Sneaking out to test drive some cars tomorrow...

[Stephen]

Hey gang, just thought I'd let ya know, my son and I are going to sneak out and test drive some cars tomorrow to replace the Lexus with.

I'm going to drive:

04 Lexus LS430 (refreshed I posted pictures before, dealer has only one he's going to let me drive, they're not oficially out yet)

Mercedes S500 (drove it back in 01, but there've been some changes so I'm gonna drive it again.

BMW 745Li

04 Jaguar XJ8 (totally redone)

04 Audi A8L (totally redone)

I hope to weed out between 2-3 choices tomorrow so I can narrow it down and try the cars overnight back to back. Hopefully should be in something new by the first of October.

Any opinions or comments are appreciated! I'll post back and let y'all know.

 

[Alec]

How about the V8 Toureg?

 

[Stephen]

Naa, I like my SUVs in the garage for when I need them lol.

 

[Alec]

Dunno if there's an Audi S8 out right now. Imagine all the luxury with gut wrenching power

 

[section525]

Originally posted by Stephen
Hey gang, just thought I'd let ya know, my son and I are going to sneak out and test drive some cars tomorrow to replace the Lexus with.

We are!?

Dad.. go with the BMW, Jag, or Mercedes.

 

[XplorerKid]

COMMENT: why dont you get the cheapest one there and Paypal me what ever moenys left, or heck get the most expensive and STILL paypal me some money.

PEACE

PS: i also accept money orders, and checks, and if you wanna just mail me a credit card thats fine =)

 

[Soundguy01tx]

buncha bums... i swear... i went out tonight and began lookin at cars again. I sold the 03 sport a few weeks back, and im sorta lookin again... well... i talked to a few sales men about 03 f150s... (better deals than the 04s), and i looked at a montero sport (1999)... I dunno, i find that I enjoy car shopping, even if its just to practice for when I am ready... Its fun... Have a blast Stephen, and drive something fast and expensive for me...
--Bryan

 

[Stephen]

LOL guys.

Section, no Lexus or Audi? Why not?

Here's the new Lexus by the way, I'm quite interested in it because of my experience with mine, and the fact that I find the refresh attractive as opposed to the previous LS430. Its definately the car to beat. I know I'd log a lot of happy comfortable miles in it...

 

[Stephen]

However I did pass a new A8 today on the beltway, and it was gorgeous...

Driving them all back to back will tell me a lot.

 

[Hokie]

The Lexus is going to offer you the most all around comfort for the money. The MB should be even more plush (but its gonna cost you), the Audi and the BMW should be better handlers. A car that big is not going to take the twisties like a 3 series... Personally, I would get the Lexus. Its really freaking hard to beat Toyota's quality and reliability and theoretically, parts and maintence should be cheaper. (When needed at all)

I guess if you wanted german, I would probably go with the Audi.

 

[Stephen]

I like the looks of the S Class, but I actually find the Lexus a lot more posh, the Benz is more german. Also, equipped like the fully loaded LS430, the S500 is $25,000 more expensive. So unless I like the new refresh enough to give up all those features, very low probability of it. Its very expensive to service the Lexus though, dont let anyone fool you. Service stops are rarely under $1000, and thats if they find nothing wrong. The 90k service on my LS was almost $1500. BMW and Mercedes offer complimentary service, but you pay for that in the price premium...

In all honesty, I've been more pleased with my Lexus then any other car I've ever had, and I will probably wind up in the new one. However, it isn't the value it used to be so I'm going to look at the competition pretty heavily. The LS, the Jag and the Audi are all more or less the same price, hovering right at 70-72k. The 745Li si about 10k more, and the Mercedes is 15k more than that so the BMW and the Mercedes are definately on the outskirts. However, I've never had a BMW or Mercedes, and I'd like the experience I think...

 

[espnfreak]

How about one of those Infiniti Q45's? I think they have like 340 hp V8's....those are nice

 

[Stephen]

I looked at the Q back in 2001, right after the refresh and didnt really care for it. Its not the high quality you find in the other cars. Lots of cheap interior parts, uncomfortable seats, just not in the same league.

 

[terdrocket]

You could always wait for the new Maserati.
Its kinda goofy looking, but you wouldn't see many others on the road.

 

[Stephen]

Naa, too exotic for me LOL

Okay, we drove all the cars I listed and I've definately ruled out the 745Li and the S500. I liked them both, a lot although the 7 is a little stiff and a little complicated, but I could definately get used to it. I just didnt see anything in these cars (except the three pointed star and the roundel) to make them worth the extra money...

