Hey guys first time Lexus driver here just got a 2002 Lexus gs300 with 205600 miles on it, it was serviced at 186,000 miles and has no check engine lights on, the car was a steal in my opinion as I only paid $1500 plus $900 transport for it.. However I've never had a car with that many miles let alone a Lexus, but I know like Honda, Toyota is one of the most reliable cars and Lexus are more expensive Toyotas right? Anyway will this car last another 100k miles or should I sale for profit.?

 

Another 100k? Maybe. But it will need maintenance along the way and realistically could have a critical failure within the engine or transmission, particularly if it's driven hard. But what do you really expect for less than 3 grand?

 

I Plan on changing the spark plugs in the next few days and I'm a rough driver unfortunately, and live in Michigan so winters are rough on cars, the cars from Arizona which is a good thing but I just fear the way I drive, winter and the mileage it may be best for me to sale for $3500 which I think I could get in michigan

 

I wanna know are there 2nd gen Lexus out there with 300k+ miles and original tranny and engine?

 

Your costs coming up are timing belt if it wasn't done in the last few years, possible transmission issues, and oil leaks.

The car itself will last forever.

I'm not sure how much profit you will get if you are $2400 in and you have to some maintenance in order to sell it.

 

Timing belt was done at 186,259.. what are some things I can do to not have transmission and oil leaks..? If I sale it rt now for 4k that's a 1.5k profit lol.. I already feel like it doesn't accelerate as strong as I would have thought. Or are these models not that powerful?

 

These cars ain't fast, pal. And with that kind of mileage, things get old. A well maintained GS can and has made it past the 300k barrier on the original engine and transmission, but such mileage requires a good amount of care. A simple thing you can do is run some injector cleaner (I.E. Seafoam fuel treatment). That seemed to help my car's performance a little bit, it isn't as bogged down as it used to be. I'd change, not flush, the transmission fluid and change the filter, then redo the pan gasket. As for engine leaks, valve cover gaskets are some of the most common items to fail. When I bought mine, the valve cover gaskets were leaking really bad. Just remember to do an oil change and do some regular maintenance to it. It probably deserves it.

 

Thanks for that advice..
My 02 GS has 125k on it and I will be doing some of the Maintenace you suggested.

 

It sounds like you have found yourself an excellent vehicle for about the lowest investment possible for a vehicle that passed any inspections your state requires. I described it as an excellent vehicle because these are some of the best vehicles I have found for turning maintenance and repairs into miles on the odometer. Meaning that they don’t have any particularly weak areas in the drivetrain or chassis. And if you invest in keeping the wear items replaced in a timely fashion, you’ll have minimal unexpected repairs to deal with. These are well designed which makes most maintenance and repair work accomplishable at home or at any independent repair shop. Which helps keep costs down, and the parts easy to source.
There isn’t anyway around one simple fact, traveling miles costs money. Whether u buy a new car and your just paying the monthly payment and insurance, plus the fuel you burn. Or you buy a $1000 junker and have to constantly invest in repairs, it’s going to cost money no matter your method of attack. I have found my Lexus 2GS to be a great balance of decent fuel mileage, excellent safety record, good performance and multiple online resources for repair info.
Most vehicles are a mystery to their owners. They don’t know the likely issues their car is going to have next or during their ownership. Even people that know cars and try and keep up with the maintenance. Most of them don’t realize there is an issue til it’s catastrophic and it can’t be driven any further without repair. Not the case with the Lexus 2GS, most of the owners know what areas on their car need attention and the signs to watch for so they can stay ahead of anything that would take the car of the road til repairs are completed. This is very valuable to me and most people that don’t have money to burn on a new car every few years or the money to take it to a dealer and just say fix whatever is wrong.
Just because you have gotten a good deal on it, and it looks like you could turn a profit if you sell it right away, doesn’t mean you should cash out right away. If you could sell it for $4000 today, you could probably sell it for that in 6 months then. So what’s the hurry? The used car market has seen values in by about 30% because of the pandemic, so that helps when your selling a vehicle but is also a hindrance when your buying one. If you sold it for $4000 but you can’t find one of equal condition and performance for $4000, then the profit was kinda irrelevant.
If you decide to keep it, you can put it up for sale anytime, you don’t have to commit to keeping it til it crosses the 300,000 mile mark.
Looks like you have a reliable, comfortable, safe vehicle for about the minimum investment you could expect in this market. Unless you don’t need to cover miles, or found a good upgrade, you should be able to keep the Lexus road worthy for the foreseeable future. Just don’t assume nothing can wrong, especially if you neglect it. This would be a good opportunity to learn how the different systems work on a vehicle and how to maintain and repair them, so your able to understand them on vehicles u own in the future.