LEXGS400

ok guys.......i have been saving up 30 grand to buy a car for a really long time and now the moment has finally arrived. The only thing left to decide is WHAT TO BUY WITH THE DAMN MONEY!!! I really love GS's but i think i might want somthing a little smaller like the MB clk430 coupe. Then again maybe i want something bigger to just cruise around in like the GS...? I know this is a lexus forum so i'm sure the answers you guys post will be a little bit biased to say the least. But there are a lot of intelligent enthusiasts on this site and i definetly respect all your opinions so please help out a friend in need!!! WHAT DO I BUY?!?!

I want to thank anyone now who might decide to actually write back to me with their opinions.

BTW...im not buying the mercedes to say i drive a benz...i think lexus is right up there, plus im not that stuck up....i just cant decide which car outweighs the other.

GS4Will

i have driven few clks..too much $$$ for the car..that car is based on the old c, plenty of rattle(in the one i have driven)...i would consider the old E than the C..but then again, the GS is a much better value..plus, benz takes more $$ for maintenance

mooretorque

Seems like your basic decision here is coupe vs sedan rather than MB vs Lexus and that's really something you'll have to decide for yourself. If you really think you need the rear seat room, it's GS time. If you don't, get the coupe (though I'd get an SC for my money).

Sounds like you've got more of a "heart" decision than a "head" decision here. Buy what makes you happy every time you get in it, that makes you turn around and look back every time you get out.

Just mho, though.

Manaray

While ^^ that might be true, you also have to think about all the other stuff...you're heart might get you into something your pocketbook can't get you out of (usually it's girls that do this...but hey, it can be a car! )

I too have considered the older CLK's...they can be made to look sweet, but with MB, I think it's more a crap shoot to get a "good" one....with Lexus, it's more or less guaranteed that you'll get a good car (if both cars had equivalent previous owners).

A four door is more practical (if you want to look at it that way)..when you go out with your buddies, you don't have to squeeze them in the back...but then again, the CLK is smaller and maybe that work for you....

Plus the interior on the older Benzes aren't that great...looks 10 years old because it is. I would consider one as a 2nd or 3rd car, but not as my primary. I need a good reliable car as a primary.

chuckisc

Buy what makes you happy every time you get in it, that makes you turn around and look back every time you get out.

You got this right! I don't know about the MB, but my GS300, everytimes I get in, I feel like i'm home. When I get out, I turn my head and look, saying "Damn, You fine thing"

Chuck N.

LEXGS400

yea i definetly hear you guys out about the reliability thing....and the clk is more $$ to maintain and it has 53k miles on it as compared to a lexus that i cna buy which has like 40k miles. But the price of both cars is the same. I want the lexus but i dont want to spend the extra money for the 19's as opposed to the benz which only gets 18's...there is a big difference. also the mercedes doesnt need any serious suspension work bc its done by AMG. All i read about on this site is how the lexus has a lot of body roll and it needs the l tuned suspesnion and then l tuned steering chip. Also if i got the mercedes i would just need to order a new front bumper bc it already has amg side skirts and rear...either lorinser or carlsson bumper which is only gonna cost me like 600 bucks. The lexus needs a full bodykit...which is more $$$...i also always read about how you have to lower the lex if u get a kit bc otherwise it doesnt look right...i live in NY and it would be hard enough to ahve a kit on my car if i didnt lower it.....Now that all that has been said what do you guys think??

thanks again for your time

Evan

GS400_PUSHER

I think you really have your mind set on the GS....So go get it You won't regret it!

chuckisc

Even,

Both cars Lexus and MB are equally lexurious in its own rights. Benz was, is, and going to be always the top choice for every car-lovers if money isn't the issue here. No, You're not stuck up, you worked for it now it's time to have something to show for it. I like the MB myself, however, my friend T. got a MB E Class, that thing is in the shop almost every month for some stupid minor fix, like the temp. display went out, radio skip stations etc. Cost a LOT to fix them, and not everyone knows how to fix a Benz, dealer only. But with the lexus, it's a Toyota's built. Bias is present on this site, you buy this car, just like most of us to create an image for yourself, your car is you! What kind of image you want to portrait? To me, Lexus is for young, successful, professional crews, who know how to spend their money and like to drive FAST.... Benz are for doctors, lawyers, hmmmm, guys who like to be called "Oh, that guy with the Benz...!" in a conversation.

