Lexus GS300 - Talk to me

Hey Chris. Sorry I didn't reply via email.

I will wait and see what the salvage value is for the car and how the insurance co. want to play.

Condition - the seats show signs of wear, but they are generally in good nick. There is surface wear to the driver's seat bolster, but the passenger seat is in good nick. There is from memory one snag to the stitching on the rear bench, but everything is in generally good nick. There are probably a few scuffs, but nothing to cry about. We're not talking Fox standards here, but it's good. The wood is in good condition, but there appears to be a crack on the driver's side door trim (possibly only to the lacquer, I didn't investigate this as it didn't bother me). The gear selector surround has light scratches, but would probably polish up a treat. Steering wheel has a couple of scuffs and a bit of shininess, but all functions work perfectly. All the window motors work, but the rear NS has a clunk at the top of it's travel when closed. The front OS is very slightly slower to roll up than the NS, but I'm nitpicking here. AFAIK the car has never been smoked in. All speakers etc work fine, but the autochanger is iffy (that and it no longer has a magazine as I removed it at the scene of the accident).

Minor kerbing to the Style 37s. From what I remember, there are a couple of parking dings on the doors (the rear NS definitely has one). No other panels will be salvageable IMO. Both bumpers are knackered, especially the rear. The exhaust is knackered as it took some of the impact, not sure how much of it is knackered though. The engine almost certainly took a whack from the reinforced tow hook mount on the X5 I hit.

Any other specific questions, please ask.

I don't have the space to store the car off the road at all, so it would be up to you to arrange collection and delivery to where you need the car to part it out. However, this is all dependant on how the insurance company behaves, my wife's reaction and whether you still think it's worth it or not.
 
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Oh, and I really miss it. :(

I was fine until my commute from work this evening when I was tailed by a silver SE and I remembered my old beast. Damnit.
 
Thanks for the details.

Where is the car right now? A bodyshop? Some sort of yard/compound?

It really depends on how much you/insurers want for the salvage.

I don't see why it would need to come back to you, I could have it transported from where ever it's held at present.

Are you in a rush to replace it? I think with patience you could find another great example e39...
 
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The car is currently with the recoverer, Westbourne Motors, between Cowfold and Bolney on the A272, West Sussex (just along from where I crashed it). It's being transported to UK Assistance in Crawley for assessment (thank heavens they won't be repairing it). In fact it should have been there either on Saturday or today, and may have turned up there late this afternoon, which is what I was told would be the case when I rang up today. I will be calling them up tomorrow lunch time to see whether it's with them or not (I doubt it will be TBH).

Not sure where you are and if West Sussex is too much of an issue?
 
Shame you're so far away as it'd be good for you to be able to see it really. Anyway, I'll keep you posted.
 
Right, salvage comes in at £800, but the salvage yard it's stored in in Kent won't transport the car. I don't think it's probably worth £1k (taking into account transport) of anyone's money TBH. :(
 
Wow, that's much higher than I expected and not something I can proceed with.
Shame really.

Thanks a lot for your time with all of this though. Still looking for a replacement e39?
 
Yeah, sorry for the disappointment. Bloody insurance companies.

I'm trying to keep my options open. I'd love another one, but I wouldn't say no to an ST220. I looked at an over priced, unloved GS300 Sport last weekend (dealer's had it since January!), and quite liked it TBH. I didn't get to drive it, but the seats were very plush. The E39 wins hands down for interior design though. Still, any of those 3 come up at the right price within a reasonable distance and I'll be looking at them.
 
Don't buy one of these and accept the compromises that come with it on the strength of it being more reliable, or cheaper to fix than an E39.

My GF and I have had two Mk2 GS300's over the years, a '98 300SE a few years ago and currently have a '99 300 Sport currently sitting unused in the back garden.

Having owned and E39, E38, and E46 in the past I can say that these cars are just as unreliable as any BMW of the era, and due to relative rarity in the UK, parts are in shorter supply and therefore more expensive. Take for the example the relatively common failure of the ABS/VSC booster unit, £1000+ from lexus or £300-500 from a breaker with little guarantee.

