06 Gs300 Awd Purchase

[moonrayker]

Hi there,

I am about to buy an 06 GS300 AWD with 40000 miles on it. Its red with tan interior and looks fantastic. I just want to ask if there are any caveats to be aware of before I finally sign the papers. It appeared to have a rattle in the dashboard which the dealer has said they will fix before I collect it, is there anything else I should be looking for?

[The G Man]

Hi there,

I am about to buy an 06 GS300 AWD with 40000 miles on it. Its red with tan interior and looks fantastic. I just want to ask if there are any caveats to be aware of before I finally sign the papers. It appeared to have a rattle in the dashboard which the dealer has said they will fix before I collect it, is there anything else I should be looking for?

Rattles are the major issue with the 3GS. They have to take apart the whole dash board to fix the rattle. Most of the time, the rattles are cold weather related and once the temp drop, you might hear more rattles. If your GS is a CPO, it will not cover rattles. In my case, everytime the dealer fix one rattle, two more will show up.

Good Luck

[moonrayker]

Thanks for the reply.

Damn, wish I'd posted earlier. It does have rattles. I took out the 3 year extended warranty coverage as well and the dealer is telling me that they will fix things so I shall take them at their word. I have 10 days to return it and choose a different car if I am not happy with it. I love it until I drive over a rough surface, unfortunately there are a lot of those around here. I never expected to have this issue with a car of this class and reputation.

[The G Man]

Thanks for the reply.

Damn, wish I'd posted earlier. It does have rattles. I took out the 3 year extended warranty coverage as well and the dealer is telling me that they will fix things so I shall take them at their word. I have 10 days to return it and choose a different car if I am not happy with it. I love it until I drive over a rough surface, unfortunately there are a lot of those around here. I never expected to have this issue with a car of this class and reputation.

Does it get cold where you are? If it does, then the rattles will be tough to fix. The 3GS have rattles problems all the way up to the 09 model. If you are the type who hates rattles like me, then the GS is not for you. Like I said earlier, extended warranty do not cover rattles. Most dealer will do a one time fix for a used Lexus, hopefully, the rattles won’t come back or no new rattles will develop.

[moonrayker]

Does it get cold where you are? If it does, then the rattles will be tough to fix. The 3GS have rattles problems all the way up to the 09 model. If you are the type who hates rattles like me, then the GS is not for you. Like I said earlier, extended warranty do not cover rattles. Most dealer will do a one time fix for a used Lexus, hopefully, the rattles won’t come back or no new rattles will develop.

Well yes it does, just a little. It didn't quite get down to -40C this winter, but not far off.

I am getting to like the car the more I drive it, the handling is good, it has enough power for some fun (and speeding tickets), and the mileage is looking to be not far off my 4 cyl Camry, if the trip info is to be believed; it will be a crying shame if I have to take it back and change it. The rattles are worse at lower speeds on rough surfaces, on the highway I don't really notice them that much.

My dealer has a 10 day exchange policy on CPO vehicles so I have until next week to exchange it for another from their lot, although the only other ones they have that I like are also GS's. I think the most frustrating thing is that I test drove a 2004 GS430 and that was whisper quiet, not a click, rattle or squeak from anywhere. That one was showing it's age though and hadn't been very well looked after.

I take it you have a GS. Would you part with it because of the rattles or do the positives outweigh the negatives?

[The G Man]

Well yes it does, just a little. It didn't quite get down to -40C this winter, but not far off.

I am getting to like the car the more I drive it, the handling is good, it has enough power for some fun (and speeding tickets), and the mileage is looking to be not far off my 4 cyl Camry, if the trip info is to be believed; it will be a crying shame if I have to take it back and change it. The rattles are worse at lower speeds on rough surfaces, on the highway I don't really notice them that much.

If you like the car, keep it, a little rattle is not going to kill you. All I was saying is that the 3 GS has a rattle problem and sometimes it is fixable, but most of the time, it is not. The 2GS was solid as a rock.

[moonrayker]

I think I am going to keep it. The more I drive it, the more I like it, and the rattle is only noticeable over very rough surfaces and more so at low speeds, around 30 mph, once it's up to highway speed then the bumps don't seem to induce so much rattle. I am finding myself thinking up excuses to drive it somewhere and looking forward to the drive to and from work. The family like it as well, my son loves the stereo, although he can't connect his ipod to it (shame) and the wife thinks the seats and the ride are very comfy.