meanboy

You can buy bigs tires and active suspension for the S500. But that pushes the price to over 80k.

Go for the S500 if prestige is the main factor.

SecPole14

What?! Lexus is THE ultimate pimping machine. What does that say about perstige? I have no love for MB. They don't do performance as well as BMW and don't do luxury as well as Lexus. Where does that leave them? In the middle, doing both things half-assed and charging people out the @$$ for their crap. So what about their technology? Lexus holds over 2,000 automotive patents. If MB hadn't come up with the tech first, Lexus/Toyota would have created it anyway. In a perfect world, MB wouldn't exist and everybody would drive a Lexus. Darn tootin'.

meanboy

Check comparsion tests and you'll find the S500 is favored over the LS430. The LS is nice but show up anywhere in a S500 and you'll draw attention. You just can't say that about the LS.

One of the few MBs I would spend any $$ on. And the SL is equally as nice. Both are way too expensive though but I guess if you spend $60k on the LS, 20k is not much more to pay.

SecPole14

Um, have you ever noticed that most automotive publications HATE Lexus? Hell, some even rank the Infiniti Q45 higher than the LS430 . Sorry, but when reasons such as "...the Benz LOOKS nicer..." or "...the Benz FEELS better..." are given, I just stop listening. "Looks" and "feel" are two things that are so subjective they shouldn't be taken into account. Having said that, I think the S-Class is ugly...

ST430

Hmmm...i was in this quandry right over the summer...a basic bare bones $80k S430 vs. a nicely equipped equal handling Sports Suspension LS430 for $55k with more amenities. I could be one of those "prestige" wannabees and spend an the extra $25k, but sorry, I work my **** for this and my **** wants to be pampered justly without resorting to buying cheap toilet paper To those who say, well if you're gonna spend that much, might as well spend more...well with your rationale..might as well get a Ferrari while I'm at, but then the Lamborghini and the McLaren are just around the corner! I readily admit the MB is sexier, but with some new wheels, lowered springs, that can be equalled pretty quickly. Personally I'd take an M5 over an S, but that's JMHO, but for the interim, my "cheap // no prestige or history // best selling" LS430 will do...woe is me! :P

meanboy

Active suspension and big wheels says it all for the S class.

daygo718

iTrader: (1)

I have recently looked at both of these cars and I ended up ordering the LS430...here's why. I think most of us Club Lexus members are "enthusiasts" when it comes to our cars. Most of us will perform some type of upgrade (wheels, kit, exhaust, etc...). This is definitely the case with me and it played a very big role in my decision.

The S500 is a great car. You definitely have prestige and people will notice you (this seems very important to some people), plus it is a better handling car. It is not as luxurious as the LS430 on the interior and a lot of options on the S500 are standard on the LS430 (even the CD changer is an option!). So, is a $20k difference in price worth the Benz label ...not IMO!

Here is where price really factors in. I looked into my customizing options for the S500. I was going to buy the full Lorinser kit, Lorinser exhaust, Lorinser Suspension and 20" Lowenhart LD1's. Also, I was going to get the upgraded wood/leather steering wheel and shift **** along with the upgraded S600 wood package (the LS430 already has the wood steering wheel and shift **** and plenty of wood stock). All together my upgrades would have cost around $23K bringing my new S500 to an insane $113K!!!

The aftermarket products I am going to include on my LS430 are an Auto Couture Body Kit, Lsportline Exhaust, Tein Coilovers and 20" HRE 540's, Lowenhart BR5's or Fabulous wheels. These upgrades are going to cost me around $14K...total cost of my VIP LS430 will be around $71K (this includes the Mark Levinson/Navigation package).

So, in my case is $42 grand worth the Benz name and "prestige"? I don't think so...Give me my LS430!

Stephen

Like others have said, its really what you want out of the car.

If looks are all you care about, then Benz it is no question. For me, the looks I get with the Lexus are more than enough for me. The undo attention makes me feel sort of snobbish. I like an understated vehicle.

Bottom line is, but whatever suits you best. These are expensive-*** cars, so you shouldnt skimp anywhere.

Enjoy your purchase and dont look back.

Manaray

Like Daygo said, most of us are "enthusiasts" and the price difference for a "hooked up" Mercedes vs. a "hooked up" Lexus is very large. I can make a very clean LS430 that will stand out for less than a base model S-Class...

Don't know about your area, but in my area stock Benzos are all over the place...they hardly stand out...

I suppose if you HAVE to buy a Mercedes for prestige or whatever (I guess it's like buying a Rolex...high price, mediocre mechanism, mediocre build, lotsa people recognize it), then by all means, fulfill your insecurities...

