Help Needed Im Going To Buy Gs300 Sport Mk2 Tommorow

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Hi guys im going to buy a gs300 sport mk2 tommorow i already owned one some years ago

and cant really remeber all the things to look out for, 1 thing the gentlman has mentioned is that the exaust is making noise and the garage told him theres nothing wrong with the cat- convertor and the problem is more than likely a piece of metal that will eventuly find its way out the exhaust does this sound right to u guys? he confirmed he motd his car 3 weeks ago and if the problem was the cat- convertor it would have failed its mot due to emmissions.

i would really appreciate as much info as possible and thank you in advance for your help.

[danielbroad]

If its like a tinkling / rattling noise its probably the heat shield around the exhaust - an exhaust place should cut it off for you for a tenner, its not needed.

Daniel.

[maneesh]

worn and sloppy suspension, listen for clunking/knocking noises

wind noise at high speed

make sure all digits on radio display can be read

check all doors lock with remote

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thanks daniel and maneesh i will check those points out, good point u made about the numbers not working on the stereo i was going to buy a gs 2 months ago and the digits were all messed up, how would i go about checking the ball joints? thanks again guys ur help and assistance very much appreciated.

[Paul Reece]

Hello, good luck with your purchase of GS, most of the points to look out for have been covered by the others.

Make sure you have a good test drive, not just round the block, spend at least 20 minutes driving and go down the motorway and do 70mph. Check for wheel wobble especially when braking.

Find a car park and put on full lock both ways and listen/feel for any knocking through steering wheel for ball joints.

All the best

Paul.

[IanCornwall]

Having not had my GS for long I have experienced the joy of buying and depression from faults that I never found when I bought the car

Here is what I would do next time I buy one,

have a look around the car, pay attention to the gaps around the doors, boot and bonnet, these should be dead equal all the way up and down, if they look wrong they probably show some bump or 2 in the past

Look along each side of the car, wobbly bits or creases will show when looked at from light level that dont show up from looking square on

Look at all the tyres including the spare and while your there look for the tool kit and any damp in the boot

There is no doubt the GS was and is a quality build bit of kit, even a 12 yr old GS should be square and right

Now get inside and fiddle with everything you can find, include the tilt sunroof and the boot opener, get the seat moving back up forwards down etc, check the lumbar supports all work and the heated seats warm your bum, don't forget the passenger seat as well, do the same to that

Now turn on the headlights and make sure all the lights inside on the dash radio and heater all work, even open the doors and make sure the footwell lights work and the red floor lights work when the door is opened

Take a CD with you and ask the seller to load it into the CD changer, and a tape for the tape deck, the stereo should play all of these and the radio superb at all volumes, don't be afraid to retune the radio to check it all works

Even check the wipers and washers work

By the way mine passed all the above

Now under the bonnet, don't be surprised you can't see a lot, but what you do see should be either evenly dirty or spotless, wonder about a small clean part as that has either been worked on recently or changed, ask the vendor if the engine is dirtyish and a part is sparkling

hover the hand over the exhaust side and make sure the engine is cold

quick flip off the rad cap, and have a look inside, you should see antifreeze, now start the engine, any signs of bubbles can mean head gasket (I just did mine and it is quite easy but a pain in the *****) that was someting I didn't check :tsktsk: )

Rad cap back on and let the engine warm up while chatting aimlessly

Tickover will be about 1,200 cold and should settle to 700-750 when warm

when warm check the top hose, it should be firm, but not like concrete

Now off for the drive, radio off, and everthing should be quiet, smooth and a big grin on your face, gears should slide up and down quite smoothly, when safe check kick down, floor the pedal at about 40mph and you should feel the gearbox change down and acceleration makes you think wow thats good

there are 2 more buttons to test, pwr switch to the right of the shifter, click it to that and gearchanges should be quicker and faster, overdrive is for cruising and is the button the shifter rh side, doing about 45 to 50 light throttle click it in and out and the overdrive should engage and disengage on command

It should all feel smooth powerful and i guess the best thing is the silence as it does it

Now full lock somewhere and listen, no clonks no squeeks, no gratings, do this with both front windows open, soundproofing on the GS is superb and with the windows up you wont hear it if the wheel fell off

Basically if it all works and you like the colour, buy it, you won't regret it

If something doesnt work, it can be expensive to get it fixed, haggle harder than you think is reasonable, if they have had the Lexus for a while they know what something costs to fix

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thanks paul, i must say ian do u work for the aa or rac? lol the info u have given is priceless, i dont have a printer so im about to grab a pen and paper and write down all u have said, the gentleman has told me that the car should be serviced at at every 10000 miles but he has serviced it every 12000 by lexus main dealers i hope this does not make problems.

well im going to start writing now, i hope the seller does not think im going over the top with my inspection but then again if the car is genuine he should not mind. thanks again guys

[ColinBarber]

What to look for:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/knowledge...p;id=16&c=3

[Noel]

What to look for:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/knowledge...p;id=16&c=3

... but i can't see those drop down menus anymore since upgrading to Explorer 7....

[IanCornwall]

Well was it a goodie or a dumper, did you buy it ?

