Ready To Pull The Trigger On An 03 Gs300 Sport Design,

[oakleyangel]

HI everyone,

I've been lurking for a while cause I've been in the market for a GS300/430. Finally found one that really fits us well. A 2003 GS300 Sport Design with ML and Navi.

I went to take a look at the car (2.5 hour dirve from my house) and had a few questions about the car and wanted to get your opinion.

1) It has 60K and a clean carfax.

2) He's asking about $22,000.

My concerns are that the passenger door is really hard to close. I mean that it is noticably hard to close. I thought that maybe it was rarely used but when I tried the other doors they opened and closed "normally". The scary part is that on the same door the side-view mirror is slightly cracked.... what do you think?

Another concern was that the temp gauge was slightly over the halfway point. Is that the normal range where the temp usually sits for this car?

This car is going up against my wife's choice - 2003 Nissan Murano. It is really reasonable, low low miledge and has Navi as well. But when I drove the GS I fell in love!

Any assistance is appreciated!

~oakley

[Jim L]

Hard to close, hmm.

Wrecked, ya think?

OF COURSE

Are the door gaps PERFECT all around and are they EXACTLY the same as the "good side"

Get a small measuring gauge and measure them, they all should be equal

Car is worth a bit more so perhaps that's why it's being sold a bit cheap :whistles:

[GSGuy]

1) It has 60K and a clean carfax.

My concerns are that the passenger door is really hard to close. I mean that it is noticably hard to close. I thought that maybe it was rarely used but when I tried the other doors they opened and closed "normally". The scary part is that on the same door the side-view mirror is slightly cracked.... what do you think?

~oakley

Even though carfax came out clean, that cracked side view mirror and the door is a good sign that it was in a minor accident of some sort on that side. Maybe door was fix poorly just to save some cash. You might want to check the inside door trim for damages or paint difference.

Good luck.

[Jim L]

BTW, Carfax means squat. I'm a dealer and I should know.The only time that an accident is on Carfax is when a police report is filed and the damage is over a certain amount.

That being said a good repair shop should easily be able to have a door fit properly unless it was hit SO HARD that the unibody was bent

[oakleyangel]

Thanks guys :)

My wife noticed the door issue just before we left for the test drive. I drove a few miles down the highway and checked the lines on the hood and door. I compared them with the "good" side and they ligned up perfectly (to the naked eye).

I brought my camera and took alot of shots so I could study them after. Now that I have reveiwed them I dont see any unmistakable signs of minor damage. But I definately think that something happenend. In that case it is really a dealbreaker for me.

I totally agree with the Carfax thing. It is like this unofficial stamp of approval that gives you no real information. This car specifically, the record stops after 10K because the origional owner stopped servicing it at the dealership after that.

Thanks for all of the help guys. Any additional feedback is greatly appreciated.

~oakley

[new big400]

Temp. gauge is completly normal.Good Luck