knitware

I have a GS05 SE, only difference between mine and a revised 08 is a slight revision in wing mirror and a satnav display (06). If you want my advice buy a GS pre March 06 as you will save £200 ish a year in car tax! SEL will give you different alloys, go for the 17" rims, much quieter and cheaper tyre. Other difference I think is a spoiler, sunroof and stereo upgrade although the standard stereo is excellent. Try both models, you will not see any difference in driving dynamics. "Also I believe the sat nav in the GS is not as good as the IS multimedia, but that the satnav in the GS was updated in 07." The sat nav in the GS is excellent! "Are previous versions in the GS (pre 07) that bad?" There are no 'bad' versions of the GS, :D reliability is second to non. Minor body revisions were made in 08, so from 05 to 08 it is the same car, apart from satnav display. "is it worth trying to pay a bit more and get an 07 model?" No. Buy a 1 or 2 owner full service history example regardless of year. Nothing much to check apart from general scuffs on the alloys. These can be re-dressed quite cheaply. Check body work and interior for a rough life. Excellent reliability mechanically. These are just my thoughts. I went to look at a late 07 GS but decided on a very low mileage 05 with FLSH. I didn't consider the car tax until I bought it. I made the right choice, the GS, whatever year, is a beautiful car, you will love it!

Hello, This topic should go into the RX section however having drove an RX400h as a courtesy car I can say that it was quite wonderful. A lot different to my GS though, in all aspects, apart from quality. My impressions of the interior were quite good. I didn't like the centre console, the writing for aircon etc were a little crude. It also lacked some of the features that are standard in the GS. Driving was good, nice elevated view of the road. The hybrid engine is good quality too. When the engine kicks in it is not noticeable although when braking you can hear the whine of the regenerating motor battery config. These are not my cup of tea but the new RX450 looks like it could be a leap forward in design. Reliability should not be an issue, it is a Lexus.

True, the LS and new RX I believe already have the hard drive based system, although I'd be shocked if the updates are free of charge........ I'm sure there will be a charge too, it should be a lot cheaper than current update DVD cost, I hope, otherwise pointless to a degree.

That's a good buy. I have just ordered the new DVD from Lexus, £144. I'm happy to pay this as it includes the firmware so you can change destinations on the move. Apparently future Lexus models will do away with DVD based sat nav, the maps will be stored on a flash drive and updates for maps will be part of the cars service, that will be better.

Any tyre dealer can fit them that is what they do for a living if you let Lexus fit them you will have to pay a lot more than a tyre dealer. Quite a saga this one. I'm now having Dunlop SP Sport 01s fitted by Lexus. The reason is because the Dunlops are now the OE tyre fitted to Lexus GSs' and apparently very quiet. I was supposed to have had them fitted today but for a mix up, tyres not ordered for me, I have to wait until next Saturday. The reason i'm paying a little more for Lexus to fit the tyres is due to the £200 sensor arrangement fitted to the wheel, if Lexus brake this they will replace it, so I get piece of mind. Off topic, my major service went well today, apart from lack of tyres. Good experience and the car feels like new, amazing really. Another thing I noticed was the lovely smell coming from the air con, I hadn't realised how pongy it had got until a new filter was fitted! I shall report on the Dunlops when I get them on!!

Haha, too true! :D

That's a note of caution to anyone who likes Auid, BMW etc. If you want to keep driving these cars DO NOT test drive a Lexus GS, muhaaaaa....... The best car buying decision I have ever made. Well done me!

Previous post disproved the 'theory'.

Erm, I beg to differ: Proof http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...mp;#entry651991 -this was a combined total after a drive out of Sheffield. Anyway, this is by the by. Drive both cars, it's the only way to know which car you could live with, you could probably live with either! Both the GS and LS offer exclusivity, comfort and enjoyment. I'm passionate about the GS and I would not hesitate to recommend you buy one, or an LS,.... .......just face it, whatever you decide, it's the right choice.

Oh I see! I'm getting my tyres changed on Saturday at Lexus because of the valve fitted into the wheels. if Lexus brake it they can change it. There is a tyre pressure warning system on the GS so I wouldn't have thought it necessary to check pressures, anyway at least we know to leave the caps alone! Enjoy France!!

I don't understand? What happened, you had no metal dust covers?

Could I offer a spanner in the works? Have you thought about the latest model GS300? Sheffield Lexus have one within your price range. Since owning one of these I have never looked back, a wonderful car!

Just for comparison, I bought an 05 MK3 GS SE in Jan this year for £14800. The car I bought, an SE, is an insurance group lower, not sure why, still a 3ltr. The big difference with my car is that I bought it with 22k on the clock, a huge variation in milage. Like the one you saw it also had 1 owner full Lexus history. Shop around, you want a GS with average milage at least for £15k.

