I'm starting to love this car and how an Audi fanboy ended up with a Lexus
08-20-18, 11:33 AM
#16
Driver School Candidate
This would be my first post on this forum cause I can relate. I have been a long VW/Audi fan and owner having owned about 8 of their cars in the last 10 years, including an S5, RS5, currently with a Q7 TDI (yea got kids now)... With that said, of all the VW/Audi cars that I have owned, none have ever given me ANY problems what so ever. They've all been very solid and reliable cars. No electronics issues, or any others of any kind hence why from a reliability standpoint they had earned my loyalty. What I love about them the most is their infotainment and the way they execute things with finesse.... With that said, they lost me following diesel gate because I truly disliked not only what they did but mostly their handling of things. I have owned 3 of their TDIs, including my current Q7, and had a very terrible experience with them dealing with it. I now swear to never ever buy an Audi/VW product again... or at least not anytime soon until they bring the RS6 to the U.S. Got a weak spot for that vehicle.
I picked up a Lexus RX300 for my wife as a daily driver and that was my first introduction to Lexus products. I'm well aware of how reliable Toyota products are, but I was impressed with how smooth that vehicle is considering how old it is and how many miles it has. I have been using my Q7 TDI as a daily driver but have decided to park it and use it only as a family vehicle when we are all going out with the kids, so I've been researching picking up a sedan as a daily driver. Something I can have some fun with daily... The Audi S6 would have been top of my list but too disgusted with Audi right now still... I considered a W212 E63 AMG but I wanted something rock solid and didn't care for the extreme performance every day. Plus I'm not a fan of the MB COMMAND infotainment system (except in their most recent cars) nor the interior of the W212. By pure chance the Lexus GS came to mind and I started to research and explore. Test drove a 2017 F sport and was impressed with how nimble it was considering its size and weight. Loved the interior execution and the large display. Read all the negatives about the Lexus infotainment but I've learned to take reviews of things like that with a grain of salt since every day owners of these vehicles would know shortcut and how to use the system than reviewers who are in them for only a couple of hours at most. So I won't let that turn me away.... So now I am keeping an eye out for a specific package combination to appear in order to become a first time Lexus owner. Looking for a 2016+ F sport in blue with triple beam LEDs. I understand that they're very hard to come by so I'm being patient for now.
All this to say that I can relate to being a big Audi fan now going into a Lexus. ^_^
I picked up a Lexus RX300 for my wife as a daily driver and that was my first introduction to Lexus products. I'm well aware of how reliable Toyota products are, but I was impressed with how smooth that vehicle is considering how old it is and how many miles it has. I have been using my Q7 TDI as a daily driver but have decided to park it and use it only as a family vehicle when we are all going out with the kids, so I've been researching picking up a sedan as a daily driver. Something I can have some fun with daily... The Audi S6 would have been top of my list but too disgusted with Audi right now still... I considered a W212 E63 AMG but I wanted something rock solid and didn't care for the extreme performance every day. Plus I'm not a fan of the MB COMMAND infotainment system (except in their most recent cars) nor the interior of the W212. By pure chance the Lexus GS came to mind and I started to research and explore. Test drove a 2017 F sport and was impressed with how nimble it was considering its size and weight. Loved the interior execution and the large display. Read all the negatives about the Lexus infotainment but I've learned to take reviews of things like that with a grain of salt since every day owners of these vehicles would know shortcut and how to use the system than reviewers who are in them for only a couple of hours at most. So I won't let that turn me away.... So now I am keeping an eye out for a specific package combination to appear in order to become a first time Lexus owner. Looking for a 2016+ F sport in blue with triple beam LEDs. I understand that they're very hard to come by so I'm being patient for now.
All this to say that I can relate to being a big Audi fan now going into a Lexus. ^_^
08-20-18, 07:37 PM
#17
I’m more of a Mercedes fan boy, but after test driving two Audi A6 3.0T’s and only 1 Lexus 4GS I was convinced the GS350 was the perfect rleliable and sporty handling daily driver for me. The GS is adequately fast for passing and entering highway on ramps. The cherry on top for me was the 12.3” LCD screen. I’ve had my 2013 for about 2 years and I’m very happy with its rock solid reliability. I just wish Lexus would’ve offered the triple beam LED’s a option for the non hybrid GS’s prior to the mid life cycle facelift.
