mattds

So after almost 2 months of ownership i'm still a little frustrated that we can't improve the performance of these cars much (i should say increase their power). Having said that - i knew that Lexus's and Toyota's are tough to modify (this is my 2nd lexus) and i'm aware of their stellar reliability.

The reason i settled on the GS was because it was the most recent re-design ( i bought my 13' 2 months ago), had the nicest interior and their reputation for great reliability (and price wise it was fantastic). OH and i found one with radar cruise and night vision (lol). And at times the power is still great, at other times i wish i had gone with the E550 (they were coming down in prices) or the A6 and put a pulley and chip on it...

thoughts?

AL13NV8D3R

One word RELIABILITY.

I totally agree that the BMWs and Audis are better tech and faster and can also be as fun as the GS but they will never be as reliable as a Lexus. That being said if I were to lease a car I would be all over the BMWs and Audis. But since I drive 20k miles a year i am stuck with buying and therefore must have a 100% bullet proof car.

jj14

Reliability was a big factor for me, but the other factor was the "car that can keep up with technology" ad that Lexus was pushing very heavily when the 2013 GS was released.

Reliability has been good, but given that they couldn't even update the backup camera to show projected path based on steering turn (let alone anything else), I'd say the car didn't exactly deliver on that "keep up with technology" promise.

My next car will have Android Auto - and sadly, it looks like Lexus has decided not to offer that anytime soon.

praetor

Reliability, interior and resale value. As much as I like the Germans, the three things I mentioned can be iffy. The Germans resale value really tank when the warranty expires. I'd love to get more power but the GS is enough for me at the moment.

benztolex

A6 3.0 I've heard have some issues and I wouldn't dare buy the 2.0. I came from a 335i coupe that was in the shop 13 times within a year. No more BMW's for me. I also had an E350. Love the car but just to small inside.

dchar

Picked the GS over the others for its superior handling, aggressive exterior styling (F-sport), beautiful interior (especially in Cabernet), and Lexus' awesome customer service from service department. Liked it so much that I picked it twice! Test drove the others and just wasn't impressed; hard, uncomfortable seats and boring exterior (A6); laggy throttle and big car handling (535i); boring interior and exterior and unimpressive engine (E350). All of them had excessively high payments for what you get. Had and known others with ownership experience with German brands, and it's mostly negative due to constant problems and unfriendly service departments.

jcochong37

Me too on the BMW.. was it your Fuel pump too? I miss my BMW for sure.. but I don't miss seeing an error on the dash every time it started up.

For me, Lexus IS reliable, and that's what sold me the most.

I'll admit, I'll look at the other three and question my choice

AJLex19

Reliability and value are the biggest factors for me since I tend to keep my cars for 5+ years. Many folks in my family own german cars (bmw mostly) and have had some very bad experiences with electronics being hit or miss and high costs for repairs. I've always had a positive overall experience with my cars and would recommend any one of them that i've owned (first car was a camry, next was a GS, and latest is a newer GS)

I have a mechanic in the family that has owned BMWs exclusively in the last decade but swears by extended warranties (he would never buy a german car without an extended warranty).

For his own son that will soon graduate college, he recently bought a Japanese car (Acura TL) with 140k miles that has no problems...when I asked him why he didn't get his son a BMW or Benz, he said "you know why..."

rockydog

Reliability. Had a BMW X5 and it was at the dealer just about every other month for some electrical issue that the dealer swore he'd never seen before. Car would be in the shop for 2-3 days and multiple parts would be replaced. Traded it the day before the 4 year warranty expired.

NebulaGrey

bought the gs due to lack of cpo inventory of S6 and price.

5PM

We've all gone power mad. C&D described the 0-60 feeling of a late 90s 911 as "like being shot from a gun" - it was 5.5 seconds! That's about what my (much heavier) F Sport will do today. For a daily driver in the Bay Area I do not need or want more, especially when it comes at the cost of a serious cut in reliability.

The GS F Sport has balance, a word nobody seems to use much anymore when talking about cars. At the time I got my first one, it was the clear handling champ among direct competitors and had a better interior than all of them. People are impressed by the car; non-enthuisiasts love the ride and quiet while racer types dig the sharp cornering and minimal body roll. It's a great package, all around.

ToddsLex78

Agree 1000% about BMW's. My 5 series was in the shop so often, it literally became a home away from home and not one I wanted to be at often. The list of repairs on that thing was like the Dead Sea scrolls for crying out loud. Lexus gave me the option of pairing luxury with reliability. A win-win in my estimation.

dseag2

I no longer own my GS, but I picked it over the A6 because I liked the styling (exterior/interior) a lot more and, while not as fast as the 3.0 Supercharged in the Audi, it was simply more fun to drive. I didn't even consider the 5 Series because of reliability stories, the fact that they have softened it up and the interior. I would make the same decision today.

jjscsix

All the reasons as above, but keep in mind it is my wife's car, mine is an A7 Audi and previous to that a 550 BMW.

Having said that, I found out this week that resale value has really taken a hit on the GS. I had a 2010 GS that was mine and at 2.5 year old I was given 65% of MSRP on trade on that car. At not quite two years old I'm finding that trade on our 2014 is about 57% plus or minus a little. And that comes from the GM of a dealer who I know and has given me great deals on trades in the past, and confirmed by on-line guides that I have used for years.

Apparently all the great deals people are getting on new ones is going to bite us on the butt when we trade.

peteharvey

A6 is a nice looking car, good performance, handling, ride & refinement, and although AWD was extra weight with extra frictional losses with not enough power to overcome 30 years ago, today's cars are so powerful, they need the AWD to transmit the power to the ground. However I've held back on Audi due to quality issues with brother in law's Audi which had to be returned four times doe uto water pump failure.

5 Series looks quite good outside & inside, however their torque curve is not flattish, but rather a peaky surge as the turbo spools up; just me only, but I don't like that.
Furthermore, the springs are too firm, while the shock absorbers are too floaty around corners, and the vehicle feels too big & heavy around corners.
Finally, a reputation for long term reliability issues.

The E Class has a lovely engine, handling, ride & refinement too, however it just looks too square, boxy, sharp lines, deep lines, and lots of lines, and has aged before its time.
A four star JD Power rating for reliability is satisfactory compared to the all new more attractive compact C Class's mediocre 3 star rating.

If I had to choose between E, 5 or A6, I'd do E and live with looks, else I'd do A6 and risk reliability problems.
Current 5 Series comes last, although I almost purchased the previous generation 2003-10 530i over old GS350, because back then, the 2002-09 E Class looked like an attractive old man's car, while the 5 Series had a superb blend of looks, space, performance, handling, ride and refinement.

GS may not be absolutely superb in styling, nor space, nor power etc, but GS is a good all round package with JD Power 5 star reliability.