Yep, that's the tyre I'm going to choose. I'm going to try and hunt down the best price!

Hi, There are a few of the 3GS's about with prices on the high side. Take a look in Autotrader and do a national search, worth travelling for the right car. I bought mine at an independent dealer and saved a bit of money. You do right in going for a car registered before March 06, this will save about £200 a year in road tax. Good luck with the search, it will be worth it! ^_^

Thanks for the opinion guys. I've been on this website and found useful info which matches what you say: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresult...mp;sortValue=17 I've found Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3s' for £122 from MyTyres, they seem a bargain at the moment. I'll get a price for Lexus to fit them. I've a MK2 GS300 so this may not be totally relevant - When I was looking for new tyres, after reading all the recommendations on this site and others, I went for the Goodyear GS-D3.... While they are VERY good tyres overall, they have somehow failed to open my shoe laces in any particular aspect - It's like I can't fault them for anything but neither can I congratulate them for anything In other words, when the time comes for new tyres again I'll definitely be looking to change - not because I'm unhappy with the GSD3s but because there are definitely tyres out there that will be more suited to my particular requirements.... Also, £122 a piece seems a bit pricey - when I got mine a few months ago (Okay, probably nearer a year ago) they were only €90 each delivered to Ireland from Camskill which is just under £80 sterling in today's money! Thanks for info. I want a tyre that reduces road noise more than anything, i'm not a sporty driver by any stretch. Regarding the price, what size wheels did you have. The price differance is huge depending on rims! I will try camskill again though.

Hello Mark, Have you driven a 3GS yet? I bought mine a few months ago and it's a great car, but I could talk about it's merits all day, so to the point..... A 3GS should have had a 'minor; oil and filter change, service every 10K or every 12 months. A 'major' service is every 24 months or 20k. Make sure that the service history is up to date! Don't worry if there is no paper work, the Lexus dealer will verify. Check also recall work was done, steering and brake callipers, again a call to Lexus will verify. Im guessing there should be 4 stamps in your potential puchase's service book, 2 minor and 2 major. Hope this helps, John The good news is that the 3GS doesn't have a belt drive so no cam belt changes needed.

Booked my car in 2 weeks time. Mk3 GS300 - 4year major (20k) service. £330 inclusive of vat. I think that this is ok for the car it is. ^_^

Hi, I don't want to rub salt in but my GS300, 3ltr V6 achieves almost 38mpg on a run: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...mp;#entry651991 Bearing in mind that the cost of diesel per gallon is more expensive than petrol, that makes my V6 petrol more economical than a 2.2 diesel. This makes no sense other than there is a serious flaw in Lexus's attempt at producing a diesel manual car. Worth taking the car back to Lexus for investigation.

Thanks for the opinion guys. I've been on this website and found useful info which matches what you say: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresult...mp;sortValue=17 I've found Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3s' for £122 from MyTyres, they seem a bargain at the moment. I'll get a price for Lexus to fit them.

HI, Please help! I'm sure the subject of tyres has been covered before but I'm looking for concise overall opinion on the best replacement tyres for a MK3 GS300. I'm looking for: 1) The quietest road tyre available. 2) Grips well in the wet. 3) Value for money. £100 per tyre mark. 4) A leading brand name, Michelin, Dunlop, Yokohama (OE tyre) etc. 5) Should I let Lexus fit the tyres or can any tyre fitter be trusted. I need 2 for the rear for my next service in May so I'm keen to hear any advice. What is the best tyre that you have fitted!!!!!!!! :)

I had to have the rear callipers changed. Lexus fitted new rear pads FOC, I think you should ask about this.

Hello Tony, Mine was bought independently too, so don't worry about that. I had a call from Lexus Sheffield the week I bought the car. They wanted to check the steering and brake calliper due to Lexus issuing, not a recall as such, but a safety check. My steering rack was ok but I had both rear brake callipers changed including pads. The work was FOC and took about a day. They gave me a courtousy car so all was ok. I think the calliper recall is due to a pin within the calliper siezing and hence not stopping the car as good as it should. Your local Lexus dealer should/ will know about the checks that need to be made and should be happy to help as they will bill Lexus UK for any work done. Your car of course may not need any work doing, but don't worry about it however it could cure the rattle that you have!!

I don't think there should be any noise from the back end, the break pads are securely retained and should not move. Have you been in for the rear calliper re-call/safety check? It could be this.

I like the 1 GS, it still looks very modern and put a cheap private plate on it people would struggle to guess it's age. Lexus are made to last I'm sure another 100k miles will be a breeze for your car. Good choice and welcome to the Lexus experience!!! A little tip, if you don't fancy Lexus service price have a chat at your local Toyota dealer, much cheaper!