Amazing car! At 240,000 miles the only things that have gone out is the alternator, and the air conditioning blower (only about $100) Everything else is still in excellent condition. I did put a new stereo in which was kind of a hassle because they don't make make a harness to wire It to, but that was my choice.
I've owned my-1998 gs400 little over 2 yrs. now, it now has 156k mls. I work at a car dealership which sells all types of Luxury, Sport, & High line cars, I can honestly tell you that I would not trade my Lexus for any other car on our lot, it's that good, it's still better than most newer cars in so many ways, this car makes me really happy every time I drive it.
After 16 years of owning my 1998 GS 400 I have never been disappointed. It still runs very smoothly and the engine has that great sound of performance. I often get tempted to buy a newer model, but this one still runs great! The GPS system is easier to use than later model cars I've also owned from Infiniti, Cadillac, and Audi.
Best Features
Performance and V8 Sound. Touch screen GPS System easy to program. Very reliable.
I've had the car for 3 years now and it's been extremely reliable and fun to drive. It's faster than most cars on the road. I've taken it to a 12-turn race track several times and it's done rather well. It's built for luxury, so it's not real great on the turns, but the powerful V8 really moves on the straight-aways. I've even taken it drag racing. It's pretty heavy, but can still do 0-60 in about 6 seconds with 80,000 miles on the speedo. There are many cars faster than that 0-60, but it's unbeatable for highway driving. If you're like me, you do a lot of passing on the right for cars that like to drive slowly in the left lane. It takes only a few seconds to go from 60-100.
Best Features
The VSC(Vehicle Skid Control) works very well when it's slippery outside, but see below for snowy driving. I never use the automatic mode. The manual mode with paddle shifting on the steering wheel
is the next best thing to a stick. The powerful V8 combined with rear wheel drive is great. Cops aren't looking for this car. It looks like a regular family sedan. But drive with a radar detector anyway. It's way too easy to slip over 100 if you're not paying attention. It's absolutely smooth and rather quiet even at 130 mph. And your nosey, complaining wife won't know because the speedo well is so deep, only YOU know how fast you're going. She'd have to sit on my lap to see how fast I'm going.
Worst Features
The stock rims are pretty boring, so the previous owner put on 20" black rims to match the black car. It looks very badass. Keep the stock rims and put Blizzak snow tires on it for winter. The car is completely useless in the snow. Even in "Snow" mode, you won't be able to get around without snow tires.
Purchased in Jan. 2001 as a certified pre-owned with 20,000 miles. It was in pristine condition. And it still looks like a new car at 112,000 miles. Try to find a cert. pre-owned GS V-8 today. The big point of this is what my Lexus mechanic thinks of the GS400. He is an older guy with lots of knowledge and experience. He said, "don't get rid of this car". No more need be said.
Keep front and rear wheel toe-in near middle of allowable range. Put front camber around -.3 to -.4 degrees; and, rear camber around -.6 to -.7 degrees. On my car, it improves tire life & lowers tire noise.