Anthracite SC

I know we had this thread awhile back, but I finally got firsthand view and rides of BOTH cars recently and hoped to share some personal feedback

A week ago I was in New York, for vacation and got a chance to ride in the Mercedes 2003 SL500 around times square.

It was a silver one w/custom lowenhart rims on em.
(I have a friend from Hawaii who owns that car, and lives in NY)

Anyhow, I got a really good feel for the SL500 and the Sc430
(I've test driven and ridden in the SC430 numerous times)

I tried to be OBJECTIVE as possible, because I'm a lexus owner and big lexus fan. I've also driven in a lot of mercedes cars (sclasses) and have a feel for them as well.

EXTERIOR
The SC430 I would have to say is UNIQUE. Very diff from anything else on the road, and in that sense is a head turner. BOLD and UNIQUE, but in my eyes not particulary beautiful.

After seeing the SL500 in person, I have to admit the car is visually STUNNING. It has ferarri like dimensions and curves(more than people give it credit for), and actually makes the CL series look boxy.

Side by side(which I did see in NY), I have to give a SERIOUS nod to the SL500. IT's just a very very beautiful car.

THe Sc430 is like a cute bubbly girl w/a very exotic unique look. THe SL500 is a model of Jessica Alba breathtaking looks proportions.

And to be fair, as an SC400 owner...if the SL500 makes the SC430 look pedestrian..than it makes my 400 need a walker! =)

INTERIOR
The SC430's interior is much more comfortable and "homey" to the SL500. The SL500's materials are nice and the form is nice, but I'd give the nod to the 430 for it's soft interior.
Hands down, the Mark Levinson audio system wins over the COMMAND system. The only think I favor in the Merc is that auto shifter. Awesome.

PERFORMANCE
I didn't get to drive the SL500, but I got a feel for how fast it is.
I would say it's not much faster than the SC430, and they are evenly matched. But since the SC430 costs 25-30K LESS..I'd give it the nod here.

ALso in long-term maintenance, I'd say the LExus hands down again.

OVERALL
OKay...here's my take on this.
IF you bring PRATICALITY and SENSIBILITY into cars that are not about EITHER of these virtues, it really makes no sense to do that.

For sake of argument, in the pratical and sensible sense..the SC430 is the better car for your money.

But let's get real here guys. For praticality, nobody would be getting EITHER of these cars. They'd be driviing chrysler sebring convertibles or honda del sols and saving their money.

BUT it's all about STYLE and QUALITY, and some bit of STATURE w/these cars.

SO on those points, I'd have to go w/the SL500. It's a true breathtaker. If you are impratical enough to get it, then you could shell out another 10K or so to get some nice wheels and stereo system to offset the Levinson system.

Any comments?

antigeek

I bought my SC for me. Since I spend more time IN the car than admiring it from afar, I prefer the SC430. And the price difference & relative availability don't hurt, either.

Stature? For me, no. My opinion has always been, "If I buy a car to elevate my stature, I'm a moron, and it won't do any good, anyway." True, my choice of car & ability to own it do show something, but again, it's for me. If others like or dislike it, fine.
And if she likes me for my car, I don't think the feeling will be mutual.

1NICESC430

No question that the SL500 is an attractive car, but I have this thing about German engineering.

Generalizations like this make my head hurt, but I think that German engineers still enjoy showing the world how clever they can be which results in more complex devices. The more complex a device, the more chance to fail, the more difficult to repair, and the more the cost to maintain.

Of course, I may be wrong. Perhaps the German engineers aren't like that any longer.

Dependability is what steered me to Lexus rather than MB, BMW, etc.

I will admit, though, that the BMW Z8 design is damn near orgasmic.

Toog4me

THE SC is actually faster than the SL, but just wait till the SL55 comes out...


but your right, if you have money to spend for a car, and you have in excess of 100k, i think most buyers will go for the Mercedes instead of the Lex...

Anthracite SC

Antigeek,

wouldn't an SL owner be able to say the same thing "it's about me."
I think you too the stature think a little too much to heart, but I get your point.
Keep in mind I said "some" bit of stature. Not that it was the main point.

