Should I Trade In My 98 Es300 For A 99 Bmw 5 Series? Thanks

[idreamed08]

Good Day,

I know this is a Lexus Forums and I love my Lexus and I'm sure most of you do but I need an honest opinion on this one. Thanks

I have had my 1998 Lexus ES300 for a little over a year and I love it. But.......

I want to upgrade, lol. I can't currently afford a brand new Lexus so I'm actually looking for something like an 02 Lexus ES because that's when they changed bodies. However, the dealership that i bought this Lexus from doesn't have any. This is the dealership i've bought my last 3 cars from and they've always been great with pricing and quality. So i'm a little complacent and not really wanting to go to another dealership. Since I wont be paying cash and have less than perfect credit I kind of want to stick with this dealership because they have low prices---if you put atleast $3,000 down. Anyways all he has in my price range and quality range is 2 1999 BMW 5 series. The mileage on the 2 are both around 140,000. I guess my concerns are maintenance. I love Lexus because you can possibly by some Toyota parts Lexus doesn't seem to have all those electrical problems as many of the other luxury cars. And maintenance on a Lexus is expensive but nowhere near as expensive as my friends Audi and another friends Range Rover. I'm not rich, so would you guys recommend me getting a 1999 BMW 5 series with 140k over my current 1998 Lexus with 155k? My Lexus still rides smooth, I haven't test drove the bmw but my dealer says it's great. I've heard the transmission on a 5 series bmw will never go out??? i had never heard that before, is it true? Is there alot of potential problems you could face getting into a BMW with 140k? I know friends with honda accords over 200k with original engines, same with Toyota's, Lexus, Acura's. But, i know a couple of people with Benz and Audi who've had crazy expensive problems before and barely after 100k. So with BMW 5 series are they cars that go over 200k without serious problems if maintained.

I know my friends with the audi, range rover, and benz all pay over $100 for their oil changes. With my Lexus ES300 i pay like regular price at most commercial big named auto stores. I usually pay $29.99 With BMW if i don't go to the dealership should i expect to pay over $100 for an oil change. How about little things like brakes and stuff....would i just be able to go to autozone and buy some decent brake pads for $59.99 or do i have to buy some special thing that cost hundreds. With a 99 BMW should i worry about all these electrical problems and things? What would you do, stick with my 98 Lexus ES300 or go with the 99 BMW 5series? I would be paying the same thing a month for my car note. What are the pros and cons? is it a better ride, etc.....

[TA in KC]

If you cannot afford to pay cash for the car, my advice is not to buy it.

If you are just itching for a new car, buy a less expensive, reliable one that you can afford to pay cash for. It may not be a "prestige" luxury vehicle, but knowing you are financially independent will give you a much better feeling, even better than the feeling of driving a brand new Lexus or BMW.

[eatingupblacktop]

Bimmers are not at all like Lexus. They're much more of a performance car than Lexus, except for maybe the IS-F. Performance cars typically require more service/maintenance. I loved the 533 I had. Fanatastic responsive driver's car. If you're a diy, then you can save what can amount to a small fortune for service at a dealer. You're only alternative is an import tuner. Check out the Bimmer clubs for insight on what to expect with their cars. If you do the research, then you won't be surprised later and you'll feel good about making an informed decision.

As for skimping on parts, I equate it to drinking champagne out of a paper cup or ordering the most expensive steak in the restaurant then putting it between two pieces of white bread. If you're going to buy a luxury car, then be prepared to pay to maintain it properly, otherwise as Thomas says, get yourself something you can afford. Peace of mind has everything to do with how you enjoy your car.

[jcrome04]

If you want to constantly repair it and pay a lot for doing so! B)

[nc211]

I looked at the 5 series when replacing my LS. It was an 03' 530i (i think that was the year). It flew! But, no elbow room, no cup holders, strange noises from the rear "sounded like differential was on it's way out", and the hard plastics inside the cabin were quite loud when hitting bumps "it was chilly out". Overall, the operation of the car was ok, much different from Lexus "or toyota in general", more rumble felt from the car's operation, more mechanical noise. But the lack of room, well documented odd electrical gremlins, and general feel of the car, satified my curiousity to stick with Toyota. One day, when I've got a bit more income, I might take another look and newer body styles.

In my research of BMW, I was pleasently suprised to see parts were much cheaper then Lexus, even Toyota. I think oem brake rotors were like $50-$60 bucks, pads were in the $30 range. Granted, you'll be replacing them every 36k miles "if you're lucky", but that was pretty cheap.

If you take on a BMW, with limited cash resources, you better be a skilled DIY type with a car, otherwise you could very easily get eaten alive. Anything with 140k miles, in my opinion, needs to be Japanese. Some German products seem to last forever, but not nearly as many as from Japan. I've seen only a handful of BMW's with north of 150k miles that weren't or haven't been complete pains in the !Removed!. Of those that weren't problematic, they all had the 3.0 liter v6 engine "330i and 530i". The 2.5 and 2.8 engines seemed to be the ones with the most problems. Not suprising though, considering they're also the least powered...aka...more abused to get moving.

The transmissions: I called a few shops during my research. I can't recall the two manufactures' names, but one use to make BMW transmissions, and they were considered to be super. The lastest versions "of the past 8 - 10 years I think" are made by a GM company, and are known to be not nearly as good. I think the old company also built Volvo's gearbox back in the day too.

[jcrome04]

DON'T DO IT!!!! lol

you made a decision yet?

[SKperformance]

I have not read anything bu the title so i am not sure what your needs are .

The ES 300 is a pratical and reliable car for many years.

I love the 5 series in all years but they can be a pain to maintain .

Cost factor for the es alone makes it a winner.

[idreamed08]

thanks for all the responses, sorry for my late response, i've been out. When I made the post I was probably leaning 75% toward getting the BMW, but after lots of thinking and reading responses, i'd say there's a 10% chance of me getting the BMW.

I was about to make a somewhat ignorant decision. I owe $3,000 and I can have my Lexus hopefully paid off by March or before. I really wanted to upgrade for more luxury and to look a little newer. I know that's probably not understood by many on these forums but that's I was thinking. I have decided to save my money to pay off this car, do some local charity and just be thankful.

Since i'm going to keep this Lexus. My brakes have been sweeking, and the brake light has came on from time to time, so I'm going to go have my brakes done. Get some new tires, i've already done maintenance under the hood. Everything seems to be doing great. I'll have the car cleaned on the inside and outside, freshen myself up and maybe appreciate things much more. thanks for all the responses.

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

If you want to constantly repair it and pay a lot for doing so! B)

Here's a kinder ... more diplomatic way to say the same thing: Before you buy ANY car, (especially a 10 year old used car, BMW or otherwise) read what consumer reports has to say about it.

Nuf said :whistles:

[SW03ES]

Normally I'm not a fan of paying cash for cars, I can pay cash for cars but I prefer to lease or finance to save on having to take capital out of investments (not that those investments are doing great right now lol...) but on a car that old...I wouldn't buy it if I couldn't pay all cash.

Financing a new or 2-3 year old car for 5 years is one thing, but financing a 10 year old car for that long? I'd be weary of that, especially what kind of interest rate you could get with it being that old in the current lending climate...if you could get it financed at all.

As for the BMW vs the Lexus, I also would never purchase an old BMW unless I had a great and trustworthy BMW mechanic or knew how to do a lot of the work myself...