Tired of daily driving my huge 2500 megacab Ram on 37'sin the city and been looking for new DD's. Was going to get something small and manual but I just had ankle surgery and will be on a boot for quite a bit of time plus Nashville traffic is atrocious. Been looking at 14'-15' GS 350 F sport 2wd's because they comfortable, drive smooth, lexus product (brother had a GX470 for years), and decent MPG with ability to haul clients. One thing that is great for people on the 2nd hand market is these things depreciate pretty hard but i have a few questions. I know for certain I want a F-sport because it looks better, and the GS 350 is so comfy I can use it for road trips etc.

1. Should I look at AWD as well? I don't really need another 4wd vehicle but i'm sure it would come in handy occasionally. Plan on probably lowering it a tad because that wheel gap is huge!
2. Common issues at certain miles? I know the V8's have their own preventive things like timing chain/belt.
3. The red wine colored interior seems to be a hard one to sell used as they are on the car lots longer, are people having issues with the redish leather? should I avoid that color? My brother sells cars and mentioned that not black/tan interiors are harder to sell and I know the seats in his 04' GX470 driver seat aged quick.'

Other cars I was looking at buying were Audi A6's but we all know it will never been reliable like a lexus.

 

I have the cabernet interior you speak of in a 2014. There is no excessive wear in my interior. The seats are holding up great. I think it doesn't sell because it's a little polarizing (love/hate). The black interior is cleaner and appeals to the masses.

 

I personally love it so gonna use the fact it can be a hard sell as negotiating device

 

1. They basically only sell the AWD versions in my neck of the woods for lovely snow reasons.
If you're going to take clients out in it, don't lower it because you'll more than likely rub and scrape if someone is in the back. Not a good way to impress anyone if your Lexus is making funky noises over bumps and around corners.
2. Not really... just make sure basic maintenance is taken care of.
3. When I was looking at 4th gens I couldn't find a red interior with AWD. Wasn't that a RWD only option? If so, it could account for cars on lots longer if people are interested in AWD. I personally like the red interior... so get one with Red and I'll swap with my black interior!

 

The cabernet interior is awesome. I love the color. And yes, it is available with AWD.

As for AWD, I love my AWD vehicles in both snow and rain. I have zero complaints, but with that said, if I lived in a climate where that wasn't such an issue and I wasn't taking it up to the mountain passes regularly, I would go with RWD.

 

 

 

currently daily after i sold my SUV, ready to have something easier to park


by https://www.flickr.com/photos/42889480@N04/, on Flickr

 

Got a 2015 GS F Sport here and the Cabernet Red leather interior is holding up excellent, no issues at all.

As for AWD vs RWD. If you're going to be driving the car in the ice / snow then often then definitely go AWD, otherwise RWD does the job.

 

Red interior should not be any worse then any other color. I really doubt you need AWD in Tenn. Decent all season tires should be fine, it won't hurt but it would not be something I would feel is needed. There are not many issues with these cars, no major ones that I am aware of, just do the normal checks, get a PPI at a Lexus or Toyota dealership to be on the safe side and there is a Lexus website that will give you the maintenance history at Lexus dealerships.

 

AWD is great. Ready for anything. And there are lots to choose from.

 

Probably going RWD here in Nashville because I can drive my truck if its nasty out