08-20-18, 07:59 PM
#18
Intermediate
This would be my first post on this forum cause I can relate. I have been a long VW/Audi fan and owner having owned about 8 of their cars in the last 10 years, including an S5, RS5, currently with a Q7 TDI (yea got kids now)... With that said, of all the VW/Audi cars that I have owned, none have ever given me ANY problems what so ever. They've all been very solid and reliable cars. No electronics issues, or any others of any kind hence why from a reliability standpoint they had earned my loyalty. ...
08-20-18, 09:12 PM
#19
Driver School Candidate
I’ve had a 2010 VW Touareg TDI until about 80k miles and sold it right when the diesel gate started. Never a single issue with it whatsoever. Only ever needed regular maintenance every 10k miles.
My current 2013 Q7 has about 60k miles and no issues... knock on wood. Same 3.0 TDI engine as the Touareg along with many other components.
Never kept the coupes for too long as I needed to change for various reasons. But besides the turbo issue on the Passat all have been solid.
When I compare with the issues that friends with BMWs and benzes constantly had.. it showed me how well built the VW/Audi’s were... but that’s a moot point anyway since I won’t be a customer of theirs anymore.
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bb700092 (08-20-18)
08-20-18, 11:33 PM
#20
Congrats OP!! Good to hear you’re on your way to happiness within the Lexus! I’m a recently new (to me, 2014) GS350 FSport owner as well.
I’m now at a time in my life where the Lexus was a 3rd car “fun” purchase (DD is a new 5.7 Tundra and wife has a 3rd row kid-hauler Pathfinder (grade schoolers destroy cars) and I was previously shopping Audi as well (S6, S7, M5).
I honestly didn’t love how the cars felt so heavy. I came from a lightweight IS350 and I loved that damn car. My kids hated how small it was though, and my wife thought of it more as a kids car.
I didn’t realize the GS350 was RWD, and after test driving the FSport, I was sold. I know it’s a tad slower, but it felt better than my IS350. I was a bit sad I didn’t end up in a 500HP monster, but we don’t do car loans and can’t stand dropping big coin on repairs for unreliable machines. I also drive a Kubota over John Deere LOL.
After our rental or house is paid off maybe I’ll spend money less wisely. (But probably not)
:-)
PS - the last Audi I looked at was at 30K miles, and was leaking oil severely that contaminated the water coming from the A/C condenser. I ran and didn’t look back.
I’m now at a time in my life where the Lexus was a 3rd car “fun” purchase (DD is a new 5.7 Tundra and wife has a 3rd row kid-hauler Pathfinder (grade schoolers destroy cars) and I was previously shopping Audi as well (S6, S7, M5).
I honestly didn’t love how the cars felt so heavy. I came from a lightweight IS350 and I loved that damn car. My kids hated how small it was though, and my wife thought of it more as a kids car.
I didn’t realize the GS350 was RWD, and after test driving the FSport, I was sold. I know it’s a tad slower, but it felt better than my IS350. I was a bit sad I didn’t end up in a 500HP monster, but we don’t do car loans and can’t stand dropping big coin on repairs for unreliable machines. I also drive a Kubota over John Deere LOL.
After our rental or house is paid off maybe I’ll spend money less wisely. (But probably not)
:-)
PS - the last Audi I looked at was at 30K miles, and was leaking oil severely that contaminated the water coming from the A/C condenser. I ran and didn’t look back.
Last edited by FI4runner; 08-20-18 at 11:36 PM.
08-21-18, 08:50 AM
#21
It's always interesting to hear everyone's experiences with things like cars. I've only ever been left on the side of the road with non-Toyota branded cars. I have friends who swear by brand x or brand y, have managed to talk me into buying one, just to find myself on the side of the road with costly repairs. The only time I strayed and didn't get royally screwed was my Z4. That thing was a bit quirky, but solid.
On my got screwed hard list and in no particular order:
3 GMs, 2 Fords, 1 Chrysler, 1 Jeep, 1 Subaru, 1 Mazda. None were more that 3 years old or had more than 30K miles when purchased. The Mazda was new. All were dumped before 40K miles to stop the pain.
