unrealii

I'm not biased towards lexus, but I am biased against American cars. I owned a Ford for 3 years, and ended up replacing the entire drivetrain, steering rack, and a few other things through warranty. My mechanic keeps telling me that it is the American cars which keep him in business. However he also suggests to go against high maintainance cars like Lexus because they require a timing belt replacement which isn't cheap.

The reasons I would say no to the caddy would be depreciation and reliability. http://www.usatoday.com/money/2004-02-24-residual.htm The Caddy earned 2 stars (LS got 3). Lexus has also been number 1 in reliability. If the caddy feels better in every way in terms of drivability, features, and excitement compared to the lexus, then go for it. But just know that you could be buying a car which would more likely be less reliable and depreciate faster.

RODDMOD

"I also own a 94 Camaro Z28. The Camaro is a great car " UNBELIVEABLE, I find it hard to believe that you even own a LEX.

"To me, the S Benze and 7 series BMW are quieter. The '04 ML optioned LS430 we test drove was perhaps 1-2 db quieter than"

You can hear 1-2 db ????

SKLS

i personally have no real grudge against american cars *besides the fact that some kinda hurt the eyes* but in comparing between the LS and the STS i would have to say go with the LS. It's quiet at start up to park and just look at the car it's just so pretty~ and the reliability is there also. Just can't beat it. But i do own a 86 Lincoln Mercury that is incredible as well. Well incredible in the fact that it's never broken down/ major problem ever except for one popped tire... But to say it's fun to drive ... I say just go with the LS

SRK

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RODDMOD
[B]"I also own a 94 Camaro Z28. The Camaro is a great car " UNBELIVEABLE, I find it hard to believe that you even own a LEX.

I view the Camaro and Lexus as bookends - opposites at either end of the automotive scale. What the Camaro offers is noise, handling, and instantaneous throttle response. It is like the Lexus in that its high speed stability is impressive, and it has almost no wind noise, although other noises are "evident". But when I sell it I will replace it with an LS or GS 400. I have driven an SC 400, and to tell the truth I prefer the Camaro. I thought it had heavy doors until I swung those on an SC.....

BigDMan

I owned a 98 STS and it was a very nice vehicle. I just got an 02 LS 430 because I got a really good deal on it. The STS I had was reliable and quite a nice car. The engine and the gadgets are great. I would not have a problem getting the STS as long as you get it checked first. The car has taken the depreciation hit already so that shouldn't be a factor. It isn't as quiet and it doesn't ride as smoothly but evrything else is close. Good luck on your decision.

Coffey454

Last November I was doing the same comparison shopping as you. I looked at pretty much everything out there in the big luxo class. I drove Roadmaster's with LT-1's, Cadillac STS and DTS (I REALLY thought I wanted a DTS..), Lincoln Town Cars too. Even a few SClass Benz's and Bimmers' (740's) but as soon as I drove my '93 LS the choice was obvious. My car was twice as old, half as expensive and was better than anything I had driven!
Advantages over the STS were:
- The LS is RWD. This is a BIG one for me. FWD is and was always nothing more than a packaging and manufacturing solution that does nothing for performance and screws up the vehicles dynamics.
- STS are expensive to repair and are prone to failure. They do not have the stellar record for reliability that the LS does (which is why you can buy a 2 year old STS for about 50 bucks and a case of beer - well here in Canada anyways!). Granted LS parts are a fortune as well - but they just seem to need repairs less often. Since November I have put 35000 Kms on my car and I have repaired.... um... nothing. My kms are now at 185000.
- To me, the LS looks better and has a much nicer interior and the quality of paint (even on my oldie..) is fantastic. The Caddies interior is OK, but the dash sucks and the fit and finish is mediocre at best.
- STS Caddies are FWD... oh yeah, I already said that... but come on! Why buy a FWD, when a real car can be had for less - or the same!!

NC211

There will never, and I mean NEVER be a GM product in my driveway again. I've recently purchased a well maintained 95 LS with 82,000 miles on it. It is by far the best vehicle I've ever owned. I had to fix the engine computer due to a problem with some of the 95 LS models "see my thread under NC211 - Transmission Stutters" but other than that, it's flawless. The engine unit can be expensive, but with a little legal help and some wise information, the dealership replaced it for free. I had the timing belt replaced at time of purchase too "a must at 90,000 miles." I've had a 2001 Nissan Maxima SE, 99 Subaru Outback, 94 GMC Jimmy SLT, and yada yada yada. My dad has a mini-fleet of toys as well, ranging from a 1973 full size Caddy to a 2003 GMC Envoy. He was down here in NC last month visiting and drove the LS. The Envoy is now sitting on the Lexus dealership lot in Kansas City, and a 2003 LS is sitting in his garage. The Jimmy's driving position was awesome, but it was a complete piece of crap. Rain water even leaked through the tops of the doors! Just pure crap crap crap, from bumper to bumper, crap. The Lexus is the smoothest, most comfortable, solid, reliable and relaxing car I've ever driven. Not a single rattle, squek, or shimmy anywhere. The Nissan road like a go-cart. Subaru had all-wheel-drive which was nice in rain, but chewed the mess out of your tires if one was out of line, and had no power. My neighbor has one of those Caddy STS models and the alarm on it goes off at random times, paint looks rough and the leather seats in it don't look too good, and he takes good care of his toys. He hates that thing and is looking for a LS like mine. I would suggest doing a search on ebay for the two cars and take a good look at the interior photos of the two and how they hold up. My LS looks like new, as do most. You'll love the tight turning radius too! Thing turns on a dime. Noise? what noise? I can hear a fly fart at 90 mph in that thing. Tire noise is based on tires. I have Mich XVM's or something like that and they are wonderful. Trust me, buy the Lexus, you'll be sitting outside in the garage late at night, with a cold beer in your hand staring at it wondering how in the world anyone could build such an awesome machine, you'll be just like the rest of us, grinning from ear to ear and actually looking forward to driving to work in the mornings.

j three

Coffey I totally and completely agree with you on caddys paint. I went to the la int auto show in jan and saw the xlr. While I think it is a beautiful car, the paint really has a sub par finish on it. Almost looks like a golf ball. Most first gen ls"s iv'e seen still have finishes smooth as a baby's a$$. Simply put I think lexus has probably the best paint out there period. I have seen a dirty ls put a clean s class to shame side by side.