Hi all, as the name says i have been looking for a 1st gen GS for a few months now in the new york area and it turns out it is really hard to find one out here. Especially one somewhat clean or that has some routine maintenance done with paperwork. I see a lot of second gen out here for sale and i want to know what should i look for? What should i stay away from? I see a few GS400's with 200k on craiglist for around 3800, would that mileage be too high?

 

yes mileage is a little high but the $$$ doesn't seem bad. and if it's been taken care of and maintained you should hopfully get another 50-100k before any major failures HOPEFULLY. i would guess for the miles and price you should plan on also putting a few bucks into maintance and updating parts.

 

i was on the same boat as you a few yrs back. i was dying to get my hands on a 4xx (v8's) but there was just none in the condition i was looking for. all the vehicles i saw was either beaten up or very high mileage. if speed and power is not an issue to you i would look in the direction of the 300's (i6) which you lose performance on but the car is still the same all around in body style and comfort. few things are missing on the 300's like standard navi, yellow fog, auto hid headlights theres a few more but those are the noticeable items.

if you really do want your perfect 4xx i would continue looking and expand your search towards PA/MD they have very nice cars down there on craigslist every once in a while.

 

I have owned many high milage cars. two crown vics with over 260k. The lexus 4.0 reminds me of ford 4.6 in some ways. These engines will last but you can only drive it. don't beat it or even race it, when an engine is that tired its going to keel over at anytime. Think of having a 75yr old person run a marathon if they sprint they are gonna die in a few miles but if they pimp walk the have a good chance of finishing alive.

Same with these car. Pimp walk it all day long

 

lmao wow......

 

Thanks for all the info guys, there a lot more GS300's out there for sale compared to the GS400. Not too worried about the power and speed(even so i can always mod the GS300) i have just always loved these cars and wanted one. I found a 94-95 GS300 with 115,000 miles last night for 1500, i am going to take a look at it this weekend. The guy says it needs upper and lower control arms and shocks and a few other suspension things. I know they can be pricey, but for the price he is selling for i would not mind spending the money.

 

I had a 98 GS300 with 180,000 and I drove it hard everyday and I had no problems. As long as the car was maintained well and in a timely manner the 2nd gen GS300's can go 250-300k miles no problem...

 

If your looking for a clean gs400 in the NYC area mines is up for sale. 150k lightly modded. Pm if interested.

 

u will love ittt

 

Good luck on your search. You'll love these cars, just simple fixes here and there.

 

From the picture i seen it appears to be a nice car but the price is too high for me at the moment, being a full time student, plus working and these bills i cant spare that much without ending up on the street or sleeping in my car

Well that first gen i mentioned did not work out, the car needed too much and the guy wouldnt budge on the price at all, not to mention he not take good care of the engine or transmission, and as for that 2nd gen for 3800, that was gone before i called. Didnt last too long at all. Now i found another 2nd Gen 98 model for 4600 right in my area and i want to know what to look for. I have been searching around for common 2nd Gen problems and all i can find is info about the actuators or the needles going bad in the cluster. Is there anything i should be looking for that is supposed to be changed at a certain mileage on the engine? Also, what about the engine oil and oil filters? I have always heard that the GS should use toyota red, so if this car does not use Toyota red should i still buy it? Sorry if these are a lot of questions but i just dont want to end up with a car that will cost me serious money as soon as i buy it. Thank you for the answers

 

Anyone? No advice?

 

check out the stickies on top of the forum... u cant miss them

 

Thanks i will read around and see if i can find my answers there. I apologize if i have asked the same questions that have been asked a million times....Too bad i cant change my name to 2ndGenGuy now :-/

 

All you answers should be there lol...but youre going to love the 2Gen