On my got screwed hard list and in no particular order:
3 GMs, 2 Fords, 1 Chrysler, 1 Jeep, 1 Subaru, 1 Mazda. None were more that 3 years old or had more than 30K miles when purchased. The Mazda was new. All were dumped before 40K miles to stop the pain.
08-21-18, 01:58 PM
#22
Driver School Candidate
My buddy whom is a master tech at a Porsche dealership has told me over and over avoid Audi at all costs. He said they were the most frustrating cars to work on. And needed constant wrench time on them to keep them on the road. Granted he and I both have BMW's. But we both know how to turn wrenches ourselves. Lexus is one of the lowest maintenance vehicles on the road. And as far as the supercharger concerns go. I don't know the #'s off the top of my head. But I couldn't imagine the boost being any more than 6-7lbs. If the 2JZ can handle 30+lbs of boost on a stock block. I think the GS can handle 6-7lbs no worries.
08-23-18, 09:17 AM
#23
I find this thread interesting because the only other competitor to my GS350 purchase was actually a 2015 S5. I talked myself out of it though because I wasn't confident I was going to be able to keep miles off the car and feared being in a situation where I would take the S5 out of the 100K warranty.
Part of me is still toying with the idea of getting an RS5 down the road, but I have serious issues irrational fetish WRT the V8 that's in the RCF/GSF/LC.... I really like that
motor... and the post-depreciation prices chopped off these cars on the secondary market makes for a decent deal (with a budget left for mods etc to boot. ) .
-Mike
Part of me is still toying with the idea of getting an RS5 down the road, but I have serious issues irrational fetish WRT the V8 that's in the RCF/GSF/LC.... I really like that
motor... and the post-depreciation prices chopped off these cars on the secondary market makes for a decent deal (with a budget left for mods etc to boot. ) .
-Mike
08-23-18, 09:25 AM
#24
I'd buy a two stroke three wheeled tricycle, before I ever got tempted with an Audi again. Best to buy those new and dump then before their warranty expires. Even for a DIYer, the parts prices are obnoxious. I'm a firm believer that leasing was created to keep crap car makers from going under. There are just way too many cars that you never see again after they reach 5 years old.
them. There are a few high mileage S4 original owners here and there, but it's hard to get data.
With Lexus the data is everywhere driving around all over the place. Ancient (90s, early 00s) ES/GS/LS sedans appear at random. There are tons of people with Lexus vehicles well beyond 100K. Finding VW/Audi products like that being kept and operated on the reg by the original owner? good luck with that. Most of the high mileage audis have been sold or flipped a few times.
Of course there's always that "possibility that they will learn something" thing. And I think for some of the VAG (VW/Audi/Porsche) products the overall QC etc seems to be increasing.
-Mike
08-23-18, 09:27 AM
#25
08-23-18, 10:22 AM
#26
I’ve had it about two years. It’s been a stellar ownership experience so far. I’ve put 15k miles on it in 2 years, 50k odometer. I drive it extremely hard on back roads and it seems to take the licks without any consequences. My steering wheel tilt sensor broke recently so the wheel will telescope, but no more tilting. That will be a $1000 fix after talking to my MB parts department. Mechanically the car is sound, I have the last MY of the 6.2l na engine, not the newer 4.0 twin turbo setup. I had a lot of things fixed under warranty before that expired including a small oil leak, noisy operating sunroof, blown center channel speaker and the prematurely worn driver seat leather. I don’t regret my purchase at all. The car handles marvelously for a tiny front engine sedan and the motor sounds amazing at full throttle. I did some mild modifications with the intake and exhaust and the ECU, car makes 461whp/458trq, went aftermarket on the rotors and pads.
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drgrant (08-23-18)
08-25-18, 12:50 AM
#27
I’ve had it about two years. It’s been a stellar ownership experience so far. I’ve put 15k miles on it in 2 years, 50k odometer. I drive it extremely hard on back roads and it seems to take the licks without any consequences. My steering wheel tilt sensor broke recently so the wheel will telescope, but no more tilting. That will be a $1000 fix after talking to my MB parts department. Mechanically the car is sound, I have the last MY of the 6.2l na engine, not the newer 4.0 twin turbo setup. I had a lot of things fixed under warranty before that expired including a small oil leak, noisy operating sunroof, blown center channel speaker and the prematurely worn driver seat leather. I don’t regret my purchase at all. The car handles marvelously for a tiny front engine sedan and the motor sounds amazing at full throttle. I did some mild modifications with the intake and exhaust and the ECU, car makes 461whp/458trq, went aftermarket on the rotors and pads.