The SC30 and SL500 both provide "some" bit of stature to a purchase.

That's all I was stating.

So again, my point is, both of these car's are pretty impractical. So to use praticality to reason buying amongst impractical cars doesn't quite make sense.

So establishing that these cars are impractical to begin with, why not go w/what car really gets you going rather than how much sense it makes...since they both don't make cents? (pun intended).

young

i brought this up a while ago when the SL wasn't out yet. i had seen it in pics a few times and wasn't too impressed. (the Z8 is also pretty awesome)

but after seeing in real life, both on the street and at my dealer, i have to say "wow"... the SL is a very sweet car. w/ the options that i'd want, it's like a $100k though (about $38k more :eek: ) so in the end, i'd say it wasn't in the same league. well, unless this is all pocket change to you.

i still like the SC430, but if i had a $100k, i'd get the SL.

but, have you seen the list of problems that the SL already has? mercedes quality is just not that good, imho. definitely wait for the 2nd year on that car (and, get the SL55... why not?). who wants to spend a $100k on a car, but you have to take it into the shop all the time?

as for cars and stature? that seems a bit immature to me. YMMV.

antigeek

Anth,

Much agreed. Maybe it's a little defensive posture having my first "new" luxury car (had a '93 SC400 since '96). Perhaps I judge those with expensive cars here in Dallas. I've been surprised that I've only seen one SL500 here so far. I guess I'm fighting being grouped in with those who have nothing more than material interests.

I'm just happy to have my passions for what I have. The SL is definitely a sexier car, and I've always lusted after the CL's before. I even saw some intentions to produce the SLR -- if that happens, and I see one on the road, Ijust may have to commit my first car-jacking -- or at least offer a trade.

Gotta love the Lexus (and ALL japanese interiors, IMHO) compared to the european button-clustered dashes. Back in '96, I drove a 5spd SC300 (while I still lusted for a manual) and wondered why I was working so hard in a luxurious interior.

To be honest, I haven't had the chance to drive any Merc -- perhaps that's a good idea. However, back in '00, when I first started looking for a new car, I was disappointed that the dealer wasn't more accommodating in letting me drive ANYTHING.

Lexus service still rules. You can't buy (or beat) that.

mattie

I also feel that these 2 cars are in a different league. Around here (SF Bay Area), SL500 goes for over $125K OTD with the dealer mark up, options, and taxes. Since I paid about $67K OTD for my sc430, that's a big difference! I am not sure if the Merc is $60K better than my sc.

Of course it's a different story if money is no object. Car magazines often pick less reliable European cars over Lexus in comparison tests. If these writers have to spend their own money and time to up keep their cars, I am sure their choices will be different.

I am sorry I kept on talking about money. This is the most expensive car I have ever owned and at this point I can't think of spending more money on a car (though my wife keeps on reminding me that I have been talking about getting a NSX for years!). As it is, I am very picky about where I park my sc to avoid dings! I just can't imagine parking a $125K car outside...

Regards,

mattie

kschiu

This discussion just never dies. I dropped in my personal opinion after I tried out the SL500. The 2 cars are in different league with the SL cost 50% more than the SC.

In terms of acceleration, they are roughly neck in neck. Both are quick but not explosive. The SL have superior driving dynamics over the SC. I was surprised that it is a 4200lb cars. The car corners flat and has way better steering feel. Not BMW or Porsche precise but definitely better than the Lexus.

Styling I like the SL a lot more thn the SC but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Interior comforts and appointments, the Lexus is a league above the Mercedes. Even with the designo full connolly leather package, the SL is still behind the Lexus. And the ML sound system is just heavenly. To top it I think somebody would need to have Krell or McIntosh to design a system to compete.

To sum up if I have 70K to spend on a GT convertible. I will get the Lexus. If mu budget is 100K I will go for the SL.

Anthracite SC

You don't have to go that far to rival the Levinson system.

