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Considering purchasing 1998 GS400 with 75,328 miles
I'm on the verge of purchasing a used 1998 GS400 it only has 75,238 miles. Color is a Cinabar Pearl with black leather interior. My wife and I were looking for a German Car 2003 BWW 530/545 or 2005 Audi A8L when we ran across this one. When I say almost it is because our purchase is contingent on my mechanic giving it a clean bill of health on a pre-sale inspection.
The care was on a GMS/Buick Dealer's lot as a trade in. Because of its cosmetics people walked right past it but the black leather interior is in great shape.
Carfax shows only one owner and from what I can see he drove it anywhere from 1000 - 5000 miles a year and at times max 10000 miles some years hence the low milage.
She runs very nice and only issues I have been able to discern so far are-
the exterior paint as you can see from the pictures
the chrome finish on the rims are chipping and pealing
the screen of the radio is no longer legible and
a non functioning cigarette lighter
Based on the VIN: JT8BH68XXW0005610
Can I get opinions or comments on whether this is a good deal at $6,000 out the door (Taxes License, Registration all included)
Also what types of repairs or issues should I expect at this mileage and age.
What's a decent typical paint job cost?
The car doesn't come with a lot of gimmicks just feels like a well built car. My plan is to use it to drive from home to work which is about a daily 66 mile round trip.
I'm still digesting what everyone's posting here but what I can read on this forum these cars if well cared for outdo ANY German car!
Considering the low miles I would be all over that for that price plus the money your gonna spend fixing what ever breaks on a German u can use to for paint and other stuff.this car will last 7 to 10 more years easy.
if everything checks out and your only using the car from point A to point B then its a pretty good deal... The paint on the other hand would drive me crazy.. see if they can figure a paint job into the equation?
if you purchase this car and invest about 3k more into it, and thats 3k for paint and timing belt and WP etc, i think it will last you another decade. from the pictures it only looks like the hood, roof and rear bumper would need a respray which would cost roughly 1500 for a decent job if youre not too worry about matching 100% and the rest you could probably do a nice polish to get it looking new. ive seen more gs400 around on a daily basis than the other german competitors mentioned above. however i would still use the condition of the paint as more bargaining power to lower the price tho
They were asking $5988 before Tax & license but after pressing them the final they'd do was $6000 out the door. My thought is since its 1 owner and I can see his maintainence records 75k miles is not bad for this price. I'd agree the paint is what irks me but with 75k it's got a lot of life left if my mechanic gives it a thumbs up.
I dunno man, just seems like a lot for a car with bad paint. I picked up my 97 GS300 in Australia for around the same price, with the same milage. Granted it is only a GS300 (No GS400s here), but the paint damn near is perfect on it. To me, it just seems like too much, but then again I have no idea what prices are like for GS400s in the US
As someone else said I would be all over that car for $6K. It seems very hard to find these cars with low mileage - could have something to do with the fact that they are so nice to drive. Sometimes I take the long way home a drive right past my exit!!!
The paint shouldn't be too much if you are only doing the roof, hood, bumper - maybe $1000 if you find the right shop.
At that mileage it might soon need balljoints and caster arm bushings but that stuff is no big deal.
I would buy it for sure, just be prepared to dump some money into that thing for paint, wheels, timing belt, etc. Things that the original owner didn't care about doing.
I'd say though for 10k total after fixing everything, that is a pretty sweet like new looking car with 75k.
If it were me I would first ask myself how badly I want a GS400. You have to remember that the car is now almost 18years old so market value is low and dropping. That $6k price tag is about as high as you would want to go for that car in excellent condition. If you fix the paint (properly) you will probably be close to $9k in this car. That's a pretty good ***** of change for a car that old.
Now if you plan to keep it for another 7-10 years that would be a pretty good deal. If you plan to sell it in 3-4 years you are probably going to take a hit. As good as these cars are you still need to do some repairs which can add up.
Of course everyone here is going to tell you how great these cars are (myself included) but the fact is that although mechanically the car is still quite young it's physical age is going to start showing up. Stuff like bushings dry out, suspension components wear, not sure if rust is an issue where you are but it is a consideration. All of these things are going to come into play with older cars, even Lexus. My own 98 GS400 has over 225k miles. I bought 7.5 years ago for about $11 with 105K on the odo. I use the car as my daily driver winter car and although it has minor issues it is a car I would confidently drive coast to coast anytime. I just did 700 miles this weekend.
$6k for an excellent condition GS400 with 75k miles? You are dreaming. $6k is a fantastic price assuming the power train is healthy and properly maintained, despite the terrible paint.
If it were me I would first ask myself how badly I want a GS400. You have to remember that the car is now almost 18years old so market value is low and dropping. That $6k price tag is about as high as you would want to go for that car in excellent condition.
Very good points. All luxury brands will have dedicated fans. The GS tends to draw a lot of young folks who don't have experience with driving anything else. Yes there are converts here, but it goes the other way too.
But OP, you were thinking along the lines of German money pits like the 540 and A8L. The GS will never measure up to them for prestige or looks. Do you like to be connected to the road with your car? The GS ain't the best option for that, not the worst either. Get a Bimmer for steering and cornering feel.
I'm not dissing anyone else here. There are a lot of good looking GS's here. But stock out of the box a German is going to look good just parked.
Problem is that German engineers don't know how to make a car last longer than 50 - 100K. That's because they know their customers don't keep their cars longer than the warranty.
For a commuter car, and 6K - I would ask myself this: how long do I want to keep this car. What do I need it for?
02-15-15, 07:02 PM
Considering purchasing 1998 GS400 with 75,328 miles
