simonmc

Hi Everyone 1996 first generation Lexus GS300 57,000 miles I bought this in March and it is now the end of July and just over 2000 miles later so I thought an overview might be interesting. We went to Lyme Regis on the Dorset Jurassic coast in early May, this was the first touring we had done in the car. It performed faultlessly, was very comfortable and averaged just over 30mpg in spite of the area being very hilly. The gearbox coped very well, on very hilly sections I disengaged the overdrive to avoid too many changes up and down. What really helped was Shell/Esso’s 99 octane fuel, expensive of course but keeps the fuel system clean. This is really the only fuel suitable for the Lexus as 10% ethanol on the others is not worth the risk, ok in an emergency but not for everyday. Backing in and out of car parking spaces takes a bit of getting used to as the car has a high back and no sensors, anyone got any ideas of aftermarket ones being fitted? On the way back home I noticed some wheel judder at about 75mpg so thought it was time to get it checked out at my favourite local garage. So Before we went for our main holiday to the far south west of Cornwall I took it in for a thorough inspection. Back in March the selling garage had done quite a lot of work on the car including a full service, rear brake pads, aircon regas, wiper blades, replace cambelt and tensioner, replace boot and bonnet struts and one rear tyre. In June just before the Cornish tour the local garage replaced front wishbones and balljoints, carried out wheel tracking and cleaned the Mass Air Sensor. We spent 11 faultless days touring the far south west, I love this in-line 6 2JZ engine, it is so smooth, turbine like and very quiet. Contemporary reports mention wind noise at motorway speeds but I never noticed it, the performance is fine for us in our 70s, if you are in the right gear the car accelerates very well no complaints there at all. Having leather everywhere the interior has its own smell and everything works as it should, it is just such a pleasant car to be in and drive for long periods. The return journey took just over 6 hours with a couple of stops and I can honestly say I enjoyed the drive and was not completely knackered at the end. Finally, we had a week touring in Northumbria and again the car ran faultlessly and being careful not to overuse brake and accelerator I got 34/35 mpg doing a steady 65 mph on motorways and dual carriages so very pleased with that. The next service will be done by the local garage and include fluid and oil changes in engine, gearbox, power steering, coolant, rear axle and brake fluid…I have always believed in changing these every two or three years. In addition the underside which is very clean will be treated with waxoyl by a specialist and this should last three years.

Hi Len Many thanks, I’ve been with the AA for almost as long, why I hadn’t thought of them I don’t know but will try them next year. Really enjoying my first Lexus, love that engine! Simon

Hi Malc I was just glancing through other topics when I came across one of your replies when you said that you propped your LS400 bonnet up with a broom stick! The car dealer( McCarthy Cars, Croydon) that I bought my GS300 from also had worn out struts on bonnet and boot and they had replacements made up by someone who specialises in doing only that. Give Rob McCarthy a ring mentioning my name (Rev’d simon manley-cooper) and am sure he would only too willing to help, incidently very helpful people to deal with.

Hi Malc I was just glancing through other topics when I came across one of your replies when you said that you propped your LS400 bonnet up with a broom stick! The car dealer( McCarthy Cars, Croydon) that I bought my GS300 from also had worn out struts on bonnet and boot and they had replacements made up by someone who specialises in doing only that. Give Rob McCarthy a ring mentioning my name (Rev’d simon manley-cooper) and am sure he would only too willing to help, incidently very helpful people to deal with.

Hi Steve The same thing happened to me, being with FJ on classic cover for nearly 9 years where NCB was not applicable the only thing I could offer AF was a No Claims document that was not acceptable so then I remembered I was the insurer on my wife’s car with LV so AF got in touch with them and thankfully I got the full bonus…..hopefully you should see a saving next year.

Thanks Vlad will certainly shop around next year, I was so surprised that Footman James didn’t want to know that I panicked as time was getting short. Why isn’t the Lexus given the classic car status?

Thanks for the info, Malc

Very odd, why aren’t classic car insurers prepared to take on the Lexus when the more powerful BMWs, Jags etc seem to be no problem! Thanks for the info, I used to be with Direct Line

Hi everyone, Simon here. I have been driving around in my 1st generation GS300 that I picked up last week and I am thrilled to bits with it, it ticks all the boxes. It was first registered in 1996 and has only done nearly 57,000 with good Lexus service history latterly residing in Poole where it was known to the local dealership. My wife and I are well into our 70s and our backs are not as good as they used to be at absorbing all the bumps, cracks and potholes of our local roads so we said goodbye to the exciting Jaguar XK (getting in and out was a real hassle!) and all stiff suspensions! I thought about the usual BMW, Audi, Mercedes from the 1990s but wanted something different so got hold of some contemporary road tests in motoring magazines and looking at some Utube videos I decided to go for a GS300 as did not want another the size of an XJ Jaguar of which we have had three….nice cars but too big for us now. There were some awful examples but eventually found a good one that has been very well cared for, the dealer did quite a lot of work on it and I asked for the belt to be changed. The soft leather seats and forgiving suspension are just what we wanted, it just wafts along, the in-line six is very smooth and everything works as it should so very pleased. The only surprise was the insurance in that Footman James who have insured all my older cars wouldn’t touch the Lexus so Adrian Flux have done it but it is over a hundred pounds more expensive than the 5litre V8 Jaguar XK! Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome. Looking forward to being involved on the forum. Simon.