GS300 Ownership
Thread Starter
2nd gear
Joined: Jul 2024
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
GS300 Ownership
Hi! I wanted do get a 2010 is250 as my first car, but the space in the rear seats is really small and crammed. There is almost no legroom compared to my dad's GS300 MK3 (I really like his car). Now my dad wants to upgrade his car to a mk3 g430 or a mk2 gs430. We've both seen, sat in and driven a couple of the mk2's and I must say, they are REALLY nice. Compared to the is250, it has A LOT of space in the front AND in the rear. And now my questions are:
1. Since the car is about 20+- years old, wont the pars be more expensive and harder to find? Also there will probably be some stuff that will need to be fixed in the car, so won't that be also expensive?
2. How is the car's handling and manouverability?
3. Is there a thread you could send a link to, where there are all the trim options, sound systems, stuff to look out for, kind of like a buyer's guide? (like this, but for the GS300 MK2: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...e-threads.html)
4. Any other tips or stuff you know about that I should look out for when buying the car?
1. Since the car is about 20+- years old, wont the pars be more expensive and harder to find? Also there will probably be some stuff that will need to be fixed in the car, so won't that be also expensive?
2. How is the car's handling and manouverability?
3. Is there a thread you could send a link to, where there are all the trim options, sound systems, stuff to look out for, kind of like a buyer's guide? (like this, but for the GS300 MK2: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...e-threads.html)
4. Any other tips or stuff you know about that I should look out for when buying the car?
Pit Crew
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 242
Likes: 5
You won't have a problem getting parts, there are a lot of interchangeable parts for GS's with other Lexus and Toyotas. There were also a good amount of GS's made.
As for if a GS300 is a good first car really depends on where you live. RWD sucks to drive in the winter so if you are in the Midwest or northeast, I would steer away from it. You can get a IS250 in AWD and that will be a much more stable car in bad weather. Truly for a first car id stay away from RWD. That's coming from someone who's first car was a SC300.
You will probably not even worry about backseat size 99% of the time. You might think you will have a full car but that will be a rarity. You will drive by yourself a lot or with just one other person. If you have 2 other passengers you can just sell the person in the backseat to sit behind the passenger seat if they need legroom.
There is also an advantage to having a smaller car, you won't have to drive as much when you actually do "fun" activities with a big group. Some else usually will step up to drive because other peopl will complain about how small you car is, at least that was the case with my SC300.
The GS handles well on the road but maneuverability is annoying in my opinion. It doesn't have a good turning radius and I find myself doing a lot of multipoint turns in my driveway and parking lots that I wouldn't have to do in my Audi A4 or even my SC300.
As for if a GS300 is a good first car really depends on where you live. RWD sucks to drive in the winter so if you are in the Midwest or northeast, I would steer away from it. You can get a IS250 in AWD and that will be a much more stable car in bad weather. Truly for a first car id stay away from RWD. That's coming from someone who's first car was a SC300.
You will probably not even worry about backseat size 99% of the time. You might think you will have a full car but that will be a rarity. You will drive by yourself a lot or with just one other person. If you have 2 other passengers you can just sell the person in the backseat to sit behind the passenger seat if they need legroom.
There is also an advantage to having a smaller car, you won't have to drive as much when you actually do "fun" activities with a big group. Some else usually will step up to drive because other peopl will complain about how small you car is, at least that was the case with my SC300.
The GS handles well on the road but maneuverability is annoying in my opinion. It doesn't have a good turning radius and I find myself doing a lot of multipoint turns in my driveway and parking lots that I wouldn't have to do in my Audi A4 or even my SC300.
Thread Starter
2nd gear
Joined: Jul 2024
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
You won't have a problem getting parts, there are a lot of interchangeable parts for GS's with other Lexus and Toyotas. There were also a good amount of GS's made.
As for if a GS300 is a good first car really depends on where you live. RWD sucks to drive in the winter so if you are in the Midwest or northeast, I would steer away from it. You can get a IS250 in AWD and that will be a much more stable car in bad weather. Truly for a first car id stay away from RWD. That's coming from someone who's first car was a SC300.
You will probably not even worry about backseat size 99% of the time. You might think you will have a full car but that will be a rarity. You will drive by yourself a lot or with just one other person. If you have 2 other passengers you can just sell the person in the backseat to sit behind the passenger seat if they need legroom.
There is also an advantage to having a smaller car, you won't have to drive as much when you actually do "fun" activities with a big group. Some else usually will step up to drive because other peopl will complain about how small you car is, at least that was the case with my SC300.
The GS handles well on the road but maneuverability is annoying in my opinion. It doesn't have a good turning radius and I find myself doing a lot of multipoint turns in my driveway and parking lots that I wouldn't have to do in my Audi A4 or even my SC300.
As for if a GS300 is a good first car really depends on where you live. RWD sucks to drive in the winter so if you are in the Midwest or northeast, I would steer away from it. You can get a IS250 in AWD and that will be a much more stable car in bad weather. Truly for a first car id stay away from RWD. That's coming from someone who's first car was a SC300.
You will probably not even worry about backseat size 99% of the time. You might think you will have a full car but that will be a rarity. You will drive by yourself a lot or with just one other person. If you have 2 other passengers you can just sell the person in the backseat to sit behind the passenger seat if they need legroom.
There is also an advantage to having a smaller car, you won't have to drive as much when you actually do "fun" activities with a big group. Some else usually will step up to drive because other peopl will complain about how small you car is, at least that was the case with my SC300.
The GS handles well on the road but maneuverability is annoying in my opinion. It doesn't have a good turning radius and I find myself doing a lot of multipoint turns in my driveway and parking lots that I wouldn't have to do in my Audi A4 or even my SC300.
Pit Crew
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 242
Likes: 5
I think the AWD IS250 is very similar to the RWD IS250 other than the AWD. You might want to go to the IS forum and ask them the options you can and can't get with AWD vs RWD.
Before I bought my Audi A4, the IS250 AWD was basically the other car I was thinking of buying. The IS250 only had the opening in the middle of the backseats for skis instead of fold down seats, which was a factor for me. I also prefer the Audi AWD system to the Lexus AWD system. The IS250 would have been easier to work on and I think it had the better engine. It's still questionable in my mind if I made the right choice.
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