At this age, they will also often require a full front suspension rebuild, ball joints are integral to the (£250 per side) lower arms and failure can cause collapse of the front suspension. Starter motors are another weak spot, although thankfully a rebuild kit can be found cheaply (sometimes car will 'click' when key turned, eventually will immobilise car)

Power steering pumps and alternators also seem to be on the weak side (both of ours have required replacements)

The 3 best things about the GS - Optitron dials, VERY soft leather seats and armrest, and the stereo - the sport in my opinion is a compromised car too, big wheels and sport suspension seem at odds with the rest of the package, making the ride too crashy and a well maintained E39, or even E39 sport still runs rings around it in the handling dept - I have heard that the 2001- sport is more competent however.

With regards to the MPG, both of the cars that I have owned seem to turn in 20-22MPG, regardless of conditions, don't expect the luxury of high 20's- early 30's on a gentle run like 6-cyl BMWs of the era, on A-roads and motorways, my S500 is actually more economical! Annoyingly, they also have a cambelt which again adds to the cost of maintenance.

In short, the only GS I would consider would be the 430 as it probably delivers very similar economy to the 300, with some useful extra power.
 
Wow, thanks for that. The main thing I thought the 300 had on it's side was reliability. I perceived the E39 as less reliable but far better supported. If the Lexus really is no better in terms of reliability, then maybe there's not so much point in me looking into them much further.
 
Hmm, a low miles Skoda Superb has just come up for sale 3 miles down the road. I previously discounted these as they only seemed to be available in taxi driver spec. This is a 2.8 elegance manual with big spec. Hmm.....
 
Have you considered that although the e39 may be less reliable almost anything on it can be fixed for a reasonable price these days.

Infact, it's not too bad to work on DIY and there are tons of good guides online for almost all issues/problems. Also, great diagnostics software you can run on your laptop.

The Lexus may prove to go wrong less frequently, but I wonder if the cost to run it would be lower?
 
Yeah, I'm still considering the E39. The Superb looked good in the advert, but the interior was filthy. It looked like someone had applied fake tan to the passenger seat, such was the filth (beige leather). It had parking dents, scratches, and a flat tyre. It was basically aesthetically buggered.

Looking at ST220s still though, and had a good look at one today. I almost snapped the sellers arm off until I started it up and took it for a drive. Engine light was on, running very rough and when parked up there was evidence of an oil leak somehwhere. :/
 
My E39 done the head gasket the other week fortunately I found a nice Lexus GS300 which has been well looked after so well impressed so far , I think the ride is nicer in the lexus but like the shape of the E39 but I cannot be dealing with all the agg again. My mate bought a O3 E39 and it has cost him a fortune every year
 
danza said:
Yeah, I'm still considering the E39. The Superb looked good in the advert, but the interior was filthy. It looked like someone had applied fake tan to the passenger seat, such was the filth (beige leather). It had parking dents, scratches, and a flat tyre. It was basically aesthetically buggered.

Looking at ST220s still though, and had a good look at one today. I almost snapped the sellers arm off until I started it up and took it for a drive. Engine light was on, running very rough and when parked up there was evidence of an oil leak somehwhere. :/
Click to expand...

FFS. Someone I know just scrapped a decent ST220. It needed a rear wheel bearing. He had it for sale for 6months and no one bit. So he got fed up and scrapped it.

I felt like punching him
 
Blimey, quite the necro post!

Actually quite timely, too.

I bought a very clean 406 coupe in the end, sold that and bought a Saab 9-3 cabriolet which I stuck a bigger turbo onto. The hate for that car lasted about 18 months until I finally managed to get an E46 330i sport 6 speed manual. After 2.5 years of thoroughly enjoying that, some stupid old arse drove into the back of it last week and it's been written off.

Now I've got my eyes on the MK1 Audi TT as a replacement. Will report back when I'm successful in my hunt.
 
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