Quick question, so I understand.
In 15K miles (or is this prior to your 15K miles of ownership?) you’ve had a $1000 steering wheel repair, oil leak (pan, valve cover, oil filter housing? Cost out of warranty?), sunroof issue, speaker problem, and leather problem?
Were these things that you were just fixing because they were under warranty and you could, or because if they were not fixed they would drive you crazy - and they really did need to be fixed, you weren’t being petty?
I’d like to try and justify my purchase as much as possible, but will still always be interested in more performance - but performance, always comes with a downfall. I have a really hard time trying to balance the two, and I don’t like to gamble with vehicles (WA is a sales tax state, so I can’t just offload cars if I don’t care for them. We keep our cars 5 years, because we pay 10% tax on the purchase).
:-/
If only the GSF sold for $50K rather than $80K
Last edited by FI4runner; 08-25-18 at 12:53 AM.
08-25-18, 07:55 AM
#28
I had all those issues fixed while under factory warranty by my dealer right before it expired. The oil leak had to do with a oil pan gasket or something. I learned from other mbworld forum users that you always complain about every little thing before the warranty expires. The only reason the dealer found the leak was because I pretended like I could smelled oil, even though I never actually smelled any leaks.
The only thing that has broken out of warranty so far is the steering wheel adjustment sensor. The GS-F will certainly be less expensive to maintain or repair than any thing AMG. I bought the car as a non CPO. I would say a GS-F is 8/10th the fun of the C63 with not nearly as much headache. The GS-F It’s more of a reliable E60 V10 M5 with two less cylinders.
The only thing that has broken out of warranty so far is the steering wheel adjustment sensor. The GS-F will certainly be less expensive to maintain or repair than any thing AMG. I bought the car as a non CPO. I would say a GS-F is 8/10th the fun of the C63 with not nearly as much headache. The GS-F It’s more of a reliable E60 V10 M5 with two less cylinders.
08-25-18, 12:31 PM
#29
New Lexus owner myself and loving it. Always wanted a BMW. Got a CPO 2012 BMW 535i and loved it. Went in with eyes wide open on repair costs and is why I got CPO. Got 2 limp mode turbo issues under warranty fixed for 100 each. Got to 95 k miles this year and no longer under warranty. High pressure fuel pump went out was 3k to fix at dealer. (Got it done for 1k total using an Indy and a remanufactured part). Windshield cracked and my brakes started to squeel and that was enough for me to jump ship. I felt like I was driving a ticking time bomb. I do miss the torque of the turbo down low.
Greener pastures for sure overall with Lexus for daily driving.
Greener pastures for sure overall with Lexus for daily driving.
08-25-18, 10:16 PM
#30
I had all those issues fixed while under factory warranty by my dealer right before it expired. The oil leak had to do with a oil pan gasket or something. I learned from other mbworld forum users that you always complain about every little thing before the warranty expires. The only reason the dealer found the leak was because I pretended like I could smelled oil, even though I never actually smelled any leaks.
The only thing that has broken out of warranty so far is the steering wheel adjustment sensor. The GS-F will certainly be less expensive to maintain or repair than any thing AMG. I bought the car as a non CPO. I would say a GS-F is 8/10th the fun of the C63 with not nearly as much headache. The GS-F It’s more of a reliable E60 V10 M5 with two less cylinders.
The only thing that has broken out of warranty so far is the steering wheel adjustment sensor. The GS-F will certainly be less expensive to maintain or repair than any thing AMG. I bought the car as a non CPO. I would say a GS-F is 8/10th the fun of the C63 with not nearly as much headache. The GS-F It’s more of a reliable E60 V10 M5 with two less cylinders.
Until then, there is always a trade off right? It really just depends on what you are willing to trade (money, performance, reliability).
You have an excellent stable of machines - congrats, and enjoy! :-)
Last edited by FI4runner; 08-25-18 at 10:23 PM.