GS300 vs my GS 250

pork_pie · August 20, 2018

Hello chaps, hope you are well. Previously I owned a Toyota Auris HSD Touring and whilst it was great on fuel and cheap to tax, I found it utterly boring to drive.

Last February I bought a GS250 F SPORT from the Lexus dealer and the buying experience was out of this world. The dealers really do look after you.

As for the car, absolutely stunning - nice old school engine and transmission. Tax is £300 quid a year which kinda hurts but i'm more than happy with the fuel economy of 37mpg average (get 40-42 on motorway). I love the car to bits - 62 plate, full lexus SH and has now done 27k

It is a privilege and honour to own such a lovely car and driving it gives me a beaming smile.

There is a 15 plate GS 300 that has appeared on the forecourt for 21k and done 25k miles. The cost to change will probably be £8000 if I am lucky. I just think the difference can be best used to run the car I already have including servicing (the big 6 year service is imminent)

I just want your pearls of wisdom to prevent me from making an enquiry and spending 8k just to save £280 quid a year on tax and slightly better fuel economy is a bit silly.

My intention is to keep whatever GS for a good while and maybe buy a used ES in 4 or 5 years time.

I look forward to your replies. Thank you and have a good day from Merseyside.

noby76 · August 20, 2018

Just do the maths comparing the cost of running your existing 250 for X amount of years you are looking to keep it for i.e servicing, fuel and tax against the 300 over the same amount of years then add £8000 to the final cost of running the GS300 over that same amount of years to see if you will be better or worse off.

gdh300 · August 20, 2018

Hi Abs, welcome to the forum!

The GS300h will be quite a different driving experience from your GS250; have you test driven one yet? Won't matter if it's cheaper to run if you don't like the hybrid!

pork_pie · August 20, 2018

Thank you gents for your replies. I would look to keep the car for 4 years

I do about 5000 miles a year and using my average of 37mpg against Honests Johns GS300H average of 45 mpg, its £600 cheaper to fuel , 1120 cheaper to tax, £200 cheaper to insure and (based on franchised dealer prices), £40 quid cheaper to service in favour of the Hybrid over 4 years. Just over a £2000 saving for an £8000 investment. I haven't taken into account how much the cars are worth in 2022 though.

i haven't driven a GS300 but my father currently has a CT 200 and its an acquired taste just like my Auris. Hybrids are nice and I drive slowly (I regularly avaraged 55-60mpg out of my touring). I did have a bit of buyers remorse (for a few days) when I sold it especially when I wasnt paying tax but that's not the be all or end all and the V6 engine is so silky smooth and responsive.

Look forward to more thoughts

Abs

pork_pie · August 20, 2018

I forgot to add the cost to change my Auris for the GS250 was approximately £3500

gdh300 · August 20, 2018

It must be odd trying to conflate the drivetrain of your Auris with the body of the GS! I suppose the GS300h drivetrain will feel similar to the Auris, but better for being more powerful. Resale will doubtless be stronger for the hybrid, it's just the way the market is moving. Sadly, the market for the GS250 was small (only for the enlightened few) and will shrink over the next few years, reflected in the low prices for even low mileage examples. You might just be at the right point to get out of the GS250, depending of course how badly the dealer insults you with that trade-in figure... I don't envy your position!

Have to say, I did test drive a GS250 six months ago and we just didn't click, which surprised and saddened me. But recently I've been longing again for one and I really think I need to reassess and give one another go. May be it was the attitude of the dealer, may be it was the unfamiliar roads, may be because I was still in love with my old IS300, who knows! By all accounts, a undervalued car on the used - sorry - 'pre-owned' market. I've been trawling Autotrader a lot recently, and I do find your mpg figures very encouraging... ☺️

Ten Ninety · August 20, 2018

If you drive slowly, the 300h is an excellent choice. It behaves in exactly the same way as a Prius/Auris and is therefore supremely relaxing to drive. The bigger Battery means it can go a little further in milkfloat mode than the Auris. It also gives considerably greater overtaking urge than the Toyota, although it's not a fast car. I imagine your 250 would be much more rewarding for a keen driver, but the 300h can do 60+mpg in the right conditions and 50+ all day long, assuming you drive it in a suitable manner and don't fit the wrong tyres like I did.

What spec is the one you're looking at? If it's a Premier, the seats alone are worth the cost to change.

rayaans · August 20, 2018

I wouldn't pay £8k extra to get into the same car with a different engine.

Reason being - you're essentially going to lose the £8k and then the value of the used car will drop as soon as you take it off the forecourt meaning you'll make a realistic loss of £10k and then you have to understand that the newer car is going to lose its value quicker than yours is. The GS250 prices have pretty much settled right now and their relative rarity make them somewhat desirable.

Now, if you go for the GS450h with 54k on the clock, thats an entirely different story.

pork_pie · August 21, 2018

Thank you all for taking the trouble to reply but its much appreciated.

Gdh300 - yeah theres quite a few nice examples of the GS250 on Autotrader. When I bought my 250 in Feb, the GS300h that were available were 8-9k more than the V6 model. It was unfortunate that your experience of the test drive was sour. Thank you for your mpg feedback, I do drive carefully and anticipate the conditions ahead. I try to apply hybrid driving behaviour which works most of the time. My GS is not for short trips, glug glug but on the motorway with cruise set to 65, it just purrs.

