Gs450h mk3 low mileage vs gs450h mk4 high mileage...

stecko · February 3, 2022

Hello

I would like to ask, what would You choose. Older mk3 (2008-2010) with ~70k miles on clock or mk4 (2012) with around 125k miles.

I can get mk3 for aroud £10k or mk4 for around £13k. I prefer mk4 shape but car will be double of mileage mk3...

Decisions, decisions... 😄

Thank You for any comments.

Mossypossy · February 3, 2022

I would have thought £10k is quite toppy for a mk 3

serbarry · February 3, 2022

I agree with Steve: the MK3 is expensive at £10,000. Is MK3 a 2008 model or post facelift 2010 one?I anyway would choose MK3 because I don't like MK4 2012-15. I like MK4 facelift 2016 till the end of production though.

stecko · February 4, 2022

6 hours ago, serbarry said:

I agree with Steve: the MK3 is expensive at £10,000. Is MK3 a 2008 model or post facelift 2010 one?I anyway would choose MK3 because I don't like MK4 2012-15. I like MK4 facelift 2016 till the end of production though.

You're right. For a £10k facelift model mk3 of course.

Mk4 facelift (2016) is way overpriced for me, but is beautiful.

What about material quality inside both cars. Road noise?

I now mk4 is a bit more economical to Atkinson cycle. Insurance at similar price range, road tax to.

Thanks

Mossypossy · February 4, 2022

Do not be swayed by Atkinson cycle. Maybe you will get 4mpg more in a Mk 4.

Will take many years of driving to recoup the extra cash you shelled out.

My MK3 will give 45mpg on a run if you hypermile it, otherwise expect 36.

Seats are awesomely comfy. Two years and has been faultless apart from rusty exhaust and weeping radiator, both to be expected.

Lwerewolf · February 4, 2022

mk4 also has a bulletproof inverter, different (widely reported better) chassis, a bit more boot space... You miss the touchscreen (I don't really like the mouse pointer thing in cars >_<) but you get more add-in carplay/android auto options (lexion/grom/carlinkit).

Your choice in the end, but my vote is for the mk4.

serbarry · February 4, 2022

3 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

D

My MK3 will give 45mpg on a run if you hypermile it, otherwise expect 36.

I don't see 36 even with the binoculars 🤣 I am on 25 with mostly city driving 🙄

serbarry · February 4, 2022

6 hours ago, stecko said:

You're right. For a £10k facelift model mk3 of course.

Mk4 facelift (2016) is way overpriced for me, but is beautiful.

What about material quality inside both cars. Road noise?

I now mk4 is a bit more economical to Atkinson cycle. Insurance at similar price range, road tax to.

Thanks

Is the mk3 on sale by a dealer? If not you may try to negotiate the price. Personally between 2 models with only 2 years difference (2010 vs 2012) I would go for mk3 with nearly half the mileage and save £3k. It also depends what you would miss in the mk4 compared to mk3. I don't know mk4 so I don't know what features/accessories you would miss. As for material quality inside for me mk3 is excellent and very quiet. I suppose also mk4 should be the same.

Hangie · February 4, 2022

I got both mk3 and mk4.

I enjoyed the both but prefer mk4 after all. mk3 was more like a statement with no cost spared where with mk4 finance department got a bit more to say in my private opinion.

What I liked about mk4 was updated interior, bigger boot, better hybrid system, premier grade seats. Infotainment system is more or less the same but mk4 got refreshed graphics and bigger screen, better ML sound system. I also preferred the look of mk4 but that is a personal choice.

I don't remember the details but mk4 was around 10% better with fuel.

As for millage if serviced well 125k is nothing to be worry about. At 125k miles you should have:

- Inverter coolant done at 100k

- Spark plugs done at 125k (ask if done)

- New front brakes at around 100-120k (check the state if new are fitted)

- Gearbox oil should also be changed already, if not budget for change straight away.

When I bought my mk4 it was at 140k. When I was selling it was at 180k. When I recently checked it was almost 200k now with the new owner 🙂

Check the MOT history for YP12 VCA - that is how it should look like 🙂

Attached is the driver seat at almost 180k miles 🙂 I bought a new steering wheel at 150k as factory witted one was a bit tired 🙂

serbarry · February 4, 2022

11 minutes ago, Hangie said:

mk3 was more like a statement with no cost spared where with mk4 finance department got a bit more to say in my private opinion.

