the car is pretty reliable and taken care of properly will go on for a long time. also, if you care for power, i'd say go for the v8 because the inline 6 is slow. they all get around the same gas mileage give or take 1 or 2 mpg.

Luxurious

Oh cool! The reliability factor is something that'd be a plus. As far as power/motor, I always thought the inline6 was the good motor?

I mean, from the drifters of these cars to the pure VIP, I never heard of the big gs430s as much as the normal 300. Any reason why?

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

Gas mileage for both is pretty much the same give or take. Car is excellent for a daily, although unlike your miata its not as gas efficient.

People VIP the car regardless, it doesn't matter if its a V8 or V6. More people just like the 2JZ because, well, its a 2JZ.

johhntran

iTrader: (1)

gs430s go for more and arent as common... but alot of people like the 300 because they can also be turbod pretty easily or you can easily swap for the gte aristo motor... honestly theyre all very good motor in my opinion, cant really top lexus's reliability

Luxurious

That's pretty cool... I think I'd stick with the Gs300 instead of the 430 considering the fact I can't find many 430's within the Chicagoland area.

Haha, no swap for me. Just the typical tints, upgraded audio, LED's, grill, etc.

NorthStyle

iTrader: (16)

If I could go back, I'd have definitely gone the 300 route and just swapped it. But, since you're not looking to make more power, the GS400/430 would be the better route for a daily.

Luxurious

Really? What makes you want to go back?

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

GTE swap is much more desirable. plus you can do a single Turbo... The same can be done with the 400 but more parts need to be changed and its more work..

Luxurious

Ah, right. I mean, I've been hearing around that the GS400 is a better choice because of the V8 plus 300 HP @ 6,000 RPM.

Then again, you are losing the 2jz motor so that's why I was a little shocked when I heard get a GS400! Get a GS400!

Pretty funny to say the least.. your opinion?

royalspade

It all depends of yourself, really. If you can, test drive both V8 and I6. See which one you like better. I was also in your position quite a while ago, I went with the 430 and never looked back

raytseng

The other questions have been answered.

But for this one, trim for this generation of GS was never really a big categorization, so you can't use that to shop.
You'll have to look at the individual options that were added onto the car instead of trims.

Even so, any car you buy is going to be 10-15 years old.
So knowing the wear and tear and condition of the car is going to be more important than the trim.

For example, has the upgraded nakamichi sound system? Not going to matter when 3 speakers are buzzy and the LCD display doesn't work.

Luxurious

Huh, had no idea. Well I mean, it seems as if the black interiors (speaking GS300 wise) are much harder to find instead of the typical tan and un-common grey. Also, the moonroof as well is something I don't see on all of them.

I'm looking to buy something that includes EVERYTHING - I've learned my lesson from buying other cars at the most basic trim that includes nothing.

Yes, that makes sense. These cars are fantastic but again, they're old and problems will arise. I'll make sure to view everything before even putting an offer, haha. Might stick with the 2jz instead.

Does Japan as well have these certain models? The "Aristo" which is the GS, however, is that just the specific 300 or they have as well the 300, 400, 430?

raytseng

in terms of what options you may want that important.
HID and NAV options are the ones that probably are the hardest to replace if you want those options.
I don't know about cold weather package, but if that's important to you look for that.

The performance related options like a spoiler or shocks/spring/ suspension actually are easier to get replaced or modified if that's what you want.

The 300 vs 400/430 refers to the engine (v6, v8) You cannot change that.
The 430 was a replacement for the 400 during the model refresh. It is not a different "trim" exactly just a relabelling after the refresh. But the 400/430 often comes with spoiler and different wheels.