Buying Advice 1999 GS300
 

Hi, I'm looking for some advice from people who know this car well. I looked at a 1999 GS300 the other night. First of all, the model itself is nice: timeless lines, luxurious, drives nice - it's definitely my kind of car. I'm not a mechanic but I know cars pretty well and am fairly capable in doing my own repairs. I feel I could do some of the work on this car but not all of it. I'd like to simply describe the car and let you all tell me what you think of it.

99 Black GS300, 104k, 1-owner. Clean carfax but the car has been painted at least once and I am suspicious of an unreported accident - although I can't find any evidence on the frame. Both the front and rear bumper covers have been replaced.

Body: Large dent on the passenger side fender. Bad scratch (probably key'd) on passenger side quarter panel with a touch up job that makes it look worse. Front bumper cover is cracked with a loose fog light (bumper cover needs to be replaced again). Chrome moulding is missing on front and rear bumper. ASA 16" wheels.

Interior: Good condition. Leather. Has a nice Pioneer touchscreen GPS head unit. Clean. Driver side heated seat switch doesn't light up (could just be the switch, I wasnt able to test if the seat worked)

Mechanical: Has exhaust leak- It is the original system. Could need a whole new exhaust or could just need a couple flanges replaced for about $70 each. Oil leak- at least from the valve covers, could be coming from elsewhere too. AC compressor needs to be replaced. Battery works but has alot of corrosion on it. Check Engine Light for O2 sensor (pre cat). Timing belt has not been done yet. Brakes felt a little low but the guy says the fronts were recently done. Tires appear to have plenty of life left.

It looks like I would need to:
Replace bumper cover - install myself - ebay $400-500
Replace bumper moulding - myself - $60
Replace O2 sensor - myself - $75
Have exhaust repaired - shop - $140-700
Replace battery - $100
Replace AC Compressor - shop - $300-600 + labor?
Fix oil leak on valve cover - myself - $20
Fix oil leak if its further down - shop- ????
Timing Belt - shop - ????

Then I don't know what else I would need. If I'm going to have a mechanic getting into oil leaks and the timing belt I should probably have him do some other stuff while he's in there (waterpump?) And I've read these cars seem to have an issue with the suspension, I don't think this one has any issues yet but it might come soon and I have no idea how much that will cost.

If I do all this work I'll still have the dent and scratch but mechanically the car should be solid for awhile. There's potential here and I don't mind putting the work in if it pays off. I just don't want to make a bad investment and end up with a money pit.

So what advice can you guys offer me?

How much is the car?

He's asking $5000. I had him down to $4000 and walked away. Not sure if he would go any lower. I know $1000 off sounds good but I didnt know about all the work it needed before I went to look at it.

Would you happen to have any pics of the car?

http://images.craigslist.org/5If5Nb5...e83adc1477.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/5L95Gc5...33a8e71592.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/5L15E55...ed4db01794.jpg

Does anyone have any advice? Could these problems be easier to fix than I'm expecting? Any experiences with the exhaust or oil leaks on these cars? I'd appreciate any input on this.

Ball joints !!!!!!!!!!! Replace those

Thank you. So ball joints are a common issue. How much should I expect that to cost?

You can get oem ball joints or you can get Moog which are supposed to be very good and the first choice besides oem among a lot of members here, you can get them for $35 a piece on RockAuto,
I'm replacing mine with moog this month as well...

From the the looks of it looks beautiful. I think it would be well worth the $4,000 investment if you are a mechanic yourself. I picked up my 2002 gs300 for practically 3 times what you are paying with slightly lower miles at 69k and no maintenance issues. Considering that I think it would be a great buy if you don't mind getting some elbow grease. Like most of the CL MEMBERS you will love this vehicle. GL

On a 13 year old car, you can expect it to have some light accident history. A repaint on a black car is not unlikely if you consider that black is the hardest color to maintain. Black on black combo is a rare combo. Plus it has a decent looking aftermarket nav system in it. If you can get it for $3500 it is a steal, but $4000 is not a horrible price.

Definitely get the ball joints done on the car.

That is a nice looking car. Good history of oil changes? I looked for Black on Black for a while and could not find. Let me if you do not buy it......

I personally won't buy it, it seems like your buying someone else problems. I bought my first Lexus with an oil leak, cel light on, and cosmetic flaws through out, And i regretted it. My current Lexus I bought pristine condtion from the original owner and I haven't regretted it. I spent 3 months looking for it and I couldn't be happier.

But I do have a soft spot for black on black gs's. But this is just my two cents.

Thanks for all the replies. The service history turned out to be better than I originally thought and I was able to buy it for $3800. Felt great about it until I got on the highway and I could feel a little bit of vibration in the steering wheel above 60 mph. Not alot, but definitely something. Then when I got off the highway I noticed a bad noise that I somehow had not noticed before. The thing sounds like an old squeaky mattress going over any bumps. The owner gave me a receipt saying the ball joints were done at 80k. It has 104 now. Please tell me that this is some common small issue and that I didnt just make a huge mistake.

i wouldnt have bought car for $1500, to many issues with it to be worthwhile IMHO

btw those mattress sounds are probably the rear carrier knuckle, try here

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...placement.html

and PLEASE before you start posting a bunch of threads like all the other noobs and returning old members do, please search here

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...d-newbies.html

or here

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ou-search.html

or try the advanced search.

welcome to the club i hope you didnt buy someones lemon

I checked out the link for the rear carrier knuckles. There's a video in there someone posted of the noise and it doesn't really sound like what I'm hearing. That sound is more clunky, what I'm talking about is just like a squeaky old mattress.

I have a P0171 code and a P0155 code. After reading through this forum I hope that cleaning the MAF will take care of the P0171 code. The P0155 looks like I just need a new O2 sensor. I noticed in the receipts that the valve cover gasket was already replaced and I didn't see any oil under the car today so there might not be an active oil leak at all. The exhaust can be fixed relatively cheap I think. The battery doesn't look good but operates fine so that's probably OK. The guy found a receipt for having the AC compressor and EVAP unit replaced recently so that also shouldn't be an issue. According to the receipts the ball joints have already been replaced. By far my biggest concern at this point is the noise in the suspension. As long as that turns out to be a minor fix, I'll just need to tune it up and get the t-belt done.

The body on the car is very tough to get a read on. Clean carfax and everything lines up but something tells me this car was in an accident. Or at least the body work that was done was half-assed. What scares me is if the slight feedback in the steering wheel (over 60 mph) and the noise from the suspension are related to an accident. I can't find any visual evidence of frame damage. I'm going to have to take it somewhere and have them look at it.