eternalkp

i remember my dad's 1986 bmw 728i, omg, what a piece of crap. my uncle a few years ago bought a used 2004 bmw z4, another terrible idea. I swear it's all marketing hype, they are so unreliable. My 1999 camry (143k miles) was crashed by a friend of mine. Then my sister crashed my 2000 gs 400 (235k miles). My sister then bought a 2013 gs awd (37k miles CPO) now has 57k miles, she loves it. Now the only car I have left is the 2007 Lexus LX 470. At 96k miles. I recently have the timing belt water pump service. replace front cv driveshaft, and muffler. The only thing that failed for the past 10 years are: ac blower fan at 90kmiles, it was making loud noise...easy $160 part change. Recently the rear height sensor goes nutty causing the rear to go up all high, $400 part and I change it myself.

I swear german cars have no control quality department.

HPLouis

That's what I'm looking for. I look to keep cars for 200K or more miles. Those are 15 or more years of savings for me. Even if I bought the cars cash, and traded them in before 100K miles, I'm losing, but, if I keep the car for many years, even if I finance them, I've saved big.

That's why I can't do German cars anymore. I need something that will carry me over into my fifties. I don't mind paying some money here and there, but $15K-$20K in a few years is outrageous. What shocks me is when I go to BMW forums and talk to the other posters. They plan for spending $5K a year on maintenance on their cars and that's what was happening to me. I need more reliability.

k0kong

I remember when i had my VW, I thought high maintenance cost was the norm. I bought that car with 27k miles and sold it at 80k and during that time I did coil-packs, spark plugs, air box (cracked due to cold temps), fuel filter (2x), fuse box change, headlights, belts, sway bar links and the transmission valve body outside of the normal maintenance of oil changes and rotations. I also had a vibration for the life of that car that no one could figure out...
After the transmission started failing again the second time, it was time to sell.

eternalkp

HPLouis, you want reliability and headache free. You certainly purchased the right brand.
Lexus used to be a boring reliable company but the new Toyota CEO did wonders to the brand by adding sportiness into the brand.

Motortrend prefers the GS F sport over BMW 5 series, MB E class, Audi A6.
Jeremy Clarkson also noted that the gsf in his grandtour show as a better driving car than its German competitors. He also said on numerous occasions that the Lexus LFA supercar is the best car he has ever driven. I think he also purchased a dark blue LFA.
Chris Harris from new top gear also said gsf is a better driving car.

HPLouis

And that is part of the reason why I went so overboard with the maintenance on this car. Before I had BMW's I was all about Mustangs. I had a 90GT, a 95GT, a 95 Cobra, a 95 Cobra R, a 99 Cobra and now I have a 04 Cobra. I had a daughter and couldn't put her in the Mustang anymore (well, the wife wouldn't let me). I was checking around and found a manual transmission, 4 door sedan....a BMW. I got a CPO and kept it after the warranty. I got on message boards and followed all the recommended maintenance.....and the damn car still broke down. After spending over $10K in maintenance, the tranny started acting up. The dealer wanted a new tranny for $7500 and said it was because I didn't change the fluid. I said, 'wait a second.....BMW says it's LIFETIME!!!' The advisor says, 'yes, and the tranny served it's lifetime.'

I traded that in and got another BMW. Now it's an e60 545i with the DINAN package. It was a CPO again and still was in the shop alot. The warranty ran out and it still lived in the shop. After spending $12K in maintenance, the advisor says, 'you have numerous gaskets leaking and it'll cost $6700 to repair. Since you're a good customer, we'll do it for $6300.' I traded that in too.

I still love BMW and got a 550i. Nice car, luxurious and full of power. Another CPO. This time, it wasn't in the shop during the warranty period. Once it runs out, I start having little nagging problems all over again, like the prior 2 BMWs (thermostats, gaskets, electrical issues, waterpumps, plastics in the cooling system breaking down,, etc.) This time, I spend $20K in maintenance and then I'm told that the valve stem seals are bad. The dealers want $9500 to repair and the the independent shops want between $5500-$7500 to repair. I trade that in and move over to Lexus. I'm done.

Freds430

I have an ES and a RX and thinking about buying a GS. Lexus is #1 in reliability for six years in a row ranked by J D Power. Consumer reports also ranks them #1. They are the third least expensive to maintain behind their cousins Toyota and Scion.
http://twocents.lifehacker.com/the-c...ver-1781639773

I never go in and ask for the 10,000 or 30,000 mile etc scheduled maintenance. You are paying big bucks for items that are not needed. This has worked for me on our cars for over a million miles. Every 10,000 miles an oil change and tire rotation is needed. At the Lexus dealership this should be less than $100. Every 30,000 miles the brake fluid needs to be changed and again about $100. Every 20,000 miles change the air and cabin filters. This combined takes five minutes and the air filter can be bought on line at Lexus Parts World for $18. The cabin air filter can be bought at Walmart for $18, It is the Fram Fresh Breeze #10285 with carbon and baking soda to filter the air. Wiper blade inserts again can be bought at Lexus Parts World for $20 for both refills and takes five minutes to replace. You are done until 100,000 miles. At Lexus Parts World use cl5 in the promo code for 10% discount. Once a year replace the key fob battery cr2032. Keep receipts for everything. I take my oil filter and 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 purchased at Walmart for $24 to my local Toyota dealer and they charge me $20 labor.

HPLouis

Thanks everybody. I'm glad I made this thread. I learned alot over the past couple of days and I'm genuinely excited about both these cars and the reliability. Thanks again for all the advice and what needs to be done for both these cars in the future.