Personally, I buy cars (and fix 'em up) to satisfy MYSELF...hmmm, I guess that makes me a selfish bastard...

gsnav

We ran into this dilemma the past summer. Here's what we were thinking... We were looking at the S500 , even the S55, but i have friends that have worked for the mercedes dealer, a couple of them had quite because they didn't wanna ***** from the customers that came in yelling about their cars. We have had 2 mercedes in the past 10 years, and i must say, they don't make them like they use to. Even the 86-90's SEL is so much better than the new S class. Just look at the door. The way they made them in the early 90's was the way they should do it now, not skimp out on some metal. Anyways, the LS430 interior is so much better than the S Class when comparing price and everything else. Service is much better. Anyways, mercedes had not been doing too well in manufacturing, why do you think their most expensive cars have the most problems, ie. CL's. But the LS430 is a cheaper and reliable car which is indeed very quiet on the inside compared to my GS400. And we got the fully loaded one for just over 70k w/ tax, i think.

wwest

First, I bought my first Lexus, a new 92 LS, primarily for what I would call "understated elegance".

THe new LS430.

This is the way I see it, the base LS430 can be had for something in the range of 55K, this is the car and price that really competes with the S500.

But Lexus doesn't like to leave money just lying around on the table. So they have an "upscale" madel of the LS430, the UL.

Most people who can/would buy an S500 for $80k would never look at a $55k car as an "equal", that's too great a spread. So Lexus throws in a lot of inexpensive (read cheap) gimmicketry, attention getters, Oooh, Aaaah, these people like lots of attention, raises the tab by $15K and now the LS430 is in the "class", range S500 buyers "need".

Buy the Base LS430, you will not be dissapointed.

meanboy

Speaking of old benzs, I drove a 73 MB 450SL that had 326k miles on it and it was hard to believe it had half that many miles on it. I've respected MBs after. The owner had a late model SL500 and he said it was a great car but too expensive.

The new 740 looks real good.

But I no cash for either. Only enogh for my GS and let me tell, it's good enough for me!

Ecru

I was in the same situation about a year ago when me and my wife decided to get a car in the 60,000 + level. We are not looking for a big sedan that we can toss down a long winding road, We reserve that kind of driving to our Boxster. The choice are S430 ($72,000), 740il ($71,000) and Lexus LS430 ($61,000). We decided to drop the LS430 because we did not like the styling (big and costly mistake) and the over price S500. All of these cars have roomy interiors but Benz interior is far more cheap (lots of cheap and rattle susceptible plastics) than 7 and LS. Benz has so many buttons which makes the controls complicated. 740 is just fine with good quality solid feel but the seats are too narrow if you have a wide & big back. The S430 controls are not easy to use and its Nav is always pointing to the north as oppose to the direction you are travelling. S430 steering feels very light and less communicative. IMO the LS430 or the 740il are better than S-class. However, If looks and prestige satisfies you over anything else...Just get the S class. We got the 740il but change it to LS430 recently after just 8 months of ownership.

anthracitetarga

iTrader: (1)

I would take the LS430 hands down. If u care about looks and feel and ****** like that, spend the extra $20K u saved by buying a Lexus and spend it on kits, wheels, suspension,etc. As for reliability, refer back to Stephen's post. As for prestige, the onlt reason the the Benz has more presige over the Lexus is that the d*mn Benz has been around a hell of a lot longer than the Lexus and there r more Benz's around. If we can get enough peeps to start buying the LS, then it will become more prestegious w/ time. All in all, I owuld buy the Lexus b/c it tops MB in everything and that prestige thing will soon turn in Lexus' favor.


Heck....If u really wanna turn some heads when u pull up at some fancy restaurant,etc., get urself a 1998 Toyota Supra TT 6 spd. w/ some 18's. HELL YEAH

Beltfed

I'll chime in.....posted a few months ago that my oldman was not satisfied with his 00 S500 and looking to get into something else.

Let me say that the current Benz Sclass is a great looking car IMO (especially with the sports package)...as far as quality is concerned, there is no possible way that it exceeds Lexus quality-the paint isn't great, the interior is full of plastic (unless you spend $120k on an S600), the car has a common problem with not sitting level because the air shocks don't align all the time, also the ever present garbage air conditioning that broke 3 times (the first trip, took the dealer 2 weeks to get parts)- not a great A/C system overall. Service wise, I'll bet Lexus is better- now that Benz has a bunch of models that range from $25-$35k, getting good service is becoming a real issue.

Take an LS430 UL package car, its like $70k...a comparable S500 with the same options would no joke be approx $90k+.

Trust me when I say, unless your buying the car strictly for status/or head over heels for the styling....the car is "not" worth the money.

Style wise, I do like the Benz better....but if you throw a nice set of L-Sportlines (or something else) on an LS430, looks great.

At least where I live, Sclass's and LS430's are everywhere...so neither are that exclusive and therefore nobody cares- if your driving a Bentley, thats a different story.