gsintensive

I don't hate German car at all, Dad has S500 mom has 740il, sisy has Bug 1.8T. just that the way you put it is like they are the best and Lex are nothing but over priced toyotas.

meanboy

How many miles do you have now? Are you going to turn your car back to stock? If so, drop me a line and I'll buy some of your parts.

meanboy

Not overpriced but pretty expensive toyotas.

meanboy

Very few cars are ferraris. It's more of a musuem piece versus a daily driver.

As far as mbs, the only one I would spend cash on are the S class and SL coupes. And maybe something AMG.

E-class cars make great taxis in Berlin!

Static911

This is a no brainer...definately an LS430...

But if you had to choose LS430 or S500? Well....if your father has enough money, oh by all means, get the S500.


static911

GlobeCLK

iTrader: (5)

No one hates German cars here. Don't make assumptions based on other posts which doesn't even hint a bit of hatred towards German cars. That's a pretty general statement. Almost a stereotype..

My brother and my dad both drives Mercedes. I think they're very good cars. They're famous and popular for a reason. So is Lexus. They're so good, they picked up the piece of market in around 12 years, catching up to MB and BMW, which have been around for decades.

And you don't say BMWs are ultimate driving machines and MBs are ultimate luxury stuff........... You don't say the 323s are good driving machines and nor is a small C230 or C230 hatch......... same as you don't say the ES is concentrating on performance.

GS4Will

speaking ONLY from my personal experience: german cars in the past have not lived up to my expectations for the $$$ that i spend. i do like some of the models from mb and bmws, and they drive fine when there is no problem. but relaiblity issue is very important to me....i guess in a way toyota/lex/honda really spoiled me over the years-i had to try hard to find problems so that i can go in and chat w/my advisors.

lexguynj,

ls430 is brand new design, my relative just picked up an 01ls430 few months back for $800 over invoice on an ml+nav car. and for what he paid, the car is awesome.....the new E will be here next year, that is why MB is having the big sale...but the style is not my cup of tea.

meanboy

I saw a 2001 LS430 on sale at Serramonte Lexus for 49k. The sticker was 56k. Is that close to invoice?

SecPole14

Let's get some things straight here: The Germans wouldn't know luxury or quality if they came up and slapped them in the face. Their cars do have excellent driving dynamics and performance (mainly BMW), though. I see Mercedes as a luke-warm company. Not as high-performance as BMW, not as luxurious as Lexus, so they basically do both things kinda half-@$$ed in my humble opinion. Mercedes will reign as the king-of-clout in the automotive world because of their history and universal recognition. Ask a 10-year-old what car he wants when he grows up, and he may very well say a MB. I am really disappointed in Mercedes lately, mostly due to their styling and their shameful pricing. First, the styling: I took a good look at the S-Class the other day, and man, is that thing ugly. I actually really liked the S-Class until I looked at it for a while. People have said the S-Class was ugly, and I would argue with them that it wasn't, but now I believe them. The M-Class has always been ugly, and the E-Class and C-Class are going the same route as the S-Class. I don't even want to see what they do to the SL redesign. Talk about a classic design that should be protected by law. Second is their pricing: Why would anybody want a C32 AMG? Think about it. In essence, it's a compact $29,000 sedan that's over-priced as it is. Then they charge you $20,000+ for an engine, and make you wait on a list on top of it all? Do they know how much more car you could get for $49,000 at a Lexus dealership? Sure, the GS430 may not be as fast as a C32 AMG, but the GS is a GS, and the C32 AMG is just a very fast and equally over-priced C-Class. Nothing more, nothing less. Lexus will always be my car of choice. I mean, just look at the numbers: Lexus has been on the scene for only 12 years, and they outsell MB and BMW, both of which are pre-WWII companies. Talk about a success. And a Lexus will get you just as much respect as a MB or BMW in most civilized places. It will take decades for Lexus to have a world-wide prescence and world-wide recognition. It won't happen soon, but it will happen. Someone on this board said it best (and now I paraphrase): German cars might be the ultimate driving machines, but Lexus is the ultimate pimping maching. And no one can dispute that.

biggie27

actualy I was reading an article on the new E-class and if your dad is gonna fork out the cash and get the fully equiped one then I would go with that, as much as I love Lexus the new E-class is suposed to put the S-class's technology to shame, it will also have mercedes famous ABC system, and many many many other things, Im sorry guys but the MB fully equiped does surpass the LS430 but it also costs double the LS430 thats why Lexus wins every time, because not only does it have all the goodies but it costs half the price too.

as for sedans the '98 740i to this day is probably the most planted sedan I have ever driven, even at 270km/h the car felt firm and I felt in control the whole time, not even the 2001 MB S500 can match that ( my dad has one ) at about 240km/h the S500 started feeling alittle flimsy and loose.

just thought I should share that with you

nanotech

iTrader: (2)

I don't think you should really compare an E-class to a LS430.

E-Class compares to the GS
(e320 - gs300)
(e430 - gs430)

I think the LS430 compares more to the S430...and in that comparison, I guess I would get the S430...but I wouldn't get a brand new car anyway, I would get a used 2000 loaded S-500 instead and shine it up

In fact, my dad's next car will either be a S500 or a S55 AMG.

Lexus simply doesn't have the prestige of a S-class.....atleast not yet!