Well first let me say VERY nice site, I spent a few days surfing and gathering some info. I do not own a Lexus yet but my best friend had the "phattest" GS in NJ (an OLD post), XsuperjoeX. I was the one that worked with him in his "shop" to put together that beautiful BEAST. I have a 00 Mustang with some work soon more will be a 10.8-10.9 car by summer. I now need, well want a nice Luxury car. I can not seem to steer away from POWER and PERFORMANCE. So I narrowed it down to a 98+ GS400 or 01+BMW 540i. I worked for BMW for last 3 years so I started liking them, well the 540 and M5. Joe is biassed on Lexus and is no help. I am looking for Luxury with power. I really dont care to much bout 1/4 mile. I want nice highyway get up and go. Would you trade your GS for a 540? Whats so good bout the GS400 that you chose it over any other car you were looking at?
Thanks people....

 

when i was looking for a car i was considering the gs400 and the 540.....after test driving both of them, i found that IMO they both have similar power, but the interior for the gs is much more stylish, sleek and clean, the interior in the 540 looked kind of antiquish....then there was the dependability issue, i have heard from a lot of people that lexus cars are much better, quality-wise, than the 540....also, servicing the 540 is much more expensive than the lexus....and if you were to compare the price of a 98 gs400 to a 98 540, you will save several thousand by chosing the gs.....also, there is a large aftermarket for lexus performance parts, so should u want to mod you car, u have that option.......i bought my 98gs400 back in the summer of '01 and up to this day it has run like a dream and i have had no major problems, just the usual maintenance (change oil, brakes, etc.).....to put it simple, u can't go wrong with a gs400 99.9% of the time.

 

the choice between a bmw vs a lexus is simply a matter of style. i chose a lexus because of its smoothness. it is nice being able to be " off "for a while . bmw ,imo does not offer this.besides who wants to be compared to a porcupine? if you are really looking for luxury why not conder a ls 400.

 

I won't trade my GS4 for a 540i because reliability is more important than handling. 1/4M time is about the same for both cars and I want to stay away from visiting the dealer service dept as much as I can.

 

If I could go back in time, I would have leased a 2003 540ia instead of my 2003 GS430. I didn't want to lease the same car again however. I now have a car that is no where near as sporty as my 2000 540ia, is slower, handles worse, and has way more problems than my BMW ever did. I do believe that I got a lemon GS, but still, the handling characteristics of this car are similar to a boat.

HOWEVER, if I were to OWN the car, I am not sure I want a 540 out of warranty.

 

This has been discussed countless times before, but as a person that considered the same cars as you (along with the Eclass in about the same years), I chose the Lexus for familiarity, reliabiliity, customer service, and ease of wrenching!

 

Good advice from someone who HAS owned both unlike some people who just post because they think everyone else's car is garbage.

 

Thanks people.... Anymore welcome... I still have a few montsh to decide... New motor (changed plans AGAIN) for the mustang then new car

 

I think I'm with you, bro. I miss my 911 and the crispness. I know a GS can be modded to outhandle a 540, but who is going to mod a leased car? Anyway, thinking about breaking my lease to pick up an Explorer and a '97 Carrera 4S that my buddy is selling. Total of pmt wouldn't be far from my current lease pmt.

 

I think you'll find that the 540 is a sports car first and luxury car second, while the GS is luxury car first with potential to be a sports car second. With some (relatively inexpensive) $500-$1,000 tweaks the GS can get to probably 95% of the handling the Bimmer has.

The only thing that I didn't like about the 540 was that SOOOO many peopple in my office have one bimmer or another, I just couldn't stand to see them any more. This is the reason we mod our cars (to make them more unique/to make them "ours"), but even then most of these people were not passionate about their cars, they just bought the bimmer because it was the "hot" car to have. Just my observations.

 

I have not seen this from any of the people in this thread. Each has given valid reasons as to why they would pick the GS and some have even explained their reasoning for the differences for the cars. No one shot from hip, bashing the BMW. I think you are way off base here.

They are both nice cars and Consumer reports give high marks to both cars. As I have not driven the BMW 540 I don't have as good a basis for comparison as the others.

But I will say that I do love my GS and it is fairly modded (suspension, Levinson w/navigation, HID's, L-tune, etc.). And it handles and accelates just fine. I have played with 540's from both the low end and highway speeds and more than held my own.

Mine is a lease, but it came modded and the deal I rec'd for this car could not be matched by the other dealers I went to. (although it helps that the salesman was a good friend and we cut right to the chase on the price). I obtained the GS new and it was at $3,000 less than I could have obtained a 2 year old CLK 430 for.

 

He is referring to plenty of other posts on this board bashing anything that is not a Lexus.

 

i've haven't drivem a newer 540 but my father has a 93 540 and it seems 2 have more power from the start than the gs4...

 

we have a 2001 bmw 525i. obviously it is not a 540, but i feel that other than power they are the same. Here is my thoughts. The 5 series completely stock (we dont have the sport package) is awesome. the suspension is very responsive, the brakes are very good also. The traction control is also very quick to save my butt... Now i have heard that the bmw is not as reliable as the lexus. So far, we had to have the dual climate control module replaced, air bag sensors replaced, 3 glass windows replaced, wood trim replaced...and i think thats it so far. Needless to say, we bought an extended warr to 100,000 miles

Now our gs400 when we first got it, was completely stock was so so. The handling is very scary..hahahah..no where as good as the 5 series. IT has a lot of body roll, and the brakes are good, but it feels like they are not as quick to respond. The traction controls is very slow to help. Usually it is too late when it kicks in. Now, i put the L-tuned struts w/ eibach lowering springs on. Now the car handles great, not as good as the stock bimmer...but close. So far, the only problems was moisture in one of the headlights.

Stats wise, our gs400 is faster than the 540i. The m5 is faster..but not the 540. HOpe this helps.

 

I know better than to do this (forgive me moderators) but it is my mission in life to dispel this rumor....
In every comparison I have ever read, when the GS and 540 acceleration times are taken, the 540 is always faster. Not by much, but always faster.

we continue now with the thread....