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Talk me into, or out of, this situation with my 460L...
I also posted this in Car Chat to generate more broad response- but wanted to post here as well.
We own a 2010 LX570 and a 2010 LS460L - I drive the 460 and my wife drives the 570. We've had the 570 for 3 years and the 460 exactly 2 years. My wife is getting the itch to drive something more sporty, nimble, and fun but we need to keep the LX for our family situation. That means that if we make a change I'll inherit the LX (totally good with me - I love that beast) and we will ditch the LS. My wife loves Euro cars, so I don't see me being able to convince her to look at certain things that intrigue me (G80, Stinger, Model 3/S, etc). If we consider Euro mid-size sedans, I'll only by CPO and looking for budget under $45k. Here's her short list:
1) BMW 5 series (likely 535) - 2016 or 2017 - her number 1 choice even though she hasn't driven one (we owned a Z4 before having kids as a fun car and she loved it). She just has a thing for BMW's. In my market, asking price for a CPO 535 with under 30k miles is around $32k (which seems crazy low to me, but whatever)
2) Audi A7 - 2016 (Premium Plus most likely) - from a styling perspective, this is the easy winner for me. Man I love those cars. However, having recently owned an S5 as a 3rd car, I have some bad flashbacks of the random warning lights appearing on the dash (and I put 2,000 miles on it in 12 months). Buying CPO helps ease some of that fear, but there's also some of the inconvenience factor of dealing with issues.
3) E class - both of us are pretty "meh" about that, but would at least go look and drive one. I just don't think it's sporty enough for her (she may like the CLS but not sure pricing on those?)
4) Audi A6- 2016
5) Maserati sedan - we have an inside connection to Maserati and could get a ridiculous deal on a new or lightly used one. Normally wouldn't even think of this but it's an available option for us and the dealership is less than 5 miles from us for service.
What cars am I missing? Anyone have any thoughts? Realistically we would keep it about 2 years and I am pretty dead set on going to an EV after that - I really want the Audi E Tron GT and that's around the time that would come out.
I had an E-Class in Germany last fall and while it certainly is a nice car, I found it pretty darn far from "sporting". The engine was buzzy and NOTHING like a V8 at all. It was fast though on the Autobahn.
How about the Jaguar XF? I'm guessing a Lexus GS is out of the question?
I just test drove a 2012 XJL 5.0 litre supercharged and I think it has your whole list beat
It can be had for much cheaper, is pretty reliable and 470hp should do you fine....its not the power only the car feels much more sporty and fun to drive
Interior is gorgeous as well
5 series bmw, e class, they are a dime a dozen and mediocre at best
Maserati's are rated as one of the worst cars on the road at least a few of the oldermodels were I don't know about the newer ones
Stay away from the BMW unless you want a leaky, broken POS in a year or two. It is also not as sporty as you would believe.
I’d suggest driving a Porsche Cayenne or Panamera if you were going that route. They are somewhat more dependable than the above especially regarding mid to long term cost of ownership/maintenance and would tick the “sporty, comfortable, and fun” boxes better than the above.
Honestly there isn't anything really sportier about an E Class or 5 Series today over an LS. The Audis are sportier, a little. You'd really have to get an S6 or S7 to really see that. The Ghibli is a disaster, I know multiple people who have had them.
Some good feedback here, appreciate it guys. Sounds like A7 and Porsche (which I had forgotten about) are tallying the most votes. If I could get her to look at the GS, which trim do you guys recommend (don't think I'd go for F Sport) - looking for something that combines luxury with some sporty flavors.
We'll start test driving in the next few weeks and see what happens.
I was in your situation a couple years ago also. I also own a 2009 Lx570 (converted to 2013 so I can love it again) and had a 2009 LS460L. Both were my daily driver but I got rid of my wife's daily (GS450H) and gave her my LS460L. When i faced the control arms and air bags situation, we traded it in for a CPO 2015 BMW 535 Diesel with sports package. That was our first time ever getting something other than a Lexus over the last 15 years.
Personally, I love all my Lexus cars but I actually love driving that BMW. The power and torque on that thing is nothing compared to all the other cars I've had. Plus the gas mileage on that thing is sweet (36 MPG and a range of 580-610 mi per tank). I haven't had any problems yet and have about 1.5 years left on my CPO warranty. I plan to keep to keep until I get some ridiculous repair situation and then buy whatever she wants at that time. I would like to get her an RX F Sport but its like a company issued car around where I live so I may get a CPO 2017+ Panamera as some others have previously mentioned. In the mean time while she enjoys the BMW i picked up a 2014 LS460 F Sport just to keep me busy while I wait for the LS500 to come into my budget.
Last edited by telmz1; 03-02-19 at 04:12 PM.
Reason: Correction
Depends on the car. The E55 AMG is damn near bullet-proof while the early 6.2L 63 AMG models had time-bombs in them that cost you thousands of dollars. BMW has the fickle and expensive VANOS, while Lexus had some issues with carbon deposits in the direct-injection engines. Even the LS460 has some very expensive failure points (air suspension, brake actuator, water pump). Just have to do your research.
The most expensive failure points win the LS460 still aren't anywhere near as expensive as the potential failure points with BMWs and Mercedes.
03-01-19, 05:21 PM
Talk me into, or out of, this situation with my 460L...
