Advice - Buying A 2006 Gs300

Hi All,

I currently have a 2001 IS200 which is getting old and run down. It still runs quite well but I have been considering getting rid of it on and off for the last 6 months.

My father has a 2006 GS300 company car and is upgrading to a newer model.

He has been offered a trade in price of 17K as it has 140,000kms on it.

My IS200 has 200,000km's on it and I still have no issues.

Just wondering peoples thoughts on a car with 140Km's on it. In the newer Lexus model have people started to have issues at this time and beyond.

His car has always been serviced by Lexus and has never really had any issues.

Looking forward to hearing some advice.

Thanks

Gazza

Never buy a car with more then 100,000kms on it unless its just had a timing belt kit installed very recently!

The 2006 GS300 came with a chain not a belt so wouldn't consider that to be an issue.

The car has been serviced at Melbourne Lexus as per the manual.

Has anyone found that they have had any big issues with their Lexus when they have got to the 150-200k mark?

Mate at that price sell your SI200 for $10-12k and upgrade.

Lexus engineer their vehicles to drive like new after 300k kays.

I know a few blokes at the newcastle dealership, and when i was chatting with one of their mechanics, I asked has he enjoyed working there since starting there as an apprentice.

He said in comparison to other brands they are on a good wicket, but for personal development reasons the role lacks variety as 99% of his time is spent doing routine maintenance as they don't get any dramas with the cars (he has been there for 6 years)

You know the service history of the car, so grab a cheap deal and don't look back!

Correct the 3GRFSE was a chain

Old lady had a GRS190 and we are starting to see a few come through work now, nothing major tho

Main things to look out for:
- Noisy/Ticky valvetrain (commonly dismissed as noise associated with the Direct Injection system but can also be a sign of carbon build up, needs a full disassembly and clean!)
- Waterpump leak
- Front timing cover (and seals)

They have also had a few service campaigns, might pay to double check that they have had them done (if it was within the covered range) from the dealer, such as:
- Brake master cylinder cup campaign
- Fuel suction tube campaign
- Steering rack campaign
- Rear caliper campaign

If it's been serviced by Lexus the whole time all those should be ok anyway tho

Lowered cars cars can commonly suffer from:
- Stuffed front lower balljoints
- Stuffed front upper balljoints
- Leaking rear shocks (when lowered on OEM shocks with just lowering springs)

Hope that helps!

There's some great advice there!

May I ask how about the GS430's do they experience similar issues?

No trouble

The UZS190 GS430 uses the older VVTI 3UZFE and has no engine issues compared with the 3GR engine but still look out for the same others like: