lexus gs 300 opinions....

-Corkie-

Hi lads.

What are your opinions on the latest model 300. What are real world MPg figures etc. I Can get a 07 one for about 12k.

Cheers..

mickdw

You would have to go for the 450h surely.
I tried one out (450h) for a weekend. Nice car but why oh why do lexus & toyota insist on the driver sitting on the car rather than in it.

-Corkie-

mickdw wrote: »

You would have to go for the 450h surely.
I tried one out (450h) for a weekend. Nice car but why oh why do lexus & toyota insist on the driver sitting on the car rather than in it.

450 would be a way out of budget. What you mean by sitting on the car...

mickdw

I find in GS & avensis etc, that the drivers seat is much too high at the lowest setting and I never feel part of the car/comfortable with that. I dont sit like a boy racer either.

A 450h on an 07 plate should be got for a song given the 1600 tax versus 650 tax on an 08. I would value an 07 450h at 12 to 14k.

EPM

-Corkie- wrote: »

Hi lads.

What are your opinions on the latest model 300. What are real world MPg figures etc. I Can get a 07 one for about 12k.

Cheers..

I think I know the one you're looking at:p

There's a 450 on done deal for 11k.

-Corkie-

EPM wrote: »

I think I know the one you're looking at:p

There's a 450 on done deal for 11k.

Yes you do know....:)

Big Nasty

mickdw wrote: »

I find in GS & avensis etc, that the drivers seat is much too high at the lowest setting and I never feel part of the car/comfortable with that. I dont sit like a boy racer either.

A 450h on an 07 plate should be got for a song given the 1600 tax versus 650 tax on an 08. I would value an 07 450h at 12 to 14k.

Totally agree - it's like sitting in a kitchen chair. I prefer the seating position and dash to give me the feeling I'm sitting in a cockpit. One of the reasons I don't like newer Bimmers is they all have a straight dash now as opposed to the wrap around.

Anan1

There's very little boot space in a 450h, if that matters to you.

-Corkie-

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Totally agree - it's like sitting in a kitchen chair. I prefer the seating position and dash to give me the feeling I'm sitting in a cockpit. One of the reasons I don't like newer Bimmers is they all have a straight dash now as opposed to the wrap around.

I have never driven one yet only looked around it. I have a buyer for the Passat but I would prefer something at least 08..

-Corkie-

Anan1 wrote: »

There's very little boot space in a 450h, if that matters to you.

Cheers Anan, it do actually with buggies and all sorts..

166man

Gonna be a severe fuel consumption change from a diesel passat to a 3.5 litre petrol lexus anyway...:p

-Corkie-

166man wrote: »

Gonna be a severe fuel consumption change from a diesel passat to a 3.5 litre petrol lexus anyway...:p

True but fedup of tractor style driving.

unkel

Why would you buy an '07 Lexus GS for 11k when you can get something like an '06 BMW 750 for 8k???

Mr Benevolent

unkel wrote: »

Why would you buy an '07 Lexus GS for 11k when you can get something like an '06 BMW 750 for 8k???

A dented and dirty 750? Who knows what secrets it's hiding!

EPM

-Corkie- wrote: »

Yes you do know....:)

Needs a small bit of tidying that one. Lovely spec tho, same as Padraig Mors one.

-Corkie-

EPM wrote: »

Needs a small bit of tidying that one. Lovely spec tho, same as Padraig Mors one.

I only had a quick look. We are not going to be doing much mileage anymore so that might suit.

-Corkie-

Confab wrote: »

A dented and dirty 750? Who knows what secrets it's hiding!

Good price but it looks to be as rough as toast with big miles... I would forgive the dents but not the fag box squased on to the interior mat...

unkel

Ah but you get my point, don't ya? If you're gonna be forking out >10k for a 5 year old car and if you don't mind max tax, why the hell would you pick a Lexus GS?

-Corkie-

unkel wrote: »

Ah but you get my point, don't ya? If you're gonna be forking out >10k for a 5 year old car and if you don't mind max tax, why the hell would you pick a Lexus GS?

I get your point surly, now i am on my phone but i see that 750 advertised by m7 car sales for 11 k in a few ads....savage car in fairness..

EPM

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2301310

-Corkie-

EPM wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2301310

I seen that one. i might have a look through some lexus forums to see mpg figures and reliability issues..

EPM

Try fuelly for real world figures.

166man

If you don't mind high tax might as well go the full way on it and get yourself a nice V12... S600 V12 I'm thinking..:D

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/S-Class/S600LWB-/201135204254276/advert?channel=CARS

mickdw

166man wrote: »

If you don't mind high tax might as well go the full way on it and get yourself a nice V12... S600 V12 I'm thinking..:D

He has only just got this out of his head:D although if swapping the passat for one, a very nice one could be had.

-Corkie-

mickdw wrote: »

He has only just got this out of his head:D although if swapping the passat for one, a very nice one could be had.

And thank god i took your good advise too btw...

Padraig Mor

/cruises comfortably into thread.......

I have mine 16 months now and am very happy with it. Flashed the ROM on my phone today so lost all the mileage data I'd been keeping for 6 months :mad:. However, it's averaging out near 27mpg from memory in that period - about 15k km with a good mix of city, backroad and motorway. That ain't half bad I reckon! Car is of course very comfortable and laden with gadgets that would make a BMW owner cry into their blank buttons. Is it sporty? Not compared to a 5 series etc but probably a lot niftier than many give it credit for.

I think you've got the wrong car there though if it's the one I think (North Cork right?). 1. If you're spending that money, try for a GS450H - that one EPM linked too looks good (headrests aren't original though) and 120k miles shouldn't be any bother. Drove one recently and they're ****ing FAST. Consumption should work out pretty much the same as the 300 I reckon. They should also be rather more desireable than the 300 when you sell (if a GS can be considered desireable on the market!).
2. There is no need to spend that much if you can get a 05 for 8k-ish. Range was only refreshed in early 08, and even that was minor at best. They're built to last - mine has 146k km and looks like new inside and out (when clean that is ).
3. If you want to spend a little more, I reckon €20k will get you a 07 LS460 very shortly.
Note also that 'your' car doesn't seem to have nav, which may kill off the little hope that you may of of selling it after.

Boot: the 300 is ****, the 450h is even worse. Two buggies? won't be fun in the 300 and impossible in the 450h. Note also that the rear seats don't fold - ski hatch only!

7er? I've driven a few and I like them. But from a lot of research.......I reckon they ARE the money pit that their reputation suggests - and that's before the dreaded "€7k to fix" O ring problem..... (probably gone in that ad Unkel linked).

DIY on the GS seems to be pretty ok - I'm going to do my first oil change on it this weekend and it's a piece of piss. I have the tech manual if you need it.

Let me know if you have any more questions - PM if you want. You're welcome to have a good look round my car and chat about it anytime you want. You're north Cork right? I'll be in Fermoy tomorrow afternoon if that's of any use to you. Cork city every day.

-Corkie-

Cheers for that long post. I will pm you when i get my laptop sorted as i am on the phone now. yep its banteer....:)

pity about the boot as i have a lot of gear. Seeing as its a skoda garage they might throw in an octavia boot aswell...:pac:

corglass

-Corkie- wrote: »

I seen that one. i might have a look through some lexus forums to see mpg figures and reliability issues..

EPM wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2301310

That car is a beautiful machine that's almost half the price of a new full spec punto.

Lovely lovely lovely

mickdw

I think I got about 25 mpg out of 450h over a long weekend travelling dublin mayo return and some short journeys. They are pretty heavy on juice but lots of power it has to be said and the massively quick silent getaway gets quite the reaction from all passengers.

Padraig Mor

corglass wrote: »

That car is a beautiful machine that's almost half the price of a new full spec punto.

Lovely lovely lovely

That's the top spec Sport trim (adds Nav, voice command, DVD w/ 5.1 sound, 14 speakers over standard Executive) and also has the optional radar cruise control and "stop the car for you" pre crash system.

-Corkie- wrote: »

Cheers for that long post. I will pm you when i get my laptop sorted as i am on the phone now. yep its banteer....:)

pity about the boot as i have a lot of gear. Seeing as its a skoda garage they might throw in an octavia boot aswell...:pac:

The boot in the 300 isn't actually that small (it's 440 litres), but the shape of it and the narrow entrance combine to make it somewhat less useful than it should be. 450h loses about 150 litres to batteries.

unkel

I think the discussion about fuel efficiency in large petrol cars is pretty anal in this country. Any bigger than average petrol car doing Dublin city driving most of the time will get 15-25MPG. A tiny engined 1.8l Mondeo will get 25MPG, a big 5l engined Mercedes S-class will get 15MPG. Both will do 35MPG on the occasional long journey

Big fecking deal, at 10k km per year, the difference in petrol costs (between 15MPG and 25MPG) is about €20 per week. That's nothing compared to the total cost per week of owning a car...

-Corkie-

unkel wrote: »

I think the discussion about fuel efficiency in large petrol cars is pretty anal in this country. Any bigger than average petrol car doing Dublin city driving most of the time will get 15-25MPG. A tiny engined 1.8l Mondeo will get 25MPG, a big 5l engined Mercedes S-class will get 15MPG. Both will do 35MPG on the occasional long journey

Big fecking deal, at 10k km per year, the difference in petrol costs (between 15MPG and 25MPG) is about €20 per week. That's nothing compared to the total cost per week of owning a car...

Good point i remember matt simis worked it out before. i am doing 600 km a week so maybe its too much for a petrol...

unkel

-Corkie- wrote: »

i am doing 600 km a week so maybe its too much for a petrol...

At that kinda mileage, even I would have to force myself to start thinking diesel

Your fuel costs would be about 7k for petrol at just under 20MPG and 3k on diesel at about 40MPG

€4,000 difference per year. That's a lot of money...

-Corkie-

-Corkie- wrote: »

Good point i remember matt simis worked it out before. i am doing 600 km a week so maybe its too much for a petrol...

Defo diesel mileage there / (delete as appropriate) :pac:
Get an ole LS400 for the weekend and keep the Passat maybe.

mickdw

Thats only 20k miles per year. Not out of the question for petrol but I wouldnt be going for anything too thirsty. Kinda defeats the purpose then though.
Instead of spending 12 / 13k, why not spend 6 or 7k and go for an animal of a car and throw the petrol at it for a couple of years.

mickdw

mickdw wrote: »

Thats only 20k miles per year. Not out of the question for petrol but I wouldnt be going for anything too thirsty. Kinda defeats the purpose then though. .......

True, a tad costly to fuel a GS300 for 20k miles though.

-Corkie-

Thanks folks. Maybe I will take the advice and keep the :)diesel. I just hate driving it lately. I think the petrol heads here have me that way....

unkel

mickdw wrote: »

Instead of spending 12 / 13k, why not spend 6 or 7k and go for an animal of a car and throw the petrol at it for a couple of years.

Now we're talkin'. And no one is ever gonna take away those petrol fueled smiles

EPM

€6-7k would buy an exceptionally tidy E39. Just an idea, was in a bangernomics one today and theyre still a deeply impressive car.

-Corkie-

EPM wrote: »

€6-7k would buy an exceptionally tidy E39. Just an idea, was in a bangernomics one today and theyre still a deeply impressive car.

True good idea. I have one more truck to get rid of and hopefully I should a profit out of it to buy something like that..

unkel

I admit I was thinking E39 M5. But didn't want to push the idea as you'd probably only get a fairly rough one within budget. Still it might be an option?

-Corkie-

unkel wrote: »

I admit I was thinking E39 M5. But didn't want to push the idea as you'd probably only get a fairly rough one within budget. Still it might be an option?

I would never get one in budget allthough i know a guy with a mint one and i will get first refusal on it when he sells it.

I would love to know the history of that 750 you posted yesterday..

unkel

-Corkie- wrote: »

I would love to know the history of that 750 you posted yesterday..

Don't get your hopes up! I only randomly picked a luxury low budget car from the internet to compete with your shyte ricebarge

Lex Luthor

Anan1 wrote: »

There's very little boot space in a 450h, if that matters to you.

I feel an octavia sub thread starting...:p

turbodiesel

Confab wrote: »

A dented and dirty 750? Who knows what secrets it's hiding!

Google the phone number from the add 0873582893 and see what turns up, might give you an idea of the type of seller.....

Tea 1000

-Corkie- wrote: »

I would never get one in budget allthough i know a guy with a mint one and i will get first refusal on it when he sells it.

I would love to know the history of that 750 you posted yesterday..

Piece of poo... that's the history of it! One look is enough!!
Autocar mentioned they sucessfully got 35mpg out of the 450h when they tested it, which surprised them.
I think an E39 525i would be a nice car though. You could run that alright. Forget the E65's, most of them are money pits. Far too many electronic gizmo's failing on them at big money to put right.

Voodoomelon

You wouldn't have much change out of €5k I reckon to get that 750 back in shape, and thats assuming theres only cosmetic problems. Both sides and the front are mangled, as well as the left side mirror (a mirror alone is over €1100).
Wonder if €5k would get it?

Pete69

Checkout used car advice in some of the car mags, Autocar / autoexpress for example, I'd look at diesel 530, 730, S class, Audi A6 / A8 or even a VW Phanton, all can be got cheap as chips in UK, if you don't mind travelling to buy and paying VRT, just make shure it's pre July 08, as tax rules changed back then even make 1.4 TSI engined VW's silly money to tax. Never mind fuel costs or MPG. I wouldn't touch a hybid / EV until they can produce them with solar recharging. Then they will truely be environmentally friendly. Not that I give a toss for all that environmental crap.

pajo1981

Pete69 wrote: »

Checkout used car advice in some of the car mags, Autocar / autoexpress for example, I'd look at diesel 530, 730, S class, Audi A6 / A8 or even a VW Phanton, all can be got cheap as chips in UK, if you don't mind travelling to buy and paying VRT, just make shure it's pre July 08, as tax rules changed back then even make 1.4 TSI engined VW's silly money to tax. Never mind fuel costs or MPG. I wouldn't touch a hybid / EV until they can produce them with solar recharging. Then they will truely be environmentally friendly. Not that I give a toss for all that environmental crap.

Solar charging!?

A solar charger would just about power the digital clock in a 450h.

Voodoomelon

A8s and Maybachs have solar panels I believe, they power the ventilation system when the engine is off. Recharging a large lithium battery would need an unworkable number of panels and unachievable sunlight.

bazz26

Christ, that 750i is as rough as Jody Marsh.

I'd take a clean GS300 over a trashed BMW any day. The GS is a fine car in it's own right.