Driveteam Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 I am a small time hobby car guy with a dealer tag (Very small time) So I play with lots of different cars for fun and turn them for a little money to keep up the habit so to speak. I recently picked up a 98 GS300 with 70K on the clock that is real clean. The question I am asking is about the safety of the these cars. In terms of wrecks - collisions - etc. I have searched the web and it is hard to find much on the car due to the age I guess. I am wanting my 17 year old daughter to drive this and my wife to drive it occasionaly as well. Wanting to protect my family I am looking at safety first. This car seems like it should be a safe ride but some opinions and information would be great. The car is not that expenisive compared to what it cost new and it could mod up real nice if I keep it longer. Not a lot of power but for what I need it for that is OK. It might be too much car for her in the end and I could sell it but if it really does protect people the investment is worth it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornwall Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Hi Driveteam Lucky 17 yr old daughter to be allowed to drive a GS300 in England the high insurance costs on the GS300 means that 17 yr olds can't get to play unless daddy is really rich I was unfortunate enough to have a bump in my GS a few weeks ago, it was a corner to corner bump with a Toyoya carina, quite low speed The Toyota Carina damage was lights, smashed bumper, smashed wing, bonnet slam plat and radiator, in fact a complete crumple zone workout The GS has a broken fog light, cracked sidelight, a mounting on the bumper broke free and a dented wing that popped out with no remaining damage and I felt almost nothing inside the car Just in case there was any damage to the GS300 steering etc I let the insurance check it all out, and they said no damage, no twists, as new OK that was quite low speed, but I felt 100% safe The bad news was that the insurance repair quote was horrendous due to the price of the parts as the GS300 was a relatively low volume car the price of spares from Lexus was amazing, they paid me to keep the car and go away and stop bothering them, the cash I have used to repair the car and for a project I am doing to the engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driveteam Posted November 25, 2006 Author Share Posted November 25, 2006 Cornwall, Thanks for the reply. Well, I do not consider myself rich by any means but I have less than $12K in the car so it is not that expensive - nothing like a new car or even a car a few years old. Actually I would sell the car but I have more in the car than it is worth and rather than lose the money I might as well let my family drive a quality car. By the way, where are you in the UK? I am going over the pond in March for a few weeks to be up near teeside and then in the Basingstoke area. You live anywhere around there? I just went through a major injury (non-car related) and I am living in the pain of that. Sitting around recovering got me thinking about how many people get injured in car accidents and how I would do whatever it took to protect my family. That is one reason I am conisdering this car. My brother in law almost lost his daughter when she was driving a honda. After that it was nothing but volvo - BMW - Mercedes - something known to take impact for his girls. I am trying to find out where this car rates in those terms to be able to make a good decision. Any other input would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornwall Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 As yours and my GS300 are older models there isn't much crash test data available but try here http://www.internetautoguide.com/crash-tests/index.html They go all the way back to 1994 I feel very safe in the GS compared to other makes and models I have had your other three choices BMW Volvo and Merc are obviously well made cars as well The Volvo has always been a safe car, loads and loads of air bags turn into a bouncy castle in collision time Older Mercs are built like Panzer tanks just in case, newer ones don't really fill me with the confidence as the body build quality just isn't there these days, besides do you really want to drive a German Taxi tarted up to look good ? BMW crumple like a paper bag to absorb the impacts, then you throw them away with the nice long bonnet of a GS at least the accident happens a fair distance from the occupants, and I must admit I like that in a car ooops forgot I live in Cornwall down in the southwest of the UK where we have all the best beaches and the best surf Basingstoke is closer than Teeside but still about 220 miles from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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