Buying a high mileage GS300h

[NishR]

Hi All,

I've just joined the LOC so please be gentle! Apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong place.

I'm looking to purchase a GS300h.

We have a IS 300H in the family (parents) and I was hunting for one for myself. I mainly drive in London about 5k miles/yr

My previous hybrid was a 2007 Prius but something went wrong with the hybrid Battery, I never shelled out for a diagnostic as we had a baby on the way and promptly sold it to a car buying company and replaced it with a Volvo XC90 diesel which met our family needs at the time.

I came across a 2014 GS300h today and I was really impressed with the comfort, space, ride quality and all the equipment.

The car is at an agreeable price, its an ex-fleet car, FSH from Lexus, no major issues my only hang up is the mileage which is >130k miles

I've done a couple of test drives and had a mechanic friend look at it and he is not found any major issues.

My question is  - in terms of the hybrid Battery life, would this high mileage be an issue?

Thanks in advance

[olliesgrandad]

If the car has got valid hybrid check paperwork I wouldn't worry about the batteries as Lexus warranty them now for 15 years if they are checked annually. 

Having owned a 2015 GS300h Luxury pre face-lift I would thoroughly recommend the model. 

[NishR]

7 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

If the car has got valid hybrid check paperwork I wouldn't worry about the batteries as Lexus warranty them now for 15 years if they are checked annually. 

Having owned a 2015 GS300h Luxury pre face-lift I would thoroughly recommend the model. 

Thank you! 

[Hangie]

130k miles is not something you should be scared of if car was properly serviced. Of course there will be few extra maitanance  items to do at but car should still have plenty of life.

If not changed already expect the front brakes replacement.

Check that coolant was changed at 100k and spark plugs at 120k. If not you need to change both quickly.

Finally transmission oil should be changed soon for the 2nd time. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't done before so then you should check the state of the oil and if not in very poor condition change ASAP. 

PS. Don't forget to renew hybrid warranty every year.

 

[NishR]

1 hour ago, Hangie said:

130k miles is not something you should be scared of if car was properly serviced. Of course there will be few extra maitanance  items to do at but car should still have plenty of life.

If not changed already expect the front brakes replacement.

Check that coolant was changed at 100k and spark plugs at 120k. If not you need to change both quickly.

Finally transmission oil should be changed soon for the 2nd time. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't done before so then you should check the state of the oil and if not in very poor condition change ASAP. 

PS. Don't forget to renew hybrid warranty every year.

 

Thanks Hangie

Yes to the coolant and spark plugs

The dealer says the transmission fluid is a sealed unit but as you pointed out it should have been done.

Would Lexus dealers (in view of their lifetime claims) do this or should I ask an indy mechanic? What sort of cost should I anticipate?

Thanks

[royoftherovers]

11 hours ago, NishR said:

Hi All,

I've just joined the LOC so please be gentle! Apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong place.

I'm looking to purchase a GS300h.

We have a IS 300H in the family (parents) and I was hunting for one for myself. I mainly drive in London about 5k miles/yr

My previous hybrid was a 2007 Prius but something went wrong with the hybrid battery, I never shelled out for a diagnostic as we had a baby on the way and promptly sold it to a car buying company and replaced it with a Volvo XC90 diesel which met our family needs at the time.

I came across a 2014 GS300h today and I was really impressed with the comfort, space, ride quality and all the equipment.

The car is at an agreeable price, its an ex-fleet car, FSH from Lexus, no major issues my only hang up is the mileage which is >130k miles

I've done a couple of test drives and had a mechanic friend look at it and he is not found any major issues.

My question is  - in terms of the hybrid battery life, would this high mileage be an issue?

Thanks in advance

Honest John regularly reports that Toyota Prius Hybrid Batteries often exceed 400,000 miles.

The GS is a wonderful  Motor Car.

If you are buying from a Dealer you can always take it to a Lexus Dealer after purchase and ask him to tell you if it has any significant problems. And if he finds any, then you can go back to the First Dealer (within 6 months) and ask him to rectify at his cost in accordance with your rights under the various Sale of Goods Acts.

Good luck Nish and do let us know what you decide.

[Hangie]

2 hours ago, NishR said:

Thanks Hangie

Yes to the coolant and spark plugs

The dealer says the transmission fluid is a sealed unit but as you pointed out it should have been done.

Would Lexus dealers (in view of their lifetime claims) do this or should I ask an indy mechanic? What sort of cost should I anticipate?

