I'm basically looking for a reliable car that I can drive at least 200K miles without having to worry about replacing something major but get the the same ride quality and somewhat the same performance. I don't trust the BMW as much as the Lexus. I also miss Acura navi, and even if the Lexus Navi isn't as good, it's better than no navi. Only bad thing would be that I'm going from a 6 speed to auto 5 speed. Would you call it a fair trade? I've put some money into the 540, but a couple of my friends have had to replace a few things (one of them they both had to replace which cost over $2000) and I'm worried that I'll be next. Does anyone have any expereince with the GS400?

 

Lexus

 

If reliability is one of the primary deciding factors, Lexus it the way to go.

 

Lexus no doubt..I know a guy who has 180,000 on a GS300 and only had to change the belts and axles.

 

my folks have navi in their new 400h...its as good as the acura navi. pretty much the same.

and yeah. you won't have to worry about reliability. sure shit can always happen. but my parents are happily on their 4th lexus. they are great vehicles.

 

M45 w/ sport pkg

 

No that's Ok, I'm still in college. I'd rather be buying a house than making a $1000 car payment. But you're right, the Ms are hot.

Just wondering what you guys thought about this trade. Thanks for the responses so far.

 

The GS400 is a great sedan. VERY reliable, and pretty peppy with the V8. That said, you will be quite dissapointed coming from a 540 6 speed with the handling and overall driving dynamics. Its a great car, but not one meant for the turns.

 

I don't expect it to be as much fun as the 540i. I've had a lot of fun with the 540, but 99% of my driving, the lexus will probably be just as good.

 

if you want a more reliable vehicle then its a no brainer

 

Lexus hands down.

 

Sporty > reliablity.


Dont be a sucka!

 

If its for reliability purposes, I would do it.

My dad had one of the very first GS300s off the boat when they came to the US, and in 60k miles in 3 years he had to go to the dealer once for a loose heat sheild, and the customer service was great. Our family friends had a GS400, and they loved it, never had a single problem. They put like 80k miles on it before they got rid of it. THey are great cars no doubt, but I guess I'm just a sucker for BMW handling.

 

Lexus hands down for reliability over the BMW

 

If you are putting a higher value on reliability then the choice is simple statistically, Lexus. The only caveat would be sometimes the devil you know is better then the devil you don't. IF I had owned the 540 since it was new I would probably stay with the BMW, depending on what year you have the 540 was a pretty solid car and the secondary systems tended to be pretty good as well the 01-04s were actually pretty reliable (the 01-04 were rated higher in reliability, by CU, than the 04 TL for reference) I would have to be more informed about the GS (age/milage/under warranty/etc) along with more information about the Bimmer. Stats will tell you the Lexus is going to be more reliable BUT when you buy one unique car stats don't always hold true. One other factor is the availabilty of a good, resonably priced non-dealer service facility for each car, long term maintainence can be very resonable on the BMW if you have a good indy shop OR better yet if you can do the majority of it yourself. One other thing to add depending on current milage and how long you plan to keep it is timing belts as they are sometimes pretty expensive and I THINK the GS has belts.

 

I've had the 2000 540i since April. Since I've had it, the check engine light has come on a few times, the radiator was replaced (known problem), MAF sensor was replaced and the belt was replaced. I've done regular maintnance on it, like oil changes and I changed the brake pads.

Both of my friends who have the same car needed to have the catalyc converter replaced. BMW extended the warranty on those (just like Acura did with the transmissions to 100K) up to 80K miles, so one of my friends was just below that and didn't have to pay for it. But the other one had to pay over $2000 for it and a couple of sensors.

The car is deffinitely fun to drive. The BMW has 63K miles on it (I put about 15K on it) and the Lexus has 10K more. My buddy has an older SC300 and he's got well over 200K miles on it and he said all he had replaced since the car had 60K miles was a belt and another minor thing.

I wouldn't care if it was just a couple of hundred bucks here and there, but it sucks spending over $1K every time you go to a dealer for a known problem. I'd rather drive something less sporty and more reliable. My buddy with a one year older 540i has nothing but rattles, ball joint problems and the check engine light has been on more than not. He's only had the car since July and it's been at the dealer 4 times already. Last time he went they charged him over $500 to get a brake flush and a few wires replaced (after they had mis-diagnosed the problem the previous time.)

 

I think there is one thing about owning bmw's.. if you want it to be economic at all, you need to do the maintnence yourself. With exception to those cats (you can get reman ones for under a 1 each though) The parts arent actually that expensive. Unless you can deal with the work yourself.. (not nessicarily able, but want to spend the time a weekend a month or so) I think the lexus would be the way to go,

 

Lexus > *

 

Nothing can touch a Lexus!! Then again I'm biased!

 

Hmmm, gut feeling says GS, again if I had owned the 5er new (particularly a lter model) I would say keep it, if it wasn't having issues.

On the Cats, BMW didn't extend the warranty it was covered under the Fed mandated 8y-80k emmisions warranty as all cars are.

 

Get the BMW and buy a Civic just in case the Beemer breaks down.

 

Oh I see, I didn't know that. It seems to be happening a lot (according to BMW forums)

 

Insurance on two cars for a 21 year old < *

Buy the Lexus.

 

As a former BMW owner I can tell you that reliablity and BMW are mutually exclusive terms. If you want a great handling car get the BMW. If you want reliability and comfort get the Lexus.

 

I decided against the Lexus. I just couldn't do it. There was SOMETHING missing.

 

So does that mean you got the 540?

 

Yes, I've had it since april.

 

Lexus-
The motor in the 400 is the same that's been in the LS since 92. This motor was designed EXTREMELY well- I read a story in the lexus magazine about them doing the testing on the motor initially.. they ran it for 200k miles, and took it all apart. Everything was still in perfect to spec and the parts showed minimal wear. The lex also has a better interior IMO.

 

Then you made an educated decision

there are always cars for sale, just wait for when something isn't missing