fintail

"Nice loaded" 10/11 W212 for 15K? Link or it didn't happen.

The GS has likely lower running costs and the cool striated metal trim going for it anyway.

dildil

how do u know the 1 ones buying is fully loaded ?
or if its a cpo car and from a benz dealer ?

all i see is sports package and pano roof and rims are powder coated ...

on the other hand the lexus is a F sport model with 2 tone interior and im sure has blind spot and heated steering wheel and from all the Lexus in the background looks to be at a lexus dealership

autotrader is not the only place to search used cars unless u dont know any better...

for 27k he can get the same car lesser miles same options

PearlSchult08

I love the ES350! If this will happen to me, then I will grab this great opportunity.

CARLA MCKINNEY

Hey guys, no need for that lol. I'm not trying to be "cheap" lol I'm perfectly fine with the price. I just wanted to get an opinion on price with the car having that many miles.

tresean1

Yes I think it is way too high. I think you should aim for a car with only 9k miles, for that price.

aquinob

How much did you play with the nav/radio control via the console control? If its like the es350, it is terrible, not intuitive at all. That is one area that Lexus really falls down on.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...1ixJ39QgO_frgQ

The G Man

If you can get pass the ugly GS350 F Sport's front end, then the Lexus is a more reliable car, but Mercedes is pretty close as far as reliability. Lexus's bread and butter is reliability and customer service. In my opinion, most modern cars are pretty reliable now a days. If you look at the most reliable brand in a J D Power survey, it is not that much more reliable than the middle of the pack. If you plan to buy a extended warranty for the duration of your ownership, then Mercedes is the way to go. Schedule maintenance and wear and tear items will cost more in the Mercedes, but Lexus maintenance is not exactly cheap now a days either. You can also find yourself a good independent Mercedes mechanic and save yourself quite a few bucks.

mrmotoguzzi00

Not sure I've seen these questions... How long do you plan to keep it ?

I've had lexus GS and in the past Audi, MB, BMW etc.....

Hands down the GS430 just simply didn't break.... at 100k we rebuilt the front end, we lived in NH... at 156k, we finally traded it in for an E550... There was still nothing really wrong with it, we just wanted a change

The Germans had small issues, but there was always something....

The short version was I felt the lexus was like driving a fast buick, no steering feel but pretty quick.... the Germans are for those of us that actually like to drive and enjoy a nice driving car...

And they tend to cost more in maint down the road when ya get out of the warranty...


Mike

Mr.Fly

I concur with Mike. Having driven the in-laws' GS, I'll state that the GS is more an appliance than the E. Both cars are very competent in standard "car stuff", which in this case is conveyance in comfort; but the GS is a little more removed from the driving experience than I prefer.

MBNUT1

This is actually an easy decision. Buy the Lexus unless you have to have the Mercedes. That is if you are happy with the Lexus then buy it. People who buy Mercedes are generally people who wouldn't be happy with a Lexus.

AMGNEEDSPEED

Mercedes and not just for the name sake, but for the reliability and confort.

When I see a Lexus, I think of Toyota. When I see a Mercedes, I think of Mercedes.

Go to your local Lexus and Mercedes dealer and just see the difference in services. You don't see a Toyota at a Mercedes service department, you will see Toyotas at the Lexus service department and you'll start to wonder if you bought a Lexus or Toyota.

dchar

Seems like you've been living under a rock...Mercedes is not known for reliability, especially in recent years. Maybe still for comfort and technology, but definitely not reliability.

Also, when I serviced at my local Mercedes dealer, they always ran out of Mercedes loaners and gave customers cars from Enterprise (I.e., Dodge, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, etc.). Whereas my local Lexus dealer has a huge fleet of loaners and always has a Lexus loaner for customers, not a single Toyota in sight. Lexus dealers are also known for their excellent service departments. Most Lexus dealers around here will drop off a loaner, take your car to service, then go to you to swap the cars (all for no charge, and maintenance cost much less for Lexus). Mercedes dealers don't offer that service.

