simply put, the LS430 competes with the merceded S430. with that said, the E class is not at the same level as the S430 to begin with. hence in my opinion there's no comparison at all. LS430 should be compared with the higher S class. and between the E and the S class of the benz, the latter obviously is a better choice. Making your options between the LS and the E class a piece of cake.

 

Nuff said! If you want to compare, go with the GS and E class. They both have optional V6 and V8 engines, and are less roomy than the LS and S class, but of course you know I would have to go with the LS430 for reliability.

 

From 2004 Consumer Reports Buying Guide:

Reviews of the 2003-04 models:
LS430: recommended, predicted reliability: better.
MB C, CLK, E, M, S, SK: none is recommended, predicted reliabilty: worse or below average for all except no rating for E, and CLK because both are new

The best and worst used cars:
LS400, LS430 are recommended and not a single MB.
$26,000 and up: Lexus LS430 01-02 and no MB.

Used cars to avoid by make and year:
MB C-class 95, 01, CLK 00-02, E-class 98, 00, M-class 98-02, S-class 00-01, SLK - 01.

Auto Reliability section:

95-02 LS400/LS430: All with better than average overall reliabilty except 00 with average overall reliabilty.
95-02 MB E-Class: 95, 96, 97, 99, 01 and 02 average overall reliabilty. 98 and 00 are worse than average overall reliability.

 

I'm a M/Bworld member and trust me, these babies have lots of teething issues!!

Stories of cars returning to the dealer 5+ times are not uncommon! I like the cars but the reliability scares me!

 

Every time I get into my friend's E320 I feal like I'm getting into to an economy car compared to either my previous 90 LS or my current 2000 LS. OK, it is an older '94 E320 (with only about 70K miles) but back then he could have bought an LS for less than the E320 and his 6'4" body would have fit a lot better in the LS. The thing is, I think he bought the Merc because he thought I was happy with my Merc but he never actually asked me for an opinion. I sure wish he had. Last week he spent $1,100 for the local Mercedes dealer to trace down a problem that was making his engine die at highway speeds! Imagine 13 hours and $1,100 to disconnect the radar detector. What a joke.

I've had three Mercedes - one S-class, one mid-size and one SL. The S-Class was quite a car in its day and I bought the 90 LS because it was similar to it but much nicer. These days, however, the three pointed star has no attraction for me. The bar has been raised and Mercedes has fallen way behind.

 

While returning home, I passed a brand new E430 with dealer paper plates on it. When I looked back, I noticed one daytime running light was on and another not, as well, one turn signal was continiously on (not flashing). Barley off the lot and it has electrical issues, how sad.

Kansas wrote:

Echo's what I have heard from past Benze owners who keep the car beyond waranty.

 

Brand new? The E430 is replaced by an all new E500 more than a year ago.

 

My bad, the inline 6. That is the 320 right? I have this 430 thing from the GS and LS badging.