Hey guys I'm a first gen GS owner, have been since Oct of 13. Im looking to pick up another car and of course another Lexus comes to mind. I found one in the town I grew up in (New England Area) that just came up from Florida this past fall. It's a 2000 GS400 with 170k on the clock, documented timing belt and water pump by a Lexus dealer at 120k. It has all sorts of paint blemishes, a cracked bumper, broken fog light, crappy repainting job on the drivers side door and fender with an IFFY LUBE story to match. The pulleys are all tight, no chirps, AC blows cold, windows and sunroof all open and It drove fine on the short test drive I managed to get away with (not registered). I asked him what kind of spark plugs he ran and without hesitation he said "NGK All Day!" which is great news. Its also got a redone exhaust from the cat-back and its lowered on tein coilovers and a set of IS300 wheels (Of course sporting the usual paint flaking). Im just wondering about other things to look out for. I've heard about rear shock towers rusting out, but not much else specific to the Second Gens.

 

How much is he looking to sell it for? Why isn't it registered? Suspension is one of the biggest issues with the 2GS, make sure to check out the ball joints and bushings.

 

Probably not a great idea. 170k is a lot of miles and just reading this, it sounds like the car wasn't even properly taken care of. I bet I can help you find a WAY better car then what you're looking at. If I were you, I would maybe not look at 15 year old cars either.. I would look maybe at a 08 or 06 GS. They have a dealership here in Florida where you can get them pretty cheap. My buddy bought a 2004 RX330 for his wife back in 09 and he still has it to this day. Then again, if your price range is lower than 10k, you could easily get a 2004 GS instead of that thing... I live in Orlando and here is a clean GS300 I found for 14k! I hope this helps and I wasn't trying to be mean in any way, just helping you out!

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/invento...171_isFeatured

 

The only part I agree about from above was that regardless of what the owner says the car doesn't seem like it was properly taken care of (he's trying to sell the car, afterall),... However, if he has documents to prove all the maintenance was performed even still I'd be a bit hesitant. 120K for a timing belt change (although not drastic) is late by appx 30-40K miles (mine was changed at 90K by the previous owner). Also, paint blemishes, a cracked bumper and broken fog light would lead me to believe the vehicle's been in an accident. IF you're really interested I'd check the VIN history of the car and go from there. But my opinion is to look elsewhere... you never did mention the price though?

 

Forget it man.... Things a lost cause. Get yourself a 01+

Not to mention how much it may cost to register the car again.