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I have been talking with a seller about purchasing their GS350 awd, He informed me that at an inspection back in February the dealership told him he would have to replace his rear toe adjustment bolts as they were seized. Along with the toe adjustment bolts i found on the Lexus website that the timing chain cover was also reported as leaking. At the time he declined service and has not serviced the car He has put about 3000 miles on the car since.
How serious are these issues? The car has an extensive dealership maintenance record and the current owner has had regular oil changes during the past 4 years of ownership. For context the car is at 138,000 miles and the owner is asking for $9,000
These are not major issues, but they are enough to maybe negotiate a lower buying price. The timing gear seal is a pain to repair and does take a good amount of labor time. If the leak is not bad, I would leave it alone, if its to the point that its dripping oil then yes, its best to get it repaired. But many times dealers will notice slight oil seeping and offer there "services" especially when it comes to these inspections.
As for the toe arm bolt, any tire shop that does alignments can cut the nut and remove and replace the bolt. Just purchase the nut and bolt from the dealer, and as they are doing an alignment ask the tech if he is able to free it up. It would help to spray all the bolts with pb blast the day before. If hes able to free it up great, if not slip him a few bucks to cut the nut off and the bolt should slide off, and replace the bolt.
There's a bunch of other problems the customer declined to have repaired, says "Service too expensive". Rear brake calipers, pads, rotors, and spark plugs, along with usual maintenance items like "Engine air filter dirty" make me question if all he did was oil changes and drive it into the ground. Dealership cost for all those repairs listed would be very expensive.
There's a bunch of other problems the customer declined to have repaired, says "Service too expensive". Rear brake calipers, pads, rotors, and spark plugs, along with usual maintenance items like "Engine air filter dirty" make me question if all he did was oil changes and drive it into the ground. Dealership cost for all those repairs listed would be very expensive.
i know a lot of people who see those kind of things, then just go to their independent to get it done. However, they continue to go to the dealer for oil changes due to convenience, time, relatively small difference in cost between the dealer and the indie for an oil change, and the fact that the dealer does a free check up.
that being said, OP neither problem is huge, most GS probably have those adjustments seized and owners don’t even know it, but the leak specifically can be a lot to repair. Most just live with it out of warranty
i know a lot of people who see those kind of things, then just go to their independent to get it done. However, they continue to go to the dealer for oil changes due to convenience, time, relatively small difference in cost between the dealer and the indie for an oil change, and the fact that the dealer does a free check up.
that being said, OP neither problem is huge, most GS probably have those adjustments seized and owners don’t even know it, but the leak specifically can be a lot to repair. Most just live with it out of warranty
I missed the part where he told us he has receipts for all those other items being repaired!
I missed the part where he told us he has receipts for all those other items being repaired!
If I was selling a car, I wouldn't change that stuff either, especially if the dealer was charging me a few hundred bucks to do it, but to throw a primarily dealer maintained car in the "no pile" because of a $70 worth of parts, seems foolish if the rest of the car is good.
The problems the OP listed are expensive to repair, but more prevalent than people know. Theres a good chance most people on here have these issues, and don't even know it.
That being said, OP if you can find one without these verified problems, or if you can't use these issues as a way to get the price down, it wouldn't hurt to keep looking.
09-25-20, 06:06 PM
seized rear toe adjustment bolts gs350 awd
