Should I Go For The S350 Or Ls430? Need Advise Before 2pm Today?

[M500]

Should I go for the S350 or LS430? Need advise before 2pm today? I'm going down to meet up with my sales at Longo today. This question come up during my research in Cardirects.com. I found MB is giveing away S350 for 13k off msrp until 03/31/2006. Now its just $52k to start. I almost have a change of heart.

[nc211]

Should I go for the S350 or LS430? Need advise before 2pm today? I'm going down to meet up with my sales at Longo today. This question come up during my research in Cardirects.com. I found MB is giveing away S350 for 13k off msrp until 03/31/2006. Now its just $52k to start. I almost have a change of heart.

They're giving them away for a reason. Retailers don't slash prices that badly unless they have to move the inventory, which means it isn't selling well, which means A) car has lots of problems "being a MB, I wouldn't doubt that" 2) the competetors in it's price range are much better 3) need to clear out the lot for the new models, which usually happens later in the year. Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not up to speed on MB's these days, but isn't the S350 a 3.5 V6 engine? That's a lot of car for a V6 to haul around w/o having to put a lot of strain on it.....strain = wear = problems.

You're asking a Lexus forum to tell you which one to get.....well...GET the LS430. Aside from the engine differences, the mechanical is way better too. Sure, the MB might have more bells and whistles, cool gadgets here and there, but the LS4430 ain't no Ford Focus either...and get this.....ALL of their gadgets actually work, and will continue to work past the 3 year 36k miles warranty.

[RFeldes]

It appears as though this is the last year for the S350 as only the S550 is shown on the Mercedes site. The 07 Mercedes is larger thus the 6 Cylinder seems to have reached its limit. If it was me, I would wait for the 07 460 since both models are in their last run. If not, the 430 for reliability and performance.

[nc211]

Goooooddddddd Idea! Just wait a few more months for the LS460, and you'll blow away just about anything on the road in terms of performance, comfort, gadgets, looks, boner-points, etc.... If you can wait, then I'd wait.

[mmoazzam]

It appears as though this is the last year for the S350 as only the S550 is shown on the Mercedes site. The 07 Mercedes is larger thus the 6 Cylinder seems to have reached its limit. If it was me, I would wait for the 07 460 since both models are in their last run. If not, the 430 for reliability and performance.

Well, who makes the best cars in the world?

Which car has the reputation of #1 in customer satisfaction for past 12 years or more straight?

Are you looking to get just the class or first class in every aspect?

Same answer to 2 or more questions is your answer from your own heart.

[Threadcutter]

Goooooddddddd Idea!..........................

;)

:chairshot:

[M500]

Thanks for all the input guys. I just pick up my Mercury LS430 with Sport suspension. I love it. Never thought I would love driving a Lexus. Its sure is light years ahead then the first general LS400 I test drove 10 years ago.

[dcfish]

Thanks for all the input guys. I just pick up my Mercury LS430 with Sport suspension. I love it. Never thought I would love driving a Lexus. Its sure is light years ahead then the first general LS400 I test drove 10 years ago.

Congratulations Welcome to the world of REAL CARS. ;)

[MadMax96]

Congrats on the new ride - post up some pics! I'm sure everyone on here will say you might the right decision.

I'm also sure that if you posted this question on a M-B forum, they probably hate you by now. <_<

[indiasfinest]

yah man post some pics lol

[M500]

Congrats on the new ride - post up some pics! I'm sure everyone on here will say you might the right decision.

I'm also sure that if you posted this question on a M-B forum, they probably hate you by now. <_<

I'm sure. That's why I didn't post in M-B forum even tho I'm member of both MB forums with my ML500. I perfer asking the question in Lexus and Infiniti forum as most people in these forum are more calm and really think it thru. Its not like we couln't afford one and most of us in Lexus or Infiniti either own or still own these german cars but just some how feed up with the trouble that comes with it. The status is the only thing I enjoy but I just don't feel like making friends in the service department more as I'm there almost once a Month for something or for one of my German cars.

[SRK]

Thanks for all the input guys. I just pick up my Mercury LS430 with Sport suspension. I love it. Never thought I would love driving a Lexus. Its sure is light years ahead then the first general LS400 I test drove 10 years ago.

