QotW Update: This is the car my fiancée got

A couple of months ago, I enlisted the help of JNC readers to pick a chariot for my soon-to-be wife. She got one, and though it isn’t a Japanese nostalgic car yet, we think one day it might be. This was one of our most popular Questions of the Week and some have asked for an update, so here’s what’s sitting in our garage now.

Creating 99 Problems

The rules were simple: It had to be an automatic, have Bluetooth, and look respectable. These conditions were dictated by my fiancée’s job as a VP of marketing for a cable network. A typical day could mean a meeting in Glendale in the morning, lunch with a studio exec in Hollywood, and a commercial shoot in Malibu in the evening. The car needed to be her mobile office. She’s also a huge Jay Z fan, so a good bass-y stereo was a nice-to-have. Having lived in her beloved New York City for 17 years, she never owned or bought a car before, so it was my job to make it happen.

Naturally, I complicated things by stipulating that it had to be a model never even offered in a manual. That’s because I have a ridiculous notion that if there’s the exact same car traipsing around out there with a stick shift, the car sitting here with an automatic is somehow worse.

Some of you suggested proper JNCs like a Toyota Cressida or Mazda 929, or JDM tyte whips like a Toyota Century or Nissan Figaro. However, RHD was out of the question and, sadly, most Hollywood types aren’t enlightened enough to appreciate vintage Nihon steel.

Others excellent suggestions included the TSX Wagon, Mazda 6, and G37, but by a country mile the most frequently recommended marque was Lexus. Whether it was the LSSCIS, or the “Prius in a tux” CT, you guys just couldn’t stop hurling deluxe Aichi sleds our way.

So, that’s what we got. A 2008 Lexus GS 460.

I already have a Supra, AE86, Cressida and Van, and as much as I wanted to diversify the family fleet Toyota kept pulling us back in. The GS is new enough to have niceties like proximity sensing keys and a plethora of airbags, but not so new as to be festooned with a Predator grille and DRLs sponsored by Nike. It looks sharp enough to be impressive to clients, but in an understated way that doesn’t scream douchebag. Best of all, it was well below our $20,000 limit — even though the car cost $60,000 when new.

Why the 460? Well, another pedantic rule of thumb I have is that you always buy the top-spec model when possible, because aside from the obvious benefits of performance and driving fun, cars outfitted with these specs have the most potential for collectability.

A 1970 Boss 429 Mustang is worth over $200,000 today while a base 1970 Mustang is worth a piddling $10,000. We’re not trying to make a quick buck; if anything, a 2008 GS 460 still has a long ride down the depreciation curve before an upswing. But, if we still have the car 30 years from now, it will be a rare example of the best of the breed.

GS 460s were already hard to find. There never seemed to be more than a dozen for sale in the entire country at any given time. That’s because the third-gen GS was offered in three trims: the most popular base V6, a hybrid, and V8. Bizarrely, even though the V8 was supposed to be the performance flagship of the bunch, among the pre-facelift GSes, the V8 GS 430 actually made less power than the hybrid GS 450h.

There was absolutely no reason to buy the V8 until Lexus increased the displacement to 4.6 liters and horsepower to 342 (up from the GS 430’s 290 hp) during the 2008 facelift. Even then, it was still extremely rare. A post on ClubLexus revealed that Toyota sold only 1,616 GS 460s in the US in 2008. After that, the V8 models essentially became special-order only, with just 56 sold in 2009 and 43 sold in 2010.

If that didn’t make things hard enough, we would add one final complication — the color. Lexus offered two white-ish colors on the GS. Starfire Pearl is the standard luxury white, nearly indistinguishable in the lineup at the Hertz executive row.

Opaline Pearl, on the other hand, is probably the rarest in the GS palette and a dazzling three-stage paint that changes color. It starts with a light dove gray base, so pale it’s almost white. On top of that is a faint layer of bluish-purple pearl, then the clearcoat. Photos don’t do it justice because you have to move around to see the hints of color emerge and vanish as sunlight hits, like the inside of an oyster shell.

Can I Get a GS?

Now that we’d established exactly the type of needle we’d be looking for, it was time to dive into the haystack of nationwide online searches. Miraculously, a low-mileage Opaline GS 460 soon appeared at a Lexus dealer two hours south of LA and we made an appointment to see it. But when we arrived, another buyer was signing the paperwork.

We continued searching for a couple more months. Just when we thought we’d have to give up one of our criteria, an ad popped up for a “white” GS 460 in Arlington, Texas. It was likely Starfire, but I called anyway. Turns out, not only was it Opaline, but the guy on the phone was what used car buyers call a Dream Seller.

He was the second owner, an engineer, and OCD about everything. He appreciated the rarity of the car and had searched extensively himself to find the exact color. He himself had bought it from another Dream Seller, the proverbial Little Old Lady. He always garaged it and had a stack of receipts from work done exclusively at Lexus dealerships. When he did the work himself, like installing F-Sport sway bars, he kept the original ones. For some reason, the lady he bought it from had the visors wrapped in alcantara; he bought stock ones because the extra layer of fabric put an imperceptible strain on the visor clip. He clear bra’ed everything, including the mirrors, the areas behind the wheels where dirt kicks up, and even the wood surfaces on the interior. The rest remained stock. If I wasn’t engaged already, I probably would have proposed.

