Saif Al Khamiri

i really dont see the point anymore, like BMW has so much advantages over mercedes, extremely better 8 year free all around service!, more power!, and you can actually tune the car at BMW without losing the warranty!

like i legit was torn between an E63s and an M8 sadan but the advantages on the BMW compared to mercedes is way too high so whats the point of owning a mercedes anymore... i think i'll sell my CLA45 and get a BMW instead whats your opinion?

ygmn

Go for it if it make sense to you...

you do not need public opinion to choose a car....choose what ya like

places

Interesting post. Lifelong MB loyalist with several BMW's peppered in over the years. With MB quality not what it used to be and people leasing the vast majority of these higher-line cars, there is no point. Get what you want.

If purchasing then you need to research the decision more. I would not purchase either of these vehicles.

gfmohn

My wife is German and came of age in Berlin immediately after WWII. When I got our first Mercedes in 2006, it was in Germany, and she got to show it to some of her relatives. (See my Signature below.) She could hardly believe it. To her, a Mercedes was a symbol of luxury that she had never expected to experience in her family's class (or in mine). She never really got used to the idea that her husband owned Mercedes cars! Her older brother, on the other hand, called Mercedes sedans "Berlin taxis," because a majority of taxis everywhere in Germany are Mercedes E-class sedans. He was only half-kidding.

In The U.S., we have the stereotype of a Mercedes in Germany as a black, S-class sedan tearing up the Autobahn, driven by a fat, self-important businessman. That stereotype is true, but there is second, much less exciting stereotype. That is the 10- or 15-year-old Mercedes, driven by ein Beamter (minor civil servant), proceeding down a Landstrasse (secondary road) at exactly the speed limit. He (always a he) is elderly, if not retired, because he has had to save all his life to buy his Mercedes. (Installment payment took a long time to be accepted in Germany.) He waxes and polishes it every weekend. When driving it, he wears a homburg or bowler hat!

The point of all this is that in Germany, a Mercedes is a ubiquitous, utilitarian vehicle, whatever the price point. "Sport" (same word in German) means BMW or Audi.

js_cls

As a BMW enthusiast I am very passionate about the brand as they have so much history with me, so here is a little mini-rant.

Coming from 25+ years of BMW's and even more from my family and tons of experience behind many different models and generations, BMW has sold their soul for the commuter car audience. Just look at their current marketing, they basically told their loyal owners that if they want a traditional BMW to f*** off with their new iX commercials. The amount of people moving from BMW to Porsche on Bimmerpost is also the largest I've ever seen, the current fanbase is not pleased with BMW. They are no longer "the ultimate driving machine." Sure some models may have more power or better infotainment, but the cars are dreary to drive and the models are getting uglier to the point that I can't stand (the new 4er is a disgusting car in person). BMW is just lost, while Merc at least feels like they know their place and purpose in the luxury segment. Also OP, its been reported on Bimmerpost that BMW is gonna start cracking down on tuned cars so they don't lose money on warranty work, and 8 years free all around services? Not sure where you got that info from. BMW's come with 3/36 complimentary maintenance, nothing close to 8 years without paying up like any other manufacturer.

After years of many different 3-series my last new BMW was a 2017 540i I inherited from my mother. A great luxury car, but a BMW? Nah, it drove more like a Buick, despite having every single sport option ticked. Poor chassis tuning, body roll, numb steering, and boring design. This was not the 5-series that I grew up on. My father had numerous 5-series and stopped with the E60 generation because anything past 2010 drove terribly. I took one look at an E53 and CLS53 (along with the BMW M550i as replacements) and was shocked to find that MB could make a more fun to drive car than BMW while still retaining the luxury aspects I was looking for. Was the M550i more powerful? Yes, but I don't care about that, if I want power I'd just get a Tesla, to me, 0-60 times are not a selling feature, so many cars these days are quick without much feeling and their limits are unobtainable on the streets. The 0-60 and horsepower wars are a stupid pissing match in my opinion that are robbing cars of feel and engagement.

Of BMW's current lineup, there are some cars I like, but a lot of them don't drive well anymore. BMW's biggest advantage honestly is their incentivized leasing which can result in some cheap monthly payments.

As for the E63S vs the M5. I felt the same. The M5 is more powerful (although not by much) but it lacks any feeling. The steering is numb with poor weighting and ratios, the V8 sounds lackluster, and the trans wasn't as snappy as prior DCT's and MT's. When I first drove the M5, my main thoughts were, "how did they make a car so fast feel so boring?" The E63S felt more like an M5 than the actual M5. Do you lose .2 seconds to 60 that you'll never notice? Yes, but you gain a V8 with soul more natural steering in both feel and weight, tighter handling with less body lean, and snappy shifts, and a gorgeous design inside and out, not to mention a wagon that BMW refuses to sell.

Honestly, the wife and I have been very happy with the switch to MB and see myself sticking with the brand for a while unless they make some drastic changes or unless BMW improves themselves (which is doubtful) although I do have my eye out for Mazda and their upcoming I6, they are a brand I'm always rooting for and make some great driving vehicles.