I am happy for you. You bought the best car. Just don't slag the first gen LS's around here. At the time they were the state of the art for luxury cars, as they are today. Drive an early 90's slab-sided POS Mercedes S-class and see how at the time they didn't measure up to the LS, at the time.

[M500]

Thanks for all the input guys. I just pick up my Mercury LS430 with Sport suspension. I love it. Never thought I would love driving a Lexus. Its sure is light years ahead then the first general LS400 I test drove 10 years ago.

I am happy for you. You bought the best car. Just don't slag the first gen LS's around here. At the time they were the state of the art for luxury cars, as they are today. Drive an early 90's slab-sided POS Mercedes S-class and see how at the time they didn't measure up to the LS, at the time.

I see you own a first gen LS just like my brother in law. Still running 10 years later. Its his daily beater car.

[M500]

Here is my 2006 LS430 that I pick up over the weekend.

Color : Mercury

Modern Luxury package w/Sport package & Smart Access

9 month Sirius Family package.

[Rx330driver]

*whistle* beautiful car! i must say tho, and dont get me wrong on this, lexus has done wonders on the newer models in terms of rims. lol. I still dont like the Ls430 rims...too simple

[M500]

*whistle* beautiful car! i must say tho, and dont get me wrong on this, lexus has done wonders on the newer models in terms of rims. lol. I still dont like the Ls430 rims...too simple

None, taken. That why I already have a set of 19" ready to be mounted.

[dcfish]

*whistle* beautiful car! i must say tho, and dont get me wrong on this, lexus has done wonders on the newer models in terms of rims. lol. I still dont like the Ls430 rims...too simple

None, taken. That why I already have a set of 19" ready to be mounted.

Drool, Drool, Need i say more. ;) What a beautiful car B) I'm jealous.

[SW03ES]

19s on the LS? Shame to ruin the ride...

That was a tough choice. The S350 is way underpowered (hence why they stopped offering it until 2005), but it still has the big benz look to it and $52k is a total steal to have that cache and appeal. You made the right choice though no doubt.

Hope you enjoy it!

[cardona6569]

I am very happy you decided for the Lexus. One little fact, as you can see I live in Puerto Rico. We have only one Lex dealer with service, and one Mercedes dealer with service, you can buy and get service your cars in other places but they are not the official dealers. My Lex was but from other than the dealer. You have to wander why the MB dealer service stays open until 11 PM during the week. Maybe is more convenient for the business people who own the cars, or maybe they are so full of work because the cars break so much that to accommodate the demand they had to do such decision. I personally feel is both. I had a girlfriend that her boss has had MB's for years, bought them new or used. He had an CLk 430 she only described it as that it went really bad on the mechanical side, he traded it in for a 500 rather than fixing it. You go to the listings of MB for sale and in any given day you would find about 60 and the Lex is about 18 most of the time, that tells you something.

I am not against MB but before I bought my Lex there was an MB for the same price and same color of my Lex after doing the numbers I decided for the Lex. I do not discard buying an MB as a project in the future, but keeping my Lex, because is very reliable. I had to correct some minor problems and the dealer and the mechanics do not know me anymore! I bet if I were in the MB I would know everyone by first names in the waiting area of the service department. I would suggest to them since they are opening so late they should open nightclub there, since people have to stay around so late to get their cars to run OK. Yes I have to say that some MB's have run without many troubles either. They are a click better in looks and gadgets than the Lex. I do not like that much the looks of the LS 460, the exterior that is, the interior is great. I prefer the first Gen. and second Gen. looks better on the outside. Like I love the previous Gen infinity, not the bubble head look of the Q-45 they have today.

C. PR

[sv7887]

Hi All,

Funny this thread shows up the same weekend that we trade our '05 LS430 for an '06 S430. The S430 was a birthday present for my dad from me. He's always wanted an S Class MB. I drove it was impressed. It definitely has a different feel to it, far more stable at high speeds than our Lexus cars. Yes we are giving up toys like Bluetooth, Backup Camera, Parking Radar, but we're gaining 4 Matic, , Nanotech Paint, Airmatic, Bose 5.1 Surround Sound Stereo, Pre-Safe, and Rear side airbags. The Bluetooth feature can be fitted for $330 extra. They threw in all scheduled maintenance for the next 39 months too.

