Your sisters lexus problem is only half the story. Any transmission can fail if you dont do regular maintenence or fail to operate the car properly. I once dated this girl "ex girlfriend" who bought a Toyota Camry brand new. She drove it for 55,000 miles and complained that her car was noisy and rough shifting. One day on a date we decided to take her car and i let her drive it to see what was wrong with her car. After starting the car she put the shifter from Park and past Drive and into M mode. Then she continued to drive ther car this way and NOT shifting manually. Each gear would hit redline and bounch off rev limiter and then force a shift at high rpms. This repeats for every gear, it sounded like she was racing the car at a drag strip but not going very fast because she didnt press much on the gas. Then I told her that she was suppost to put car into D mode and NOT M mode. She drove that car like this for 55,000 miles. We took the car to a mechanic and he told me that the car would need a new transmission. So we sold the car to the next lucky owner down the line.

Long story short, any car can have problems. The most reliable car will still fail if you use it improperly. Not saying that your sister doesnt know how to drive but to say you sister has this problem doesnt mean anything compared to counless amounts of other people who drives these cars to 200k miles and more without issues. Heck my 2006 Lexus LS430 went 240,000 without any problems amd was running like new when i sold it. Every BMW and Mercedes I have ever owned had issues that would make anyone nose bleed due to stress of having to suffer service department any those dealers.

Fortunately for me I no longer together with my ex. I am sure there are plenty of people like this.

 

I can't speak to Audi but I did own three BMWs over a 15 year span. None ever left me stranded, all had odd issues, all were bought 3-5 years old.

I had a couple of great German only independent mechanics in the South Bay Area, one I knew quite well. When I decided to go Lexus I did do it in part due to reliability. I looked into a good independent Lexus repair specialist, and funny thing is there aren't any!

That's all you need to know about German vs Lexus reliability. I really liked driving my BMWs, however Lexus really improved the GS to the point where it's 85% of the driving experience with higher (expected granted) reliability and at a lower cost point. That was enough for me.

 

Oh, so now you think you know that my sister and her husband are to blame for the transmission failing, but all the Audis that fail are because the are poorly built cars.

Threads like this are really amusing. I've already admitted that I agree that in general Lexus is a more reliable car - go back and read my posts in this thread carefully. I've made the point that there are horror stories with every brand. Do you think my sister cares that Lexus are generally more reliable so it's okay that she's the exception to just having spent $5,000 on her car...and they are retired living on fixed income? Right now she feels the same way about Lexus as you do about Audi.

 

I would have a hard time not suspecting that some sort of owner neglect or misuse caused a transmission failure on that model Lexus. That's the first such failure on that model I have ever heard of, and I've been posting on Lexus forums since before that model came out. There were issues with transmissions on AWD RX300s, but not RX 330s. There can always be a fluke, but one experience vs the data out there about Audis long term does not an argument make.

I had a good buddy just last year that traded his A5 just before the warranty expired because it was using a lot of oil.

The relative scarcity of independent Lexus specialists is a good point. That was a discussion I had with the owner of that Audi shop too. He chose Audi and VW to specialize in because of their track record, and said specifically "you can't run a shop just changing oil"

 

Discussion over if you are going to continually tell me my 65 year old sister who along with her husband are the problem. They are both well educated and take excellent care of their vehicles. He is an Aeronautical Enginneer having worked his entire career at GE Jet Engine. I can assure you he is quite competent at knowing how to care for mechanical equipment, and I've ridden with my sister many times. She is anything but an abusive driver.

This will be the fourth post I've said this. I get that Lexus is generally more reliable, but implying that Lexus failures are unheard of is just not so. BTW, hers is not a 330, it's a 350.

 

Then that is just an extraordinarily rare situation. Failures do happen, but such a failure is something you just very rarely see, that's not enough to make a point on.

Failures of that magnitude on an equally aged Audi however are not difficult to find.

 

Just to be clear, I'm not naive. I recently traded a BMW 1600 motorcycle for a new one because the first was about to go out of warranty. I really don't like any vehicle out of warranty, but especially not German.

 

Any dealer that runs out of service loaners on a consistent basis has a crappy brand. That's all there is to it for me. The local huge BMW dealer here set up a Hertz loaner program on site to augment their loaner fleet. The big Lexus dealer across the road from them gets a little thin but always has something (even if it's a CT), and the customers like to get a loaner even if they're just popping in for the 5k checkup.

I have one eye on Audi since my GS lease is up in August but I don't want to be on a first name basis with a service manager either. Just want something rock solid with a little more power and up to date tech for the same money, and it is turning out to be harder than I thought, to find a slightly better equivalent to the GS.

 

I don't know where Texas you are, but I highly recommend Sewell. And don't blame a brand for a dealer you don't like. I've had not so good dealer experiences at various brands. And I've had good at brands including BMW.

 

I'm in Dallas. I was talking about Park Place in Plano and the big BMW dealer they have Cars and Coffee at, across the tollway. I have had service done at Sewell since it's closer and will probably stick with them. Not that PP is bad, but Sewell is way, way closer to home.

 

Hahah lol, i never said anything about your sisters ability to drive a car. My story was an example of what can happen to a transmission if driven improperly. You really need to reread my post. Also, like SW15LS said one instance of transmission failure does not mean anything compared to countless other people complaining about german cars. Publications like consumer reports and Car magazines both agree that the Japanese are way more reliable compared to any german product.

 

I read your post carefully the first time. Read your first sentence again and tell me how that is not insinuating she was likely to have been the problem. And yes, I know you tried to soften you statement later in the post.

Now, go back and read all of my posts where I have agreed that Lexus are generally more reliable than German cars.

 

Guys, I think jjscix has made his points pretty thoughtfully and carefully and there have been some unfair statements made either through poorly thought out messaging or intentional.

Let's move forward on the original topic.

 

Very true.

 

4 years into the ownership of my 4GS at 29.5k miles. Maintenance costs have been the following:

- DIY 10k - $50 (Synthetic 0W20, OEM Oil Filter, OEM Cabin Filter, OEM Oil Pan Gasket)
- DIY 20k - $50 (Synthetic 0W20, OEM Oil Filter, OEM Cabin Filter, OEM Oil Pan Gasket)
- DIY 30k - $75 (Synthetic 0W20, OEM Oil Filter, OEM Cabin Filter, OEM Oil Pan Gasket, OEM Engine Air Fliter, Generic Key Battery, OEM Wiper Inserts)

Recalls:
- HVAC Resetting by itself to 75F
- Interior trunk release switch
- Passenger Seat frame SRS Airbag Recall

Other:
- Alignment - $0 under warranty - Tires were cupping at 1,500 miles
- Alignment - $60 out of pocket - Car was pulling to the right
- 4 Used Dunlop Sport Max 050 Tires w/ 2,400 miles (9"/32" left) - $450. Current tires have 8"/32" left.

...back when I had a 2008 BMW 328i, troubles included:

- Peeling steering wheel
- Random Audio reset
- Tires Cupping (Bridgestone covered 1st replacement, BMW covered 2nd replacement)
- Defective Gas Cap resulting in Check Engine Soon Light
- Blown seal around engine bay resulting in engine oil all over engine bay...

...good thing it was a lease, 3 yrs 36k miles later, I turned it back into BMW!