schylepste

Just got done buying a silver 2014 GS 350 F-sport with 58,000 miles on it. Came down to that and a less expensive ES 350 but the interior and altogether styling got us in the end. It's the RWD option. I've been reading these threads all day. Love the way the car drives, handles, and I am holding out hope that I can run it up to 200,000 without major issues. One major thing I overlooked was the tires. Reading this forum, am I to expect to have to replace tires every single year?? Feeling a little queasy....

bclexus

You won't have to replace tires every single year if you just drive it around the block every once in a while - then replacement is only every other year.

Don't even ask about the brakes and rotors!

schylepste

Mercy.....gonna be thinking about that ES 350 a lot in the coming days/weeks/years .

rtalnique

UDel

See if you can get a pair of matching wheels so you don't have a staggered setup if you want your tires to last longer and be able to rotate them, it will pay for itself if you plan on keeping the car a long time.

schylepste

That is good advice. To be honest I know next to nothing about cars. I did not even realize it was staggered (shame on my salesman - who knew I was looking for the cheapest car to maintain over time) until coming here. I was just so in awe of how much better it looked than the ES I was comparing it to. My mechanic friend just recommended the Lexus brand to me because I wanted something safe and most of all reliable for my daughter (and Mom wants to have fun in it once in a while too).

np20412

I don't know how everyone around here is driving their rwd f sport to chew thru tires so quickly. I had new tires put on at 26k when I bought my car 2 years ago and I've put 18k on the car still with 7/32 tread left on the rears.

AJLex19

Definitely shouldn't have buyers remorse with the GS over tires. There have been quite a few posts in the last few months about staggered setups, tire brands, tire longevity mostly from owners with staggered RWD F-Sports

As already mentioned, you can always square your tire setup and run 245/40 all around on your current wheels, or buy two 19x8 wheels, put them on the back (to match the front) and run the same size tires on all 4...but before doing that, just go with a good tire brand, with decent thread life and warranty to see how your own driving experience works out.

Congrats and don't forget to post pics!

Cwang

To be fair I don't think anyone buys a Lexus for low running costs. In theory they are reliable so that will put you ahead of the big 3 Euros but when work is needed it's damn expensive, make no mistake. In my short but happy ownership experience I've found Lexus parts are double to triple the similar Toyota part in my market.

Take pride and joy in the running costs of your premium vehicle

UDel

Many salesman don't know much about the vehicles they are selling, he either probably did not know the tires were staggered or was not aware or never thought that you can't rotate staggered tires. Don't worry too much about that, just start looking to get the same size wheels to match all around now so you can rotate them and hopefully you find them by the time it is time for a new pair of tires, look on ebay, craigslist, junk/salvage yards, etc, doubt you will have to pay too much. There are several higher performance cars with staggered setups, you are not alone with your RWD F sport, NSX's were notorious with eating tires and I don't think you even have the option of putting the same size wheels all around in NSX's, at least not without some modding.

UDel

Stay away from the dealership and Lexus vehicles except for maybe the LS460 have low running costs, going to a Toyota dealership for your Lexus will normally save a lot of money, DIY saves a ton. My GS430 was very cheap to own/maintain for the 10 or so years I had it because I stopped taking it to the Lexus dealership and DIY'd just about everything.

schylepste

I am not too worried about staying away from the dealership - I got a 3 year 45000 mile warranty. I also have a good local guy if I need him.

azipod

Don't worry about the having to replace the tires that often. It really isn't going to be that bad, at all. Over time, you will really enjoy the car and it will overshadow all your tire concerns.

mryeh17

When I first got my GS350 F-Sport I enjoyed going through turns at a higher speed, occasionally (safely) breaking the rear end free. Then my left rear tire wore out and I spent $4,000 on a new set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I stopped driving hard through turns (only straight line hard acceleration) and so far the tires have lasted 2 years with at least another year of tread left. BTW I'm on staggered tires so no rotation.

ECL

My tires are seven years old and still have plenty of tread. Plenty of life on my brake pads, too.