Ride Or Die

We made a deal and I enlisted the help of JNC staffers to secure the car. As it happens, John Roper lives in Arlington. He sized up the car in person, picked it up, and held it for us. Since my fiancée’s idea of fun is the exact opposite of driving through two days of desert, I got Touge California rallymaster Patrick Strong to Cannonball it back to LA with me.

Day One consisted of a one-way flight from LAX to Dallas. John arrived at DFW with the Lexus and we went straight to one of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve ever been to. We hung around Ft Worth, stopped by John’s garage to check out his many Datsun projects, caught up with Alex Nuñez of Enkei Wheels over some superb burgers, and checked into the hotel in Plano.

Before hitting the road on Day Two, I snapped a photo near the hotel in front of a massive construction site. It looked like there was still a lot of work to be done at the future home of Toyota USA, but the scale of the campus was nonetheless impressive. Damn you, Toyota, for leaving California. But fine, be that way. Texas may have its 1,000 horsepower Supras and lifted Tundras, but this Lexus was headed to the land of hot rod history and kyusha culture.

It was blasting through west Texas on lines of highway stretching straight into the horizon that the GS met its purpose. A supremely competent tourer, it took the miles in stride. Hitting, um, lively speeds while ensconcing its occupants in a cloud of total serenity, it barely broke a sweat thanks to its 8-speed transmission and overall Lexus-ness. Removing my foot from the throttle, the tach hardly dipped. It just wanted to glide, as if the whole car was made from ball bearings.

El Paso was the first major city in 700 miles. Stopped for the night, we reminisced about how many moons ago here, over a shared love of cars, a young future co-founder of JNC became friends with a young future rallymaster and diecast magnate. We visited some natsukashī basho, which basically consisted of a rather dilapidated learning institution and some stores where we used to buy Hot Wheels.

We left our fleabag motel at the crack of dawn on Day Three. 923 miles stood between us and home, giving the Lexus time to endear itself even more. Modern Lexus V8s found in the RC F or LC 500 emit a raucous roar to appeal to look-at-me spenders, and while the GS 460 samples from that soundtrack it’s far more civilized, its 8-cylinder burble audible only with the windows down.

There were oddball quirks people will find charming years from now too. To unclutter the dashboard, for example, buttons for extraneous functions like JDM-folding the side mirrors are moved to a tidy little drawer left of the steering wheel.

My absolute favorite part of the interior, though, is the movement of the turn signal stalk. Having only owned cars made in the 20th century, I did not know that the weighting, feel and mechanical action of a single switch could bring such rapturous satisfaction. If you’re ever near a GS, do yourself a favor and try it out.

It was pretty late by the time we got home. Luckily, Patrick and I were used to each others’ musical tastes, peccadillos, and bodily odors, having spent many days in cars together scouting roads for Touge California. The Lexus’s smooth comfort had kept us from any real fatigue. The car felt like it could’ve continued all the way to Japan.

’08 Bonnie & Clyde

The trip was uneventful, but then again that was the whole point. My fiancée wanted a car that would never leave her stranded and spend minimal time under repair. Oh, did I mention the car only had 51,000 miles on the clock? That’s barely broken in for a Lexus.

She couldn’t be happier with it. She loves the quietness of the ride, the V8 torque, the convenience of having power everything and, of course, the color. She’s even doing that thing where she looks back at the car while walking away from its parking spot.

It wasn’t till after she took the keys that I remembered that Jay Z started his entire career by driving around New York in an off-white Lexus GS. It all tied together, much like way Jay Z referenced it more recently. Plus, her birthstone is opal. I don’t get a lot of stuff right, relationship-wise, but in this case I somehow pulled it off, with a little help from John, Patrick, and JNC readers. Boom, GS the fuck up.

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31 Responses to QotW Update: This is the car my fiancée got

  1. MikeRL411 says:

    Great choice! Many moons hopefully to come.

  2. Jayrdee says:

    so … next is coilovers and wheels, right?

    the 19″ F-sport wheels would look sick on that GS

    • Ben Hsu says:

      This is her car, so we probably won’t modify it… too much.

      • nlpnt says:

        If you lived up north I’d say paint the snow-tire steelies a color that would compliment the Opaline (blue maybe) but keep the summer tires on the stock ones. In SoCal that won’t be an issue. Keep ‘er stock and keep her happy.

  3. Scotty G says:

    Ha, man, what a great read! I humbly bow to your writing skills, Ben. And, to your car-finding skills – what a beauty.

  4. Mike says:

    Ignore them. Don’t screw up the great ride/handling combination by slapping on big rims and coilovers. Not if you want to STAY in your wife’s good graces. (Says the guy who’s been married for over 40 years to the same woman.)

    Great story, nice ride, and well rewarded show of patience.

    • Jayrdee says:

      An inch or two wouldn’t hurt 😉

      And those F-sport wheels are whats commonly found on the Lexus ISF, and the IS250/350 F-sport models.