10/90 : It is the Luxury spec which lacks some of the toys of the F sport. Oooh the Premier spec is so nice but they are as rare as hens teeth and I bet you are proud of yours. Nice one.

Rayaans - very good points that you make there. I do hope you are right about the 250 values and they wil stabilise at some point.I know I wont get mega money for it. Yeah i would be basically swapping my car for the same-ish one with different powertrains. If I went for it, assuming the cost to change is 8000, its in fact 11500 when you take into account what I spent to get the 250.

Once again, thank you.

pork_pie · August 21, 2018

Hello folks. I had a response from my enquiry and the cost to change including the 2 years extended warranty would be £12500.

I have no grumbles about the valuation of my car especially considering the comments on here and elsewhere about a low volume large petrol engined saloon for a model that is newly discontinued .

Chances are my car will be sold on the forecourt for 13-14k and understand the dealers need to make money so I have no issues at all but I won't be pursuing with the deal. Hybrids will always fetch a higher price and I doff my cap to those who own them.

I don't regret buying my car at all and I will focus on running it and saving for a 2nd hand ES in 4 or 5 years time.

gdh300 · August 26, 2018

On 8/21/2018 at 2:34 PM, pork_pie said:

Hello folks. I had a response from my enquiry and the cost to change including the 2 years extended warranty would be £12500.

Wow! I can see why you've decided to hang on a bit longer! The ES is an intriguing proposition, having seen a lot of YouTube reviews I can't wait to see one in the metal. Also a bit curious about the UX, I must admit. Be a while before come into my range though.

Meanwhile, if you want me to insult you with an offer sometime, let me know. 😉 Merseyside is my old patch so a trip there will be a bit of welcome nostalgia for me. Meanwhile, I see a lovely GS250 F-Sport at Lexus Cheshire is listed... Damn this broken ankle! 😁

st4 · August 28, 2018

I’ve got the gs250 and love it. I’ll keep it a while as it’ll be, unless I get the GSF, the last car with an interesting drivetrain I’ll have.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

pork_pie · October 9, 2018

On 8/26/2018 at 4:07 PM, gdh300 said:

Wow! I can see why you've decided to hang on a bit longer! The ES is an intriguing proposition, having seen a lot of YouTube reviews I can't wait to see one in the metal. Also a bit curious about the UX, I must admit. Be a while before come into my range though.

Meanwhile, if you want me to insult you with an offer sometime, let me know. 😉 Merseyside is my old patch so a trip there will be a bit of welcome nostalgia for me. Meanwhile, I see a lovely GS250 F-Sport at Lexus Cheshire is listed... Damn this broken ankle! 😁

Hello Glyn

That Silver GS250 at Lexus Chester, 2012 went for £13,760 which I think was the steal of the century. The buyer travelled from Dundee to get it! Had my GS250 serviced there for its 6 year 60k service and it was by far the best customer service I have ever recieved in 26 years of driving.

Love my car and did a 550 round trip to Bourmeouth last weekend for a marathon - yes after 4 and a half hours running, I drove back to merseyside and I felt so refreshed after 6 hours driving.

Back to Chester, I asked about the ES and pre orders are taking place with deliveries taking place in March 2019. The price is not bad though I question the need for a sunroof. I shall review my options in 2-3 years time.

gdh300 · October 9, 2018

Bournemouth? You could have popped in for a cuppa and a bit of Bakewell!

Hopefully that owner from Dundee reckons the trip was worth the while. I'm sure they do. I wonder, are they on here?

st4 · October 11, 2018

Hello Glyn

That Silver GS250 at Lexus Chester, 2012 went for £13,760 which I think was the steal of the century. The buyer travelled from Dundee to get it! Had my GS250 serviced there for its 6 year 60k service and it was by far the best customer service I have ever recieved in 26 years of driving.
Love my car and did a 550 round trip to Bourmeouth last weekend for a marathon - yes after 4 and a half hours running, I drove back to merseyside and I felt so refreshed after 6 hours driving.
Back to Chester, I asked about the ES and pre orders are taking place with deliveries taking place in March 2019. The price is not bad though I question the need for a sunroof. I shall review my options in 2-3 years time.

Lol. I drove mine 1200 miles from Scotland to the Alps in 24hrs with just fuel and food stops then hiked around a lake to find some compositions for a shoot.

Seat comfort is a big strength in these cars.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

pork_pie · October 19, 2018

On 10/9/2018 at 7:32 PM, gdh300 said:

Bournemouth? You could have popped in for a cuppa and a bit of Bakewell!

Hopefully that owner from Dundee reckons the trip was worth the while. I'm sure they do. I wonder, are they on here?

LOL Glyn that would have been great. I may do Southampton marathon next may or in 2020 so Ill let you know.

Hope the ankles fully healed.

gdh300 · October 19, 2018

9 hours ago, pork_pie said:

LOL Glyn that would have been great. I may do Southampton marathon next may or in 2020 so Ill let you know.

Hope the ankles fully healed.

Hmm, Southampton marathon; by my calculations that's about two full size Bakewell Tarts... 😁

Thanks, ankle is about 90% mobility now and its aches are manageable. Won't be running anywhere for a while though!