I think a lot of people here are unaware of Lexus' recent renaissance and focus on handling in many of their cars. The IS is much sportier to drive than the C-class. The GS has outperformed and outhandled the E-class for the 2013-2015 model years. The new LS has outdone the S-class interior.

I know my opinion is probably going to be dismissed since this is a Mercedes forum...but oh well.

TonyA

This is a tough choice!

I can't comment on a GS v. E but last month I was cross shopping between a 2013+ LS460L or a 2012+ S550. For 90% of the population, I vote Lexus but in my case my brother was a MBZ tech and owns his own shop now so labor is free and I get parts at cost. That makes all the difference. I owned an early 90's ES which was built alongside the Toyota models but recent Lexus products are far superior to their Toyota counterparts. The LS didn't accelerate like the S in any powerband but I'm not buying a big luxury sedan to race. I always thought of Lexus as soft but the LS felt just as big and heavy as the S. The S is more enjoyable to drive but the LS is more enjoyable to be driven in.

In the end, I bought neither

blegthbloo

I can't speak for the Lexus customer service, but I know the MB loaner selection is highly dependent on which dealer you go to. Some have large lots or garages where they can store loaners, while others have very little space to hold even cars that are for sale. From one dealer that comes to mind, I think I got a non-MB loaner each time I've been there, because they always run short. But the one I'm using now always has a loaner available, even if I'm a last-minute walk-in like I was this past Friday. And that loaner was a 2017 C300 coupe with P3, so it's offered a very nice test drive while my car gets serviced. That first dealer gave me an 05 Altima lol... bottom line, the loaner program is dealer-specific, so I would advise OP to visit their local dealers and see what they have (if that's important... it certainly isn't for me)

And my current MB dealer has excellent customer service as well. I've heard about the service where Lexus drops off a loaner for you and that's great. I don't think my MB does that. But I also don't need that service, because I'm very particular about people driving my car... I'd rather drop it off for them and they have it on their grounds and so they're not driving on the crappy local roads with inattentive drivers, unless they're performing an alignment check or something related to the service. Customer service is also dependent on the dealer, since 3 of 4 or 5 MB dealers I've used in the immediate area were average or slightly above average, but the one I use now is the best dealer I've used in all my years of driving, for any of my cars, period.

As for the reliability, both of my W212s have been great. I think my first one only had a city light and one of the hockey stick LEDs burn out and the MB-tex issue in the 3 years I owned it. The current one has functioned perfectly in the past 1.5 years as well. It's all in how you take care of it. That MB that OP is considering should not have any reliability concerns (if it was taken care of).

That being said, IMHO, I think the OP will be happy with either option. Lexus has a good reputation in my area as well, so not having any direct experience with them, I would consider one too, after exploring the above concerns, either by visiting the dealer who would service my car or being on their respective forums online, and of course inspecting each specific car closely for physical or other obvious defects.

The G Man

I too had a older GS, 2008 GS350 to be exact. It was one of the most unreliable car I have ever owned, it was in the shop for over 6 weeks in the first year. There was a dash rattle that the dealer cannot fix, starting problem, mouse problem.......Lexus are generally more reliable, but there is no guarantee, once a while, they still make a lemon.
As someone already mentioned, the new Lexus handles much better than the older one. I think I find about Japanese luxury car is that they tend to age much faster, whereas I can drive a 10 year old Mercedes or BMW, it will still perform almost like new, but a 10 year Japanese luxury car will really show its age.

tresean1

Very true, probably because the Germans spend much more money on R&D, whereas the Japanese/Koreans/Americans spend much less, resulting in dated looks and more frequent redesigns.

mrmotoguzzi00

Really Curious to see where Carla goes

Lexus dealer in NH was so so, yes Toyota loaners... MB in NH was just awful.


MB in Sarasota FL has been excellent so far, been there with both cars, always got a MB loaner... E class...


True measure was when the detailer's damaged a rim on the 2015 E550 Cab, it was 3 month's old... I noticed it but didn't say anything because i wasn't sure where it happened, next time i took pics and had a service guy look before it went over... sure enough more damage...

