Hello Everyone,

My name is Jon and I have been lurking on Club Lexus for a number of years, I have just never owned one and had a need to post until now. I am in the process of hunting down a 03+ GS430 for my wife to drive daily and I am running into a couple of issues that I am hoping you all can help me overcome.

My budget is 10K or so and im willing to travel for the right car (im in the south east). IM not finding much, and im not able to verify if major service has been performed on these cars. Now, I don't mind having the service performed if it needs to be done but, as you all well know, that's an added expense and would cause my offer to fluctuate accordingly.

Another issue is that, as I stated, my wife will be driving this mainly and she feels like the GS is an older persons car and is a bit lackluster to her. Just a little background on my previous cars that I have shared with my wife that attribute to her mindset. I have owned the following:
93 RX-7
04 Honda S2000
04 Volkswagen R32
04 Jetta GLi
07 Volkswagen GTi
2011 Volkswagen GTi Currently
94 Nissan 240SX SE Currently
03 Mitsubishi Evo VIII
02 Subaru WRX
02 Honda S2000 (why did I own two? I don't know, I have a problem!)
And there are at least 5 more that I can't seem to recall at this point.

Im at a point in my life where I want a bit of luxury and reliablity, and I am ok with giving up tossability and power. She, on the other hand, only values a car on aesthetics. She told me "I would rather have a 2 door Civic or Corolla S over the Lexus.". Did I smack her you ask? No. Was I tempted? Very . I took her today to testdrive the very cars she said she wanted and she agreed they rode worse than a truck stop hooker. She did mention that she likes the G35 sedan because it doesn't seem as.... tradiational-ish?? as the GS. I sort of understand what she's saying.

Im looking at the fact that even if i get a GS with 130K miles on it. After the major service is done, I shouldn't have any issues putting another 130k plus miles on it given that I keep the service up to date. No other car that I can think of offers this kind of refinement and power in a package so reliable. Do any of you happen to have any personal reasons you'd pick a GS430 over the G35 given the choice?

I really appreciate any feedback you all provide.


Thanks,

-Jon

 

GS430 is like Luxurious Classy car you would say. G35 is a sports car. If you are into speed, handling, and manual transmission, get the G35.

 

That's the thing, she will drive it like an old lady. She doesn't speed at all. I don't get it. Im probably still going to get the GS but im sure i'll get some lip for it.

 

The GS is a cruiser (stock) u cant race it or anything like that, but when you have a nice looking GS standing next to you at a red light or something among those lines, it is like no other!!

 

since youre coming from a sports car background or at least a sporty car... these 2GS's will be like driving a camry to you. unless you mod then good.. the G will be sporty and near what you were driving... compared to the 2gs.

Im on a boat.

 

been there done that

g35 for speed. 2gs for looks / luxury

 

Or you can have the best of both worlds, that's what I have. Get a GS and you can turbo the car or supercharge it and trust me they're fast plus luxury at the same time.

 

I am all about riding nice and looking good while I do,clean and luxury and could care less about speed

so if it were me id pick the gs

 

Good luck finding an '03+ in good condition for 10k.

 

yeah for 10k thast kinda hard to find a 03+ in good cond.

 

03+ GS430 under $10K will be really really tough, especially because you want it with service records.

 

I've found 2 so far, and that's about it. I don't dislike the G35, I just see dozens of them every day. I think the GS and the G35 are fairly similar as far as speed goes but that isn't my focus either.

 

On my way now to pick up the car. Anyone in the Atlanta area know a good place to eat around the airport?

 

Remember in later years there were less GSs sold, so they are harder to find.

 

Ha, when I took my wife to show her a Lexus I wanted to buy she said, "I don't want to drive an old man's car." As soon as she drove it she said, "I wanna be an old man!"
The G35 is a really nice car, but no Inifiniti has the reputation and quality of a Lexus. Around here, there's no old Infinitis because they just wear out sooner.
The GS430, to my mind is getting better looking everyday. And, unlike BMWs and Infinitis, you don't see yourself coming and going. Last night I stopped for a light and saw a 3-series on every corner.
GS, it's the thinking man's (or woman's) Lexus.