I'm starting to love this car and how an Audi fanboy ended up with a Lexus
 

Let me preface this by saying that I was never a Lexus fan. I never really looked into them because I thought they had nothing to offer me (FWD, grandpa cars).

In May of this year I took a big step in my life and wanted a new car. I was deadset on Audi as I'm quite an Audi fanboy (and still am). In my opinion, Audi is just a package of elegant power and performance. I was used to the Q5 and S5 from my father's and brother's car.

I started my search with the S4. Found a decent example of one, but it needed work and was not looking too great. But hey, it was $24k with 20k miles on it. Though it was low miles and cheap, it was also fairly old (2011 or 2012) with bad brakes, body damage, and lack of technology (BSM, reverse camera, etc). Still tried for it because it still had the same 3.0 Supercharged V6 and DCT as the B8.5 S5 I was used to. Dealer low balled me on my trade in and would not budge on the price despite the damages and bad brakes. I gave up on that. Went to look at newer S4s that were in better shape and they were all outside my price range.

Due to all the low ball offers I was getting from the dealerships for my car, I sold it privately, and quite fast, which I was not expecting. So I was now without a car and I needed to go back to work in 2 weeks. I just played myself.

I looked at a 2013 S6, fully loaded in great shape for a great price. The morning I was about to go buy it, I chickened out. I realized I did not want to deal with the failing turbos (which were common for that year).

Now onto the 3.0 supercharged A6. Found a good deal on one, but before I went, I stopped by the Lexus dealer to see what they had because they were much closer.

I saw a used 2015 black GS350 Fsport AWD. It tickled my fancy. Took it out for a test drive and was not impressed. I was used to the low end torque from the supercharged 3.0 V6. I brushed the car off and was thinking of checking out the A6 the next day. However, I thought throughout the entire day. 306hp is ample for a daily driver and Lexus reliability was appealing... So I went back to make my "grown up, responsible decision" - I bought the Lexus.

The first couple weeks were shaky. I found some cosmetic things wrong with the car and found out it was a smoker's car -- something they had not informed me about. It was very comfortable, but the power I was used to just was not there. I was starting to regret my decision.

However, I soon learned that you basically have to rev the engine out to get any fun out of it... Which I did, and the smiles started to appear.

It was still too quiet... But then came the JoeZ axleback, which I installed today:


In short: A few months ago, I thought I had made a huge mistake with this car. However, as the days passed, I grew to love this car more and more. Not only for how comfortable it is, but how much fun you can really have with it once you learn how to properly drive it.

I'm actually thinking about an RCF a few years later down the road as a weekend/summer car!

Though Audi will always have a place in my heart, I have made room for Lexus as well :)

Thanks for the great write-up. Believe it or not, before I bought my GS350 AWD F Sport, I was actually at the Audi dealership looking at the Audi S6. But the lady tried really hard to sell me their packages and said "If you want a workhorse, get a Lexus. You won't be able to afford an Audi or BMW out of warranty. Even I drive a Lexus." I was like OKAY either you are the most honest person I met or not the sharpest. I ended up going to the Lexus dealership and bought the GS350. I eventually plan on getting THIS supercharger for it because why not? :)

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...8351413357.jpg

I was actually looking at the same supercharger too! I'm a little on the fence about it though. I bought the Lexus for reliability and am wondering how much extra strain the supercharger will put on the engine and transmission.

But if you do end up doing it, definitely do a write up on it!

Off topic but where did you get that lower molding on your doors above the skirt? I'm digging the look, similar to the molding the LS has.

Well, they seem to have everything that indicates the forced-induction system won't damage the conservatively tuned Toyota engines we have. My plan was to get it this November but with other bills piling up, it might not happen until later on.

I was actually inspired by the LS when test drove it. :) Here is the link from the exact seller I bought it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-2016-L...-/301412887345

Comes in securely constructed hard cardboard and shrink wrapped. It is stainless steel metal and super strong adhesive. I just vinyl wrapped mine gloss black.

This line right here... I can completely relate to this. Glad it just wasn't me then! :p

Thanks! I'd assumed it was just wrapped and I would do the same. You rock!!

