Hi Everyone,

I am the person who posted the TOYOTA parts question---Luckily I found my key 20 hours after posting it....whew!

After joining this club after posting in another car forum about my shaking steering wheel, I decided to become a member.

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for your dedication to your cars....I have a 98 GS400, and never thought of it as anything spectacular until coming to this site...after seeing all this love for your cars, now I want to give my car a sexy upgrade....and give it a good car wash and take some pictures...

It's my first car, and I always felt it as a male-dominant car..since it's so heavy and not so "girly" and "light" looking...but oh well, at least it looks KING...like my mommy says. Once I make my own money, I planned on swapping it for a new IS350.....but screw that. GS love alllll the way.

I'm up to 150k miles, got it as my car at 99k miles, and I doubt the timing belt ever got done. At 99k, had some yokohamas and now at 147k, got some kumhos. All because it's a good price. hehehe

I wish I could afford to get some wanted car service for this car, but I'm still a student...and my mom wouldn't understand like y'all. heheheh, I'm sure I need the timing belt done, it makes a ticking noise.

Facts:

I'm a girl. 19 years.
I'm from the bay, currently at UCDavis c/o 2009
I have a silver...not sure what kind of silver...1998 GS400 with navi and chrome 16"
Got it back in August 2004 with 60k miles on it for 17k (thanks mommy)

Damage:

My brother ran a red light and hit a mercedes with my baby, the mercedes experienced more damage than my car. Just a bit of a dent in my front left side..

1. I need a paint job really bad, my front is peeling really really bad. Do you know how much a paint job should be around? Where should I go? (people from the bay, please answer!)

2. Timing belt issue...better to get it done NOW or later? Should I go to toyota or an independent auto shop?...How much would it be? My engine does make that ticking noise

3. Has anyone tried to upgrade their navigation? It's annoying that I live in a house built in 2005, but according to the navigation, i'm going into the wilderness.

More questions to come...

 

Im from the Bay Area also. DUBLIN,ca. Timing belt you should go through a Toyota dealership or other shops. I actually work for DUBLIN Toyota so i can hook you up!

 

Hey L3XOTIC, that would be awesome if you could hook me up.

My cousins live out in Dublin, so I go out there all the time....I live in Hercules. hahaha, if you know where that is!

I don't know much about cars, but I'm learning a lot on this site...thanks guys! I love my car now.

 

That's what were here for

 

Welcome and congrats for your new-found love for your baby! Keep hanging around and you will learn everything and anything about the GS and then some. Take care of the required maintanence, (don't forget about the balljoints!) and she will be good to you!

 

How much is a service package for something 150k? (i mean, what needs to get done at 150k, and how much will it all cost)

I've been doing religious 3k oil changes and 5k tire rotations and hope my car won't break down on me...

 

timing belt is required 90k maintenance and should be done immediately as you are hitting 150k. Balljoints and tie rods are another maintenance item that should be taken care of and not cost too much. Tranny oil and differential oil. Power steering fluid and brake fluid should be changed as well. Welcome to the family not too many female GS owners but glad to have you.

 

Oy.....

All that equates to stress for me.

If any of this can wait until January, I think I can round up about two grand to pay for it myself. Only getting paid $8/hr for a student lab assistant job doesn't go far.....

Quick Edit:

I haven't turned on my fog lights in like a YEAR...and I did one day, and they turned out (yay, happy!)...and then I tried to do it again another time, and no fog lights....I need bulbs.

When I'm done with school...I say....the magic will begin.

 

Check out the regional forums toward the bottom of the page. There is a section for Nor-Cal where you can ask for paint shops.

Light bulbs should be fairly cheap at wal-mart (9006 bulb) and they are easy to replace. All you need is a screw driver. These forums are full of nice people.

 

damn ur 19 and ur class of 09! im 21 and im c/o 09 at UCI

 

hehehehe, yeah.

started college at 16, transferred to UCDavis at 18, will graduate with a double major in Neurobiology and Economics.

Currently, I'm applying for Clinical Laboratory Scientist programs all over the bay....I'm not much of a lab geek, but the salary and job outlook is extremely good....well, not as good as nursing (over 100k), but for a 21 year old making 70grand, sounds above average. Since I'm so young, I decided to put the med school path on the back burner, work for a few years, buy a house and a car (well, not anymore :P), save for med school and get back into the groove. I want to buy my mom a fully loaded LS470....She supports me <3.

I'll post pictures soon....but I reallly want my windows tinted....now. These stock 16" chrome wheels I have need to go too.....

 

Thats awesome that you want to buy your mom an LS! It looks like you are on your way to finding a great job and even better career. I still have two years left and I don't know what I'll be doing once I graduate college .
But anyway, I know how you feel, anxious to start modding but I would wait on that and get all the proper maintenance done first. It is a lot of money now but it will save you tons of headaches and money in the long run.

 

Welcome to CL. You would be surprised the amount of things you can find out about your car on this forum. Also, read the stickys as there is a lot of info in there as well.

 

My mom took care of my key problem.

The master key I had broke in half. From the actual key to the button pad. So my mom had someone program the spare key to turn on the engine. (The spare key would only open the doors) In the process, my mom said this person had to turn off the alarm system (?) to make the key work....Who do you think can fix this? lexus dealership electrician? for free?

My car feels like ****. I'm getting very concerned that I need a huge facelift...I ride on pretty flat roads, but riding is sooo bumpy and not smooth. I just got new tires so I thought that would fix everything; it fixed the 60-75mph shaking steering wheel, but now all the other problems are surfacing.

After reading a thread of the difficult acceleration, I noticed that too...I usually don't have to put too much weigh on the accelerator...but lately I do...

L3XOTIC, I will PM you asap.

 

Plans:

After doing the engine work (maintenance work) I plan to (pay for)...

1. Install new bulbs for my brake light, fog lights
2. Fix my key situation- get alarm system working again & get a spare key
3. Tint windows
4. Chrome grill
5. uhhh.......Brighter headlight bulbs?

I want to keep it as stock as possible, keep it as a classic beauty.

If you guys recommend any "basic" mods that would look good on my car (soon to post pics!...silver 98 GS400), please tell me. and how much it'll cost and where I could get it...hehe