vevro Posted February 9, 2004 Posted February 9, 2004 I've been a Lexus owner for quite sometime now. I've owned two generations of LS400 and loved both of them. My recent Lexus was 99 LS400, great car. Now i'm looking to get myself a 2000 BMW 740i. Can someone who has previously owned a 740i tell me its major issues and what i should look out for or if this is even a good buy? If you guys think i might be making a mistake, I'll simply look for 2000 Platinum LS400. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
SW03ES Posted February 13, 2004 Posted February 13, 2004 My father also drives LS' and he was looking at a 745Li to replace his 98, and a customer of his who sold his 99 LS400 for a 750iL and returned it to buy an LS430 told him that the fun of owning a BMW would last him three weeks, then he would want his Lexus back. My dad bought a brand new 04 LS430 lol BMW is a great car, the 740i may be one of the best looking sport sedans of all time, but from what I hear from owners and what I see in the reliability ratings, its nowhere near as trouble free a vehicle as an LS. My fiance's father just bought a CPO 740iL and he took it in for the first $350 oil change and they found $1700 worth of suspension work that needed to be done on his "certified" car, not a dollar under warranty,it only has 50,000 miles on it. Personally to me a BMW is a nice car, but its not anything I'd ever care about owning. Give me a reliable Lexus anyday.
vevro Posted February 13, 2004 Author Posted February 13, 2004 It seems that every previous BMW owner and car dealer through out the country shares the same opinion about BMW and its poor reliability. I've visited BMW forums and every other post criticizes 740s transmissions, radiators and oil gaskets. One owner had to pay $7 thousand to completely replace transmision on a 2000 740i with only 70k miles on it. My previous Lexus had 105k miles on it and all I every did to maintain it in tip top shape was to occasionally changed the oil. I suppose I took the car for granted for being so problem free. I guess its back to another Lexus again!
blake918 Posted February 13, 2004 Posted February 13, 2004 Why did you get rid of your '99 LS? Like Steve said, German cars like MB and BWM are nice, but they are so expensive to keep up and fix a problem when one comes. I talked to a MB forum when we were looking at a S320. A lot of the guys in there actually set up separate bank accounts just for the car repairs . A sportier ride(mainly BMW) that will eventually annoy you is just not worth the poor reliability!
vevro Posted February 13, 2004 Author Posted February 13, 2004 I had to sell my 99 LS400 because I was involved in an accident with a semi-trailer, the left quarter panel and the left back door were severely damaged and required extensive work. I was reimbursed by my insurance company for the damages and I sold the car as is to professional body shop for half of it blue book value. I actually wanted to sell the car before I was even involved in the accident, since I kind of wanted a car with navigation and better sound system. I've never been in a Lexus equipped with Nakamichi but I assume its a lot better than the premium pioneer system I've had. Can you tell me if there is an obvious difference in sound between Nakamichi and Pioneer?
blake918 Posted February 13, 2004 Posted February 13, 2004 I had to sell my 99 LS400 because I was involved in an accident with a semi-trailer, the left quarter panel and the left back door were severely damaged and required extensive work. I'm very sorry to hear this :( . I hope you weren't injured. I'm sure pioneersbuy could give you all of the specifics of the deifferences between the Pioneer and Nak...try p.m.ing him as this isn't a very busy spot in the club!
SW03ES Posted February 14, 2004 Posted February 14, 2004 The Nak is a great unit, there is a significant difference. Only problem you can't get Nak with Nav, all Nav cars come with the pioneer.
vevro Posted February 14, 2004 Author Posted February 14, 2004 Well that's disapointing, no navigation for me in that case. Thanks for your advises guys.
SW03ES Posted February 15, 2004 Posted February 15, 2004 Thats why Lexus changed from Nakamichi to Mark Levinson, Nakamichi would not allow their system to be operated through a navigation system.
