Dlspring Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Hi---I'm trying to decide if I should purchase a Gold 94 GS 300. I've always loved the looks of the first gen GS. The car has 147000 mi and the asking price is $7500. The problems are: No master key, but seller is purchasing one from dealer Airbag warning light stays on, is this a major problem? Seller is having it checked tomorrow Has service records up to 90k service, done by dealer, but none logged after that. The interior looks as if it was taken good care of. Only crack in wood by the bottom of the shifter. The car drove great. but noticed a very slight vibration when steering wheel is turned. I could really use some expert opinions on this car. Would the problems noted turn you off from buying this GS? Thanks for the help! ---Dlspring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizen-san Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Some older GS experience head gasket problem while head gasket is blown and leaks coolant internally. It is seldom to see the car actually overheated but rather leaking slowly. Pay special attention on the coolant level in the reservoir and inside the radiator, also coolant condition should be inspected. Let the car sits at idle and have a/c blown max cold to check for sign of overheating (Lexus is very constant on the temp gauge so if it stays right on half or a bit higher, it is sign of problem.) Also notice if the car has intermittent misfiring, that engine should run smoothly and shouldn't mis at all. If someone told you it jsut need spark plugs to correct the problem, I would walk away from it and not taking the risk. This above is the main major problem that the car MIGHT have. I would say the possibility is about 5-10%, overall, the 2JZ-FE engine is pretty reliable and rugged. Other problems are mostly maintenance related such as motor mounts, trans mount, t-belt, water pump and so on. Transmission is also trouble-free, I have not seen any overhaul or replacement on the older GS yet (of course, if the ATF is jelly-like or black, another big sign of trouble). You mentioned about the vibration felt when you turn the steering wheel, you mean the engine is vibrating or the steering wheel itself? SRS light on, huh... for early model, a special checker is needed to pull out the code. THis is not something usually happen, hopefully it is just a glitch. Otherwise, it would be a time consuming diagnosis since the early model does not have a thorough self diag system on SRS. Besides that, if the car is clean and neat, sounds pretty good. If you love the look and don't mind a bit under power, Lexus is always nice. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgr7 Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Get a carfax report and look for a salvage title or multiple out of state registration changes, sometimes they get around the salvage title with multiple out of state title changes. The airbag light blinking is sometimes a sign of a front end crash that the salvage guys didn't spend the money to buy all the airbag parts for repair. My son bought a mazda like this the guy said the airbag is good, but you don't know if it will work when the light is flashing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlspring Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 Thanks for the responses. I am running the Carfax today and looking for a mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection. The slight vibration/sound seemed to maybe come from the tires when the steering wheel was not aimed perfectly straight. If I go to a Lexus dealer, will they be able to show/print out the service history? Thanks again for all the help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidel Castrol Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 No master key, but seller is purchasing one from dealer The interior looks as if it was taken good care of. Only crack in wood by the bottom of the shifter. The car drove great. but noticed a very slight vibration when steering wheel is turned. I could really use some expert opinions on this car. Would the problems noted turn you off from buying this GS? Thanks for the help! If there's no master keys at all, just a valet key, then you need to get a transmitter chip installed. The keys will come from the factory, as a Lexus dealer can get the key code. you might as well get a pair of keys, since the chip is more expensive than the keys (usually about $400-600 for the keys and chip). The cracking of the wood's kind of intermittent on 1st-gen GS 300's; I see them on models with 30K miles, and then I won't see them on cars with 200k miles. Go figure. My 1st-gen has it on the shifter, but it wasn't anything Super Glue couldn't handle, since it was cracked, but not shattered. I wanted to use the aftermarket wood trim kits, but the raised surface wouldn't allow the ashtray to close properly on another model I saw. Lexus dealers (usually) won't hand out prior service histories, unless you own the car. Personally, I think $7500 is a little steep for a car that's over 10 years, 100,000 miles, and an iffy service history with an airbag light on...but that's me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexusServiceWriter Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 No