Pinball

Just want to say, right off the bat - I have NO connection with Longo, and have never bought a car from them. I have had my LX, GS, and SC serviced there (excellent service and customer relations!) and my best friend bought his SC430 there. Having given all these disclaimers, Longo is a great Lexus store. Their people are knowledgable and not pushy. They have a fabulous underground show room where you can wander around on your own checking out all the new models without being accosted by the first salesman. When ALL the other stores in/near L.A. were marking up the then-new SC430, they were selling at sticker. They have a mobile service tech who comes to our office to do minor service on my friend's car. If they want to tout the fact on this site that they'll soon have the new LS, I say, more power to them. And when it comes time to get into an '04 LS, that's where I'm heading. Again - no connection or affiliation with them. Paul

tiger430

Since I started this thread, I thought I would give a followup. I had a 2001 UL package that I left some garbage in the trunk for 2 weeks and my wife said she could smell it a year later (I could not). At any rate we traded it for an sc430 for her and she got an S500 MB because of the much larger rear seat. I had a GS which I was getting tired of and that is what brought on my trade fever. There was a lot of difference in the way the 03 drove as compared to our previous 01 LS430! I would also add that the 03 is considerably more comfortable and quieter and much more user friendly than our 2002 S500. When I drove this car, it was over. We rode to the dealership in the MB and let me tell you there is no question this is a better car and much better value. I got a very large discount and got more than I though I would for the GS. A typical Lexus experience. My salesman had the 04 brochure and I could not really tell much difference. The tailpipes come out like the GS with the chrome rings and the headlights are slightly different. I was pleasantly surprised that all the things I really liked on the 01 UL package were on this base car. Since I think the Nav useless in the cars that we have with it and since I don't sit in the back seat, the UL was superfluous for me. The sound system in this base car is also better than MB Bose system despite not being the Levinson. Several of the salesmen looked at the S500 and I told them the biggest mistake Lexus is making is the difference in the back seat leg room. They all got in and were amazed at the difference. Everything else is much better on the Lexus and if they would add 4 or 5 inches more rear room, I think they could bury the S class. Also, once behind the wheel, I decided I didn't care what the exterior looked like, anyway. I love this car! You really can't go wrong with an 03 or 04.
The only other drawback is they are still putting those Dunlop 270 tires on these cars, although these seem fairly quiet for now. After everything was signed, my dealership said that if I wanted to go and swap these at a local tire store (that does take offs from new cars) for some Michelins, they would kick in half the cost. They were certainly under no obligation to do that since they already had the money, but again that is just the way they do business.

OneOfOne

I am pretty sure that the markup on the ls is around 13-15 % which is a considerable amount. getting one new for 1500 over 'invoice' is not a bad deal. carsdirect.com used to show what the invoice vs sticker was and it was about 8000 in the the gs series and higher in the ls. they no longer offer this pricing info. hmmm, I wonder why?


UPDATE:
it is literally less than 2 minutes since I posted this. for whatever reason the pricing info is back on the carsdirect.com page. the 'target' and msrp price for a 2003 ls with nav pkg is 59680 while the 'invoice' price is 52506 IN MY ZIP CODE. this is without adding anything extra. different zips will produce different numbers based on trials of a year ago but you can see what I am talking about with pricing.

fiftyfive4

Thanks bluetar! "Rich" is a relative term so I cannot deny nor confirm your assumption.

With regards to "MB being so much better than Lex", everyone is entitled to their opinion. And I have my own. Both cars have "pros and cons" so to speak. But each time I would upgrade to a newer model, I have full confidence that I will have my (hard-earned) money's worth when buying a Lexus, considering all the nice things that Lexus have to offer. I must admit the LS430 styling is a little bit conservative for me, albeit elegant. All things considered, I have this "peace of mind" everytime I drive the Lexus.

On the other hand, I feel like I am gambling my money each time I would purchase a newer model MB. I took the E55 mainly because of performance issues of a 4 door sedan (469 hp, huge brakes, etc.) Mind you these are all OEMs. All things considered, driving the E55 brings out the wild side of me.

In the end, if I were to pick one car for keeps between these 2 cars, I guess the question that I will have to answer is - "Peace of mind or excitement?" And as I grow older, I think I know what my answer will be.