Could you please explain better what you mean with the above sentence? Better fuel economy or something else?

If I may ask why you sold the mk4 after only 40k miles?

Thank you

royoftherovers · February 4, 2022

And Sergio`s two questions are my two questions too Krzy.

SSUR · February 4, 2022

I have owned both models and newer one has these advantages:

Wider track do feels more planted on road, even more refined and quieter, best interior in class, more solid build, better newer tech especially with 12 inch screen, better seats.

provided maintenance ok and fLsh mileage will be no problem. Good luck!

stecko · February 5, 2022

Thank You very much for all detailed information 👍.

I like mk4 shape too.

25MPG is a bit low for me tbh. I expected mid's 30.

I've seen some mk3 (2010) for £12-13k from a dealer (usually ~60k miles) with warranty.

What about first year of production mk4 (2012) There was any issues ? I remember ls460 2007 wasn't best year of production.

Thank You !

ColinBarber · February 5, 2022

20 minutes ago, stecko said:

What about first year of production mk4 (2012) There was any issues ? I remember ls460 2007 wasn't best year of production.

Nothing that I've seen reported. I've not heard of Battery pack failures, or hybrid transmission pumps or inverter failures that have been an issue for the series III GS450h.

The series IV is better in almost every way - better chassis and suspension, better handling and road holding, more modern interior and tech and so far appears way more reliable.

serbarry · February 5, 2022

2 hours ago, stecko said:

25MPG is a bit low for me tbh. I expected mid's 30.

Probably I am doing something wrong. I mostly drive in city with limit of 50km/h and this results often in the soc being very low with Ice kicking in to charge the Battery. Obviously this does not help.

Hangie · February 6, 2022

On 2/4/2022 at 2:02 PM, serbarry said:

Could you please explain better what you mean with the above sentence? Better fuel economy or something else?

If I may ask why you sold the mk4 after only 40k miles?

Thank you

Nope, it was not about fuel economy. With mk3 I got feeling even basic version was nicely equipped, radar cruise control also was pretty standard at the beginning of production. It is like later on Lexus discovered they could charge extra for it 🙂 With mk4 more cheap version showed up and nice toys were also gone. In my premier I was missing VGRS for example (only F-sport got it), I'm also not sure if dynamic rear stabiliser was even an option. Same goes for dimming side mirrors, mk3 got them while mk4 not. I don't remember details now after those years but I remember there were few more details.

For me it looks like for mk4 they put all the options on the table and removed the ones which cost money and typical customer don't care about too much.

Of course maybe it is just my feeling about it.

I've sold it as I wanted something more comfortable and bigger for the longer journeys. Don't get me wrong GS was a nice car but it was more towards "sport" rather than comfort. I was hoping for LS 600h but couldn't find a nice one. Ended up with Jaguar XJ with all the options (authobigraphy). I might be back to LS 500h later on but depending on the price difference I would need to put on top.

ANDREASWIN · February 7, 2022

I have a MK4 2012
one of the first ones in my country , so its kind of a mix of the "Luxury and Executive version"
fourth year of ownership now @ 85K miles
it had very low mileage when i bought it
No big issues, replaced the taillights on warranty due to cracks in the plastic
Had some rattling sound from the button console on the driver door when playing music , easy fix
Had some squeak sound from the dashboard, easy fix
Replaced Xenon bulbs after 3 years
Next service i will have to replace a break line due to some rust
I did replace the break disks and pads at 60K miles
So most likely it will be salted winters, not mileage that will kill this car...
Since its not the F sport version it does not have active rear steering and active dampers "dynamic handling system"
For me that was actually plus since less things to go wrong and cheaper to fix.
Had many BMWs before the GS , and this has been a much cheaper ownership
I do the service at Toyota in my countryside instead of Lexus in main city , and for some reason its a bit cheaper.
I have done all services until now at Toyota to get the 10Year hybrid warranty.
Average consumption is 37mpg , 75% of my driving is long distance driving, I have fairly normal driving style
Since its an early MK4 version it uses the hard-disk in the entertainment system , not the SD card
The hard-disk solution seems durable , but if it breaks it will be a costly experience
Its possible to convert to SD card but not by Toyota/Lexus