OneOfOne

bmw seems to have a pretty good warranty and I for one think the 745 is by far the most impressive looking sedan in its class. I just think the reliability shouldnt be looked upon as 'character' or 'soul'. I just had the ride height control fixed on my car gratis by the dealer even though its 3 weeks out of warranty. unbeknownst to me even though I asked to a complete service history from the terrible dealer I purchased from [lexus of northborough. they are weasels] the rear part of the air suspension had 'shorted out' and the rear of the car was in the high position and as a result in april of 04 [I bought in august of the same year]. the car had been repaired. the same thing had just happened last week and the current dealer [hoffman lexus of hartford ct] fixed it as part of a goodwill program. they are in my experience a terrific customer service dealer. anyway I say this to show that yeah lexus can have issues too. but I am not worried about it the way bmw and mercedes scare me. I hate to think of what would have happened had I owned one of those and this scenario had occured. when I owned my 02 ml 320 that I later learned had so many problems it was bought back by mb as part of a 'customer retention' program I had something done to it, probably the dvd navigation upgrade and while I was in the reception area watching the plasma tv and laughing as I pondered how that was paid for, another customer comes in muttering to herself about 'theyve got to be kidding.. 12000 [yes thousand] dollars for that? I might pay 7000' for some repair I didnt get to hear the details about. all I could think of was DAMN 12 thousand dollars? yeesh.

TwiBlueG35

My father doesn't like the size of LS430(besides the price ), he thinks it is kind of too big, but he also likes its styling, so do I. 7-series looks pretty ugly to me, so I picked LS.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Right on man!!!

bigDlexus

When I went to the BMW dealer, I mentioned that I was also looking at the LS. He spewed some crap about how with a BMW you know you are getting all BMW parts, and with the Lexus you may be getting toyota or -get this- KIA parts!! He was trying to sling mud on the competition instead of trusting his car to sell itself.

What a boob. That turned me off of the "BMW Experience" immediately. Any dealer that hires a guy like that is destined for failure.

The BMW drove SUPER nice, but the interior is incredibly cramped and the price is WAAAY to high for what you get. They nickle and dime you with options and God help you if you own it out of warranty. Hard to believe BMW is so far behind with modern technology like Bluetooth.

I have a close friend that is on his 2nd 745. The first got lemon-lawed!! The dealer had to buy it back and gave him a new one! Sign me up for that program- a new 745 every year until they get it right! He pushed on the brakes and sailed straight through an intersection.

I ended up with the LS in large part to the quality of the dealership and the quality of the car.

XZLR8

Dealership experiences like that would make anyone cringe. I've been very lucky, I guess, in that I've always had great people to work with at both BMW dealerships where I have done business. I've heard stories from other BMW owners though that are simply unbelievable to me. As much as I like the cars, it's just crap I would not tolerate. BMW could learn a lot from Lexus in terms of dealership consistency, no question.

In terms of price, I did want to comment on something you mentioned. I lease (not to start a lease vs. finance debate) and when comparing Lexus and BMW monthly lease rates, the cars were very close in price, even though the MSRP of the 745 was some $15,000 more.

As a dedicated Verizon customer, Lexus' Bluetooth is also not currently a strong selling point to me. I appreciate technology, but it needs to be functional technology. It may be antiquated, but the dedicated V60 in my 745 works every time, handsfree and the phonebook uploads.

That said, I can certainly relate to your friend's buyback experience with his 745. I had that experience as well. Luckily, my '05 has been phenomenal.

bigDlexus

Just curious- Verizon doesn't have any bluetooth phones? I thought they all had a few bluetooth models. I love it in my LS. works great.

I found a hotel in my nav and had the nav call the hotel through my bluetooth phone. saved time and the 1.50 information call. Not that the 745 wouldn't- just mentioning.

The added benefit of the bluetooth is it can "learn" multiple phones so when the wife uses the car- she switches the phone to hers and it works seamlessly. Plus you don't even have to get the phone out of your pocket or purse to use it. Just start the car and start yapping...

Glad you are enjoying your 745. It really is a great drive. Corners like a car 1/3 it's size.

XZLR8

Yes, Verizon has a couple BT phones... the Motorola V710 and they just added the Treo 650 in this area that I know of. (I have a V710 in addition to the V60 that's in my 745... nice phone.) I know that my parents (who own an '04 LS and use Verizon also) have had a hell of a time getting their BT phones to be functional with their car. After a lot of headaches and a firmware upgrade, they can use the phone handsfree in the car, but still have poor sound quality, no phonebook transfer, no dialing while in motion, etc. Verizon blames Lexus, Lexus blames Verizon, my parents blame me (haven't figured that one out) and so forth. I do believe that a LOT of the problem is with Verizon, to be fair, although BMW has been able to resolve their BT issues with Verizon phonebook transfers. Lexus still has not. But that's another thread entirely.

Some day, Bluetooth is going to be the truly amazing universal technology that it claims to be.

Mandingo

I think the 745 has awesome road presence but I will be spending 99% of my time on the inside and the BMW interior styling and the iDrive UI were deal breakers for me.

Reliability was a big concern too.

The LS430 has an easy touchscreen UI - trying to input addresses into the 745 reminded me of the difference between typing text messages on a phone versus a proper full sized keyboard - they both get there in the end but one is painful and the other "just works".

The performance edge the 745 has is also wasted on public roads - my LS430 will already get me "going too fast too fast" - shaving half a second off that isn't going to make a bit of difference to me.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Notice how when lexus ls came in 1989 and smoked the BMW735I and came near the Mercedes 420SEL that they have been raising their horsepower ever since? I guess they kicked their butts in gear when the LS started becoming popular. It whooped the BMW 735I and Mercedes 420SEL with it's 0-60 in 8.1 seconds.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

First I'll say that I have not DRIVEN a 745, so anything I will say on the 745 will be near-worthless speculation. However, I have owned some "lesser" BMWs inclusing the E-46 M3, E-36 328is, and an older 635CSi, and driven M5s, 540s, and 740s (and owned some MBs and driven a bunch more). BMW does a lot of things right with most every car they build. They USUALLY manage to make it feel good on the road. That being said, for my tastes, the LS430 with Sport suspension is perhaps the all-around most awesome road car I've ever experienced. I love it, and I want one. I am not looking for a hot rod in a big car (I'll take the 900 HP Supra out when I get that urge) so I don't care at all if its got 60 more HP (but don't forget it's about power to weight, and the Lexus' excellent engineering keeps it light). The quality, design, and overall comfort that the LS offers is un-matched by the MBs (especially) or BMWs in my book.

JLAWS

Alright this post will be alittle off track but since we are in a particular car price range, look at these pics of the Audi A8L !! MY Gawd!! This is my next car!!

JLAWS

side shot, it's massive! I love Euro boats

LexFather

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

JLAWS

and 204 inches long , 7 inches longer than the LS and look at that friggin wheel base!!

Jayson

If I was buying both under factory warranty and only planned on having it during the warranty period I would go with the 745. If I planned on having the vehicle beyond the warranty years I would go with the LS430 hands down. I have heard horror stories about costly repair bills and the frequency with which you visit the dealership beyond the warranty when owning a 7-Series.