I used to work for a certain motoring organistation, training people and organising stuff, and when you have dealt with lots of stuff, then its a matter of transferring bits of stuff to other stuff

Service should be every 9,000 or 12 months according to the Lexus book, but as every engineering life cycle has at least 100% overload built in, unless someone cooked the oils there won't be a problem

Also 9,000 miles around city driving is probably the same wear as 20,000 + miles motorway cruising

I once did a long term reliability test for Vauxhall on 2 Astra diesel estates, between the motor pool we ran it full time on different shifts to accelerate the use and mileage

one was only allowed to top up oils and water, no filter changes and no adjustments

another had full service spot on the nail, and all sorts replaced

150,000 miles later on same oil etc, mine had the same amount of brakes and tyres etc as the unserviced one, a new fan belt and never broke down once, and if I remember rightly it used almost nil water and oil

the fully serviced one had i think 3 breakdowns and cost a small fortune more to service

externally no difference, and at the end we stripped it down and if you didn't know which was which no one could seperate the serviced from the non serviced car

Makes you wonder ???

Oh by the way the only thing I really make sure is changed is the cam belt early, soon you will see chains coming back i reckon

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hi thanks guys i bought the car i wan to ask you someting about the car

BLACK GREY LEATHER 1999 t reg

4 owners (guy i bought off owned it for last 5 years and paid 21500 for car in feb 2002 from lexus main dealer)

106500 motorway miles flsh at every 12000 miles belts done at 63k

1 year mot 3 months tax

interior and exterior usual wear

good condition not brilliant just stone chips and bits here and there

exhaust rattling everything else works

I PAID £5950 DID I GET RIPPED OFF?

oh and its due a B service cost is approx £250

[C4MYC]

hi thanks guys i bought the car i wan to ask you someting about the car

BLACK GREY LEATHER 1999 t reg

4 owners (guy i bought off owned it for last 5 years and paid 21500 for car in feb 2002 from lexus main dealer)

106500 motorway miles flsh at every 12000 miles belts done at 63k

1 year mot 3 months tax

interior and exterior usual wear

good condition not brilliant just stone chips and bits here and there

exhaust rattling everything else works

I PAID £5950 DID I GET RIPPED OFF?

oh and its due a B service cost is approx £250

I think you did a wee bit. £500 cheaper would have been nearer the mark but that`s only MY opinion. I haven`t checked Glass`s or owt.

Andy

[IanCornwall]

Well done

It doesn't matter a bit what anyone else thinks the car is worth, that is up to you

There is a test that you can do to check this value satisfaction level out

Next Monday when you walk out to drive to work,

get in the car

pull down the sun visor

open the mirror and look at the reflection

if some bloke is smiling at you, then it was worth every penny :D

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yea i will do that test lol, the reason i bought this car was because even at 106500 miles it accelerates as good as my old gs sport which had 42k on the clock i have test drove 2 gs sports with 84k and they were crap the were sluggish like they had been thrashed in the past but this 1 is smooth in sport and normal mode and everything works, i was offered a mint blues gs sport with sat nav v reg mint with 86k and flsh but its the colour, i say that the gs sport is best in black and i wouldnt buy any other colour i have been looking for over 1 year and only 2 others have been up at this price and were sold the same day they were advertised, even thought this car has done lots of miles the interior is in much better condition than my old gs with 43k

sorry i dint mention above that the blue v reg gs sport was offered to me for £6000

[maneesh]

hi thanks guys i bought the car i wan to ask you someting about the car

BLACK GREY LEATHER 1999 t reg

4 owners (guy i bought off owned it for last 5 years and paid 21500 for car in feb 2002 from lexus main dealer)

106500 motorway miles flsh at every 12000 miles belts done at 63k

1 year mot 3 months tax

interior and exterior usual wear

good condition not brilliant just stone chips and bits here and there

exhaust rattling everything else works

I PAID £5950 DID I GET RIPPED OFF?

oh and its due a B service cost is approx £250

BLACK GS Sports in mk2 shape are RARE...so price is not bad. according to Glass's guide the part-ex value of the car is £4700. So, yeah you prob paid a bit too much, esp if B service is due, and after another 13.5k, the cambelt will be due.

However, if you are over the moon with it, just enjoy your sweet ride dude..and getting a near 40 grand car (when new) for the price of a 2nd hand fiesta!!!

PLEASE post pics up!

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hi maneesh i am sort of happy with the price i paid of course cheaper would be better but the car is clean the interior is near mint, my 42k gs leathers all looked knackered this gs has grey leathers which are nearr mint if u want to see my lexus just go to autitrader website and look at the black t reg gs on sale for £6275 you will see 9 pics and the leathers are more better than the pics show, i had exhaust looked at today and garage said its because the heat covering needs welding and they done it for 20 quid.

i spoke to lexus coventry yesterday and they quoted me £270 for b service today i spoke to lexus edgware road and they quoted me £500 saying that labour rates are more expensive in london.

lexus coventrey quoted me £700 for 126k belt and plugs service and edgware road said £1030

this is a real "p" take