Kwame69

I just purchased a 1999 LS400 with 45,000 miles and love the car but I also own a 1989 Mercedes 300e. Recently, I went to my mechanic who services the mercedes and he remarked " You should stay away from Lexus the cost for parts are too expensive and anyway, why get a wannabe mercedes when you can have the original". I really didn't know how to respond and would like someone who has experience with both cars both chime in. I had the car for one week but I love the way it handles, of course I can't compare a 1989 mercedes 300e with a 1999 Lexus Ls400 but just feel more refined. Thank you in advance!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Can't comment from personal experience on the Mercedes vs Lexus, but welcome to ClubLexus!

daryll40

That is a TOTALLY nutty conversation. I owned a 1990 LS400 and a 1992 LS400. Then I drove 4 different "S" Class Mercedes cars as well as a 2002 Lexus ES300. I realized, after all of that, that the LS was the absolutely best car(s) I have ever owned. So 2 weeks ago I traded the ES on a new '03 LS430.

I can't really say that any Mercedes "S" Class car was a "BAD" car, but there were always little things going wrong both in and out of warranty. The Lexus LS (and I guess even my short experience with the ES) is absolutely the best production car ever produced. As to parts costs...I dunno. Mercedes parts are astronomical. Are they cheaper than Lexus? I doubt it. The main thing is that you won't be buying many Lexus parts! OK, any car, especially at higher miles, might require a few expensive repairs. But a 1999 LS400 with 45K probably will give you many years of relatively trouble free driving....at a repair and maintenance cost less than a comparable Mercedes would.

The mechanic seems to be a Mercedes afficianado (spelling?) with a bias. Truth be told, however, is that every scientific study ever done shows Lexus to be of higher quality than Mercedes (or anything else). I'll grant it that Lexus IS a copy of the Mercedes. Unfortunately for Mercedes, 14 years of on-road data shows that the copy is better than the original. Enjoy your LS and drive it with confidence and pride. My neighbor is still driving his 1990 LS400 that he bot new...250,000+ miles with only a few repairs to date.

Daryll40

gewe21

... but DEFINITELY much better than the original.

My Dad has been Benz fanatics for years, he currently drives S500 Designo Edition. Last year he bought me an LS430, and now he drools for my car. Some of his comments are ,"more quiet than the S-class", "more comfortable than the S-class". Too bad that back home, the LS430 (called Celsior) costs more than an S500, which hindered him from getting the car.

Lexkost

It seems that your mechanic has some more House payments and Boat payments to make so he needs you to keep the Benz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SRK

I have owned Mercedes too. One of the lines that company likes to promote, considering that they built the first car in 1886, is that "EVERY car is a copy of a Mercedes". Big deal. I have always admired the S class cars from the late '80's, but there is no way I would buy one regardless of how few miles are on it. Gas gobbling pigs. Hugely expensive (and necessary) repairs. Lexus came along and scared Mercedes into building better cars. BMW copied the Lexus V-8 and got it wrong, and messed it up badly. Apply that mechanics logic to BMW - why would anyone buy a BMW considering the Isetta they built in the '50's? Consider that BMW would rather people forgot that they made the Isetta, especially as they struggle to sell the new 700 series piece of garbage.
Don't buy into the idea that Lexus takes a back seat to any manufacturer. They don't.
Toyota just outsold Chrysler last month in North America, and they won't stop until they outsell everybody. They just might be sucessful.

daryll40

I don't know about Toyota outselling everyone, but they are clearly the quality leader in all segments

SilverFlare

you will love ur LS, trust me.. ^^