Thanks

I have no idea from where they got this lifetime bull**** mantra. I guess it must be importers who are trying to convince you the car require less maitanance than it really needs. I've heard some French manufacturer are giving you 20k miles service interval while German ones says 10k - what is funny both cars got exactly same engine 🙂

With Lexus I have never seen lifetime recommendation for a gearbox oil, it is just not part of a standard UK dealerships full/minor cycle but if you check Lexus tech docs you will find it must be checked and changed. I've only owned 450h (III and IV gen) and changed gearbox oil in both of them. Both were done by Lexus Guildford without any issues. 

Attached is a proper maintenance schedule for gen III, it only runs up to 54k miles but:

- In severe conditions inspect (and change if needed) every 27k miles / 3 years

- In severe conditions change every 54k miles / 6 years

- In normal conditions inspect (and change if needed) every 36k miles / 4 years

- In normal conditions plan is not expanding so far (beyond lifetime ? 🙂 )but following same logic of inspect/change intervals it should be done every 72k miles / 8 years

Good advise before you change the oil for the 1st time which is long time overdue is to check how it does look like as it might be too late.

serwis.pdf

 

PS. As for the cost. In GS450h III gen 4 years back I've paid £200 area. For GS450h IV gen 2 years back I've paid the same but it could be a mistake as different delarer wanted £400 for it 🙂 300h might be cheaper as gearbox is probably smaller = less oil. Give them a call and share here 🙂 I wouldn't recommend indy as procedure is pretty complex. Drain/refill is done via cooling hose and Lexus software is needed to do it right. It is not just drain plug and refill via dipstick anymore.

[i-s]

Re the hybrid Battery, I'd say that a 2014 car that has covered that distance is most likely a car that has lived life on the motorway - this does not charge/discharge the hybrid Battery anything like as much as in-town, stop-start driving does. That means the Battery will have been through relatively few cycles and should be in reasonable shape. 

[NishR]

6 hours ago, Hangie said:

I have no idea from where they got this lifetime bull**** mantra. I guess it must be importers who are trying to convince you the car require less maitanance than it really needs. I've heard some French manufacturer are giving you 20k miles service interval while German ones says 10k - what is funny both cars got exactly same engine 🙂

With Lexus I have never seen lifetime recommendation for a gearbox oil, it is just not part of a standard UK dealerships full/minor cycle but if you check Lexus tech docs you will find it must be checked and changed. I've only owned 450h (III and IV gen) and changed gearbox oil in both of them. Both were done by Lexus Guildford without any issues. 

Attached is a proper maintenance schedule for gen III, it only runs up to 54k miles but:

- In severe conditions inspect (and change if needed) every 27k miles / 3 years

- In severe conditions change every 54k miles / 6 years

- In normal conditions inspect (and change if needed) every 36k miles / 4 years

- In normal conditions plan is not expanding so far (beyond lifetime ? 🙂 )but following same logic of inspect/change intervals it should be done every 72k miles / 8 years

Good advise before you change the oil for the 1st time which is long time overdue is to check how it does look like as it might be too late.

serwis.pdf 45.85 kB · 3 downloads

 

PS. As for the cost. In GS450h III gen 4 years back I've paid £200 area. For GS450h IV gen 2 years back I've paid the same but it could be a mistake as different delarer wanted £400 for it 🙂 300h might be cheaper as gearbox is probably smaller = less oil. Give them a call and share here 🙂 I wouldn't recommend indy as procedure is pretty complex. Drain/refill is done via cooling hose and Lexus software is needed to do it right. It is not just drain plug and refill via dipstick anymore.

Thank you all for the useful tips and pearls - The Hybrid check is up to date

Hangie - Lexus Hayes quoted £140 for a transmission oil change for the GS300h, I can live with that! As you stated its likely a smaller volume of oil than the GS450h

After reading the above replies I took bit the bullet and did a deal this afternoon! I'll pick her up on Wednesday and try to get he transmission oil done later this week.

I look forward to many more thousands of miles of happy motoring. Can't wait!

Thanks again folks!

[olliesgrandad]

Well done. 

The only thing I had on mine was a leaky water pump gasket. That was done under warranty but I was told it was around £300 at Lexus if not warranty including the cost of a new water pump.

It was found on service and labour time was around 40 minutes. 

[NishR]

A quick update. I've had the GS 300h for just over a week. 

Its a wonderful refined driving experience. The car has returned about 44mpg on my short traffic filled commute (a massive improvement on my Kia diesel) and around 55mpg on the motorway, no mean feat in this weather! 

I had the transmission fluid changed at Lexus Hayes last Friday, the total cost was £145, it took about 90 minutes. Thank you all again for the tips on this.

The Service Manager (Mark) was incredibly helpful. After the job at my request he kindly sat in the car with me and took me through all the features and we did a test drive to see different styles of hybrid driving. 

I'm very happy with the car. 

Thank you all for your bits of advice.