2011 gs 350
01-19-18, 02:27 PM
#1
2011 gs 350
I bought a new 2016 GS350 and gave my 2003 GS 300 to my daughter in Memphis. She was warming it up locked up in her driveway this am in Memphis and someone stole it! She is spoiled for life so shopping around for a replacement and found a loaded 2011 GS350 via Carmax with only 42,000 miles on it for $20,000 ($19,998). It looks immaculate and has sportier wheels and the navigation so pretty much has everything. That price is ok on Bluebook and Edmonds.
My question for the group, are there any watch outs, quirks, known problems, etc, with this model year?
Thanks in advance
My question for the group, are there any watch outs, quirks, known problems, etc, with this model year?
Thanks in advance
01-19-18, 02:33 PM
#2
I haven’t seen any issues on 2011s, but they are still fairly “new” and there aren’t that many to begin with.
The only real issue I could see being an issue in the immediate future is the water pump, but that’s only based on problems with previous years, the design may have been changed, who knows.
Carfax also offers quite an extensive warranty with their vehicles for a good price, and contrary to the belief of many, their warranties can be extremely comprehensive, especially on a car like this where repairs, which can be rare, are expensive.
The only real issue I could see being an issue in the immediate future is the water pump, but that’s only based on problems with previous years, the design may have been changed, who knows.
Carfax also offers quite an extensive warranty with their vehicles for a good price, and contrary to the belief of many, their warranties can be extremely comprehensive, especially on a car like this where repairs, which can be rare, are expensive.
01-21-18, 01:22 AM
#6
I find the responses to this thread kind of funny. OP comes on asking how a certain type of car is, and people tell him to get a completely different one.
I feel that if one were available to him locally, he would be considering it, and doesn’t need to be told how much better the 4th gen is as he owns one. Also, to get a 4th gen with mileage even close to this 3rd, he’s going to have to add at least $5k out the door. It’s not a whole lot, but worth noting. Any 4th gen with a similar price is going to be close to, if not over 100k miles or be in not that great of shape. My dealer had a 2013 with 69k miles for $23k, but the outside of it was hammered and ultimately took 2 months before it was ether sold, or went to auction.
Also, those Off-lease cars are not a fair/accurate representation of market prices for vehicles as all of them, or least a majority, have been in accidents, in some cases severe, hench the cheaper prices. For some, this isn’t a huge issue, but I would prefer a clean record 2011 over a 2014 that’s had an accident and costs a few grand more, despite the low mileage. The not knowing how bad the accident is and who repaired it is my issue, not the fact that it’s been in one.
An argument can be made for buying the last year of a generation over the first year of one, although 5 years on, I haven’t seen that many issues with 2013s, thank god.
Realistically either a 3rd or 4th gen is a safe bet and both will be a significant step up from her 2003. If a 2013 pops up for the same price with similar mileage or even slightly higher mileage, I’m with others, go with that, but if the 2011 is what your eyes are set on, I can’t see any reason not to, unless of course the 2011 is overpriced, but at least in my area, that price is in line with the going rate.
I feel that if one were available to him locally, he would be considering it, and doesn’t need to be told how much better the 4th gen is as he owns one. Also, to get a 4th gen with mileage even close to this 3rd, he’s going to have to add at least $5k out the door. It’s not a whole lot, but worth noting. Any 4th gen with a similar price is going to be close to, if not over 100k miles or be in not that great of shape. My dealer had a 2013 with 69k miles for $23k, but the outside of it was hammered and ultimately took 2 months before it was ether sold, or went to auction.
Also, those Off-lease cars are not a fair/accurate representation of market prices for vehicles as all of them, or least a majority, have been in accidents, in some cases severe, hench the cheaper prices. For some, this isn’t a huge issue, but I would prefer a clean record 2011 over a 2014 that’s had an accident and costs a few grand more, despite the low mileage. The not knowing how bad the accident is and who repaired it is my issue, not the fact that it’s been in one.
An argument can be made for buying the last year of a generation over the first year of one, although 5 years on, I haven’t seen that many issues with 2013s, thank god.
Realistically either a 3rd or 4th gen is a safe bet and both will be a significant step up from her 2003. If a 2013 pops up for the same price with similar mileage or even slightly higher mileage, I’m with others, go with that, but if the 2011 is what your eyes are set on, I can’t see any reason not to, unless of course the 2011 is overpriced, but at least in my area, that price is in line with the going rate.
