I need your opinion quickly before I dive into buying this private party GS.

Test drove today a 98 GS4 with NAV. The tires are unknown brand, H-rated, but newer, perhaps 80% tread.

When the car approaches 30 mph, there is a very noticeable shudder in the cabin...yes, the car transforms into a moving vibrator! It's not just the steering wheel that vibrates, but the entire car.

At speeds of 35mph and above though, the shudder goes away.

What is going on?

I checked Carfax and found no salvage history. Mileage is 53k.

Please...please...any ideas. The car looks awesome.

 

H-rated, unknown brand--- CHEAP.

Be extremely careful, but find some way to temporaily substitue a good set of well balanced tires and then drive the car.

Be sure you're not dealing with a bent or warped wheel.

What you describe actually most sounds like a drive shaft u-joint bearing gone bad.

 

i'd try to take this car to the dealership so that you can pay little less then $100 and lexus will do full check up, and you'll know *exactly* what's going on and even how much will it cost for you to fix it ..

 

If it's bent wheels I would try to install the full size spare, one wheel at a time, until the problem is found. It is unlikely that more than one wheel is bent, don't you think?

But if Lexus will charge less than $100 to check the car, I think it's worth it. For that price, will they also check the entire car? If not, does anyone know how much?

Is there a possibility that Lexus service will "find" more problems with the car just because you are buying it from a private party? Would it be better to take it to an independent "Joe Schmoe" Lexus/Toyota Foreign Cars Specialize in Everything Shop?

Anyone who has done this before? The car is everything I want to have except for the cheap tires (and therefore howling at low speeds) and SHUDDER.

Thanks for the feedback!

(Will soon answer to the call sign BlackGS or SilverGS...hope no one is using any of those ;-))

 

that's what lexus dealership told me.. that they'll run evey single test there and it'd take about an hour and their rate is $85+tax

 

Methinks this just might be the type of problem that a mechanic would need to fix, at least temporarily, in order to be sure of the causative factors.

Even today, with all of our technology and diagnostic capability, lots and lots of problems are "troubleshot" by removing and replacing until the symtom goes away.

I suspect that for a $100 analysis you will be told, "hey, this car has a severe vibration between 35 and 40MPH, do you want us to go ahead and troubleshoot it to find the source?"

Why isn't the owner agreeing to fix it as part of the deal? If s/he can't afford it then it might be worth offering a lower price with $1000 "down" provided s/he uses that money to fix the car.

Worth knowing the seller's response if nothing else.

 

Buy a CPO!

I just got a '99 GS400 w/Naki w/16k miles from Lexus of Manhattan and it looks brand new.

In any case, it turned out the seals were going in the headlamps and I was getting some condensation which wasn't initially seen.

To make a long story short they picked up the car leaving me an ES300 loaner, replaced both sets of assemeblies (HIDs and all) washed the car and drove it back (50+ miles). This would have easily cost $2000+ I would think if not for the 3/year/100,000 mile CPO warranty.

You might pay a bit more (although I think I got a great deal as well) but it's worth it in the long run.

 

Hi nherc-
Do you mind letting us know how much you actually paid for your GS? Sounds like you got a really good deal. I've heard about that dealership before giving fantastic discounts on very low mileage Lexus. Thanks...

 

It was a few ticks below $33k.

I'm initially leasing her to keep the monthlies down. With about $3900 out the door ($2k cap cost redux.) I'm paying $448/month. Not bad for a mint condition GS400 with a 3 year warranty.

 

Even if you bought your car from a private owner the headlights would have been covered under the standard 4 year 50K mi warranty.

 

Nherc-
Excellent buy! Hope I can get something close to your deal. I saw one today at Lexus of Westminster, a 99 with NAV, 20-inch chromes (forgot the brand) and 74Kmi+, and it won't go lower than $31K.
Just glad I'm not too crazy for the color.

Still looking...