OP - I’m sorry why are you comparing LS500 to M550.
LS is a boat with very little sportiness. The V6 turbo is not a great engine. The BMW B58 inline 6 will provide much better performance let alone the N63 V8 in M550.

 

You are not driving the car aggressively enough! Are you not hearing how it sounds when you are up in the higher RPMs or how it handles when you take a corner compared to an LS?

GSF is not about livery appointments although I think the interior was right up there with M5 and E63. The seats, leather, carbon etc.

 

I think you'd be perfectly happy without the M brakes. As others have mentioned they are quite expensive.

 

I got it up to 145, it wasn't really blowing my mind TBH. Handling was an expectation not a surprise but it again didn't blow me away vs other cars I compared it to.

 

How reliable is the ‘21-23 M550?
I don’t want to buy into a headache. This is why I’m more comfortable with buying a used Lexus than a used BMW.

 

It’s my understanding that BMW’s are pretty reliable as long as you maintain them. It’s just that they cost a lot to maintain. Could be wrong.

 

As long time Lexus/Toyota owner I completely understand where you’re coming from. I too don’t like to work on cars but I don’t mind modding them. With that being said, we have our reliable Toyotas and we recently added 2 B58s. From what I’ve read and heard, B58 is a pretty solid platform. However you can’t neglect the maintenance like you could get away with on some Lexus models. Seeing you had a GSF why would you consider a GS350? GS350 great vehicle but it’s no GSF.

My friend works at Lexus. I’ll see what can he find out about the LS500 far as reliability.

 

I personally would not own the V8 BMW as a daily driver without warranty and I definitely wouldn’t want to own it as a long term car.

The LS will probably be more reliable but it will also be costly to maintain and repair.

The B58 inline 6 has proven to be reliable and you can tune it as well if you ever want more power.

 

I agree. The novelty of driving a high performance V8 as a daily wears out pretty quick.

I'm okay with paying for regular maintenance on a vehicle. I just don't want to keep going back to get stuff fix out outside of the regular maintenance too often. The Lexus has treated me real good in terms of long term ownership and trade in value when I want something new.
The 540i xDrive, if I don't find one that has all the features I want, I'm afraid I'm not going to keep it very long and will take a hit on trade in. The M550 is easier to find with the features I want but the high performance V8 is probably going to be more troublesome.
This is why I almost bought a Lexus GS350 again. But I certainly would like some more updated tech on the GS. So it's a good thing I pulled out of that deal.
I'm looking for a 2022 certified LS500. If I can find one locally to test drive, I would. But really, the 2025 LS500 is the model I want.
I'm thinking of leasing something for 3 years to try it out and if it doesn't work out, I will then get a used '25 LS500 as long term car.

 

Why not daily a German TTV8? It's a hell of a better experience......

 

You're a bad influence on me, my friend.
You keep making me think about cars I don't need but want. Haha 💯

 

I didn't realize the M550 was discontinued. Thought BMW was still making them.

 

You’re going to need a good independent mechanic. Striker trying to add more clients/cars to his shop. 🤣

 

I've worked WAY more on LSs than these lol!

 

So this may not help much but my friend works at a big Lexus dealer (they have over 300 loaner vehicles) and I asked him could he ask about the reliability of the LS500. He reached out to the head mechanic at his dealer and he stated “no major problems but he wouldn’t buy”. Not great detail but that’s all I got.