There where not thrilled but had agreed it happened there and both rims where repaired... they also replaced the rub rails on the car wash...

Since then we have had maintenance done and a few things taken care of on the ML and everyone is friendly and respectful...

but you are right not all the dealers are the same....

Let us know what ya decide Carla

Mike

dchar

That's true, I never use that loaner drop off service. The dealer I bought my Lexus from goes one step further and will flatbed a loaner and flatbed your car back to the service department for regular maintenance. If the list for flatbed is too long, they can send a guy to perform the regular maintenance wherever you are, in your driveway or work parking lot (no charge of course).

I have experienced 2 large Mercedes dealers in different cities in SoCal and neither of them have impressed me. Long lines and long wait times. Always sending customers out with base model CLA250, C300, GLA250, or GLC300 when available; and enterprise cars when not. I remember my sister even getting a Ford Focus with manual door locks! Since my Mercedes is older and out of warranty, I'll probably use one of the many independent Mercedes shops around me. Can't believe Mercedes dealer charges $200 for a simple oil change (Service A). I'll only take my car to the dealer for the free car washes (no service required).

Important for OP to keep these other ownership factors in mind (if she services her cars at the dealer) when she makes a decision on which car to get.

blegthbloo

That's awesome that they flatbed the car for you... I might entertain that one. Only concern for me personally is that my car is lowered, so using a flatbed might incur damages. But that's on me for modifying my car in the first place. So even in that case I'd probably still drop it off on my own, but that would give me additional peace of mind otherwise.

fintail

Another Lexus issue - the front ends, and overdone styling. Different for the sake of being different is not good design. I wouldn't wager on the Predator face being seen as a nice piece in 25 years, where the MB will probably not be offensive. If you're going to keep a car for a long time, you will be looking at it for a long time - sometimes eye bleach can be more offensive than maintenance chores.

I don't know who lives under a rock, but I think MB has overcome the reliability issues of the turn of the century/DCX era. The last time I checked my calendar, it didn't say 2004. It still might not match Lexus, but the difference can be minor, the price you pay for being the innovator.

Lexus does have a good service rep, maybe almost too kiss-butt - which forced MB in my area anyway to have decent loaner fleets, a lounge with snacks, etc. But as the car ages, smart money sends it to an indy anyway, especially for large jobs. I don't know if I want my car hauled off on a flatbed anyway.

The supposed sporty driving traits and outdone interior, etc are just that indeed, opinions. Sales numbers relative to transaction prices say a lot, people will deal with a little more maintenance for other tradeoffs.

It's hard to go wrong with either choice, chances are neither will leave you stranded on the side of the road. Drive both on a long and spirited test drive, then decide.

dchar

Not sure if OP will come back here to report, but she bought the Lexus GS (as she stated in the Lexus forum).

raja777m

looks like the salesman won

I'll see what Lexus owners have their opinion on Merc.

raja777m

Looks like she got the base model Lexus for $32k over Merc with Distronic Plus and KeyLess go, with a wonderful combination of exterior and interior(personal preference) for $27k or less.

I'm not sure whether the MB has Parktronic but, I see some marking on the cruise control knob, which suggests it has Adaptive Cruise Control(Distronic Plus).

@OP, even though you triggered most of us, congratulations on your new car and you're always welcome here when the Lexus gives up on you, even if it doesn't

KEY08

I have driven probably 500,000 miles in several MB cars over many years and have never been left stranded on the road. Not once. I'll keep buying them. Very safe and reliable if properly maintained. Some people just like to buy cars that they can drive 100,000 miles with minimal service and then throw away.

tresean1

Yeah, she did take us for a loop and get us all riled up...lol.
I don't think the MB had Parktronic or Distronic (if you look at the star in the grille, you can see it is 3D and not flat). But hope the OP is happy with her purchase, for now. In 3 years, she'll realize how dated the Lexus looks, and she'll be looking to buy a timeless Mercedes. :-)
I concur; my '98 W202 had almost 200k miles on when I sold it, and it was still kicking as strong as ever.