Last edited by RXGS; 01-21-18 at 01:40 AM.
01-21-18, 02:35 PM
#7
Your daughter is going to LOVE this vehicle. I own a 2011 GS 350, and searched for a full 18 months for it, nationwide. Mine had 15,000 actual one-owner miles on it and I paid $22K for it. The reason I wanted this model of Lexus and this year is because it is among the rarest Lexus made--only 3,400 total made. It is also the last Lexus GS350 completely made in Japan, which is exactly what I wanted. Finally, it is the last of the GS350 3rd generation year, with 2006 being the first. I wanted a super-late model year, assuming that a lot of the bugs and glitches from the earlier designs would have been fixed by 2011. One of the glitches fixed was that, so I've read, is that the Lexus sound system would blow out the speakers. My Lexus will let you turn the sound up only so high (but is plenty loud for me) to keep from blowing out the speakers. According to what I've read on this forum, the 2006 model has had issues with transmission. So far, my car's transmission is the quietest, smoothest-shifting I've had in any car in my life, and I'm 58 years old.
From what I have researched, this model has among the lowest repair and maintenance costs of any Lexus. In short, this car is very hard to find and checks a lot of boxes for me.
Although I've owned mine only six months, I really, really enjoy driving this car. It is super-quiet, and also super-safe. I didn't have the car a month before I had to buy four new tires all around, because the tread had worn more I couldn't find a tire shop that would install only three new tires on an AWD. (You didn't say if this was an AWD you were looking at.) If there is a quirk about my car that I really don't like is the weak cooling of the front seats--it is just a recirculating fan and just doesn't live up my expectations. I've cleaned and re-cleaned the seats, tinkered with the bi-level air and fan levels, hoping to improve the seat cooling. Just don't expect much here. After I purchased, I had the dealership do a certified-type inspection, and they told me that I had to look out for carbon build-up in the engine, especially since this car had not been driven very much at all in six full years. Other than that, they couldn't find anything of note about this car or to tell me something to look out for.
For one, I doubt your daughter is going to have to leave this car running to warm it up. In Kansas City, as cold as it has been the last month, my Lexus gets very warm inside in only 4 minutes. So I am really happy about that too. It is a wonderful sedan. My wife says the Lexus is all my Christmas presents for the next 15 years. That's fine with me. It's an incredible car.
From what I have researched, this model has among the lowest repair and maintenance costs of any Lexus. In short, this car is very hard to find and checks a lot of boxes for me.
Although I've owned mine only six months, I really, really enjoy driving this car. It is super-quiet, and also super-safe. I didn't have the car a month before I had to buy four new tires all around, because the tread had worn more I couldn't find a tire shop that would install only three new tires on an AWD. (You didn't say if this was an AWD you were looking at.) If there is a quirk about my car that I really don't like is the weak cooling of the front seats--it is just a recirculating fan and just doesn't live up my expectations. I've cleaned and re-cleaned the seats, tinkered with the bi-level air and fan levels, hoping to improve the seat cooling. Just don't expect much here. After I purchased, I had the dealership do a certified-type inspection, and they told me that I had to look out for carbon build-up in the engine, especially since this car had not been driven very much at all in six full years. Other than that, they couldn't find anything of note about this car or to tell me something to look out for.
For one, I doubt your daughter is going to have to leave this car running to warm it up. In Kansas City, as cold as it has been the last month, my Lexus gets very warm inside in only 4 minutes. So I am really happy about that too. It is a wonderful sedan. My wife says the Lexus is all my Christmas presents for the next 15 years. That's fine with me. It's an incredible car.
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01-22-18, 08:43 AM
#8
Thanks
Thanks for all the great replies especially the last two. We are trying to stay at $20K which limits our choices on 2013 and newer. We are likely to go with the 2011. Regarding Lexus GS manufacturing - according to this Lexus website the GS is still made in Japan http://www.lexus.com/about/manufacturing
Regards,
Jim
Regards,
Jim
01-22-18, 12:22 PM
#9
Pole Position
I bought my 2011 GS350 after getting rid of the 2006 GS300. Bought it with 52k miles and now just under 70k. Big upgrade for me going from the 3.0 to 3.5 V6. Transmission shifts smooth as butter and is a very comfortable car.
I'm glad I bought this car, although I'm now thinking about perhaps selling it and buying a RC350.
I'm glad I bought this car, although I'm now thinking about perhaps selling it and buying a RC350.
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