I ordered a new GS430 today. I was pretty suprised to not get hassled by the dealer too much over wanting to special order the car exactly how I wanted it (color, options, etc.) It should be here in 4 months according to the dealer so wish me the best of luck in being patient.


Specifics of my GS order:

-GS430
-Crystal White exterior w/ Cashmere interior
-Rain Sensing wipers & headlamp washers
-Run Flat All Season Tires
-Rear Sunshade
-NAV w/ backup camera & ML sound system
-Moonroof
-Ventillated Seats

 

Glad you've finally made a decision,I've been following your reviews in FA too it would've been a tough decision for me if I were in the market for these 2 cars. Congrats ! You've made a good choice

 

Congrats. Sounds like it is pretty much loaded. That color combination will look great. After 4 months of following this CL forum you'll be an expert on the car when it arrives. We will keep pumping out more information as we learn it.

One thing that I have learned it that those of us that already have our 06s already know more than our salespeople. Not a slam as I love my dealership. Just the fact that Lexus pretty much kept dealers not near the home base in the dark about all of the new technology on this great car.

I suppose I (and others) will be one of the guinea pigs with regards to service given the number of miles I rack on. I was in the same boat with my 98 GS but my services guys always managed to keep me rolling.

Good luck and stay busy so the weeks (let's not say months) will go by quickly until you get your new GS.

 

It really is not a special order at least here in NE, that the way the way they all come

 

Basically, the car IS fully loaded except for:

-Intuitive Parking Assist
-Pre-Collision System (PCS)
-Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

While I'm sure all of these features are worthwhile, I hate the look of the circular parking assist sensors in the bumpers (and since I still have the rear view camera I didn't see much point unless you're bad at parking). I also had concerns about false alarms on my Passport 8500 X50 from the radar cruise control. As for the PCS, it may be a great safety feature, but since it came packaged w/ the radar cruise control I decided to pass.

 

Are you the same jwaters from Vortex?

 

hey congrats on the new car! that's going to be awesome! gs430, i really wonder about the accel and the braking

 

That would be me (my screen name there is jwaters943).

 

Congratulations! and please take plenty of photos when you can.

 

Ok, cool. I thought you were interested in the new Infiniti M...? I'm glad you went with the Lexus, since it seems like the most solid choice out of the mid-size luxo segment in terms of features, reliability, and safety. As posted above, don't forget to post pictures!

 

I actually came very close to getting the Infiniti, but after test driving the Lexus I was actually suprised at how fun to drive & sporty it was. I think I was expecting some sort of cushy, luxo-boat. With that said, there are a few things I prefer about the M, particularly the Navigation system in the M which has an 8" screen, seemingly faster operation than the GS & a more detailed back-up camera w/ lines indicating your angle and direction as you back up. The M also seems more roomy and the front seats are slightly more supportive.


Overall, my main reasons for going with the GS430 were:

Resale value: The Lexus will likely hold its value better over the long haul & I plan on keeping this car 5-7 years.

Dealership location: My closest Infiniti dealership is 100+ miles away, while the Lexus dealership is just a few miles from my home/work. The more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of towing or driving my car that far if it were to need warranty service.

Interior lighting/ambiance: As much of an improvement as I think the Infiniti is over its outgoing model in terms of interior quality, the orange lighting just doesn't do it for me. The Lexus has very crisp bright white gauge lighting w/ L.E.D. ambient lighting on the floor, console and steering wheel as well as map lights. The guages are very easy to read even in bright sunlight and/or with sunglasses on. I also didn't care for the wood trim or aluminum in the M as much in person as I thought I would. The wood trim in the Lexus looks & feels better, IMO.

Adaptive Suspension: I may be in the minority on this one, but I honestly felt this feature worked quite well on the GS. On long stretches of bad steets I switched from Sport to Normal and the ride became much less bouncy & jittery feeling. On good streets, the difference was hard to tell, but it's a nice feature to have if you live in an area with poor roads.

 

We have bad streets here too, and the suspension setting definitely makes a big difference. One thing that doesn't get a lot of credit is the handling. Fast into tight turns, the GS doesn't faulter. It rails the turns with a lot of consistency. As hard as I've tried to push, I could'nt find fault in the handling. It is possible the VDIM has been helping me out.