The soarer v8 uses the same engine.. i drove one the other day and was a very nice car
chips.. soarer has a bit more room than the supra, holds lexus class and ride and is not far off the performance of the supra TT either.
I would imagine the series 2 being a batter car.. any faults or niggles with the series 1 would have been fixed in the series 2.
Also upper and lower arms can be replaced using non genuine parts from the states. So there is not too much to worry there.
I like the LS myself!
Do you have the gearbox set to PWR mode?
I have experienced this with ather auto boxes and really think there is nothing really to worry about
suggestion would be to check your tranny fluid too... just a possibility
i would imagine a 3rd party stockist would be avaialble.. then again Toyota are well known for making their own fitment so they can take you for even more money!
mats right you know... even the TT soarer uses the same braking! and the TT is quicker than the GS430.... in fact i wouldnt be suprised the Vertex uses the same set up!