JimmyD

say what? If the GS, ES and SC all get that, they may very well take over the world. Lexus has always been on the softer side when it comes to performance battles with BMW and Mercedes. This sounds very interesting for the future of Lexus.

I was looking at some of these models as well. Except I was looking more at the Benz E-Class more than the Infiniti M45. From my experience, the E-Class and the GS both drive the nicest. All those people that claim that Lexus is a glorified Toyota (not really a bad thing, IMO) have not been in a Lexus lately. Both are smooth. The GS is definately faster compared to it's Benz counterpart when you compare the 430 engines. Since I am comparing a GS400/430 to the 96-01 Benz E class bodystyle, the E looked outdated compared to it. The current E is much better looking, but when you compare a new fully loaded E430 compared to a fully loaded GS430, the price is at least 10 grand apart, with nearly equal power and quality, plus you get Toyota/Lexus reliability. The current GS bodystyle has been around for a long time, but it doesn't get old. You have new cars today that copied the lines of this GS. The Bimmer's biggest strength is it's handling. I don't think it drives with the same comfy smoothness of a GS or a E, but the 540i is a very fun car to drive. BMW's reliability recently has taken a nose dive. Even though a large chunk of that is due to the big 7 series, it makes you skeptical. I also like the styling of the car. But I like the GS style more and the GS feels more like a luxury car than the Bimmer. Quality is why I only buy Toyota and anything associated with it, so as nice as it was, the Bimmer was not an option for me after I read about all those issues with other BMW's. There are all kinds of horror stories about brand new 745's with big time electrical issues. If their flagship has these many problems, then what are the chances that their mid size sedan is the best built car in it's class? If you are used to Toyota's reliability, then I would not reccommend a Bimmer. The 00 and up 3 series and the previous 5 series are still 2 of the best looking cars I've seen. The M45 I did not really look at. First off, I barely knew that it even existed when I was looking for a car because no one buys them. I wouldn't be surprised if Nissan/Infiniti overrated their engines because that's their marketing idea: horsepower. Everytime you see a Nissan ad, it almost always mentions the horsepower first. I think the late 90's model Q45's had higher rated power than the 97-00 Lexus LS, but the LS was quicker than them with about the same weight differences. As for the stock GS4 running 13.9, I don't know. Maybe with perfect whether/road conditions and a good driver, yes. Other than that, I'd say mid 14's is reasonable with low 14's being achievable. The car is definately better than high 14's though, from my experiences.

No surprise for me. I went from Corolla to Camry to GS400 myself. Next: hopefully an 04+ LS430 :D

Thanks Went to Sears and got some. I'm currently using a audio cassette screw as a temporary screw on the key, until I find one. :)

Batteries to the key of my car went dead. Problem is, now that I got the battery, the screw is messed up because either the previous owner of the car messed it up or because it was just old. There is nothing in my tool cabinet that can take this out since it is so messed up. Any other way to open this? I want to avoid buying a new key as far as I can. Keyless entry, I could live without. But if the alarm ever goes off, I'm screwed.

Thanks. Since I posted this, all of this has mysteriously stopped

It's been happening for more than a week now. Get up in the morning to warm up the car, but the car usually just starts and then dies within 2 seconds after being started. I do it 3 to 4 times before it starts right up and doesn't go down again. Does or did anybody have something like this similar that happened to them? I am growing concern about it's reliability. Should I get a diagnostic now?

I took a peak at some classified ads and noticed GS300's for sale more than quadriple the number of GS400/430's. I'm only talking about the current generation GS. I knew they made more 300's before, but does anyone know the production numbers of a GS300 compared to a 400/430? Like what is the ratio of GS300's to GS400's and 430's made?

Can someone run this through carfax for me? I would greatly appreciate it because I am thinking about buying this car. It's a 98 GS4. vin# - JT8BH68X2W0006430 dogeatdog013@hotmail.com

New member here. But I've been lurking for a while now. Anyway, I;m looking at 3 cars - 02 GS300 with Nav. 29k miles. $30k - 99 GS400. 36k miles. 19' rims but not lowered. $29k. - 04 new Nissan Maxima SL - haven't even driven yet, but want opinions on it. I like the style of the GS more than the Maxima. The reason I'm even considering a Maxima is because it's brand new.