GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

When you're in the specific car forum (GS and audi), scroll down 1-2 pages and you can get a feel of what the owners are complaining of.
That generally should be enough for you to decide.

If I'm ever going to keep a German car past their factory warranty, ALWAYS get an extended warranty

fas2000

Hey there,

So I have the 09 LS AWD and the 13 GS350 AWD with the luxury package. I bought the LS first, and the GS about 6 months later for my wife. The issue I have is that when i got the LS, i was in love with it. But the GS spoiled that. This is because the LS interior started looking outdated to me. The interior in the GS just feels more refined because it is newer. The dash on the GS is partially leather wrapped or at least has some soft leather to it. And this makes me realize that the LS does not have a leather wrapped Dash. And that has started to annoy me. A car on the caliber on the LS should of had a leather wrapped interior IMO. the LS600 I suppose has that.

The luxury package on the GS and the interior color were two major selling points for me. The 18 way seats are very comfortable, more comfortable then the LS's. the rear entertainment package is cool, something I dont have on my LS. The base stereo is much better then the base stereo on the LS. I suppose I should of gone for a LS600 with the ottoman seat. The GS has more engine noise, but I believe less wind noise. that being said, long rides with my kids, i still prefer the LS. Its like driving on a cloud. And while the GS is faster, the LS on the highway is a freight train with the V8. 80 to 100 , passing in the LS, is all uneventful.

So, I suggest, if you are going to go for one or the other, go for a newer LS, well equipped, or the 600. If that is out of your budget, go for the GS w/ luxury.



btw while not my interior, this is what mine looks like.

SW17LS

The picture you posted below is a 13-17 LS460. The interior of the 13+ car is a big improvement from your 09, and has all the new stuff you like from your GS (I too have had both). Only thing the LS lacks is the 18 way power seats the luxury GS has which are great. But overall the LS is quieter and rides softer.

greg3852

And the GS is not faster either.

roadfrog

I was gonna say the same thing. It might FEEL "quicker", but the numbers say otherwise.

fas2000

I agree with you, the newer LS is a real upgrade compared to the older LS. My mistake on the picture, but a testament to how similar the interiors look, even if they are not exact. And again my apologies for posting inaccurate information, it is surprising to me the LS is faster then the GS, especially in the low end.

Either way you would not go wrong. It is personal preference.

Fas

jrmckinley

Update: the battery in my 2010 Audi S5 was dead. AAA came out- guy says "I can get you started but no way I can replace the battery. We don't carry batteries like that- and they have to be specifically programmed to the car when installed. You need to get it to the dealer or specialist shop that can do it." My response: "sounds like this won't cost too much." Took it to a good european import specialist shop where I got the oil changed before ($150) - In the end, battery was $245. OTD after labor (programming and installation) - $365.78. For a battery..... Not to mention if I wasn't close to home I would have to search for an Audi dealership or some sort of specialist shop and pray they had the battery in stock (my guys didn't) and could get me in quickly. With LS, battery can be changed on the spot. SMH....glad the Audi is a 3rd car.

Lexus for life.

Side note: found it interesting the battery was in the trunk under the spare tire. Never seen that- I don't think it added to the expense but found it interesting. I think because they occupied every square inch of the hood with the actual engine..

SW17LS

Yup LOL. Battery dead in your LS460? Sears. Or anywhere.

roadfrog

That's not unique to an Audi. My 7 series BMW was in he trunk as well. So was my wife's X5...buried under the spare tire. FWIW, you can get these batteries at Walmart and Costco. It's an H8 series battery. More and more regular stores are carrying them. They are considerably more expensive however than most other batteries. If I recall correctly, about 125 dollars. I once changed out the X5 battery in the Walmart parking lot, which was a bit of a pain in the derriere.

Duck05

Any '13+ LS460 will be a good choice and you will have it a very long time and be secure in the reliability of your choice. There is just too many "sad stories" in the Audi/BMW/MB arena despite occasional positive testimonials....

Aron9000

What a pain in the ***. Stuff like this is why I generally do not like German cars, no need to make a once simple process more complicated. Why do you need to reprogram the computer for a new battery???? If the computer is getting the correct voltage, it should not give a **** about what its hooked up to.

roadfrog

This is why BMW batteries need "programming":

As the battery weakens and loses it's ability to hold a charge, the alternator and computer programming accommodates this by altering and adjusting voltage to the battery and systems. When the battery is replaced, the computer "assumes" that the old battery is still there and can over-charge the new battery and significantly shorten it's life. There were guys on Bimmerfest who skipped this "programming" step and were replacing new batteries a few months down the road. Interestingly, my wife's X5 did not require this programming, but my 7 series did. Just another reason to avoid BMW, and their engineering idiosyncrasies. Over-engineering at it's finest.

enoch861

Also to add to what roadfrog is saying, when you replace the old battery, the car won't know and might start/continue acting the same as with when you had the older battery. For instance on my Audi the car would know the battery charge level so lets say for example you left something plugged into a lighter socket over night and it drained the battery (Audi's for whatever reason keep power to lighter sockets even when the car is off). The car was intelligent enough to selectively shut down all electronics to keep enough charge to make sure your car always started (the car has about 4 "sleep" states if I remember correctly). So when I got a new battery, I'd come to a car that was practically dead because it didn't know you replaced the battery. All convenience features were off: no easy open/entry, interior lights didn't come, in "ignition on" mode MMI wouldn't come on etc basically the car acted like the battery had completely died even though the battery was brand new. So the car is able to intelligently figure out what the battery is doing and work with it assuming it knows the initial capacity of the battery, age and some other miscellaneous things. Once I got the new battery adapted the car never went into this super energy save mode.
One of the things the car is able to do that I don't think the LS can do is crank with no voltage drops across the rest of the electronic system in the car. On the LS for example when I start it you can see the headlights dim and some other lights dim. On the Audi no such thing happens. It cranks over with no voltage dips. This phenomena might have changed with the newer LS's but it happens on my '07.
It might sound insane that the battery needs to be programmed adapted and all that jazz but the upside is that the car makes sure you'll always be able to start it even if you somehow drain the battery.

Aron9000

^ You'd think if the car is so intelligent that it can see a drop in voltage from an old battery, that it would be smart enough to realize that "whoa, there is a lot more voltage from the battery now, guess the owner put a new one in". Or if you do have to reset the computer, there should be a way you can do it yourself through the on screen menus. I know this is the automotive dark ages, but I had a 1991 Cadillac where if you pushed and held two buttons on the climate control, it would enter diagnostic mode. It would read out the fault codes and let you clear them as well, without using a hand held scanner. The only reason newer cars won't let you do this with their screen system is its a money grab for the dealers, especially companies like Audi, VW, Benz, which require a different scan tool than what most shops have that will work on Hondas, Toyotas, Ford, GM, etc

Hummel

All this talk is a real eye opener for me. I have had a couple of Mercedes vehicles and it seemed like it was $500 every time I took them in and that was at an independent shop. I have also had an older LX and Lexus wanted $50 to replace a rear stop light bulb because the interior side trim had to be removed. I know luxury vehicles cost more to maintain, but I get the feeling that an LS will be less than an A8. I currently drive an MDX and the reliability is excellent and maintenance costs are reasonable. I know it is not a "luxury vehicle", however. I guess it is part of the cost to enter the true luxury segment. Thanks for all the insight.