I really liked the Jag, but the interior isn't quite as "high tech" as I'm used to with the optitron gauges and such. Really liked the way the car rode, much better space then the old one, great looks.

I also liked the Audi, loved the high tech interior. Its high tech, but not rediculously so like the BMW. The styling is a little different but its very handsome. My concerns with this car are the stiffer ride (the test car had 18 inch wheels and they can swap them for 17s for me, so that should help some) and my other concern is the horrible experience I've had with VW over my wife's Beetle. Terrible reliability, terrible customer support. The dealer I talked with seemed user friendly, but its not the atmosphere I'm used to with Lexus, I'd miss that.

As for the Lexus, it was everything I love about my car and more. The ride was great, which surprised me because the car now has 17 inch wheels where my LS400 has 16s. Rides just as good. A little tighter but in a good way, my LS felt loose afterwards. I love the interior, the car was a silver with black interior (just like mine, I want a darker color though, black or a dark dark green with black interior) Ultra model so it had all the goodies like a power massage rear seat, full leather dash and door panels, automatic cruise control, parking assist, power rear sunshades. The car has a lot more pep then my 400, and the manumatic shifter is fun. I really liked it, and the styling looks great in person.

The Audi and the Lexus both had navigation systems. Lexus' system is all new this year but its basically the same as what my son has on his ES300. I found it very user friendly. Lexus now offers a Sprint phone package (which is what my service is though the office) and routes it through the nav screen and is voice activated. Thats great and its worth the $1500 I think to have a safe usable cell phone since I'm on it so much. Audi's system was user friendly also, but not as much so as the Lexus.

All three are great cars and I'd be happy with any of them, now in the coming weeks I'm going to one by one take each car for an overnight, drive it in my daily schedule and see what that tells me.

Whats everyone think?

 

[DaHeinah]

I'd go with the Jag, James Bond just can't be wrong .
It sounds like you've narrowed it down to the best three (though BMWs sure are nice). Have you considered the Audi TT? Perhaps the BMW Z4? It sounds like you're going for more substantial cars...I'd narrow it down between the Jag and the Lexus. Both are great cars and I think you'll be happy either way.

 

[Mike]

Personaly,


I think you have you mind made up allready. I just think you like playing with the toys in the others..


Mike

 

[jasonb]

Originally posted by Stephen
and my other concern is the horrible experience I've had with VW over my wife's Beetle. Terrible reliability, terrible customer support. The dealer I talked with seemed user friendly, but its not the atmosphere I'm used to with Lexus, I'd miss that.
B]

i know around here you can't even compare the VW and audi service/dealers. one treats you like a luxury car customer, the other treats you like.. well.. a budget car person. my wife has an A4 and the same guy owns the audi dealership we bought from and the vw dealership next door. its actually like 50 yds away. the service at these places is night and day. we took the car in for its scheduled maintenance and you don't see one customer waiting for anything there. look 50yds to right and you see vw customers waiting around, looking frustrated, being treated like normal customers. she made he appointment and told them she would have to be there earlier than their normal opening hrs so someone showed up early to give her the loaner car and take hers. they treat her like royalty.

 

[Stephen]

Originally posted by Mike
Personaly,


I think you have you mind made up allready. I just think you like playing with the toys in the others..


Mike

Naa, I'm really trying to keep an open mind LOL.


Da, No its gotta be a sedan. I drive customers around a lot, to lunches, dinners, golf outings etc, plus I travel and just drive a lot in general. Its got to be a nice comfortable sedan.

I do really like the Jag, but I dont think Bond ever drove a Jag did he? He drove Aston Martins.

Jason, I know people who have Audis, and I've stopped over at the two Audi dealers here, and while the service is better than VW, its not great, you just dont get the same atmosphere or at ease feeling. And the reliability frankly really worries me. Not so much cost as I probably wont keep this car even as long as I've kept my LS400 because of the company car program now, its just the inconvenience. I dont have time for an unreliable car. The Jag doesnt concern me because of the higher reliability ratings, but the Audi frankly does. Then there's the whole issue of both the Jag and the Audi being first year of a new design...

Next week I'm going to borrow either the Audi or the Jag for an overnight. They wont have an LS430 I can borrow until later in the month.

 

[DaHeinah]

I do really like the Jag, but I dont think Bond ever drove a Jag did he? He drove Aston Martins.

Not true! He merely put an aston martin label on his jag... Too much sniffing of chemicals at work

I definitely see your point about picking a comfortable full-size sedan, some of these small pocket rockets can be a bit on the uncomfy side.