Hello all.

I recently purchased a used 2001 Lexus GS430 with 99,500 miles (no mods). Got it on ebay and drove it 800+ miles back to NY. The car performed nicely and was surprisingly, good on gas considering it has an eight cylinder motor (I got just over 400 miles from full until the gas light came on). The only thing I noticed was a slight pull and vibration at speeds over 75 mph. No violent shaking of the steering wheel, no bumpy road feel, just a slight vibration and pull. Took it to the local Lexus dealer to get the 100,000 mile service done and to address the vibration issue. After they went through the car, they advised me of the following maintenance items that needed to be addressed:

4 wheel balance (Road Force) $189.95
timing belt $699.99
filters $229.95
upper control arms $1965.00
ball joints $785.00
caster arms $795.00
wheel alignment $189.95
motor mounts $1100.00
transmission mounts $275.00
pinion seal $1010.00

I expect the dealer to charge a premium on their parts and labor but the amount of things that they pointed our was waaaay out of my price range. Being that a lot of forum members have extensive experience from owning and working on your cars and some of you are even professional mechanics, I would like your advice on what items on the list need immediate attention, what items can be done later, and what items are relatively easy for someone with basic experience and tools to handle on their own (I've replaced oil filters, air filters, replaced brake calipers, rotors, and pads, done brake conversions, installed mufflers, starters, and alternators so I hope that gives you a gauge as to what I might be capable of), and what items I should let a professional mechanic handle. I would also appreciate any upgraded or better part recommendations for my model GS and where you guys usually purchase parts (nothing fancy or over the top, just better oem parts since I intend to keep it stock since the wife drives it most of the time).

While I am on the subject of maintenance, is there a Bentley, Haynes or Chilton manual available for these cars?

I live in New York (zip code 11693) and would like a recommendation for a good local mechanic.

Any advice, tips, tricks or info you can share will be greatly appreciated.

I must say that it's a really nice car and I enjoy driving it although I got it for my wife. I drive a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport and I love my Jeep a lot but the comparison between both is like night and day.

P.S. I saw the post titled How I solved my 2nd gen GS steering vibes for GOOD! I may replace the rotors and pads but since the dealership didn't mention anything about it, I didn't think it was a priority at this time.

 

Welcome and congrats on the new car. You can get parts cheaper from Sewell Lexus online and from Rockauto. With Sewell register for your account with your Club Lexus name for a discount. Sewell sells the timing belt parts in a kit with a water pump. If buying Rockauto suspension/steering parts the consensus here is that Moog is the best brand, equal or better than OEM. If you can find an independent Toyota/Lexus specialty shop with cheaper labour that's the way to go. Unless you abuse the crap out of it, a GS430 is bulletproof and will reward proper maintenance with many years of reliable service. By my reckoning, you can enjoy a 2GS for as long as you want to.

 

welcome to the club

 

Please register on Sewell and get your parts. Some of the prices are almost twice what Sewell. Alignment should be around $60 balance arond $40. U can prob get all those parts slapped on at the same time for $120-$200 for labor.

Welcome brotha

 

Those prices on the parts you listed are astronomical, get them online at sewell,ebay, rockauto,etc, and do them yourself ir have your mechanic knock em out....

 

Welcome to the CL forum!

 

welcome to the club !

 

are those parts gold plated? far out, i got a quote for caster arms of $400/450and im pretty sure my UCA's cost $152 a piece.... and that's genuine part's! (P.S.. NZ$ as well. still though.)

guess i gotta be thankful for how good i have it!