986wang

I'm in the market for a new dependable family car that will last me a good 6-8 years. The 3 cars in my price range are MBZ E500, BMW 545, and the new GS 430. Having owned a 97 Mercedes E320 for the past 8 years and driven the previous and current generation of BMW 5 series. I can attest to the solidity of the German cars. I havn't paid much attention to Japanese cars until the current Nissan 350Z, Infiniti G35 coupe/Sedan, and the new Lexus GS430 hit the show room. Japanese car styling has come a long way. The performance and the reliability of Japanese cars are among the best in their segments.
My 8 years old E320 has served me well with 120,000 miiles and zero problems during its life time. The newer German cars of early 2000s has been plagued by poor reliabiilty and design. The MBZ E class has an elegant shape with top notch interior appointments but poor reliability i.e. air suspension/electronics. The BMW 5 handles phenomenally but lacks the aesthetic appeal due to its ugly shape and cheap interior design. The Lexus GS 430 has the best blend of performance, reliability, and look appeal. Although the GS 430 has tons of cutting edge technology and electronics, I'm not affraid to buy the first year production vehicle due to the Lexus reputation of product reliability. My other passion is Porsche sports car. I will likely lease the Porsche cars with 3-4 year lease terms (997 or 987S) and own a Lexus GS 430 as the every day commute car/beater with the intention of driving it to the ground.

Has anyone on this forum driven the Mercedes E500, BMW 545, and the GS 430 and give me an honest opinion on their personal comparison?
Would anyone here recommend not to buy the first model production Lexus GS 430? I have learned of a recall with the current LS 430 transmission and am a little concerned about recent Lexus reliability.

Many thanks in advance

Rockville

Though I am accused of bias by many, this is the showdown Lexus has expected. 986Wang is the exact customer Lexus wants. It is not important really what I think about these 3 fine cars but what **** expectations are and which car will strike a chord with him. You could do us a favor **** and keep us abreast of this process of selection. I've driven all of the cars you mentioned but not in succession on the same road. I just took an E in trade the other day and played around with it cursively. It still had that heavy MB feel but power lurked under the hood. The BMW545i is a well balanced machine that would be the envy of the neighborhood. The GS is quite different from the other too. It is like a boxer, light on its feet and ready to rumble. The VDIM and VGRS are state of the art advancements. Please post your reviews of each. When I drove the new E350 last Friday I came away very impressed with the performance and feel. Since you are used to the Benz the other two may seem alien at first. Take a little time to get to know them and try to ignore the complexity of the I-drive and concentrate on the real drive.
The LS430 transmission itself didn't have a problem but there was a weak link. There was a little tab that stood in the way of you taking the shifter out of Park without having your foot on the brake. In two cases the owners inadvertantly forced it out of Park and the tab sheared off and fell into to the transmission. This was considered a hazard so it was quickly revised and everyone that had the early version given a new transmission. All of the old ones were supposed to be destroyed in the campaign however I heard that some showed up on EBay. It is the smoothest transmission I've ever driven and actually one of the strengths of the LS and GS in my biased opinion.

GStateOM

Although I have not driven the new 5 series, I have only driven the new GS and E500, so I can compare the 2.

Honestly, if both cars were brand new, I would not trade in my (1998) Gs400 for an E500. The ride isn't as smooth as the GS, power was nearly identical (factory estimates the GS is a tiny bit faster) and it was $15k more expensive than the GS, due to MB dealer markups. It's a nice car, but you could get something as good for less money.. After looking at the price of a GS430 and an E500, I would say the E500 is overpriced. Now if this was the E55, then I could see why it' would blow a GS out of the water with it's power, but the E500, IMO, isn't worth it. Other than that, it was a very nice car and no other complaints.

Don't know about the new GS's though. The dealer closests to me has about 5 GS3's and only 1 GS430, and it was already sold when I got there during lunch today.

BugattiT59

Have you considered the Infiniti M45 Sport. I took it for a test drive and was impressed (see my brief comments in the AWD thread) The looks are OK, not stellar. Inside is also fine. It is kind of a first-year car though so that might rule it out by default. It has been out in Japan for a while (6 months?) though. It did seem bigger than the GS, if that makes a difference.

I am still waiting to test drive the GS430. There was only one at the dealer and it was inside. I wish the GS had a little more timber for the passenger side.

I initially liked the look of the new 5 series but I have gone off it now. My friends at work have gone the other way. The M5 has them drooling. I Test drove 530 ages ago and it was alright, I recall it was a little plain inside.

GS3rdwow

plain? the 5 series bmw looks great outside. When you sit inside, it is the worst cabin layout i have ever seen in an automobile. The most ugliest, dull aponted interior there is. There is no beauty at all. Just a big plain plastic looking interior. even the accord looks better from the inside.