jmbaker3

Has anyone owned a BMW 535i and moved into the LS? Or any BMW product? A 535i caught my eye the other day so checked it out... nice road car, but not sure much more than that???

rominl

iTrader: (4)

it probably has better road feel and handling, but it's no where close to the LS in terms of comfort, space, and luxury. they are in different leagues

lisalisa

i would have to agree w/ henry.. i had a '07 525i for about a year. i love the look b/c its much sportier. the handle is a little more aggressive. but the LS is pure luxury. love the look of the LS way more..just thats just me. the BMW is a gorgeous car, but i've had my shares of BMW. that was about my 4th BMW and I would never own one. Leased them all. But w/ Lexus, I would own. But yeah, they are both awesome cars....just a way different to compare. just my 2 cents..

george1688

I used to have the current generation (pre-facelift) 523i. In terms on comfort the LS gets a thumbs up. Anyway I should not be comparing a 5-Series with a LS. Its like comparing a 5-Series with a 7-Series, of course the 7 is better.

daryll40

The "5" series is a mid-sized car. The LS is a true full sized "alpha male" luxomobile!

acecert

I had both the 5 series and 7 series...rid my 7 for the LS. Everything everyone else has already stated I agree with..but one more thing, you wouldn't want to own a BMW out of warranty (especially the 7 series). Their charges for maintenance are unreal (to say the least). Because the car is tied so much to their computer (I-Drive), including the maintenance schedule, it gets expensive to maintain.

luxury1

Agree with the above. 7 series or LS is the comparison. I owned a 323 at 23 and a 525 at 25 I liked them but they were just too small especially the back seat. I would never go back unless it was my work car and nobody else was ever to ride in it.

Like everything, to each their own but the next class up is my recommendation.

CEOEngr

Ditto. I had to take my 7 series constantly in. There was always on thing or another that was going wrong even though the dealer was very good at taking care of it under warranty, but still it was a pain in the a$$. Finally got fed up and traded it in at the end of the first year.

daryll40

Mercedes is the same. That's one reason, by the way, that Lexus has a better resale value toward the end of the warranty. NO ONE wants to own one of those Bahnburners out of warranty.

george1688

In Singapore and other Asian countries, thats the total opposite. A 1 year-old Mercedes S-Class can sell at a price that is SGD50,000 (USD 37,000) lower than its original price while a LS loses about SGD75,000 (USD 55,500).

daryll40

I can't comment on 1 year old cars...but I am talking about 4 year old cars once the warranty expires. Which car would you rather own "bare" (no warranty)...Mercedes or Lexus??

CEOEngr

Yup, you are right. It is value that is totally derived on "status symbol" instead of "value based" as we do.

tyoung88

Just upgraded from a 2005 545i (current model) to a 2007 LS460L and I agree with the statement that these are two very different cars.

Power - Both cars have more than enough HP and are very quick. The magazine numbers have both cars 0-60 around the 5.4-5.5 second range.
Handling - The 545i is a shorter more sporty car and is a lot more nimble
Comfort - The LS460L wins hands down in many categories. I have the touring option with air suspension and the ride is significantly smoother than the 545i. The 8 speed transmission also results in rarely feeling the car shift. Interior room is just ridiculous with the 460L while the rear seat on the 545i is adequate but slightly squished.

Hopefully the biggest difference will be service and maintenance. Although the 545i was covered on the BMW free maintenance plan it was literally at dealer service every other month. Off the top of my head in the past 3 years I had an engine belt replaced, Nav ECU, passenger seat sensor, steering column (twice), tire feathering, emissions sensor malfuction, and a bunch of other random false positives with other sensors on the vehicle.

KILLERGS4

WHAT! 535i vs LS460? You gotta be kidding me...

I traded my 04 bmw 545i for a preowned 04 LS430 (ultra)... I only had to pay couple thousand extra, but well worth it... I was getting afraid of owning the BMW after warranty, because the car did have issues, and issues BMW didn't know how to fix... The car would randomly not start, and since the dealer didn't know how to duplicate the problem, they couldn't fix it... The only car that compares to the New LS and the New S550 IMO!

KILLERGS4

plus if you buy from VOB BMW in MD, you get mazda 3 as a loaner when i asked what my other choice is, they offered a dodge minivan!!!