Swagga82

which one of these cars do you think is a better by or looks better?

CarGuy89

The LS will be cheaper to maintain, but I definitely want the S550 more. The 550 is the most comfortable car I've sat in at the Auto Show. I'm patiently waiting for prices to fall...... Both cars will be an upgrade in terms of how the tech is presented. I honestly don't think that either adds too many new features, but both interiors feel newer than the 430's. There's actually a member here who had a 460 and now has an S550 (search for it in Car Chat). The S550 should be more fun to drive and the LS460 should ride softer. IMO the 550 seems to edge the 460 out in quality and refinement (according to a few reviews I've read).

Styling is purely subjective, I think the 550 (esp with the AMG Sport pack) looks absolutely boss. Has more presence than the 460, which blends in better (not a bad thing, maybe that's what you're looking for). As with comparison, the only way YOU can answer the question is to test drive both and pick a winner. I would also recommend taking a look at the BMW 750!

davvv

iTrader: (1)

^

scottgolf

well this isn't what you are looking for, but my s500 was a lot more to maintain once out of waranty. Which dealer do you like to deal with better? where I live the MB dealer is the devil, and the lexus dealer isnt good but the lesser of the 2 evils.

Quipper

Whenever the MB S-class starts to make me drool, or a 7-series Bimmer (yes, that's the right spelling; see: http://www.bmwccbc.org/misc/tech-and-trivia/bimmer.html), I just mosey on over to Consumer Reports online (I have subscriber access). Both have significantly lower reliability than we enjoy with the LS. The LS has about 20% fewer problems than the average vehicle on the roadways, whereas the MB S-class is, if I remember correctly, 36% less reliable. The Bimmer is similar, and the Jaguar XJ is even worse. Those numbers are really stark! Enjoy your LS!

Here's a link that may interest you, even though it doesn't list the percentages I'm citing, b/c it has other numbers related to overall value of all kinds of cars incl. luxury sedans: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...lues/index.htm

thinkin

I think the quality gap has narrowed a bit - MB is coming up (not hard) and Lexus has gone down since '07 or so.

That said I'd still expect the 460 to be more reliable and better built, but not by the gaping chasm of a gap that separated the older S class and the 430.

Swagga82

SMH i have to say i never wanted to leave the lexus family but the way you guys are talking is like benz is the new deal i guess my new car will be a S550 or a CL550!! but i just dont want to stay at the dealer every couple of months

sojah

iTrader: (1)

me too ^ ^ ^

Jabberwock

Just be aware that most luxury car makers like MB are currently building overly complex cars that are stuffed full of semi leading edge computers and technology - as all this stuff inevitably ages these high end cars will be expensive to repair. None of that matters if you buy new and drive a new car for 3-4 years because the technology tends to be pretty reliable when new, but if you intend to keep a car for more than a few years all those sensors, ICs, mice, touch screens, cameras, etc. will start to decay and fail in likely very expensive ways.

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

I'd take the S550 or even the CLS over the LS460. They are extremely nice cars and look awesome. The LS460 is a great car too, but I prefer the LS430 over it.

An 03-06 S600 would be cooler than any of those. It's very stylish and powerful too.

warminwisc

A8 certified or warrnatee

sojah

iTrader: (1)

2008 white s600 still upper 50's,, how much longer till they hit upper 40's, i'm getting very impatient

CarGuy89

My local MB dealer had an 07 S550 with 50k mi for $36k not too long ago. Looked pretty clean but I didn't drive it for fear of falling too much in love. Man I would love to have a V12 though....

Give it a few months, I'm sure with the new yr and all values will drop.

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

That's not a bad price. They will drop a lot more in the next two years I'm guessing. The W220 S-Classes dropped like bricks after a while. Now you can find older S500's under $10,000 and the S600's are in low $20,000's. Hopefully the newer ones follow that pattern. I'd love to get a CLS or a newer S600 in a couple of years.