Lexus isn't known for FWD cars. They are however known for being boring, plush vehicles. Audi's are great, but for a daily driver you can't beat the coupling of reliability, style and comfort the Lexus provides. Just bought my second GS, a 2018 F Sport AWD and still have my RWD 07 350 for daily purposes. My "fun" car is an Audi S7 and a supercharged 2016 Denali.

I think you made the right decision for a daily driver and I'm happy to hear you're starting to enjoy it.

Yeah, I didn't know much about Lexus before this. I just knew that the RX was FWD and I think I looked at the ES at one point and it was FWD, so I assumed they were all FWD or front biased AWD cars haha.

And the S7 is my (affordable) dream car (RS7 being my unaffordable). I looked at a used S7 before the Lexus too, but quickly dismissed it. Non-CPO 2013 with 68k miles for $38k. Super tempted, but it made no financial or logical sense.

I always read about the Audi "fan club" and how superior they were to every other car. My brother-in-law in fact read the same material and dumped his "potential to have problems" 13 year old Lexus GX for a 2012 Q5 (three years old at the time). Vey nice ride, comfortable, responsive. I loved it so much I wanted one too, but was kinda craving a convertible, so I went with the much feared "fun but don't buy without a warranty" BMW Z4. Fast forward to 6 months from our dates of purchase, and The Audi developed an HVAC fan issue, where it would squeak when on. $1500 an the issue was fixed. A couple of months later, an oil leak. $1500 and it was taken care of also. Then appeared a lower control arm issue, yup, $1500. Somehow, the rear door pull broke off. How bad could that be? You guessed it $1500, because you had to buy the whole panel and nut just the pull. They weren't sold separately. A few days later, the sunshade cover came off it's tracks. Cost for parts....no...$1800 including labor. Was starting to think there was something to $1500 at that point. Suddenly, the navi backlight went out. A couple of taps to the dash and they were back on. You guessed it....$1500 plus the pice of crap and he drove off with an F150. According to other forum reads, these types of problems are more than common and ridiculous prices for parts assemblies (you can't just buy what you need) is very common with Audi.

Nothing wrong with the truck so far in two years, but the jury is still out. Total mileage on the Q5 at the time of trade in was 72K miles. The Lexus he traded in on the Q5 had 168K miles on it. I was cured of any desire to ever own an Audi. One thing I for got to mention....my total expenditures with my 07 Z4 were tires and oil changes. I sold it last year, because I needed more seats.

I'd buy a two stroke three wheeled tricycle, before I ever got tempted with an Audi again. Best to buy those new and dump then before their warranty expires. Even for a DIYer, the parts prices are obnoxious. I'm a firm believer that leasing was created to keep crap car makers from going under. There are just way too many cars that you never see again after they reach 5 years old. I'll stick with my Toyota branded stuff. Even with zero issues with my BMW, I'm not sure I trust any of their new offerings. Seems they have gotten very sloppy these days.

Oh...this thread was supposed to be about the love of a new Lexus. Congrats and enjoy. Great choice in a vehicle. :)

Buy Japanese, lease German. Isn't that the motto? :)

My motto is don't buy anything until the manufacturer learns to stop making crap, regardless of how fun. Buy buying, you just allow the process to continue. Most don't care about this, because they just dump an move on, but the price has been payed already. I can't help but to think things would be hugely improved, if leasing didn't exist and we had to really think hard about how we spent our hard earned money. We'd likely have far less choices though.

It's funny that I never really had any problems with our two Audi's. The only problem with our 2011 Q5 was the oil consumption problem, which was fixed for free because of the recall. Still going strong at ~85k miles. The 2014 S5 has no real problems with it that wasn't caused by driver negligence or ignorance. I think it's at 60k+ miles now.

Still hope to own an Audi one day. Maybe a TTS or TTRS :)

Never liked the Audi flip-up MMI screen. It looks aftermarket.

Welcome aboard.
I'm sure you know this already, but always drive it in S+ mode (and paddle shifting:thumbup::

I thought German reliability are overblown on the interweb:p

I've experienced my fair share of german reliability...and no thanks. I've got better things to do than to wait for a tow truck or waste money to have it fix than to take a family vacation instead:D