Hello - first post! Glad to find all of you here! I'm searching for my next vehicle and it's come down to either an '01 GS3 or an '01 530i. Anyone here owned both and care to share your experiences? I do a lot of highway miles and I'm told the 530i will get 30mpg highway - how about the GS? Appreciate any insight you may have.

 

The 530i will be a lot quicker than the GS. For highway driving, the GS will have a softer ride and drives excellent at high straight line speeds. However, the 530i handles better with less body roll. You'll probably get around 400+ miles to the tank on the GS on the highway or insterstate without stopping. It has a 19.8 gallon tank.

 

i would go with the 530, i love my gs but i would rather have the 530, gas mileage on the gs300 is horrible also.dont know how these guys are pulling off 400 to the tank cause me and all my buddies are getting 250-275. if u do get the gs get the 400, the gas will be better and it will be faster. i also think the pricing between the 530 and the gs400 would be more comparable

 

The flip side of the story is that Lexus is known for reliability. A 4 year old car is out of warrentee, and simple repairs can get quite pricy. At highway driving the Lexus will be more pleasent (especially if long distances), but the BMW is no slouch either but not as smooth.

I have a 2003 GS300, and for the last year I have gotten 22-23 mpg consistently for combined highway/city driving (about 1/2 each), and that adds to about 330-350 before fillup (16-17 gallons). The car can easily get 400 if highway driving exclusively, heck, my LX470 gets 350-370 highway, and 320-330 city (14-16 mpg) and this is at 75-80mph. If people are claiming that they only get 250-270/fillup, that means they are getting 15-17mpg and that does not sound right, unless they are filling the tank at the 1/3 mark. (I think that the fedrel government mandates that every vehicle must get at least 300 miles per tank city driving), hense gas guzzlers have bigger tanks.

Last issue will be price of vehicle, and I think the GS will beat the 530. In actual fact I bet the GS430 will be priced similar to the 530.

You can't go wrong with the GS. The only downside to both cars is that they have both been redisigned, so value may drop quicker.

 

Thank you all for your comments. The 530i does seem to be more expensive than an equivalent GS300. My comparison will more likely be between an '02 GS300 and an '01 530i. I want both fuel economy and power, which BMW seems to do best with their inline 6's. I'd love to have a GS430, but I would guess it's considerably lower in fuel economy compared to the GS300? Reliability is also key, and the main reason I'm considering the Lexus. I will likely be buying a car with over 60k, non CPO. Sounds like the Lexus is the hands down winner in the reliability category, which may sway me in the end. This is a harder decision than I thought - both cars have good stuff and bad. Keep your experiences coming.

 

One thing no one seemed to mention was the cost of a repair for BMW compared to a LEXUS will save your wallet a few dollars $

 

Also forgot to mention that the GS has the CD changer in the glove box while most 530's still have the CD changer in the trunk, unless it's in the dash, which was an option. So, you'll be prone to listen to CD's more in the GS.

 

ah..... the same debate I went thru.

let's just say all my friends with BMWs told me to get a Lexus. go figure.

 

I have gs3, and I have a friend with an 00 530. I would say the 530, just because it handles better and has more power. However, if it was between a 00 GS4 and the 530, the GS hands down. I'm not in the market, but wouldn't a 99 or 00 GS4 and 01 530 be similar in price?

 

My 2 cents.
What do you want in a car? Fuel economy? Well neither of these cars are built for that, they are luxury sports sedans.
Highway ride? The GS will have a better and more luxurious ride compared to the 530l
The 530 is the sportiest luxury sedan you can get while the GS is sporty but leans more to the lux side. The 530 has less interior room, I believe EPA lists it as a compact. Something to think about. The interiors are both nice, the 5 is drivers oriented and very well built, but too many buttons around. The GS offers Optitron gauges, another well built interior with more room. Both have real wood accents.

Performance, the 530 has a 189hp I-6 but it is a strong engine (did they update to the 225hp engine yet?). The GS has 220hp and a 3.0 I-6 as well. Both are smooth as butter. The 530 is faster and coupled with a MANUAL, fun.
The GS DOES HAVE E-shift in 2001, which is fun to use. Not as fun as a manual but fun in its on right.
Handling, the 5 again has the edge as it is supposed to but the GS is no slouch. These cars both won import cars of the year and either placed 1st or 2nd in comparisons initially.
I believe a 530 used is more than a GS used b/c the 530 costed more in 2001.

My opinon, used, I have to go with the Lexus. The GS is the quality leader in its class according to JD Power. The 530 has some issues. Now if the 530 is a manual wih the sport package, I would suggest the 530.

 

As I'm always reminded "This is Club Lexus". I personally would take either of them. They are both great choices. The 530 is the sportier of the two. The GS300 is more refined. I would put either of the two in my driveway. If gas mileage is the main concern, you need to stay with BMW. I've never driven a GS300 but the Bimmer always outperforms its numbers. I'm even debating the 540ia to replace my G35 coupe. The E-39 platform is outstanding but expensive.

 

go for the GS300!

 

I have a 98 gs400 and before i bought it, I test drove a 530I. I loved the feel of the bimmer, the handeling around corners is great like a sports sedan should be, but it lacked the luxuries I would expect to ind in a car in its class like a cd changer. The bimmer also has a big steering wheel like a bus. Then I test drove the GS. Wow this car ooozes luxury. great enviornment inside, the steering wheel has a better feel, and the acceleration is amazing compared to the bimmer. One downside is the handeling in corners. It is not as tight as the bimmer. If i where you, I would go with a gs4 instead of the wimpy gs3. !Power baby! V8's are for men.

 

Get a 98-00 gs400. For the money it would be a no brainer for me. The bmw is nice but the 530 is just a middle of the pack bimmer. I just bought my gs4 and couldnt be happier.

 

I too had to make a similar choice, except mine was between a 01 GS430, 01 540i and 01 530i

I looked at both vehicles, both have their strong and weak points. It seems like everyone on this board hit it on the head, so I won't go over it again. It really depends on what is important to you, at the end reliability was a big thing for me and I felt the Lexus was ahead in that department.

So I looked at several cars (both BMW and Lexus) and at the end I am getting neither, instead found a 2000 LS400 (33k miles) instead. The reason I went this route was I found a nice low mileage 00 LS400 with good service history, in the color I wanted and at a price I wanted to be at (01 GS430 and 01 530i was s few thousand more).

Also remeber that both cars are expensive to fix, but the BMW will need more fixing (based on all that I have read in Lexus and BMW forums).