Yes Reliability will not be the same, but our experience with Lexus hasn't been that great. I couldn't believe my '92 LS with 97K would need a new Power Steering rack and fan clutch. This car has not been neglected in any way. My dad's 02 LS430 had the Rain Sensor replaced three times, and the steering column was replaced under warranty. The CPO 98 LS we had would stall, and the cluster would blink for no reason...Even the 2005 would rattle and the paint was one of the worst I've seen in a long time. It scratches so easily, despite being detailed every 4 months.

The MB dealer I went to gave me service that was ten times better than any Lexus dealer in the Boston area. We've bought 4 Lexus cars and the service has been good. But MB was excellent. They brought my parents coffee immediately, made them sit down and relax while I did the deal. They pulled out three cars for me to drive: CLS 500, S350, and S430 to drive. I didn't even tell him about the CLS, he pulled it out because he noticed my dad looking at it. He refused to allow me to drive the S430 until he had it washed and vacuumed.

Since they didn't have the color we wanted, they brought it from another MA dealer. But that car had apparently been a demo so it had 600 miles on it. He called me the next day and was upfront and honest with me. He clearly had an action plan developed before calling me. I was given three options, 1) they'd find another car 2) They'd compensate me for the trouble 3) they'd bring it on a flatbed to avoid racking up more miles. They ended up finding another S430 in Maryland that they're bring at their Cost for me.

That's called Customer Service. I plan on writing a letter to the owner of the dealership commending this salesman.

That is a sharp contrast to lies and BS I've been fed by Lexus salesman and service writers in the past. When we had problems with CPO 98 LS they basically told us "Tough $hit.." Lexus Corporate didn't care either. We sued them and finally they gave us a LS430 at cost. As some of you know, the Service Dept tried to pull a fast one on me a few months ago. They claimed my 1992 needed 4K in suspension work. These are the same people who have been taking care of it since 1992....They were dumb enough to try and replace bushings that had been done 6 months before. Again, it took a threat of a lawsuit to get them to own up to it.

So much for Service huh? We've bought four of these cars and Lexus showed us no support. They seem to have this snobby attitude that they didn't have back in 1992 when we bought our first one. That 1992 is staying with us and will serve a primary backup to the S Class. I'm almost done "restoring" it. It needs new tires and maybe some light paintwork.

I took out the 1992 yesterday. This is still the benchmark for Lexus as far as I'm concerned. It has a flair and this built to last feeling that the new ones don't have. The Lexus mechanics always tell me that they don't build cars like this anymore.

-Sam

[SW03ES]

I couldn't believe my '92 LS with 97K would need a new Power Steering rack and fan clutch.

Why not? It is 14 years old...

[sv7887]

I couldn't believe my '92 LS with 97K would need a new Power Steering rack and fan clutch.

Why not? It is 14 years old...

I've had numerous other domestics that never required that kind of repair. It's even less acceptable given the scheduled maintenance where the fluid was changed regularly. I've seen enough Toyotas that haven't needed any of the repairs I've listed previously. My uncle's 1989 500 SE never required these sort of things.

Yes, it's a luxury car, but Lexus claims these things are built better than the rest. Mercedes and others make no such claim. Lexus also claims to be the best in Customer Service, yet that has not been my experience. I think my comments are justified given my long ownership history.

-Sam

[SW03ES]

Needing a new power steering rack on a 14 year old car is hardly unnaceptable. I have a Ford Explorer that had a steering rack, power steering pump, and transmission replaced all before 70k miles in 4 years. THATS unnaceptable. I know people with nrand new Benz S Classes that spend weeks at the dealer diagnosing repairs, THATS unnaceptable. My dad had his 98 LS for 160k, only issue? A new A/C Compressor. His 04 has nearly 70k on it and has never had any problems at all and rides like new. My ES has 65k and I've had a few warranty issues, but everythings been handled super fast and courteously by Lexus. Given the data, this is most people's experience with these cars.

As for your uncles 500SE do you even want to know what that ca cost new? Try nearly 3 times what a 1990 LS400 cost. I should hope not one thing EVER broke on it. Benzes of that era were super well built and last forever, nobody is denying that. Modern Benzes are certainly not that way however.

As for Lexus claims, they're not Lexus claims. Lexus is tops in customer satisfaction and in initial quality and long term durability and far exceeds Mercedes in these categories. This is fact, and independent ratings and data companies that have been around for a lot longer than Lexus has have confirmed these facts.

