BMW 5 series?
07-09-14, 11:23 AM
#31
Lexus Fanatic
A BMW is appealing to me too...to lease. If it's going to be a car you're going to keep, I'd stick with Lexus. I know a lot of people who have BMWs, many with 5s specifically. I have never known one who didn't curse them when theyot older and out of warranty. Even people who love them and buy another, they just understand they are cars that they replace before 50k.
If you're doing a CPO car, just understand it's going to be in the shop more than the Lexus.
If you're doing a CPO car, just understand it's going to be in the shop more than the Lexus.
07-09-14, 02:10 PM
#32
In the past pre internet days you did not need a magazine to let you know which cars were worth their reliability. Reputations were earned for just for about everything by word of mouth over time. Neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. If you have a great product word of mouth is quiet infectious and the same is true when you don't. Consumer reports was a publication that I did follow at one time but I found that they will rate a relatively new product high and then trash it the year after. One good example is the Mitsubishi Montero revision.
I have seen other publications give some cars better then average reliability ratings like the Porsche Boxster but it was later theorized that the owners surveys were biased because of brand loyalties aka fanboys of the product.
I'm not saying you don't follow publications as they are a useful tool but I think it's better to follow long term trends of a company and personal experiences from other owners (something I wish I followed). Yes you can get a lemon of any brand but there are some makes that earned their bad reputation and it will take them at least one or two model cycles to earn it back.
I have seen other publications give some cars better then average reliability ratings like the Porsche Boxster but it was later theorized that the owners surveys were biased because of brand loyalties aka fanboys of the product.
I'm not saying you don't follow publications as they are a useful tool but I think it's better to follow long term trends of a company and personal experiences from other owners (something I wish I followed). Yes you can get a lemon of any brand but there are some makes that earned their bad reputation and it will take them at least one or two model cycles to earn it back.
07-09-14, 02:14 PM
#33
07-09-14, 02:16 PM
#34
07-09-14, 02:37 PM
#35
Lexus Fanatic
A BMW I would never even consider buying to keep that long. A 3 year lease though...sure it'll be fine.
If I were buying a car I was going to keep for 10 years, I'd be hard pressed to choose anything over a Lexus LS. Nothing takes miles like the LS, 100k miles they ride and drive like new, other cars I've had experience with aren't the same way, even other Lexus products. I've never known anyone who has had BMW for 10 years and would describe it as aging well or being trouble free.
Last edited by SW17LS; 07-09-14 at 03:14 PM.
07-09-14, 04:20 PM
#36
07-09-14, 04:41 PM
#37
Care to hazard a guess as to the engineering reason 2013 LS460 requires oil changes TWICE as often as the 2014 LS460? Surely SOMETHING changed as indicated by the drop-off in JD Power quality ratings, right? Or wrong? Or something else entirely? I'm confused...
07-09-14, 04:48 PM
#38
Lexus Fanatic
Have you ever owned a BMW for more than 50k miles? Have you owned a Lexus LS for more than 150k miles like I have? If the LS is such a POS why do you have two Lexus vehicles and not two BMW vehicles?
Every vehicle has it's problems. Ratings go up and down, but Lexus is consistently at the top of quality, service, and dependability ratings. BMW never is. If I'm going to pick one to own for the long haul, it's going to be the Lexus.
07-09-14, 09:21 PM
#40
I'll generously summarize this entire exhortation for its essential truth: your feelings about car companies determines your feelings about their products AND your predictions about their functionality and reliability. Thank God almighty new drug testing, bridge engineering, and computer software development don't operate on the same principle. The data-driven life is the one to lead.
I don't base my judgment of car companies only on feelings as I stated before. It's is one of the many tools I use to reach my conclusions purely from a business perspective where nobody gets hurt except your wallet. There is truth to reputations from people not magazine editors who probably spend the least amount of real ownership.
07-09-14, 09:31 PM
#41
Every car has a list of issues but unfortunately after owning a BMW it was one thing or another. I didn't know what else to expect next but fortunately the BMW forums had a good way of helping to diagnose the issue and there were several great write-ups that were invaluable. The only problem I had was the cost of the parts even after internet discounts. To do something as simple as changing a battery it has to be registered and the dealer charges for that service. You cant win if you are a DIYer.
Now that I have the Lexus I find it to so boring in comparison that I have moved on to other things.
07-09-14, 10:17 PM
#42
LOL, everybody here knows how BMW rolls, gotta love bending over, coughing up the big dollars at the service department for one little part and 8 hours labor lol, so here's what I'd do and I guarantee its the best 50 bucks you'll ever spend on a beemer. Buy a poster of new BMW, 3, 5 or 7 series, get the one you want, take it to Costco, have them enlarge it big as possible, then hang it right above your new Lexus in your garage, like having the best of two worlds, but free maintenance for life for the beemer, haha.
07-09-14, 10:50 PM
#43
Lexus Test Driver
Control bushings not replaceable????? Research! Warped breake rotors???? Brake actuators??? Does it leave you stranded? ?? Now put that list up against any series bmw still cheaper to own a lexus. Normally when I compare cars is I look at the same year car like say a 750 2008 compare that with 2008 460 what holds value more??? You can 750's all day for 20g or less find a 460 under 20g's that aint beat to ****..
07-10-14, 08:13 AM
#44
The point is: Lexus vehicles have problems (we all know what they are in the LS460 series) and BMW vehicles have problems (we Lexus owners tend to know these less well and/or only by hearsay or rumor). The cars of the two makes can be compared on any number of criteria. I maintain that such a comparison done on the basis of reliability yields similar results for both makes - almost perfect reliability with a few, well-known problems that can be expected to appear over the useful lifetime of the particular model(s) in question. Other comparisons can be made on resale value, driving experience, comfort & convenience, and tech just to name a few. On just about all of these bases, the best cars made by either company shine in comparison to most other brands (which have foibles of their own).
07-10-14, 10:22 AM
#45
Lexus Fanatic
I would without hesitation buy an LS460 and drive it forever. I would absolutely not even consider doing do with any BMW.