I wish my Miata looked like a three year old car. It has had sort of a hard life. During the first Gulf War, it went to stay with some relatives who kinda thrashed it. I can't blame everything on them. It has alot of problems that are probably just age related. The AC needs to be recharged. The top needs to be replaced. Needs new paint. Sometimes the windows are hard to roll down. And the stereo doesn't like to turn on if it's cold. We may decide to put some money into fixing it up some day. It has been a faithful friend for sixteen years, and my wife and I love it... most of the time. About a month ago, I drove it 1,400 miles over the span of six days (in blistering heat.... all with the top down). That was about all the fun I could stand for a while.

I haven't put as much thought into the BMWs as other options. Of the four German cars I've owned, the BMW let me down the worst. Granted, I did own sort of an odd-ball. My 318i was the sedan version, which was not produced very long (or in great numbers). Whenever you buy something like that, you risk having problems. As strange as it sounds, I parked mine one day, and it somehow suffered a warped head while sitting in the parking lot. I returned to find it in a puddle of coolant. I had done nothing abusive to it, and I think it was only about four years old. The warranty had expired, and BMW wasn't willing to help me on it. It cost me a fortune to fix. So, I have resisted buying BMWs over the years (cars or motorcycles).

The Lexus (IS250) has alot of things going for it. I find the styling to be very fresh. 204 hp. The price seems to be right. Lexus has a pretty good consumer rating. Plus, my wife and I have had good luck with Toyota products. But... my purchase will be a long ways down the road. I'll probably change my mind thirty times between now and then.

 

I drove Camrys for 15 years and was very happy with Toyota. They're very reliable cars; praised by consumer magazines. Then I owned a small German designed Ford Focus and realized that while the Camry was reliable, it was also kinda boring to drive.
I started looking for a performance sedan. When I test drove a Lexus IS300 I realized I was driveing a Toyota, with quite different driveing characteristics than BMW or Mercedes. While I highly respect Toyota products, I don't find them as interesting to drive as the German cars.
Sounds like your considering new, but I bought used and couldn't be happier with my '99 C280 with sport suspension. It's the perfect mix between luxury and sportiness IMO.
Good luck.

 

I agree. German cars do give you a very tactile driving experience. But, I think an arguement could be made that Japanese products are less likely to break. So, each driver has to decide what is more important. One thing I have discovered over the years is that I tend to have no patience with things that break. My German cars broke way too much, IMO.

Don't get me wrong.... I'm not saying MBZ products are prone to breaking. I'm just saying that my perception is that Lexus products have slightly greater reliability.

 

Buford,
The BMW you had had a famous "Profile Gasket" failure problem that plagued alot of cars.

My BMW's were 318's too, a '95 318i and '97 318is. These years were after the profile gasket problem, Both cars proved to be very reliable and very dynamic and fun to drive sports sedans but somewhat underpowered.

I too suffer from the "Lexus is a dressed up Toyota" syndrome. When I went to spend $30k I wanted to own
something better than a Toyota. I admit up front it is probably a better car. Toyota has done little other than make the most reliable cars in the world. That is their legacy, not the 300SL Gullwing, 230SL, 280SL, etc, etc.

I have seen many of these Silver Star (MBZ) drive by and said "someday I aspire to own a Mercedes..." I have never had the same feeling watching a toot chug by.

FWIW, my other two cars as stated are a Mazda Miata and a Honda Pilot. Before the Pilot an Isuzu Trooper. I have utmost respect for the Japanese auto makers. Particularly when it comes to a family SUV.....but no *MY* luxury sedan.

-Eric

 

I didn't know about the "profile gasket" problem. In fact... if that was what I experienced, it makes me even more angry with BMW. Like I mentioned earlier, it cost me a fortune to repair. The jerks at the dealership insinuated that the failure must have been my fault. While I've done my share of stupid things in life, I have never abused my cars. Once I fixed the BMW, I immediately sold it.

I guess it is obvious that I just don't have the same opinion of Lexus that some of you do. Many Lexus models are based on Toyotas; this is true. The early ES models are good examples of Lexus products that were essentially re-badged Toyotas. However, I think they have come a long way. There are so many myths like this amongst automotive enthusiasts (like... Porsches are no more than VWs, or snubbing Corvettes because they are "Chevys"). I don't think that's fair. The LS 460 and the IS families, for instance, are alot nicer than any Toyota. And... that's not to say that Toyotas aren't nice. My wife's Camry is not exciting at all. However, it is probably the most intelligent purchase we have ever made. There is an endorphin rush associated with that.

 

Yes they are: you’ll get no argument from me on that. (Though, I think if one picks the right model German car, they are also bulletproof.)
HOWEVER, my calculus went a little like this: Am I happier hooking up with a reliable, friendly, average chick who’s low maintenance, OR someone who really excites me, but is a bit more high maintenance? I choose the latter. For to many years I did what Consumer Reports told me to do regarding cars. I drove reliable, but boring cars. I’m happier driving what I enjoy, and accept that I’ll pay more for it. However, my model is a W202 C-Class and my mechanic, who specializes in MB, expects my maintenance costs to be about the same as a Camry? (Odd that he chose that car for comparison, as he had no idea how many years I’ve owned them)

 

I go for the best of both. Depending on how you weigh the criterion in your mental decision support matrix, you can find something that meets that description. If "fun to drive" completely dominated my requirements, I might be looking more at the Infiniti G35 coupe, or a Porsche Cayman.

Your mechanic thinks the repair costs of a MBZ will be the same as a Camry? We have had our Camry since '03, I'll let you know when we have a repair cost (knocking on wood furiously).

 

Not realistic. All autos are a compromise. The Toyota is a "white-bread" auto, meant to please as many people as possible and have the lowest repair costs. One gives up high performance from complex, sophisticated systems which add driving enjoyment but are expensive to fix when they break. Check out the repair costs on a Lexus or Infinity. They are as high as a Mercedes.

Not all, the C-Class. BTW, he's sure of it. He's from Germany and worked on MB all his life. Also, don't forget, I've owned Camrys for approx. 15 years. They still need brake pads/ brake rotors, timing belts etc. A timing belt replacement can cost $400 or more at the dealership. (MB uses a timing chain which doesn't need replacement.) I've replaced brake pads on my MB and checked on prices for many parts on my car. For the most part, they're no more expensive than parts for a Ford. What is expensive is having work done at a Mercedes dealership, with labor costing in excess of $100/hour.

 

I agree that all are a compromise. My comments specifically indicated that. I look for a vehicle that does well in all the areas that are important to me. The Mercedes Benz is a wonderful car; but it's not the best in any one specific area. Same for the Lexus, the Infiniti, etc. I'm not sure how you can insinuate that you know which car is a compromise that most closely meets my needs/wants.

I also did not say I was cross-shopping a Toyota with the C-Class. I said I was cross-shopping the Lexus IS class. Not very "white bread."

Whatever you want to think. I've owned Toyotas since the early '80s. Within my extended family we own (or have recently owned) nine of them. Telling me that they have any appreciable maintenance cost is a hard sell.

 

In response to the idea that Japanesse cars are more boring but more reiable for the most part i agree but then again my Benzes are from the 80s back when Mercedes and other German auto makers didn;t care about price they cared bout quality. Hense I drive a 99 Isuzu as my daily driver and have the Mercedes for weekends and longer trips. I have never driven a C-class so i cant comment on them but having two S-class (W126) cars can't beat them for a long drive or the quality that they have.