NikNikNik

they are worth around the same ish right now, mine was mid 40k new (7k miles now) hers has 28k miles so its depreciated a bit

HOMER350

You would be just trading everything the IS was built for. Dependable, reliable, reasonable maintenance costs, more DIY accessible, and imo better styling. So depends mostly on what the car is for. If your car firstly needs to be a performance car, with short term ownership....then it's a done deal, go for the AMG. Even then I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if you were +$1000 into it before you hit 60k miles. But I dont know much about the CLA specifically.

From the sounds of it, you should go for the AMG. Even if you stay within warranty on your ownership I'd expect to be hit hard by depreciation.

I shopped used MB just for fun, thought maybe I'd keep 1 year, roll the dice on it. It was pretty crazy how cheap I could get a 4-5 year old MB under 60k miles. I remember a CL500 (or 550?) 55k miles was like $12k. I knew a guy got a S600 v12 for under 7k (older but car ran perfect, until it didnt and of course was a total loss). I still think about grabbing one of those lol. 5-7k for a year or 2 of fun hmmm.

Anyways all that is a little beside the point just trying to add to the perspective.

dizlex

Really? Wow, those are really nice cars.

HOMER350

not the best example because it was a little older at the time. But point was MB retail value will dive.

ggmonogram

I just graduated from 2015 IS250 FSport to 2020 AMG C43 also. but

E46CT

you have to pay to play. i have a feeling the CLA will get tight compact annoying buzzy and thirsty real fast. but who knows.. maybe you don't mind that. Is her car a lease? If so i'd probably do the trade. since its your mom just ask her if you can trade it for a month to see if you'd like it. she'd probably do the same.

swaangin

no, german cars are terrible.. enjoy it for 2-3 years and it's trash.. even their interior quality does not rival lexus.. more tech, fine.. i know someone who had an S class and his automatic folding mirrors were stuck inwards.. i want a car that i can drive, not in the garage.. gl

HOMER350

Good friend of mine drives a S65 Coupe. Thats the bi-turbo v12. Not a thing terrible about it. It's his daily driver and he is at the dealer somewhat regularly for little fixes...but it comes with the cost of the car. It's nothing ridiculous hes there for it's a quality made car, just electronics here/there go out but quality materials every square inch.

It just comes down to what you want out of a car. Like I said above, it's not a bad trade for the OP but he is trading everything a Lexus is good for lol.
is it worth it? Maybe not after 2-3 years like you suggested unless your rolling with a $5000/year maintenance budget. Cant have all the goods of a MB and of a Lexus too. But they both have their strengths. Then again maybe you can with a LC hmm...

I realize bit of an extreme example it is on another planet from the CLA lol but I could say similar for S class, really nice stuff just not built to last.

premier3IS

Not nearly the same car either lol. This is like comparing a base 3 series to an M3. No comparison of the two.

premier3IS

I'd swap in a heartbeat. To the people here so concerned about reliability, you don't even know if it is leased or not. But sure, go on...

arentz07

I'll let you know how my German car holds up. So far, it's been fantastic (admittedly, it's been in my garage only two weeks, but looking at the service history of its prior owner, it's never missed a beat. Nothing other than maintenance so far.)

The interior quality bit is also strange. Mercedes in particular has above-average interior quality for the luxury segment. And while I wasn't blown away by the interior plastics of the BMWs I've been in, I will say, they are extremely quiet and comfortable on the road, with plush yet supportive seats. The Lexus IS has a fantastic-looking interior - and in places, fantastic-feeling, too - but nothing insanely better than "the Germans". OK... maybe the F Sport seats are superior, that we can agree on.

OP I assume I would be preaching to the choir if I told you to trust your own judgment on the reliability. Maybe even just ask your mom how it's been.

NikNikNik

Her car isn’t on lease both of our cars are payed off

one reason I’m not to worried about reliability on the amg is my mom has never put the car into sport mode and never even opened the exhaust valve(she didn’t even know that was a thing) and has taken good care of the car maintenance wise, although it is pretty dirty inside and out and she only get the car washed when she goes in for maintenance

although interior wise the Lexus wins the seats on the f sport are amazing with heat and cooling and the screen is a great size (upgraded screen) it just doesn't have a great software behind the great screen

E46CT

There's quite a bit of chatter on people complaining about the new LS. A lot of the "famous Lexus reliability" people like to bring up in Lexus forums when they feel threatened by "the germans" comes from decades of Lexus recycling old technology. But it's prematurely, if not falsely, applied to new Lexus cars.

Now that the new Lexuses are coming out with twin turbo this and fiber optics that (new tech) to compete with the Germans, the tide is starting to turn. Hell we see this with the 3IS and it's barely "techy." I think give it 10 years time and the "Lexus has bulletproof reliability, i'll take it over the germans any day thanks" argument everyone loves to raise when bashing "the germans" is not going to be as strong of an argument, if at all.

Also leasing is a popular option, if not the more popular option, so people don't really care if their cars last 15 years vs 10 years. They lease for 2-3 years and get the new model.

Financing a $50,000 car yields quite a high payment especially when compared to leasing one.

Sounds like OP already wants to trade so he should do it. Grass is always greener on the other side!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

How can you make the statement 'if not falsely' and also make such certain projections yourself? I'd observe (based on your past posts) that's simply your own personal predisposition towards putting down Lexus reliability and supporting BMW's or German. You are doing exactly the same thing you are complaining about others doing .

Wait for the longer term data and see how things shake out, other marques are also constantly adding new technologies. Look at surveys and current / past performance as predictors, talk to owners, enthusiasts and techs. Pay attention to what most of the "chatter" is as well and pick out the important stuff - for example the new LS a lot of it is complaints about a shift in design from a luxury / softer riding car to a stiffer, more sport-oriented one.

To the OP, swap 'em up! This is the ideal time while both vehicles are relatively new to get experience with both makes/models if your mom is up for it.

JliaPredtr

I owned a '13 BMW 550I w/ M-Sport Package. After the warranty expired (5yrs/50K miles), it experienced transmission problems (2X = $1600). Shortly afterwards, the soft close door motor on the driver's side died ($800). I drove it straight to the Lexus dealership and traded it in for a GS350 F-Sport. A few weeks later, I called the salesman inquiring about my registration. He told me I got rid of the BMW just in time. When I asked for clarification, he told me the engine went out on its new owner after having it for 2 days...$8K! This point forward I'm going to stick with Lexus.