Sorry you had a bad experience but come on, why did you keep buying these things if your experience was so "poor". You're justifying your purchase by denigrating the options you didn't select I understand that, but you're fooling yourself if you think you can post stuff like that on a Lexus board and not have somebody call you on it. Glad you're happy with your purchase, you should check out www.mbworld.org

[05silverls430]

None, taken. That why I already have a set of 19" ready to be mounted.

Hey, M500, what are you going with the OEM rims you're taking off? Send me an e-mail if you're interested in selling: chris@giles1.com

[sv7887]

With all due respect I am STILL a Lexus owner and we have owned FOUR LS400/430's over a longer time span than yourself. We probably have spent over $220K on Lexus cars anod over 10K on service so I don't appreciate you responding in the manner that you have.

You seem to have this attitude that any post critical of Lexus is wrong. Sorry pal, we've have had Lexus cars since they came out so I know what I'm talking about. If you want to post propaganda, you go ahead but I have every right as a Lexus owner to comment. You can censor my comments if it makes you feel better but all it does is question the integrity of this very Board.

IF you even bothered to read my post properly I said that Lexus is MORE reliable than MB. Don't even bother spewing out all the Stats, because I know them all. I'm a Management Consultant who specializes in the Auto Industry, so I know what I am talking about. Why did I keep buying the cars? My nasty experiences with Lexus service on 92 LS are only a few months old..

My comment was on our personal experience, not generalizing. I've repeatedly qualified my experiences as "Boston Area Lexus Dealers" what more do you want??

I think I have EVERY right to criticize Lexus given my experience with them. I've had to sue them just to get them to ADMIT they made a mistake on my 1992 LS repairs. Another time they sold me a 1998 that hadn't been Certified properly. The car would stall and the display cluster would flicker for no reason. Again Lexus Corporate did nothing. It took yet another lawyer's letter to get them to give us a 2002 LS430 at cost as a settlement. And this car had its rain sensor replaced 3 times, and steering column replaced. Sorry, my experience is still valid. I know how statistics work, so spare me the lecture on how mine may have been an abberation.

So does that meet your standards for Customer Service? I get entrusted with clients who have given us $4 Million contracts. If I EVER treated someone like that I'd be fired pure and simple. Do you think it's okay for Lexus Corporate to do nothing? If I sound angry it's because I am. We were loyal Lexus customers for over 14 yrs and this is how they treat us! How would you like it if you spend $220K with a certain company and they treat you like crap?

As far as the S Class goes. that car was reworked in 2003. Go read those forums, you'll see the incidence of complaints about the S Class is limited to 2000-2002. Did I ever claim the S is more reliable than the LS? NO! Did I say the customer service I have received is better from MB? Yes I did. Does the S Class sell better globally? Yes it does. With Lexus you get a car that is the highest quality out there with some interesting technology. With the S-Class you get a lot of safety content standard from a company well known for their innovations, performance and style. Apples and Oranges. My comments are more directed towards quality of service.

All my comments about Lexus are legit. I'm not the only one on this board who has had bad experiences with the dealer. You should read the Lexus LS forums on Edmunds.com. They've had problems with the paint as well on these cars. My comments about Lexus's not being built as well as they used to be come from several Lexus mechanics themselves, including the Shop Foreman at Lexus of Watertown, MA. So, who do you think is more qualified to make that statement? Us or them? Put a 1st generation LS next to a new one and you'll see the difference. I have them side by side in my garage so I can make the comment.

I've been on that Mercedes Forum you've posted. They are no better than some of what I see here. You guys love to trash Mercedes (some of it justified for Reliability) and they trash Lexus for copying their designs and MB technology. If you want to pull the Holier than Thou card on me, go read some of the posts on this forum.

Most of us are mature adults and can take a little criticism without having a fit. I'll be the first to blast Mercedes Benz if this car is a lemon. I don't spew propaganda, I just call it as I see it. As for your comment on domestics go look at the JD Power Rankings, Buick and Cadilliac all rank very highly in CSI and Quality. I just submitted an article to be published in USA Today calling the press out on their unfair characterization of GM, all of it backed up with solid data.

That's what people pay me for: Objectivity. I am not going to claim Lexus is "perfect" because they are not. I resent the accusation that I'm a troll, especially after the amount of $$$ I've invested in Lexus cars. My experience is what it is, and you have no right to claim I am mis-representing Lexus in anyway.

-Sam