What's The Lexus Equivalent Of A Late 90s Bmw 540i?

[robr]

My 91 NSX is up for sale and I've been seriously looking at well maintained E39 BMW 540i 6 speeds as a replacement, however I'd prefer something a bit more reliable. I know almost zero about the Lexus product line so I'm a bit lost. Here's what I'm looking for:

4 door

ROOMY back seats for 2 baby seats so I don't have to scoot up the front seats

standard transmission

$15K neighborhood

powerful, nimble and fun to drive

Thanks for any ideas and I'll be spending the next couple of hours reading up on the various models. A little tough to sort through the for sale ads, but if I can weed out the cars from the parts, that should at least give me an idea of the $$$ various used models are getting.

[nc211]

My 91 NSX is up for sale and I've been seriously looking at well maintained E39 BMW 540i 6 speeds as a replacement, however I'd prefer something a bit more reliable. I know almost zero about the Lexus product line so I'm a bit lost. Here's what I'm looking for:

4 door

ROOMY back seats for 2 baby seats so I don't have to scoot up the front seats

standard transmission

$15K neighborhood

powerful, nimble and fun to drive

Thanks for any ideas and I'll be spending the next couple of hours reading up on the various models. A little tough to sort through the for sale ads, but if I can weed out the cars from the parts, that should at least give me an idea of the $$$ various used models are getting.

I don't think you'll find those combo's in the Lexus line up, as most do not have standard transmissions. I think the IS300's might offer it, and some older SC's, but both are not roomy in the back seats. The LS has the most room in the back, but a totally different kind of car from what you're looking for, in driving characteristics, and I don't think there has ever been a standard transmission in one. The GS series is the sporty LS, as it shares many of the same interior components, but is smaller and more nimble. But again, no standard transmissions in those either.

In terms of reliability, you'd be hard pressed to find a better car than a Lexus. In terms of a roomy back seat and a standard tranny, you'd be hard pressed to find a lexus like that, if at all.

[robr]

Thanks very much for the informative answer. It sounds as though a Lexus is not for me unfortunately :(. I so don't want german repair bills though... eesh.

[RX in NC]

Why are you selling your NSX? If you do, I believe you'll come to regret it immensely five or ten years from now....

[nc211]

Thanks very much for the informative answer. It sounds as though a Lexus is not for me unfortunately :(. I so don't want german repair bills though... eesh.

Have you checked out the Infiniti G35 sedan? I know they make those with 6 speed standards, and they will freaking scream down the road like a bat out of....well, you get the point. Depreciation has become Nissan's worst enemy, and your best friend. You can literally pick one up that is maybe 18 months old w/30k miles for 18-22k. My buddy in Tampa had one, a 6 speed, and loved it. Tried to sell it recently to ease his debt load "spun off his own law firm" and couldn't give the thing away w/o a $8k hit.

[robr]

Why are you selling your NSX? If you do, I believe you'll come to regret it immensely five or ten years from now....

I regret it now, I don't have to wait 5 or 10 years to regret it :). I'll own another one someday.

Thanks very much for the informative answer. It sounds as though a Lexus is not for me unfortunately :(. I so don't want german repair bills though... eesh.

Have you checked out the Infiniti G35 sedan? I know they make those with 6 speed standards, and they will freaking scream down the road like a bat out of....well, you get the point. Depreciation has become Nissan's worst enemy, and your best friend. You can literally pick one up that is maybe 18 months old w/30k miles for 18-22k. My buddy in Tampa had one, a 6 speed, and loved it. Tried to sell it recently to ease his debt load "spun off his own law firm" and couldn't give the thing away w/o a $8k hit.

I'll check that out, but I'm betting there probably isn't a hell of a lot of room in the back seats. Certainly worth checking out though. Before the NSX, I had a 300ZXTT and it was a great car (until it broke 100K miles, then everything started going wrong).

Hmmm, the G35 might actually work. This isn't a bad deal

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_...mp;cardist=1555

Thanks again for the recommendation

[nc211]

Holy Crap, that's a great deal! You don't see too many of those with Navigation units in general. I bet you'd be quite happy in one of those! And when the kids start to drool, just punch the gas and the drool should go back into place. I hear they're fast, real fast. For better pictures, check out ebay motors, they have great pictures of cars!

[robr]

Holy Crap, that's a great deal! You don't see too many of those with Navigation units in general. I bet you'd be quite happy in one of those! And when the kids start to drool, just punch the gas and the drool should go back into place. I hear they're fast, real fast. For better pictures, check out ebay motors, they have great pictures of cars!

Thanks again for the recommendation of the G35, I did even better than the one in that link. I just put a deposit down on a loaded 2003 G35 sedan w/nav, xenons and moonroof as well as 20" rims (which i will be selling, that's just useless to me) for $12K. I'm flying out to pick up the car in about two weeks to drive it the 2700 miles home. A woman ended up with it as part of a divorce settlement and wants it gone so she can move on. Not exactly the 'little old lady' story, but I'll take it.

[92Lex]

I6 BMW's are damn reliable. It seems that ppl think BMW's aren't reliable. Yes, a few models have electrical problems...but hey, Lexus' have the same quirks.

If I were you, I'd go with an e39 530i.

[robr]

I6 BMW's are damn reliable. It seems that ppl think BMW's aren't reliable. Yes, a few models have electrical problems...but hey, Lexus' have the same quirks.