    • Ben Hsu says:

      Yeah, we’re going to keep it stock for the time being. It’s her car, and LA roads are not kind to nice rims on a daily.

  5. Mike says:

    ok…maybe Jaydee was just messin.

  6. Chris R Green says:

    That’s a special car indeed and one to be cherished (and looked back at when you walk away, of course). Great story and road trip!

  7. Legacy-san says:

    I’ve always regarded the Aristo/GS as “the American Crown”, and the LS as “the American Crown Majesta”…you could swap the Lexus badges for Toyota Aristo ones, just to confuse the uneducated…

    • Ben Hsu says:

      That’s another reason why I like it. I love Crowns of all generations and I can secrtly feel like I have one of those JDM gems in the garage.

      • Legacy-san says:

        Just learned that Lexus was officially introduced to Japan in 2005, so in 2008, the American GS is called the GS in Japan, too. There might be JDM equipment exclusive that you could add to make it more unique, however.

      • Ben Hsu says:

        The GS is the GS, but it shares a platform with the JDM Crown so I think we’re still good!

  8. Your ability to get almost the exact same angle of the front 3/4 of the GS in 3 different locations is second to none. This a great story though, maybe we can link to it in 2033 when this is finally a JNC.

  9. Danny says:

    I just bought a high mileage IS300 sportcross, my first Lexus, and I’m having a similar experience. After the Dead Presidents video I want a first gen GS too..

  10. Randy says:

    NICE choice!

    Matching her birthstone is almost an omen – that she was MEANT to have this car.

    Haven’t seen one of those in I-don’t-know how long. I was always torn between the GS and the LS… I guess it’s a good thing I couldn’t afford either one. Never have that “Maybe I should’ve gotten the other one,” feeling.

    Man, you have so much in that post – wow…

    1.) The fact that you now have FOUR Toyotas must say something about them, over ALL the other brands.

    2.) Assuming you kept to the “under-$20K” requirement it looks like a great value. (BTW, do NOT tell us what you paid; it’s not our business.)

    3.) Owner was an engineer, so it HAS been well-kept; that OCD-ness is a personality trait that goes into engineering. Those clear bras are supposed to be fantastic protection.

    4.) It might be near the low-point for depreciation-for-condition. In other words, if you see one at “a really great price,” it’s probably “seen better days.” Should be holding its value at this point, especially considering the rare color + top engine.

    Your post actually makes me think I wouldn’t mind owning one – as “the good car” – even despite the AT-only, so THAT is sayin’ somethin’!

    I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed the “Nike-ness” of the DRLs on the newer ones. Sounds like you’re not a raving fan of the “Predator” grille, either.

    IF you’re going to swap out the wheels, I’ll suggest that mesh-style (obviously MY favorite style), or maybe the finer-finned “turbine” style. I wouldn’t go bigger, either. As you said: “. . . LA roads are not kind to nice rims on a daily.” Not chrome. Machined is more understated.

    Couldn’t help noticing the bug guts on the front. A trick I read was to wet a dryer sheet and rub them lightly. Assuming the clear bra is on the bumper as well, you don’t have to worry about etching, but the dryer sheet will make removal easier. Soap-soaked cloths may work also, but they have to sit there for a while – annoying on a vertical surface.

    Congrats again on a REALLY nice ride!

    • Ben Hsu says:

      We stayed well below the $20,000 limit. That’s kind of the amazing thing about this car. With only 51k miles and the condition it was in, we were basically getting a brand new $60,000 car for less than a third of its price.

      We probably won’t get rims in the immediate future. Anything we’d get would look weird unless you lower the car, and she’s not going to want to do the angled creep over every parking lot ramp and speed bump in LA.

      I’ll have to remember the dryer sheet trick. I wasn’t as concerned about bug guts because of the clear bra in this case. I did spend 4-5 hours washing, claying, and waxing the car before handing the keys over though!

  11. RegalVizzerdrix says:

    Is that one picture at White Sands? Man, you drove straight through Alamogordo didn’t you?

  12. Brett says:

    Good choice; your better half will be happy.

  13. Ant says:

    Nice choice Ben. Never driven a GS of this generation (big fan of the current model predator face and all), but they seem like a great second-hand buy. I’m perpetually tempted by examples of the generation before this one, since they’re currently very affordable indeed in the UK, whether 2JZ or 3UZ-powered.

  14. Excellent choice on the GS, the 460 engine, and the 2 tone pearlescent colour. You found one of the best cars produced by Lexus, and a true gem in their stable. I drive a 2007 Lexus LS460 and I can tell you, that big car is a hustler! It’s very fast, and handles with uncomprehending agility. I can only imagine the same engine on a shorter, taughter body is even better. The F Sport sway bars are a magic touch. If you had driven it without you would have known. I truly admire this car, as I test drove a GS450h, like yours, to replace my LS460, but the fuel savings were negligible and the interior is very similar, so I couldn’t justify the trade at that time. You should know that GS sedans are going away, in Canada they are discontinuing the hybrid option, in Europe discontinuing the whole GS series, and the V8 is on order only. Btw Akio Toyoda’s personal daily was a GS, that was his choice from their lineup. You own a Mohican.

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