A1SUPERNOVA

Casting plugs typically don't fail, but when they do they will do two things; dump your coolant fluid out from or into the valve head and or main block. It's not a major repair if the coolant did not cause other internal damage!!. If the plug is accesible, typically not, a competent machine shop should be able to evaluate it properly. When replacing these (plus) use only what Toyota recommends. I only use bronze, but then again my application is marine... A1SUPERNOVA

As a first project with our GS300 (98) we will be adding a CD changer to interface with the standard factory supplied radio!. A standard non "Nakamichi" unit. Our glove compartment is sealed, vehicle is a non CD supplied car. Do I need to purchases a new glove compartment box for the CD changer???. Is the wiring harness for the changer easily accessible by removing the glove compartment??. Is there a link in this forum to CD changer installs???. Any feedback on past experiences is highly appreciated........ Regards, Joe A1SUPERNOVA............

To BillO; Thanks for your feedback. I agree, the styling of the second generation GS's is hard to beat. Will see what happens in 2005 with the new GS product line. Hopefully the high value retained by this current product will remain. For now we will enjoy and improve what we got. Regards, Joe A1SUPERNOVA

To "Lostinthewoods"... It's good to hear from a driver which has been down the European auto path. We have not owned many vehicles, unfortunately we have a tendency to perform a lot of preventive maintenance to our vehicles, getting 10 solid years of use is very common!!. We have 10 out of our current 200K plus miles Volvo 850. We closed the deal on our 98 GS300 and will likely soon be in need of general maintenance and service advise. Hopefully not too far out in the future we can do the same for other members of this Forum. First things first, we need to get acquainted with the vehicle, the engine and then begin a solid preventive maintenance schedule ourselves. Regards, Joe... A1SUPERNOVA

Joe, Welcome to the club.. If you decide to purchase the GS3 you won't be disappointed.. Promise.. ;) Also, awhile back I spoke to my Lexus tech at Lexus of Greenwich (where I buy and service my cars) about people turning back the odometer, he said that if it's done it's easy to find out because the true mileage is logged on the main computer.. Also he said that it's a biotch to do, so don't worry about it that much.. Now with regard to the I6 that Toyota/Lexus produce, it's supposedly one of the best engines ever made.. It is very dependable and is strong enough that you wouldn't have to modify the engine if you were gonna put another 400 more HP in it. Now that's strong... How many other engines can you say that for? Like I said before you won't be disappointed with your purchase and trust me when I say this, you'll love the Gs just like we all do here..

We are likely to soon purchase a 98 GS300 soon. This would be our first venture with Lexus products. Don't know the pros and cons of the inline 3.0 liter 6 cylinder engine or this 2nd generation chassis. We are looking for help from those who have 2nd generation GS300 experience or are associated with Lexus and know more about the GS300 (2nd gen). We have not decided on this 98 yet, we are currently a Volvo user, 850 to be exact. I could not ask for a worse product than the 850/S70 series from Volvo and would hate to get into another auto which is so maintance dependent as Volvo products, at least the 850. I am mechanically oriented and quite capable of handling most minor repairs but what I fear the most is the unknown. The GS300 we are considering supposedly has 58,000 original miles. I have no way of really knowing the true mileage on this vehicle since it's coming from a bankruptcy case!!. The car is immaculate internally and the engine is in like new condition (externally). Body is damage free, as far as we could inspect in great detail, some paint knicks here and there. If the odometer is modified (being digital). Is it something simple someone can do since it is a digital odometer??. Is there any way the internal computer can detect tampering. Again we don't know it's history although we did pull a carfax report. It showed 16k plus mile after the first year lease expired was sold. Only a one owner car since then. Can the dealer verify any odometer tampering??. In summary we want to avoid a headache vehicle. We already know that the inline 6 will be more expensive in gas consumption. We know that some maintenace issues like changing spark plus might be a pain but it's something I can probably do or have performed at a Lexus dealer. Any assistance would be appreciated, again we think it's a quality vehicle all around, but still unsure do to all the negatives we read on this site as well as others with regards to the first generation GS300's. 93-96 97??.. Regards, Joe..