acnup00tl

I made the biggest mistake of my life by switching from Acura to Lexus. I had a 99 tl for a year and a half no problems, I sold it and bought A 02 tl type s with no problems. I totaled my car and was forced to buy another car . I have always like the gs300/400 so I drove it and liked it. I figured hey its a Lexus it will be trouble free ,boy was I wrong.

I picked up a 98 gs300 spectra mica blue with 68,000 miles and in pretty decent shape for 19,000. This was a pretty good deal in my eyes . I couldnt really afford a 400 or a new car because I was at fault when totaling the type S. I have had the gs for 4 months and have already dropped 1500 to 2000$ in repairs. This car had all the maintence up to date every 5k miles so I figured this car wouldnt and couldnt fail. I have already replaced a lower ball joint,power steering pump,underdrive pulley , and a bumper that was poorly painted by lexus . I now have 72k miles on it and all his went wrong in 4 months.

My car runs fine now but I am just waiting for something else to go wrong. The styling of the gs is unparallel it is a beautiful car and got way more compliments than the tl ever got. I have put a few mods on the gs to make it look better ,but I just dont feel like Lexus is the car for me. I had always wanted a lexus from the time I was 16. I am now 23 and wondering if Lexus is where I should be. Everytime I would tell someone I had a acura they would say nice car or thats nice. I tell people I have a Lexus now and they say OOH,AHH,SWEET,HOT,BALLER. things like that . I guess I should of just gotten a less noticable brand of car.

I guess I am just saying I thought Lexus was something that could not be compared to because of the name. I was wrong all cars have problems and I put Lexus up on the pedestal.

I will say my Gs LOOKS DAMN GOOD THOUGH with a tte lip and l-tuned skirts and the 18 l-tuned wheels.

1sicklex,Rominl Sorry guys this is just the way I feel

derrick

acnup00tl,

Every make has its 'lemons' (ie not perfect). It's unfortunate that you picked up a car with a lot of maintenance at an earlier interval than normal. However, a car make gets its reputation based on overall satisfaction throughout its customer base. Lexus is one of the tops, based on JD Power surveys (and for a good reason) Lexus also has done great PR work to obtain its current status to keep up with (or surpass) the Germans.

Acura / Honda has a reputation to be a great value car. In many circles, the Acura is a rung below Lexus but still is a great car. I've invested quite a bit on my car and love my TL-S to death. But if you ask me what my obtainable 'dream car' would be, it would be a Lexus GS. (Skylines are a pipe dream)

I can sympathize with your dilemma. You thought you were getting an awesome car but you got something less than what you paid for. You've dropped big bucks on it now, you might as well ride out the depreciation. That's the price we all pay for a high-end car.

- derrick
'02 EBP TL Type-S
mods: OEM kit & spoiler, PIAA fogs, 20% tints, 3A racing tips, painted calipers & y-pipe, INSPIRE sills
future mods: springs, sways, cleared corners, JDM conversion (?)

acnup00tl

Derrick,

I loved my tls like no other just as you do. I could of bought a Lexus twice but opted for Acura . I had a 98 accord exv6 coupe and it was a helluva a car. I switched to the 99 tl and then to the 02 . None of those cars gave me any problems. I would of bought another one but I was a little tired of the same interior from the 6 gen honda and the 2nd gen tl. I really dont forsee me going back to Lexus.

I took my lexus ot the dealership and was shocked when they told me an oil change was 110$. That 110$ oil change consists of not synthetic mobil 1 just regular oil and a tire rotation. That in my eyes is plain outrageous! The Lexus dealership is totaly different than the Acura dealership . The flat screen plasma on the wall fireplace,marble floors,persian rugs,antique furniture. The Lexus dealership actually has heated soap dispsensers in the bathroom .


Now maybe if the Lexus runs fine for 25 to 30k miles I will be impressed. I cant wait to find oujt how much the 90k service is. I think its 1200 to 1400$ .

rominl

that's very weird man. my 98 gs4 has no problem whatsoever and tons of guys with gs has no problems too. trust me the gs is built to last and lexus means quality. occasioanally there could be something wrong but it's nothing major.

could the car be driven hard before? some sort of minor accident? went up curb or so? that's something you will never know

SCWells72

Yeah, I had a somewhat opposite experience. My 2000 3.2TL had many problems ranging from electrical issues to rattles and squeaks. My 2001 GS430 has been literally problem-free...one small rattle in the passenger-side seat belt harness that they fixed on my 30K mile servicing.

I think both the experience you're having with your GS and the one I had with my TL aren't the norm for these makes.

Please don't judge the overall quality of Lexus/Acura based on the (unfortunate) issues you've had when most other owners, publications, reliability surveys, etc., authoritatively agree that these manufacturers create some of the most solid automobiles in the market.

acnup00tl

I dont believe the car was in a wreck Rominl. I looked for sanding marks and for overspray and could not find any. Dont get me wrong the Lexus handles beautifully and the interior is very nice. The car makes no noise at all at highway speeds. It defintely is a nice car but, I guess I thought I was gonna get a perfect used car and that did not happen.