Sal Collaziano Posted March 9, 2004 Posted March 9, 2004 I would definitely go with the LS as well. And as mentioned above, you CAN get the premium stereo with navigation. If you want a car that handles well for being large, go for the BMW 7 series. But, you're sacrificing a trouble-free experience for that ride. And you probably WILL get bored of it really quickly unless you do a lot of hard driving. If you ask me, I'd rather have a quiet, soft-riding car than a great-handling, bumpy ride. How often do I need to make hard turns and run up and down ramps at 80mph? While I drive normally nearly 100% of the time, I get to experience the amenities of a soft ride all the while...
blake918 Posted March 9, 2004 Posted March 9, 2004 Wow Sal!!! I totally agree with your post 100%. Sure it's fun to take a sharp turn at 50-60, but who does this other than Motor Trend editors?? The smooth ride, excellent powertrain, and Lexus quality is a no brainer! The Bimmer will be fun to test drive, but after about a month and $5k in repairs, you'll be sorry you bought it ;).
Sal Collaziano Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 Thank you. I owned a Corvette for a little over a year. Before that and after, I had a Cadillac. I noticed that whenever I was actually enjoying the Corvette for what it was, I was paranoid about getting a ticket at the same time. What kind of nonsense is that? I'd much rather have my heated seats, mirrors and a ton of other comfort-yielding amenities 24/7... :) I'm not a Lexus owner - I own CadillacForums.com - but I know a good car when I see it and I'm very impressed by every Lexus - except maybe the IS. After the Vette, I'll probably never like anything similar...
SW03ES Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 The newest problems per 100 cars and reliability reports just came out, interesting to find that a 2003 BMW 745Li has more problems on average than an 8 year old LS400.
blake918 Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 interesting to find that a 2003 BMW 745Li has more problems on average than an 8 year old LS400. No need to be modest Steve!...not a real suprise!! We all know this B) :D !
vevro Posted March 15, 2004 Author Posted March 15, 2004 I've heard of that report as well, it seems that for every 100 745i/il sold, 40 had mechanicals problems, while Lexus only experienced 4. Well in either case, after asking around it didn't make sense buying a BMW so I bought another 99 LS400.
99lsguy Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 I've heard of that report as well, it seems that for every 100 745i/il sold, 40 had mechanicals problems, while Lexus only experienced 4. Well in either case, after asking around it didn't make sense buying a BMW so I bought another 99 LS400. Does it have Nachamichi???? If so, do you think it's better?? Congrats on your "newest" LS purchase!1 Color of car?Miles? one owner? etc.....???? 99
vevro Posted March 16, 2004 Author Posted March 16, 2004 Thanks 99lsguy, Very clean Black, one owner car from Pennsylvania, without a Nakamichi or Navigation. I was looking for an LS with Nakamichi but all of those that i saw were in pretty bad condition so i settled on this one with 84K for $17,200. I'll post some pictures this weekend after the snow storm. I actually have a question, what can possible cause cracks in the wood on the steering wheel? I have two cracks that go all away around <_< . I can see and feel them with my nail, is there any solution to cover them up?
99lsguy Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 Is it in the "clear resin" portion of the wheel? I've got a couple of tiny nicks on mine.... If you can post a picture it will help...hopefully you can get "close up" with digital camera. Start a new post about it in the Detailing Section or Regular LS400 forum and you'll get more help :D Your car is just lilke mine.. ..I didn't like the looks of the NAV at all so I just stayed away from it..... 99
Lexusfreak Posted March 16, 2004 Posted March 16, 2004 I'd stay away from the Beemer from what I've read & friends have told me about over the years. Consider purchasing another LS! :D Spare the aggravation & expense.
VBdenny Posted March 17, 2004 Posted March 17, 2004 An excellent choice. I suppose when you drive a vette, the cops really watch you. Luckily, the Lexus seems nearly invisable. Stealth and speed, what a combination!
SW03ES Posted March 19, 2004 Posted March 19, 2004 Cracking wheels is very common on the LS, only way to fix it is to replace it.
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