Again, what image do you want to have? I used this to get my decision down between Lexus GS300 and BMW 330 when I shopped for car last time. I'm still too young to drive a Benz, maybe in another 3 years, when I hit 30. Notice, I don't have any MOD on my car right now, still like the original look... So I don't know anything about MOD, not on my list of things, don't have much to say about that matter.

My Vote: Lexus all the way, for now! Until you get older!

kvoman

Ouch chuckisc - knocking on the older crowd aren't you!!!

Some of us older farts (me at 38) still prefer the Lexus instead of MB or BMW because of the value we get for our hard earned $$$. We can drive it and never have to worry what will need to be fixed next week/month/...

LexGS400 - When you buy a used vehicle, I think you should definitely look at the overall reliability record of the make since you'll have to fork out the money for the repairs. Since the MB is an AMG, if anything goes wrong, the repair will be even more expensive and will take longer than a normal MB. In terms of performance, I don't think the GS will be able to compete with the AMG CLK w/o a ton of mod. But if you like the room, comfort, easy to use gauges, and overall reliability, I think the GS wins. If you like status and symbol, like Chuckisc said - more people will definitely notice you in an AMG CLK instead of a GS. Heck, if money was no object, I'd get the CLK AMG as my third car!!!

mooretorque

Now I don't know what to do; I'm almost 49 AND a doctor. I must have made a wrong turn on the way to the MB dealership!!!!

Oops, done screwed up again!!!! I just wanted (another) fast, extremely reliable luxurious ride, sort of an automotive iron fist in velvet glove; as old as I am, my image must DEMAND a Porsche (trying to recapture that long lost youth)!!!!!

What to do, what to do.............

chuckisc

HAHAHAHA Arg! Sorry KVOMAN!!!! I'm getting there myself! Old Farts NOTHING! Didn't mean to kicking on the older crowd, unintentional! Very obvious around here in Philly, PA, my Chiropractor drives a Benz, my physician drives a Benz too, family lawyer drives a BMW 740 and a H2. They are all in their mid 40's. I bought my GS3 used, off-lease, and very happy with it. I feel good when I get in the car, and turn my head to look @ it when I get out. This car is so me, the color is loud, the sound is perfect, hp is just right 225HP (1999). Hmmm, I did pay nearly $1K for the first 30K Service @ Wilkie Lexus dealer in PA. New Brakes and the routine. But I don't have to worry about fixing or paying for stupid break downs as opposed to a lot of MB and BMW which my friends have and had before.

Again, what image do you want to have?

chuckisc

Hahaha MooreTorque! You do NOTHING! You didn't make the wrong turn, you made "the other left turn"! My Dentist just got himself a 2002 GS430 and he's the happiest man ever! No more trips to the MB Dealer for stupid and costly little fix. He's 39! Always owns a Benz for the last 10 years, well, since I started going to him for my dental needs back in 93.

Hmmm, I'm 27, and I want a Porsche too, you're kidding.... It's a Porsche, it's "furgehaboudid"....

smile

LEXGS400

Can a GS400 with SRT intake and ECU, exhaust, and L tuned steering ECU and L tuned suspension keep up with a stock clk430? Also....what speed would u not exceed in a GS400 if it was stock...no suspension work...no nothing....120? 130?? And when do you feel the body roll in the GS that i always read so much about??

Thanks again for all your time in answering my questions....this is a great forum


Evan

kvoman

But you're not comparing it to a stock CLK430, I thought it was an AMG CLK you're thinking about?

Both (GS and CLK) really are different animals. But if you're to install all of that on the GS, my guess is in long and straight runs, yes, but on curves, tight corners, the base CLK will probably out corner you just because it's a little shorter, lower. The AMG CLK, on the other hand, will probably outrun and out corner you from the begin to the end, no matter where.

Sounds like you're loosing some sleep over this decision... Why not take both cars out for a long test drive, listen to it, feel it and see which one makes YOU smile after the long test drives. After all, both are fairly expensive and both are great choices but you'd have to live with one for a long time to come.

This is what I'd based my decision on: If you have a family or planning to have one soon, the choice would be GS, if you're single but do take friends out in your car, again the GS, if you're single - live large, the AMG is the way to go!!!

At what speed in a stock GS can you drive? What can your wallet afford if you're caught by the cops!!! As long as your tires are in good conditions, you can drive as fast as your nerve will let you. In my case, no more than a few seconds at anything over 100MPH, just to stretch out the legs once in a while.

mooretorque

That would occur when, through appropriate steering input, the front tires apply a force vector normal to the direction of travel through the center of mass, ie, when cornering...........