I also forgot I had to replace a headlight casing because of it fogging up.That part is 1400 at the dealer. I am going to have to replace the other headlight now too because it is fogging up aswell. Im gonna drive the Gs for awhile and hope everything turns out for the best

rominl

the headlight problem is common between all gs. your warranty went out already? mine is but luckily i don't ahve the headlight problem

tls988

I had a 93 LS400 and had over 90,000 miles without any problems except regular maintenance. The maintenance
is very expensive. However, the lexus service is very good in my area and also always have an ES300 or RX300 free loaner for any major maintenance services. I bought my LS400 used and was lucky that it was trouble-free. I am thinking about getting an used GS430 next time because of my previous experience with my LS400.

rominl

well the way i think about it, if you compare the maintenance cost to the true cost of the car, they are pretty cheap. but if you just look at the maintenence numbers, of course they might be something.

also, i wouldn't do any maintenance work at the dealer anyway, it's a rip off

Mr Hyde

Sounds liek your car is the exception to the norm. The GS is a great cat reliability wise. As everyone already said,every make has a few bad cars. Sounds liek unfortunately yours turned out to be one of them. Hopefully all those repairs you made so far will be the last for a long time, and you get to sit back and enjoy the ride. G-Luck

power3dfx

i too have a gs4 w/37k and no problems but the damn rattles. since you bought the car with so much mileage, you have no idea what the car has been through. as rominl said, these cars are problem free. i would say that unless you sense anymore problems, you should have a good car. those problems you listed are not that big, and i highly doubt you will get more problems.
enjoy the GS4, be happy and dont worry! However, have the car checked by the dealer, there is a charge but it will tell you if there are more problems to come. The gs is an exceptionally well built car, so dont even think about any major problems.
service is expensive, and since you have no warranty and the car is getting older, find yourself a good mechanic to save money.
enjoy the gs, i know you will!

ferizzo

Doesn't sound like the problems are major but they do sound expensive, as I would have expected. When I was looking to buy a GS4 earlier in the year I lurked on the clublexus boards and the service prices and repairs were much more expensive than a TL. This makes sense though since the GS3/4 is about 20K more in price than a TLS. Great car though and I'm sure it will be relatively trouble free going forward.

1SICKLEX

Did u run a car-fax? Sorry to hear about this.

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

You bought a lemon, it happens, and it happened to you.

Guess what, I still think lexus builds a better car overall than Acura. No disrespect to your situation, it is after all, just a car, and you did not buy this car brand new, and you, as many have mentioned, do NOT know how many people have driven the car and under what conditions. Worst of all, you don't know how the car was broken in. I had the option of buying a used maxima or a new one, i went with the new one just so I wouldn't have the worry of not knowing WHO and HOW this car was driven before I owned it.

Your issues stated are not nearly as serious as failing transmissions in my book, b/c failing transmission can lead to severe accidents. Mismatched or shoddy bumper paint is not my biggest concern at this point.

Sorry to sound apathetic, but you haven't convinced me (and I know you didn't INTEND to) that Lexus is a poorly built vehicle, you only convinced me that you bought a lemon. Best of luck.

acnup00tl

1sicklex

I did run a carfax report and it had only been owned by one person . It was a woman who had all her service done at the dealership every 5k miles. I bought the car off a CL member. I will not say who I bought it from,but he pretty much lied to me about the entire car.

Peter

I am just now starting to like my gs300. I just realized how smooth and quiet the gs is compared to the TL. I was driving it yesterday and it felt like it was flying. The gs is built like a brick S*it house. The Nak sound is unbelievable compared to blows (yes I said Blows) The hid leveling system is nice and so is the auto up feature on all the windows. I am and will continue to be a huge acura fan. If the lex doesnt break down (god forbid) in the next 35k miles I will proabbly buy another one.

CrazyBimmer

u got bad luck with cars, just buy a huffy, but knowing you, the chain might fall off...

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

Hey, so w/ the hit you took on the TL-S .. and w/ the mods purchased, and w/ purchasing your new Bee-'Em-Dubya .. you spent what.. effectively $50,000 on your 3-series?

see_fu

That's what happens when you buy a used car.

acnup00tl

Jesal, my man whats up man ? I have gotten the lex fixed and everything is nice now. Hows the 330 doing? Having fun in the snow?

CrazyBimmer

I dont see the need for the "you wasted money" comment, i dont see how that has anything to do with this thread. Did that make you feel better about buying the acura, then yea thats the price of it. No regrets cuz $hit happens. And how have you been Pete? You should come to the Acura meets I still organize.

And so you know, i bust Mikes balls... and hes the one who bought my TLS.

Good to hear that your Lex is doing well mike, you know im just fuking with ya about the huffy. The 330 is doing great, i got winter tires on her now, and with the DSC it has, it does really well in the snow. Better than i thought it would. Hows the Lex in snow? I need some pics of that GS, i havent seen updated ones.

NsX Pilot

Buying a used car your always at risk of getting someone elses problems......its hitt n miss.....well better luck with the next car.