My thoughts on BMW's current lineup:
2-Series Coupe/Cab - The BEST BMW on Sale, and Possibly the last Great One
2-Series Gran Coupe - Sacrilege to the Brand, Buy a Mazda3 Instead
3-Series - Good Handling but Gotten Fat and No Optional Manual
4-Series - A Face only a Mother can Love and Poor Handling
5-Series - E-Class Luxury but Buick Handling
7-Series - A Flagship that doesn't look or feel like a Flagship
8-Series - A Less Pretty 6-series with a $25k Markup
X1 - Doesn't even have BLS and is FWD, Buy a CX-5 Instead
X2 - Forgettable and Why does this Exist? Again, Buy a CX-5
X3 - The Best Driving BMW SUV
X4 - Just buy the X3
X5 - Finally a Modern BMW Interior, but Boring to Drive
X6 - Just buy the X5
X7 - X5 Pros and a Third Row
Z4 - A Roadster with No Manual! Buy a Boxster Instead

I’m sure my opinion is controversial and some may not agree, but that’s just my take on BMW at the moment.
Rant Over

Mr. Toad

IMHO, all Euro sport/luxury marques lost their way when they began pandering to the uniquely American insistence on enormous, vulgar SUVs. Did the world really need Bentley and Lamborghini SUVs?

places

AND cheaper entry level crap.

cbebmb1

The world is changing my friends. You two sound like two old stubborn farts like me.

gfmohn

I remember when BMW announced its first automatic transmission. The letters to the editor of both Car and Driver and Road and Track were such pathetic end-of-life-as-we-know-it outcries that I actually felt sorry for BMW enthusiasts. This was long before I even considered buying an MB, and I never owned a BMW. But I always had a soft spot for BMW, because I learned to drive on the BMW 1800TI of friend. (If you have to look that model up, you BMW enthusiasts are not the BMW experts you thought you were.)

superswiss

I mostly agree with @js_cls post. The only BMW worth getting today is the M2 Competition. It has the soul of what BMW once was. I haven't owned a BMW in a long time, but they largely lost me for good when they started to put ZF automatics in their M cars. Great transmission for a Land Rover and all the other commuter cars out there, but no thank you in a performance car. Audi lost me for the same reason with their RS models. They've become commuter cars with an M or RS badge respectively. If it makes sense to you from an economic standpoint then get a BMW, but there is more to a car than free maintenance. I can't really speak for the regular BMWs, Mercedes etc. commuter cars. I don't shop in those segments. I've never owned a Mercedes-Benz. My first and only Mercedes so far is an AMG, which frankly are far more exciting cars at the moment than most M products, unless you are specifically looking for track performance. The M products still have an edge there, but steering has been a long standing complaint of M products. AMG is changing, too, though. The whole car industry is changing and going electric obviously, but AMG's move to even heavier hybrid performance cars is not making me want another AMG in the future.

GLC300EN

For ultimate driving experience and spartan interior design - BMW. For luxury - MB.

I am not the only one who drives the car, we share cars and I want my wife to be happy, so I get MB because she loves it. I like MB a lot, this is not to imply that I personally am unhappy with MB. I think it's a great car and interior of it is just so refined and beautiful, you can't get get anything better in this price range. I am just saying that BMW is the performance car, if you want to take sharp corners and demand high agility from your car, then BMW is your thing. MB is great, just not as great in handling as BMW is. Make a choice.

Atlanta AMG

First of all E63s isn't even the same category as an M8 so your apples to tennis ***** comparison makes no sense and shows a severe lack of understanding of the Mercedes offerings at even a basic level. Yet here you are trashing Mercedes with a completely uninformed opinion. Have fun with that OP.

cbebmb1

Z4 - Just buy the Toyota Supra

Audi Junkie

BMW = JUNK

cbebmb1

AUDI = A VW IN FANCY CLOTHES
MB = WHAT YOU SEE IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR OF A BMW (ha!, ha!, ha!)

Bryce1023

Just happened to read your post. I am not a car enthusiast in terms of high performance vehicles, however, I do really enjoy getting a new vehicle every 3+ years. Just purchased a 2021 GLE 350 and I compared it against several other vehicles. It came down to the BMW X5 and the GLE. The 6 cylinder engine was better suited for a vehicle of that size, however I did opt for the MB. My wife, whose doesn’t care about cars, felt that the BMW looked old compared to the MB. I agreed with her, and I really am enjoying my GLE. BTW, the power is more than adequate in 95% of all driving situations, at least for me.
My son , 3 weeks after I purchased my GLE, leased a BMW X3. He loves his new X3, this is his first luxury brand he has had. I went shopping with him and we both came to the same conclusion, the BMW sedans are drab looking, with no real attractive lines to the sheet metal. There was a 4 series on the showroom floor which looked like a KIA. He is also loving his X3.
It seems like reading both BMW and MB forums you would never want either of these 2 German brands, you only hear about horror stories in terms of quality and poor service experiences. In the past I’ve owned 2 BMWs which were trouble free. I’ve also owned 1 other MB which was also trouble free. I am fairly certain that the quality of the product for both companies has deteriorated somewhat, however, with all the electronic components now in these vehicles it is understandable.
IMHO, BMW does not compare to MB in terms of the look of their sedans, performance is another issue. I know that there are many BMW brand loyalists out there and I do apologize in advance if I have insulted you, or in any way hurt your feelings. Looks is purely subjective, and both brands are doing fairly well. I am just happy to report that my son is loving his X3, and I my GLE, even if it is only a 350 4 banger.