Finally gave up on Lexus and went w/ new BMW 550
#16
exclusive matchup
iTrader: (4)
im not trying to turn this into any type of bmw/benz bashing thread but i sat in a brand spanking new S63 AMG and wasn't impressed if put side by side with a 3rd gen GS...NOT to say taht the GS is better but i wasnt impressed much by the benz. i expected a whole lot more
Also, bmw's leather seems to age terribly as years go by. I personally think they have 1 of the worst leathers. I was shopping for 5 series beemers when i was shopping for my 3rd gen GS and dear LORD, BMW's in the 40-60k mileage range looked terrible inside
Also, bmw's leather seems to age terribly as years go by. I personally think they have 1 of the worst leathers. I was shopping for 5 series beemers when i was shopping for my 3rd gen GS and dear LORD, BMW's in the 40-60k mileage range looked terrible inside
i have had 5 lexus, 4 of them new when i got them. it's been a decline. if you think the 3gs is solid and no issue, then anything from 01-05 was nothing short of phenomenal. to me both my ls460l and gs350 are down in terms of quality.
for leather, it's not a fair comparison because you are looking at used cars with different treatments from different owners. coming from a guy with both bmw and lexus, and also into detailing, i can tell you if you talk about degrade, lexus leather is so soft and delegate, it will get wrinkle more easily. and just like batman said, it's all about how you up-keep the leather. all the leather in my cars are good, even the gs400 when i sold the car at 8 yr old. but i see plenty of lexus loaners with 3000 miles or so and the leather is in far worse condition. and for comparison? i don't give a damn about my m3, we get in and out of the car without being cautious on the leather, and never condition it. at the same time, i detail and maintain leather in my gs350 regularly. the m3 wears about the same as the gs350.
#17
exclusive matchup
iTrader: (4)
Well I grew tired of the cold weather rattles and obviously the poor image that continues to grow for Toyota...I sold my GS on Craigslist and purchased a 2011 BMW 550i xdrive. I don't really need to say much about how awesome this vehicle is but it is head and shoulders over anything coming out of Japan!!!
Good luck to all of you!!! Get rid of them while you can!!!
Good luck to all of you!!! Get rid of them while you can!!!
#18
I think the rattles and squeaks seemed to be mostly for 09 and before in the GS. I have not heard of this with the 10's and 11. I have had my 10 for about a year and not a squeak, rattle or other problem. Having lived in Europe years back, and to many friends who had BMW's when I lived in CA, they do not seem to be reliable as they age. My wife had an SC back in the 90's and it was bullet proof. I looked into a Mercedes E Class Coupe before buying the Lexus and every site I went to there were many complaints about the electrical problems they were having. Way back in the 80's had a BMW and that was the big problem....the electrical malfunctions. Seems like they have not improved too much in that area. I have owned Toyota and Lexus products since they first came out and have never had a real issue. Had a couple of recalls to fix some things, but I never personally experienced any of the problems that pertained to the recalls. So as long as I do not experience persistent problems with my choice of vehicles I will most likely continue to purchase the same brand.
#19
Let's make this comparison. I spent $27K on my GS450h less than 2 months ago and I have an extra $40K in my bank account since I didn't blow over $60K on my car; money to do mods with Plus, my GS-h will give your 550i a serious run for its money despite giving up 60 HP to it.
What if I were to go onto an E46 M3 forum and talk about the brand new E92 M3 I just bought, and then follow it up by advising all E46 M3 owners to hurry up and offload their cars before it's too late.
#20
To the OP - congrats on the new car - I like the car myself, just don't want to spend that much money!
#21
Lexus Fanatic
i just saw a new 550 on the road today.
overall, it looks nice and planted. but it sorta has a shrunken-butt look.
hopefully they made a solid car, with minimal first-year issues
4GS needs to hit it out of the ballpark.
overall, it looks nice and planted. but it sorta has a shrunken-butt look.
hopefully they made a solid car, with minimal first-year issues
4GS needs to hit it out of the ballpark.
Last edited by dunnojack; 12-21-10 at 05:17 PM.
#23
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (2)
I almost made the same move I was going to get a CPO 750li loved the body style and power, the interior seemed a little over thought, to many gadgets and the Idrive is goofy. I also was active on the Bimmerfest forum and researched issues that people had, most of them were electrical malfuntions, dash lights, and some transmission issues all of which cost 3 arms and 12 legs to fix is the warranty should run out. I have had my GS for going on 4 years and have had very limited issues and couldn t see trading her in on something that didn t have the greatest reviews. My GS doesn t rattle or vibrate and if I want to turn the radio station I don t have to navigate through a database to do so. I hope the 5 series treats you well and if not you can always try Benz or Audi until you finally pop back up on CL talking bout Im back!
#24
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
My seat squeaks sometimes but I'm not complaining about it. I'm 270 lbs. I have had squeaks on every car after owning it some time.
No dash rattles here.
No vibrations.
No image concerns. I still believe Lexus to be a higher end car. The 3GS is a very stylish car. It's been copied more times than other cars. It must be doing something right.
My car hasn't been to the shop for anything other than maintenance.
I certainly wouldn't trade it for a BMW, Acura, Audi, Benz or other similar brand. I would add an Audi but not trade in my GS for one.
#27
Pole Position
iTrader: (1)
I agree. It's ridiculous to compare a brand new BMW that starts at $62K+ to a Lexus that only cost +/- $45K brand new 5 years ago.
Let's make this comparison. I spent $27K on my GS450h less than 2 months ago and I have an extra $40K in my bank account since I didn't blow over $60K on my car; money to do mods with Plus, my GS-h will give your 550i a serious run for its money despite giving up 60 HP to it.
What if I were to go onto an E46 M3 forum and talk about the brand new E92 M3 I just bought, and then follow it up by advising all E46 M3 owners to hurry up and offload their cars before it's too late.
Let's make this comparison. I spent $27K on my GS450h less than 2 months ago and I have an extra $40K in my bank account since I didn't blow over $60K on my car; money to do mods with Plus, my GS-h will give your 550i a serious run for its money despite giving up 60 HP to it.
What if I were to go onto an E46 M3 forum and talk about the brand new E92 M3 I just bought, and then follow it up by advising all E46 M3 owners to hurry up and offload their cars before it's too late.
Don't know about yours but my 06 GS430 had a sticker of 63k and when i purchased my GS i considered MB and BMW but i made the right choice with Lexus. I guess im very lucky i also have no rattles in my car but as far as long term reliability, maintenance cost and resale value Lexus has always been above both.
#29
OP, Very nice upgrade and you should be a happy guy for the next 50k as BMW picks up all of your service bills. That is a nice perk and I would buy one knowing it cost me nothing out of pocket for the first 50k. Good luck with the car and enjoy the german engineering.
I had the dash rattle and it drove me nuts until I added 3 dollars of felt to the front of the dash where the windshield meets. It has made my car a Lexus again! Quiet and silent as it was made to be.
Get yourself some of this:
And stuff it here:
That should stop some of the waaa waa pants from complaining about the noise when it takes 10 minutes to fix.
I had the dash rattle and it drove me nuts until I added 3 dollars of felt to the front of the dash where the windshield meets. It has made my car a Lexus again! Quiet and silent as it was made to be.
Get yourself some of this:
And stuff it here:
That should stop some of the waaa waa pants from complaining about the noise when it takes 10 minutes to fix.