It's been many years since I've been on this forum. Sold my '90 LS in 2005. I'm now in need of a nice car that will get driven rarely for around $3000. I was so impressed with the LS build quality and reliability that I'm considering buying another one. I live in the city (Chicago) and take public transit to work. This car will be for fowl weather, trips and grocery shopping. There are many LS400 and GS400 available in Chicago for that price and I have determined that the 94-97 LS is the best deal as far as gas milage, looks, improvements.... However, my wife thinks it looks like a boring old man's car. She doesn't want to be married to an old man. Does anyone here know how the GS400 compares as far as reliability to the LS? I know the beautiful V8 is the same but what about everything else? Is road noise much worse? It could be the right car for me but it's the bulletproof quality of the LS that has me looking at these in the first place. Comments?

 

I always heard that the LS of those years was one of the most reliable cars ever objectively tested. I would say you are good with both. Just depends on the look and feel you want in the car. If its a second gen GS I would lean towards that for sportiness. If you want a touch more refinement and a quieter ride do the LS

 

The road noise on the GS400 is pretty good, and the reliability is top-notch--but only if the car has been taken care of by its previous owners.

I'd say most GS400s on the road today are going to be pushing past 150K miles, and they're going to be needing replacement parts on just wear and tear (timing belt, suspension parts, new radiator, etc.)

I just sold my '98 GS400 today. It had 189,3xx miles on it. While I owned it, I swapped out the starter, alternator, and front ball joints. Did mostly regular oil changes (synthetic, 5-10K intervals).

 

Good to know. I bought my LS with 90,000 and sold it with 180,000. The rubber air shocks leaked and the speedo needle stopped lighting. Those were the only issues I had.

 

The very first gen LS wasn't very reliable, despite what many believe. Second generation 95-97 is much better, but 98+ is even better and much more modern.

The 2GS is very good as well, but do yourself a favor, get GS430, or GS400 if its in real good condition. Stay away from GS300 as 2JZ can be a royal headache if it wasnt meticulously maintained.

 

I'd personally want the GS400 vs the LS400 because it's sportier. But in terms of reliability, LS has to be one of the best assembled Lexus's

 

yeah agreed.

I had a 99 LS400 and i loved that car, that was my first lexus. the only thing is that 1UZ eats starters, but other than that the car was sound. plus i had 200k on that car and it ran hard. I still want 2nd gen GS400 one day