If I were you, I'd go with an e39 530i.

I was almost certain I was going to get an E39 540i/6 and spent weeks researching them and reading and posting to bimmerforums and 2 or 3 other popular BMW forums. I even went by our local independent BMW specialty shop and questioned the owner on E39 maintenance and what to look for when buying. Basically they all have cooling problems unless it's been previously addressed, almost all of them eventually experience pixel outages on the dash (there were many other issues as well that were common, literally a couple dozen) and most of the 540s I was interested in were well maintained 97-99 models with all issues addressed and they were running $15-$18K. I decided I didn't want to spend that much (yes, others were available cheaper but without the maintenance history). I dropped my budget to $10k-ish but when this G35 came up for $12K (original asking price was 14K) with every option I wanted, I couldn't turn it down. I could not have gotten an E39 with all issues addressed, nav and xenons for that kind of cake. I was THIS close to buying a 2000 RL w/nav for $10K when I stumbled upon this particular G35. While I haven't owned a BMW before, I have owned a 450hp 300ZXTT and the maintenance is near zero and if something goes wrong, it's typically not all that expensive to repair.

[92Lex]

Can't go wrong with a G35. I love that car.

[lexuus]

how did u end up with such a nice G35 for only 12k. thats an amazing deal, hopefully the car will be as amazing as the price is. if i may ask, how many miles?

[robr]

how did u end up with such a nice G35 for only 12k. thats an amazing deal, hopefully the car will be as amazing as the price is. if i may ask, how many miles?

It has 90K miles. It's owned by a woman who ended up with it as part of a divorce settlement, it was her ex-husband's car. She was only asking $14K which was already a steal, but it has 20" rims and needs tires. I told her because 20" tires are so expensive that I'd offer her $12K and she took it! Says she just wants it out of her life so she can move on. If it checks out (I'm having a PPI done next week) then I got extremely lucky. I'll just put HTRZIIs on it for about $500 and see if I can trade the rims/tires for OEM plus cash. In this area, cars have no business having 20" rims. The roads will trash them in minutes not to mention the additional rotational mass can really slow a car down. I could care less about "bling".

[SKperformance]

No one thinks a GS 300 or 400 would be a similar car for the 540 ?

I love the E39 and the six is smooth but a nice 98-00 GS400 can be equal and it will be smooth just not a 6. The easiest way to get a similar car is to by a GS300 have about 4 grand in work to upgrade the engine and tranny to a supra 6 speed and a small turbo for ultimate reliability so for a good deal less than 20 000 you can have a daily driver with tons of power.

[robr]

No one thinks a GS 300 or 400 would be a similar car for the 540 ?

I love the E39 and the six is smooth but a nice 98-00 GS400 can be equal and it will be smooth just not a 6. The easiest way to get a similar car is to by a GS300 have about 4 grand in work to upgrade the engine and tranny to a supra 6 speed and a small turbo for ultimate reliability so for a good deal less than 20 000 you can have a daily driver with tons of power.

that might work, but i certainly wasn't looking for an over the top modded car. i just wanted an every day family sedan that i can take to any ol' shop to work on. as it was i ended up with an automatic anyway, not thrilled about that but at least the wife can drive it on emergency occasions.

[lexuus]

how did u end up with such a nice G35 for only 12k. thats an amazing deal, hopefully the car will be as amazing as the price is. if i may ask, how many miles?

It has 90K miles. It's owned by a woman who ended up with it as part of a divorce settlement, it was her ex-husband's car. She was only asking $14K which was already a steal, but it has 20" rims and needs tires. I told her because 20" tires are so expensive that I'd offer her $12K and she took it! Says she just wants it out of her life so she can move on. If it checks out (I'm having a PPI done next week) then I got extremely lucky. I'll just put HTRZIIs on it for about $500 and see if I can trade the rims/tires for OEM plus cash. In this area, cars have no business having 20" rims. The roads will trash them in minutes not to mention the additional rotational mass can really slow a car down. I could care less about "bling".

not sure on the blue book price for a loaded G35 with 90k, but that certainly does sound like a steal "robr" .

[robr]

how did u end up with such a nice G35 for only 12k. thats an amazing deal, hopefully the car will be as amazing as the price is. if i may ask, how many miles?

It has 90K miles. It's owned by a woman who ended up with it as part of a divorce settlement, it was her ex-husband's car. She was only asking $14K which was already a steal, but it has 20" rims and needs tires. I told her because 20" tires are so expensive that I'd offer her $12K and she took it! Says she just wants it out of her life so she can move on. If it checks out (I'm having a PPI done next week) then I got extremely lucky. I'll just put HTRZIIs on it for about $500 and see if I can trade the rims/tires for OEM plus cash. In this area, cars have no business having 20" rims. The roads will trash them in minutes not to mention the additional rotational mass can really slow a car down. I could care less about "bling".

not sure on the blue book price for a loaded G35 with 90k, but that certainly does sound like a steal "robr" .

I never checked the blue book, just what they were going for on various used auto sales sites, but I just looked it up. I don't even know yet if this has the sports or other packages, so I excluded just about everything. Here's what edmunds.com says for just 90K miles, nav and moonroof (didn't give me an option for leather or xenons).

Trade in: $15,026

Private sale: $16,666

Dealer price: $18,182