Gs430 Newbie

PTE · June 12, 2010

Hello, newbie here I have just bought a 2005 GS430 so I thought I would sign up to the board and say hello. :) I was getting a bit hacked off with the regular large expense of keeping my X5 on the road (+ suspect build quality) :tsktsk: and wanted a V8 that was going to be a good ownership proposition i.e. reliable. These cars seem really cheap at the moment. It was £13K with only 44K miles, demo + 1 owner. A lot of car for little money!!

Never owned a Lexus so thought I would try one out and see if it lived up to its reputation. Since a lot of my driving is in traffic on the motorways I actually quite liked the idea of something that had a fairly relaxing ride, lots of toys and a great stereo which this has. I've done a 100 or so miles in it so far and whilst it is not the most involving car to drive it is supremely quiet and comfortable. Which I am rather getting to like the idea of. I think the 430 had a huge spec as standard (including the ML sound system which is great..!!) but I am not sure what other options there were that may have been added. Would be interested to know if anyone can direct me to the 2005 options list?

Also the previous owner (an older fellow who I spoke to when I was checking out the history of the car) had just put on 4 new but cheap Enduro Runway tyres on. I'll live with them for the time being but when I need to change I do want to put something on that is more appropriate to the car. What brand is the standard fit and are there alternatives that anyone would recommend?

Lastly would you bother with a warranty? Looking on the Lexus website it looks like my car could still qualify for their warranty at circa £700 or I could go down the after-market route which I suspect would be around £500ish. Having had one on the BMW it paid for itself big time. However I am wondering whether it is worth it with the Lexus? Appreciate your thoughts?

Thanks

PTE

kevinsgs300 · June 12, 2010

welcome to the club mate

dave1 · June 14, 2010

Good choice of car. I have found FK 452 tyres good on my GS430 and previously on GS300 Sport. Not sure but I dont think there were many options available although mine does have factory fitted Motorola phone, cradle, etc. with columb controls. Also rear parking sensors but not sure if they were factory fit or aftermarket.

Is the car from a Lexus dealer as Lexus Approved, independant dealer or private purchase as this will affect your warranty options.

PTE · June 25, 2010

Thanks for the comments... I've put a 1000 miles on the car in the last 2 weeks. And the waftability of it is really growing on me. I'm keeping it in the sports mode and using the tiptronic to get a bit more energy into the gear changes which feel a little slow if left to their own devices. You can faintly hear the V8 growl under hard acceleration but otherwise it is surreally silent..all the better for listening the ML hifi.

I bought the car from an independent dealer. Dont know whether Lexus would be interested in putting a warranty on it. Full Lexus dealer SH. At the moment I dont think I'll bother.

Compared to the X5 forums I was on before which were crammed full of posts on regular issues...they seem relatively few and far between on here which I can only take as a good thing :D

Parthiban · June 25, 2010

Welcome to LOC and congrats on the new car. Looked at buying a GS430 back in 2005 so can confirm with some confidence that there weren't any options on the 430, it came fully loaded including the awesome adaptive cruise control.

I think the standard fit tyres were Bridgestones, but personally I wouldn't refit them as they're not great and create quite a lot of road noise. As mentioned a lot of people are happy with Falkens, or Dunlops are good too. Michelin would probably be the best choice but they're pricier than the competition, Vredestein Sessantas also come highly recommended.

PTE · June 25, 2010

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. :) Will certainly bear this in mind when it comes to refreshing the tyres. Micheldever Tyres are conveniently my nearest tyre shop so they should be good for choice and price.

Have tried the adaptive cruise control. Very smart bit of kit. It's a little bit nannying if you have it on the maximum distance setting. If you put it on the minimum distance setting then it works better since it allows you to maintain pace and overtake without automatically braking too soon which it is prone to do on the maximum setting.

It's actually quite a rare car too. Usually when you buy a car all of a sudden you seem to see it everywhere. However I've only seen one and that ironically happened to be in my company carpark. I actually like the anonymity you get as well. However straight line performance is healthy and 4th gear seems to be pretty versatile on the motorway for most situations.

It's interesting that Lexus are just not as widely accepted as German cars here in Europe. I think they offer a really refreshing alternative. Guess lack of a diesel really hampered adoption on the continent.

Sorry O/T. Nice villa!! How long have you had it...? (we've got one on the Gulf Coast)...

Parthiban · June 25, 2010

It's odd actually, in London due to the congestion charge exemption the hybrids are really common - I see GS450hs all the time! The 430s are very rare though, and the 460 is incredibly rare - would be interesting to find out how many actually came into the country as I wouldn't be surprised if it was a ridiculously low number. Yep I remember off the test drive that the 430 was surprisingly quick, I've heard the 450h is even faster but haven't had the pleasure of driving one of those yet.

Thanks! Had the villa just over 3 years now, love escaping to the sun whenever we can! Where's your place? Do you rent it out as well or just keep it for yourselves?

PTE · June 28, 2010

Yes the 450H is a shade faster than the 430, just under 6 seconds to 60 versus just over for the 430 according what I have read. I think the 460 is faster than both but as you say very rare here in the UK. The 450H was launched about the same time or not long after and picked up the majority of sales. Other than the performance you dont really get a lot of benefit having a V8 since the car is so silent unless you really gun it you don't hear the engine. So I dont think you'd feel short changed by having a smaller engined V6+battery it probably quite suits the car.

As for the villa we bought ours in 2007. Near Port Charlotte about 10 mins from the coast. We rent it out since that pays the mortgage!! We're heading out in a month. Cant wait!!