An overpriced Pinnacle. Would you rather spend $180k for a S600, or $85k for an LS460L? Hell, with $180k, I can get 2 LS460L's, or even better, an LS460L and GS-F.

 

If I am keeping a car for that long, no matter the class, I will go with Lexus on all 3 as I need reliability.

 

Of the specific cars on the list, the IS250AWD. Power is not that important to me, I want reliability, and also want keep some money in the bank for emergencies.

But I would also consider the A4 Quattro....and its reliability seems to be slowly improving. I like the 335xi as a Drivers' Delight, but it is expensive, and its reliability is questionable

 

I was under the impression that we could choose anything, price disregarded. you just asked which would we pick, not which has the best price to value ratio

 

so, only keeping them for 5 years

Compact: Cadillac CTS-V 6-speed manual
Midsize: Porsche Panamera Turbo
Large: Lexus LS600hL

 

IS/E/LS are my preferences.

 

BMW 335 (Not sure if I'd go Coupe pr Sedan though). Why? Nothing better in this segment.

BMW 550i. Why? The GS unfortunately doesn't compare with a 550i IMHO.

LS460 Short Wheel Base. Why? All these cars in this segment is more than powerful enough, but these cars are getting a bit too big for me, so I'll choose the short wheel base LS.

 

for lexus, you get best bang for the bucks, yes. but i don't think i can agree that you get the best of everything. you think ls460l is the best, that's totally fine, but that's just an opinion.

and btw, ls460l with exec package, it has to be quite a bit more than 82k. back in 2007, ls460l fully loaded with exec package it was already a 95k car.

i would spend 180k on s600, because in my eyes, the car is almost a class above the ls460l. its performance is unmatched. and gsf isn't even out, don't see how you can put that into comparison (maybe it ends up being a crappy car).

my choice?
335i, best bang for the bucks overall
550i, the new 5 series is the best mid-size luxury imh
s600, if price is no object, this is clearly the choice. next would be ls600hl, but it's a pretty distant second. the s600 is far more powerful and in terms of luxury, the s600 isn't any behind.

fwiw, i had ls460l with rear seats upgrade. car is great, but if i had 180k, it would have been the s600 in my garage

 

Entry: Lexus IS unless it is a M3 sedan, but then it is not costing entry lux price.

Mid: M-B E-class.

Large: Lexus LS.

 

lexus IS (performance: IS F)

lexus GS 460/600hL or bmw 550i

lexus LS 460/600hl

i, too, prefer my reliability over the easily accessible aftermarket tuning for the euro cars. even if i had more money, i couldn't see myself blowing it on a mb or a bimmer; definitely a lease, but surely not a flat out purchase. plus, i like the feeling of getting more for my money, especially after add-ons and certain packages are added to the vehicle. that being said, the 550i handles quite nicely. my bff and i swapped cars, and she was quite impressed. she loves her bimmer (all her siblings own audis), but she said she'd never fully own one just in case something major happens out of warranty, which has shown to be more than likely.

 

I'd love to get back into the Audi game. The newly redesigned A6 would be at the top of my list. The new A8 is also tempting. When Lexus finally releases the new IS and GS, I am sure I'd like those too.

 

I apologize, but I edited the original post, and just imagine that you're going out and buying a car.

If you had $200k, would you really blow it all off on a S600?

 

http://www.lexus.com/configurator/#/...d=384&group=LS

^Hopefully that links work. If not, here:

Base MSRP $70,925
Package C: Rear-Seat Upgrade Package with Additional Options $7,810
Rear bumper applique $76
Paint protection film [1] $429
Cargo net - envelope $64
Carpet cargo mat $95
18-in Teleios alloy wheels [2] $2,375
Wheel locks $81
Delivery, Processing & Handling Fee $875
Total MSRP $82,730

^Under $85k. Worth every penny.

Maybe I'm just a conservative person. But personally, I wouldn't blow off that much money on a car. And like many members here have mentioned, I'd want my money invested into a car with reliability if I'm going to keep it for that long.

Also, after 3 years, an 07 Benz S600 starts at just $49k. It lost over 65% of its original value ($150k). When looking at an 07 Lexus LS460L, it starts at just $36k. The Lexus just lost 57% of its original value ($83k).

 

if it were my own money, then Id simply get an S400 with all the bells and whistles. I think it tops out at around 105K

 

rear seats upgrades = FAR from exec package. it's 5 seating and the seats have vibrators. exec package is 4 seating setup with passenger rear seat fully reclining and also food rest with real massage. that car is over 90k. the car you priced is pretty much the car i had. yes, it's worth the money, very nice car.

i am not disagreeing with your post. lexus is almost always the sensible choice, that's the reason for most of the members here anyway. however, you are missing a big point, and somewhat contradicting your original post. you said "if you could", what exactly is that condition? you keep on making it sound like it doesn't make sense to spend 100k+ on a luxury car, but if you look at the REAL luxury market, owners are worth a lot more, and spending 100-200k on a car is "ok" for them.

a lot of people buy luxury cars for the status. bringing depreciation to the scope of this topic doesn't make much sense as well, coz' we are like talking about used market as well? that's too many variables. having s600 and ls460 on the table itself can already be a problem, when the price is so far apart and the owners are pretty much in two different segment. i frequent mb board. s600 owners are something else, they sell their car for 50% of the value, but they probably don't feel much about it. if you feel the pain when selling the car at that kind of depreciation, then my instinct is that car is not for you (hence the s600 is not for me)

now given my current financial situation, and the fact that 5 yrs is probably my time frame to change a car? 335, 550, and ls460l