Hey everyone,

I am thinking about getting into a 2013 GS350. Currently i have a 2006 IS250 and i have honestly been very disapointed in the build quality (melted dashboard/creaky dash and all the recalls). The final straw was that after 150k miles my transmission solenoid started failing. I am worried about the GS's transmission as well as other hiccups in build/reliability that the GS may have. I would love to hear your thoughts about any problems or concerns you have had in your experience. Thanks for any input!!

 

I have had 2 IS250 08" and now "12 nothing ever melted, I think you had more problems being the first year of the car. I have got the GS also and the car looks drives solid. People who have been driving for a long time would be able to give u more info. Gud luck.

 

My 2013 has been a fun ride. I think you'll like it too.

I don't use the GPS, I use the Waze app and I wish I had the folding side mirrors like the 2014's, but I'm still happy.

 

You'd have absolutely no problem with the 2013 GS 350. Been driving for nearly 50k KM now and it's still as good as new. The interior build and the reliability of the car is exceptional compared to others in its segment. I'd say go for it

 

A '13 GS will be a very different car compared to your '06 IS. When I had my '11 IS350, the thing I enjoyed most was the handling and size and the engine's liveliness. I did feel like the overall build of the car was a step down from the GS...It didn't feel as refined.

The GS is very reliable and the build quality is very much apparent. If you're someone who plans to keep the car well past the 100k mark, its tough to say at this point about issues that you might face b/c not enough 4GS's out there with that much mileage. However, lots of owners around with 40-70k miles (i myself around 50k with no complaints, no problems and no regrets).

Here's an example of one (very overpriced for the mileage IMO) that has a great service history with over 100k: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...6874/overview/

 

Sucks to hear. Just know that the '13 GS is a first model year car. As with any 1st model year car, chances are much higher running into issues. Best bet is probably the '14 GS.

 

^^this guy

Were talking about the GS, not the Pontiac Fiero.

 

thanks for all the responses everyone, i do agree with the concerns about it being the first model year, but i am hoping the engine is more reliable since it transfers over from the previous generation right? i have also thought about getting into a 2014 IS350 but again, first model year etc.

 

Frankly I wouldn't worry about first year reliability of the GS350 or the IS350. The GS boards here reveal very few quality issues with '13 GS models. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.

As for a 14 IS350, I had one of the early builds and it was flawless. Only thing it ever needed was a firmware update to the nav system. Once they did that, all was good. I had it for over 2 years and it never developed a single rattle, squeak, or any other kind of fault.

 

Good point about the engine, I think that would be one of the last things you'd have to worry about.

 

I can certainly tell you since im coming from 2004 LS430, that car had 74k on it before I sold and even being that old it never went in for service of any kind accept oil change which done at the dealership. It was a tank and rock solid never had issues. I loved and now that I have the GS350 F Sport, this car also is solid and no issues what so ever. Since its a Toyota brand its very reliable and handles amazing.

 

No offense to the IS owners but for the couple times I got an IS250 as a loaner while my vehicle is in for service, I was never impressed. The cabin does not have the high end feel like a GS.
GS reliability is very good. I bought a '11 in 2012 thinking that the first year model of 2013 GS would probably be troublesome. I regretted it every day lol. I just picked up a 2015 GS-F and looking to trade the '11 GS for a RX. But the '11 is so damn reliable and good to me that I can't bare losing money on the trade in.

 

I owned, and loved, my IS, but you are correct. The interior is not in the same league as the GS. I found the IS interior to offer a much sportier driving position, and I loved the intimate feel of it, but there is a lot of hard plastic in it, small nav screen (better for MY17), etc. Never bothered me, but I know it bothers some. My IS350 was about $13k less than my GS350.

 

My brother has a 2011 LS460 and even he liked the upgraded interior of the GS FSports even though in my opinion the LS interior is very fancy.