A high end eclipse, or kenwood or panasonic w/dsp and dolby/dtd plus a nice sub and amp will be just as adequate or more.

ceboyd

I've seen several of the new MBs on the road and up close and personal.. I like the look and am really curious to see it in red to do a better comparison to my red sc430 but bottom line is that I'd rather spend that extra $38K on another vehicle to use for winter! I have my eye on that new FX45 for winter use (grin)... but maybe a used MB in a few years would be on my agenda (provided they don't have a ton of maintenance problem issues that is)...

I still love my SC430 and do not find myself craving something else out there... Every time I see another SC430, I smile and think to myself.. yup.. nice car and I have one too!!!

LexusSC430

I basically havent read these posts with the scrutiny of other as I normally do. I just dont care which is better, fact is I am driving an SC430, maybe the MB is indeed a better car, but who cares??? I cant afford one, and like I have said before if I could afford $100k+ on a car it would have a prancing horse on the hood.

German cars all look the same IMHO, the SL looks like the SLK, the E class looks like the S class. Thats why people at Lexus and Jaguar should be comended for doing something different. I read an article about the engineers of the new 3-series, after the old one was around for 10 years why change it he said? It basically got a boob and tuck job. And now every damn BMW looks the same but in different sizes, even their truck looks like an older station wagon.

Finally, as for the magazines they are always comparing the corvette to any car with four wheels and when it gets beat they say well, it was $50k cheaper so we have to pick the vette. but when it comes to german cars they always choose the more expensive car with the least amount of options, its conflicting.

Oh, one more thing do not compare apples to oranges if a car has a lousy system in it dont tell me well you can upgrade it for blah blah blah, or that well if i throw two turbos in the car it will be faster....ok sorry peoples these posts just make me angry and im not trying to be an a$$, but it seems like they are always started by people who dont own an SC430

Anthracite SC

LexusSC430

Ahh.....why SO angry? These are "discussions"
I can't understand the sense of defensiveness that enrages u.

Read what Antigeek wrote. He admitted to it, and acknowleldged it and understood my points and realized it wasn't something to trip about.

As for the stereo comment, it was more a COMPLIMENT to the SC430..being it's audio system is FAR superior..than the SL500.
I was saying that if the SL HAD the stereo system like the SC340, it would MEASURE UP to the SC430 in that regard.

The other comment was another person who thought he needed to go to a 40K plus aftermarket audio system to rival the Levinson. And that's not true. About 5K would do.

As far as these comments "always" coming from people who do not own SC430's.....I can't speak for others but for me.....
Maybe it's because.... I CHOSE not to buy one.

As many of the SC430 owners reason "w/the 35K I SAVED" from buying my car instead of the SL500...they would get another car.

In the same respect. For the 40k I SAVED for not buying the SC430..I could get several cars too..

I'll repeat this once again.

I LIKE BOTH CARS.

But you can't try and elicit logic and sensibility to a purchase that isn't sensible to begin with. The SC430 and the SL500 are impratical cars. That goes w/out saying. So to then put in reasons of "saving" from one against the other is irrelevant.

IF so, then we could all save money and buy sebring convertibles or del sols. But that wouldn't make sense cuz it's not about SAVING is it? that's my point.

SO again..why so angry? You got a nice car..you spent a LOT of money. You should be happy and enjoy it as much as you want and not care what other people think..right?

You're really reaching for something(to pick and and be angry at) that isn't there.

LexusSC430

My point was that I am very happy with it, which is why I dont understand the discussion in comparing the two cars, again. To have a fair sided debate? Well its already biased...look at the group we are in. I guess my anger stems from the opinions of people who have no desire or need to own either one of these cars. I like talking about the SC and defending it, but it seems like it never ends.

Toog4me

I find that interesting... The 1st gen LS looks almost like the LS430, the SC430 looks like a smaller LS430... There a huge diff. with mercedes and the S and SL and the C320, but they do look alike... and Lexus kept the SC for about 10 years before changing, so Lexus sort of does what Mercedes does too- they just make their cars more affordable and more luxuriouse in some ways.