What Do We Think Of This Gs

[Matthew_McNally]

Have talked my father into a GS (I hope!).

We went to see one in Oldham today.

Link to dealers website

Was a lovely looking car - inside was immaculate, exterior was in very good condition considering the mileage (some kerbage to the wheels, and minor paintworks chips etc - nothing serious).

But, it has 110k on the clock.

service history is spotty - serviced to 20k OK, then skips to 45k.

Its OK after that up to 73k - which is where it stops.

The 73k service was 8/8/2002 - so thats over two years without a service, at an average 20k a year.

More importantly, its missed the 100k cambelt change.

There was what looked to be crystalised coolant fluid on the radiator cap.

Looking through the engine there was fluid on the floor, but it has been rainy / icy up here a lot recently.

It wouldn't start off the Battery, but started great of a power pack thing.

Once it was running - it was sweet as a nut, silent and smooth.

The dealer said that it was just a dead Battery, and he would replace it.

He also said he would get the belt changed (although not by a lexus dealer obviously).

Whats the collective opinion here?

Must be honest,me and father are gutted - its a beautiful motor, and its a MKII GS in his price range

But - these are some serious issues plaging our minds.

How would we tell if the car has been serviced, but not by a dealer and therefore not had the book stamped (its a ex insurance company car).

Would you take it further - or leave it?

Would like some objective advice - my father has always wanted a GS, and he drove the GS3 I test drove and absolutely loved it.

And I would love to see him in one - he's always wanted one.

So heart says we could work around it - but the brain is saying no.

[Zee007]

Are they offering any form of warranty Matt?

[mudzs]

If the car was owned by a company it has probaly been serviced and the book not stamped .they do this a lot as the book and paperwork is sometimes kept at the office rather than in the car ,phone the dealer that has done the other work they might have it on record that the other services have been done .

To be honest if your instincts say no i would leave it. unless the price is that good and allows for you to put right any work that might arise ,what about an aa report on the car.or even better phone the insurance company that used to own it and ask them what it was like etc.

[Matthew_McNally]

Are they offering any form of warranty Matt?

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he did say he would warranty the car - he gets a lot of stock from this company, and he trusts they look after the cars

[Zee007]

Are they offering any form of warranty Matt?

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he did say he would warranty the car - he gets a lot of stock from this company, and he trusts they look after the cars

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And what does the warranty cover?

Mudzs made a good point - how about an independent check?

[Fidgits]

As Zee says, its probably worth spending the money to get the AA to check it over...

My only concern (assuming a check came back well) would be selling it on..

[Matthew_McNally]

If the car was owned by a company it has probaly been serviced and the book not stamped .they do this a lot as the book and paperwork is sometimes kept at the office rather than in the car ,phone the dealer that has done the other work they might have it on record that the other services have been done .

To be honest if your instincts say no i would leave it. unless the price is that good and allows for you to put right any work that might arise ,what about an aa report on the car.or even better phone the insurance company that used to own it and ask them what it was like etc.

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nice one Tony ;)

have just rang Lexus Reading, and there was an extra service done at 82k that is not in the book.

Reading told me that the cambelt should have been changed at 63k on this car, and despite servicing the car at ~71k ~82k, the 63 service was not done, and the belt was not changed.

I appreciate that this is not too big a problem, as the belt has not broke, but its a big red flag to us, as its really indicative of how they must have treated the car.

As Zee says, its probably worth spending the money to get the AA to check it over...

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A HPI and AA/RAC check will be done when be find the "right" vehicle - right now, I don't think this is it - which is a real pity, it is a lovely looking car

My only concern (assuming a check came back well) would be selling it on..

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not too big a deal Ian - not planning on selling this one

[Matthew_McNally]

And what does the warranty cover?

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no idea mate - we never got that far into it - he just said he knew that it was a good'un, and he would have no problem warrantying it

[mudzs]

mattew if you can phone the previous company owner they might be able to tell you if they had it serviced at another lexus garage ,sometimes these company cars do the rounds and are driven by different departments in a company often hundreds of miles apart could just be the case with this one and the belt was changed by another lexus garage .are there any other stamps other than the reading ones

[Matthew_McNally]

mattew if you can phone the previous company owner they might be able to tell you if they had it serviced at another lexus garage ,sometimes these company cars do the rounds and are driven by different departments in a company often hundreds of miles apart could just be the case with this one and the belt was changed by another lexus garage .are there any other stamps other than the reading ones

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dont know the previous owner.

