Hi Guys just registered and Im looking at 98 GS400 tomorrow, Ive been a BMW guy and just sold my mint 09 M3 Cabrio to free up some cash and looking for a reliable fun sedan. I will continue to search the forum for info etc but thought maybe someone could give the ball park insights to look for or be prepared for when buying a 98. Its the first year I assume so not sure the changes throughout the years to 2005.. I know the 430 is a change in engine. the one Im looking at has 189km as its in canada, Anyhow looking at it tomorrow morning so if all looks good I shall be joining the family perhaps Cheers Jordan

 

I love my GS400. I don’t think there’s a better example of a reliable, simple, and understated luxury sport sedan. They’re great cars, but don’t let the emotion of a V8 test drive sweep you off your feet. Make sure you have an well rated shop check the engine, suspension, and body. Lower ball joints and brake boosters are especially fickle on these and can be expensive. Being Canadian, it’s liable to have rust issues due to the salted winter roads. Be careful, but have fun!!! Good luck 🍀

 

hey appreciate the reply I’m in the southern tip of vancouver island so we don’t get a lot of snow if any and it’s a local car so hoping the salt issues isn’t of concern. Defo will look at the suspension. From my research though you seem to have nailed it. Seems like a very reliable car overall… I know it’s always car to car especially when it’s 23 years old. Maintenance is key. Excited to drive it and see the condition. We shall see is there a timing belt or chain ? Assume belt. Almost gauranteed it’s original at 189km… Is that a issue on these cars..

 

Yes there is a timing belt on them. You'll need to take care of the normal maintenance unless the seller clearly knows when things were last done. You seem to be proactive in your research and intelligent enough to appreciate and enjoy this car. I don't know about your experience with BMW, but it will be a far more reliable vehicle once you go over it. My wife still likes her 5 series and it takes constant work to keep that damn thing free of warnings on the dash and leak free. And way more money for each part it needs. The lex will require far less attention.

 

I’ve always loved this gen on the Gs .. personally much more than the 3rd gen when it comes to style. Can’t comment on how they are to drive etc or reliability but re style and interior I like the 2nd gen. It stands out where I find the 3rd gen blend in like a bunch of other cars one could buy. Just my opinion of course. If all goes well the only issue I’ll have is I promised I wouldn’t be modifying this car lol. I spend way too much money on everything I buy. M3 was lowered , DCT flashed , meistershaft exhaust, ceramic coated, customer wheels, the list goes on 😎 this is supposed to be a car to enjoy but to save money and buy a house. We shall see as now I’m seeing on here guys make them look really nice. I’ll a sucker for wheels so just searching the hub size and offsets for the car. Well most likely get wheels lol. Can’t help it

 

Just picked up a 2005 GS430 myself and I love it. My every day driver is a 2021 Infiniti Q50 Red Sport, but still love this 2005 Lexus! Don't hesitate to get it. It actually drives much smoother than my 16 year newer Infiniti.

 

The GS4 is quite possibly the best thing to come out of Lexus. Like Tampa said, it drives smoother then most new cars and that V8 is timeless and never gets boring. These cars are known to go 500k on original engine easy. Not many cars that are fast, comfortable and RELIABLE. The GS400 and LS400 were literally over engineered, especially compared to any new cars even from Lexus. They just don’t make them like this anymore. Of course every car has its flaws and I wish they put the solid suspension of the LS400 on the GS then it would be the best car ever made. The suspension is the weak point in this car. There’s a famous wheel shake usually happens around 65 MPH like wheel balancing. But once you change all the old ball joints and bushings it truly is a joy to drive. I look forward to driving it every day more then my 2017 RX F sport. That says a lot IMO.

However, unless you have perfectly smooth roads where you are I wouldn’t think about putting larger rims on this car. It’s very sensitive to wheel sizes and drives amazing only with 16” wheels. I had the 17s and I had to sell them it made the ride way too harsh, because of the low profile tires. If you can somehow upgrade wheels and keep at least a 50 profile tire then it should still be comfortable. This car was clearly
not made to handle low profile tires.

 

All GS400s have VVT-i. You'd have a lot of GS400 owners feeling robbed if Toyota had pulled the 2010 Mustang GT move where Ford refreshed the design, then gave it the far more powerful Coyote engine in 2011 for a 97 HP upgrade out of nowhere.

Based on a few reports in this forum, the only seemingly consistent fix to the 60 MPH shake is Michelin tires. I don't understand it either.

 

thanks for correcting me I thought I read that somewhere. Hate to spread false info I’m gonna delete it.

The shaking is definitely just a balancing issue because I’ve had it in the past and was resolved by getting a proper balance and new rims. Just now I had the issue again because they couldn’t properly balance two of my rims so I moved them to the rear until I change them and now the shaking is gone. I have heard Michelin Tires balance better or something so maybe that’s why but any new tires properly balanced should fix it.

 

I guess some brands have gained reputations among tire experts and I think Michelin gets credit for typically being the most truly round. I can't remember which major brands tend to be known for being the opposite of that and whether that's changed over the years, but I think there's a couple like that.

I spend so little time at 60 MPH that I barely ever notice, but I do have a little bit of vibration at exactly that speed on my General G-MAX AS05 tires right now that I don't remember having when I had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. It'll be a few more years before I get new tires again and come to any conclusions because my current tires coincided with new 18" wheels. When the time comes, I will likely be going with the Pilot Sport A/S again because the G-MAX is noticeably noisier especially at higher speeds on older asphalt.

 

My GS400 came with Bridgestone g force comp 2 a/s tires (225/55/R16), and I found the car to be very sensitive to wheel/tire balancing. I just had them balanced last week, and on the drive home, there was significant steering wheel vibration from 65-70 mph. I took it back to have them re-balanced (done right), and the vibration at speed is completely gone.

 

Definitely very sensitive. On my last GS one place didn’t balance them good so I took it somewhere else and after they did it the shake was gone. Maybe I should try rebalancing before changing those two wheels. I just know it’s only two of them since I moved them to the rear the steering wheel shake is gone so maybe my rims really are bent since two he balanced correctly. I saw he kept adding weights and after a while he said these wheels aren’t good but did it as best as he could.

 

Yea it could very well be the wheels as much as the tires. The GS IMO isn’t meant to handle 18” rims

 

What about 18" rims affects the balance/suspension different than 16" and 17" rims?

 

Nothing out of the ordinary. Aside from getting a really poorly manufactured wheel that isn't properly round, a thinner tire sidewall is less forgiving and more prone to transmitting NVH from the road because there's less of a cushion to insulate the chassis.

It's a matter of personal preference and tolerance. I went in the opposite direction as DMPesso. I ran with 16" for about a year because the original owner of my car downgraded from the factory OEM 17" wheels listed in the build sheet to OEM 16", then I went up to OEM 17" for about 7-8 years, and then 18" was basically a prerequisite for my GS/IS350 caliper upgrade and I also came across an incomprehensible deal for brand new OEM F Sport wheels direct from Lexus.

There's less margin for error in balancing my current wheel and tire combo, but I went to Discount Tire for the very last time when getting these installed a couple of years ago, so I'm not surprised that a less-than-perfect balance would let through a small amount of vibration. Not that they screwed up anything with installing these wheels, but they've gotten progressively sloppier with my cars, wheels, and balancing over the years. I also found out their tire techs don't make enough money to care, and I have a couple of local independent tire/suspension shops I trust far more these days that I'm willing to pay for their superior service.