master key, but seller is purchasing one from dealer The interior looks as if it was taken good care of. Only crack in wood by the bottom of the shifter. The car drove great. but noticed a very slight vibration when steering wheel is turned. I could really use some expert opinions on this car. Would the problems noted turn you off from buying this GS? Thanks for the help! If there's no master keys at all, just a valet key, then you need to get a transmitter chip installed. The keys will come from the factory, as a Lexus dealer can get the key code. you might as well get a pair of keys, since the chip is more expensive than the keys (usually about $400-600 for the keys and chip). The cracking of the wood's kind of intermittent on 1st-gen GS 300's; I see them on models with 30K miles, and then I won't see them on cars with 200k miles. Go figure. My 1st-gen has it on the shifter, but it wasn't anything Super Glue couldn't handle, since it was cracked, but not shattered. I wanted to use the aftermarket wood trim kits, but the raised surface wouldn't allow the ashtray to close properly on another model I saw. Lexus dealers (usually) won't hand out prior service histories, unless you own the car. Personally, I think $7500 is a little steep for a car that's over 10 years, 100,000 miles, and an iffy service history with an airbag light on...but that's me. Moron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlspring Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 No master key, but seller is purchasing one from dealer The interior looks as if it was taken good care of. Only crack in wood by the bottom of the shifter. The car drove great. but noticed a very slight vibration when steering wheel is turned. I could really use some expert opinions on this car. Would the problems noted turn you off from buying this GS? Thanks for the help! If there's no master keys at all, just a valet key, then you need to get a transmitter chip installed. The keys will come from the factory, as a Lexus dealer can get the key code. you might as well get a pair of keys, since the chip is more expensive than the keys (usually about $400-600 for the keys and chip). The cracking of the wood's kind of intermittent on 1st-gen GS 300's; I see them on models with 30K miles, and then I won't see them on cars with 200k miles. Go figure. My 1st-gen has it on the shifter, but it wasn't anything Super Glue couldn't handle, since it was cracked, but not shattered. I wanted to use the aftermarket wood trim kits, but the raised surface wouldn't allow the ashtray to close properly on another model I saw. Lexus dealers (usually) won't hand out prior service histories, unless you own the car. Personally, I think $7500 is a little steep for a car that's over 10 years, 100,000 miles, and an iffy service history with an airbag light on...but that's me. Moron. Thanks for the information and opinions. It's been a lot of help. Carfax came back fine, everything normal. I'm having a pre-purchase inspection at the Lexus dealer tomorrow. Thanks again for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chips229 Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Hi, This might be of some help.. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/knowledge...x_v2&id=158&c=2 Pay attention to the upper ball joints as there not cheap to replace,push and pull the wheel from the side of the car,if there worn the wheel will have slight movement like its a wheel bearing,if you look at the upper ball joint as you do this you can see it move if theres wear. If the air bag light is on..like whats above,also if the dash/speedo clocks have been removed (maybe the mileage has been clocked)that will make the airbag warning light come on... Heres a quick cheap fix to get the light to go out.. http://mkiv.com/techarticles/airbag_light/airbag.htm Cheers chips.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlspring Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Hi, This might be of some help.. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/knowledge...x_v2&id=158&c=2 Pay attention to the upper ball joints as there not cheap to replace,push and pull the wheel from the side of the car,if there worn the wheel will have slight movement like its a wheel bearing,if you look at the upper ball joint as you do this you can see it move if theres wear. If the air bag light is on..like whats above,also if the dash/speedo clocks have been removed (maybe the mileage has been clocked)that will make the airbag warning light come on... Heres a quick cheap fix to get the light to go out.. http://mkiv.com/techarticles/airbag_light/airbag.htm Cheers chips.. Thanks for the help Chips. I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlspring Posted April 9, 2006 Author Share Posted April 9, 2006 Wanted to thank everyone for the info. The Local Lexus dealer's inspection came back clean, only minor tems(wiper blades, fluids, etc.). I purchased the car last Thurs. and have been enjoying it ever since! Thanks again for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chips229 Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Congratulations with buying your New car... Any pictures for us :) chips.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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