Was stamped by Guildford and Reading.

Made a mistake above sorry - GUILDFORD told me their service history, and Reading have just rang me back, and they have no service records (the car was only purchased there)

We just got a quote from Roscoe's in Liverppol, who are a very reputable company, and they gave us an excellent quote for the work (which I am not going to publicly disclose just yet :winky: ).

We are thinking of going up in my car (so no spur of the moment deals can be done! ) and test driving.

If it runs as well as it looks - it would be a beaut.

HIPO and RAC checks would also be done ;)

[Rodders_UK]

Looks nice Matt!!

If it were me, I'd go for it provided the dealer paid for a cambelt change and a year's fully comp warranty.

[Matthew_McNally]

Looks nice Matt!!

If it were me, I'd go for it provided the dealer paid for a cambelt change and a year's fully comp warranty.

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it is Rod - me and me old fella are absolutely gutted.

its in lovely condition, and a beautiful colour, really suits the car. The top pic is the closest to the true colour. Its called Tuscany Flame ( ), and its a bit like the IS Aztec Fire, but lighter

[Bazza]

nice colour :D

i would take anything the salesman says with a pinch of salt

he is a salesman, and probably has no knowledge of mechanics

ask the salesman to provide details of the previous owners

may have had its services, but just didnt get the book stamped, you have allready found one

may have been a reps car who travelled the country, and was serviced at the nearest dealer at the time, as said before the service book may well have been left at the office,

most big companies will not worry about keeping all the books stamped up, most will have written the car off (tax and benifit wise) and will only trying to sell easily and not allways for the best pric

i would rather haggle the price down, for the costs of the changing of belts and batteries, and get it done myself, that way you get to decide who works on the vehicle, and may report any other findings that the garage mechanic wouldnt

and of course the old saying "if in doubt walk away" theres plenty more out there

[Matthew_McNally]

i would rather haggle the price down, for the costs of the changing of belts and batteries, and get it done myself, that way you get to decide who works on the vehicle, and may report any other findings that the garage mechanic wouldnt

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we've been discussing that - but not sure if we want to take the risk on the car having 2 years of neglect (with well above average miles).

could we undo those years with a decent service?

[wills]

I wouldnt worry about the service history...............i've got virtually none!............my car was bought from an independent (trotter!) dealer...they phoned lexus to get some, all i know is that the front lower ball joints were changed at 90k and the cam belt was done at 65k...i've had the gs in my avatar over a year with no probs, sweet as a nut (with a little help from Alex) and was cheap because no service history.

[Steve]

If the car was owned by a company it has probaly been serviced and the book not stamped .they do this a lot as the book and paperwork is sometimes kept at the office rather than in the car ,phone the dealer that has done the other work they might have it on record that the other services have been done .

To be honest if your instincts say no i would leave it. unless the price is that good and allows for you to put right any work that might arise ,what about an aa report on the car.or even better phone the insurance company that used to own it and ask them what it was like etc.

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dealers wont give info.. but are willing to let you look at the screen

data protection act apparently

[TonyGoose]

Surely the V5 (logbook) will have the previous keepers details ?

And obviously you will have used the V5 to verify chassis no. etc :)

Most companies will have records of a cars service history.

They'd have the invoices tied in to an asset register i'd have thought.

Might even give you copies if you ask nicely ...

[ColinBarber]

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of history, the 300 engine is very strong.

Just get the cam belt changed (make sure they check/replace the tensioner and water pump whilst doing the belt) and also the plugs which also may not have been changed.

I would look at non service things, wheel bearings/ball joints/steering rack etc which could be worn at that mileage and look at the check list in the knowledgebase.

[Matthew_McNally]

look at the check list in the knowledgebase.

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that was printed and came with us Col!

essential reading.

[Matthew_McNally]

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of history, the 300 engine is very strong.

Just get the cam belt changed (make sure they check/replace the tensioner and water pump whilst doing the belt) and also the plugs which also may not have been changed.

I would look at non service things, wheel bearings/ball joints/steering rack etc which could be worn at that mileage and look at the check list in the knowledgebase.

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if we were to buy this, the plan would be to do a full service on it, replacing fluids, plus etc - as well as the belt (all at non lexus prices ;) )

how would we check the bearings, joints and rack? Would an AA / RAC check pick up on problems with these?

[ColinBarber]

Yes an inspection should check these - check the small print.