Buying my first Lexus GS
 

I’m currently at the point that I need to buy a car. I know car prices are extremely high but I don’t have time to wait any longer. This brings me to my post. I’m currently looking at these 2 models.

2014 lexus GS 350 185k miles and 2 owners. Maintained in the west coast and all scheduled services were done at the Lexus dealership every 5k miles. Asking price is $14k, new brakes and tires.

2015 Lexus GS 350 f sport 68k miles, 1 owner. Maintained in Az. All services were done every 5k miles by vavoline. Asking $29k with new tires.

both cars look pretty good, no issues with paint and rims. My first choice is to buy the car with 185k miles because of the price and we’ll maintained.

which one in your experience?

Go with low miles.

Think about resale value. Then work backwards to the total cost of ownership.

more often than not, buying the newer, lower miles car is actually cheaper in the end.

I'd go with the 14K simply because personally mileage doesn't bother me and these engines are built to last forever.

Invest the 15K you saved, and the profits will go towards the car purchase $$$ making it less than 14K over time.

When buying a car you have to expand your search and be willing to go far distances to get deals. You go to where people aren't willing to go. That's how you get lucky. Like you, I just picked up my first GS a few weeks ago.

Mileage doesn't scare me at all when it comes to these cars, they're built like tanks. I bought my GS with 103K and just hit 114K, only done one oil change in that time.

Consider the wear and tear of the interior and exterior on the 2014 and see if you're okay with it.

The interior on mine was almost immaculate, there was slight wear and tear on the driver seat. The exterior however was a bit rough - rock chips on bumper and hood from daily driving, and some paint chips and dings in some area of the car. I wasn't bothered much by those imperfections.

If the 2014 has a clean carfax and good maintenance records like you said, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.

What's mileage to these cars? Nothing. 2GR engines are bulletproof.

I vote save the 15K and get the 2014!

Powertrain should be fine, just check for leaks in the shocks. Seems like a common thing on the GS and about $700 per shock replacement at the dealer.

Yes. Very important.

Suspension can be shot on higher mileage cars.

@7birdies welcome! Although its a huge price difference, personally would go for the 2015 because of the lower mileage. I have a 2013 with 65k miles and the only major issue was a $500 worn O-Ring with the AC system. Other than that, standard upkeep (brakes, tires, battery, oil changes).

Even with the low price point, the 2014 has too much mileage where bigger ticket, pricey items can begin to fail (catalytic convertors, oxygen sensors, infotainment, servo motors, suspension components, etc.). Recent threads here have members debating over whether differential fluids and transmission fluids needs to be changed earlier than 100k miles...with 185k miles, I would want to know if any of those were changed as well.

If you do go for the 2014, highly recommend you get it independently inspected (PPI), see if the dealership can come down to $13k and maybe offer some kind of warranty.

The odds of everything failing you listed are.. low, and they’re not that expensive to fix. We’re talking Lexus here, not BMW. These are Toyota’s with parts shared with MANY other models in the Toyota/Lexus family.

Just my two cents. I will never worry about a high mileage Toyota product, there is absolutely nothing to fear.

@7birdies - Well, since the 2014 GS 350 with 185k miles had all scheduled services done at a Lexus dealership, I presume it still has the original lifetime automatic transmission fluid...and the transmission is performing just like the day it was driven off the Lexus dealership's new car lot. :agreed:

Thank you everyone for your advice!!
 

The $14k car is clean on the inside and outside. The leather seats show light wear except the arm rest on the door. The armrest has some wrinkling, I suspect that’s from one of the owners resting their leg on it over time and this caused the wear on the leather. I’m going to take the car to my mechanic for a PPI and see what he says.

@7birdies Hope all goes well. We want to see pics if/when you buy it! :)

That’s a common misconception. The GS is not a rebadged Corolla.

Obviously..

The 2GR is a powertrain also used in the Camry, Avalon, RAV4, and Highlander.. those aren’t expensive cars to fix.

Sure, the GS will have independent parts outside of the powertrain but we’re not talking about BMW and other German brand repair costs here.

Literally nothing to be afraid of with a high mileage Lexus.

I'm surprised no one asked you how many miles you plan on putting on the car. If I was putting 20K miles annually on the car, I'd have to go with the low mileage choice.