I am looking for a new daily driver (will be coming out of a 2003 Porsche C4S with no complaints). I am interested in a more refined ride (i.e. quiet, good stereo, comfortable ride, less noticeable, low maintenance costs). I am currently targeting the Acura TL and the Lexus IS350. I am planning on keeping the car for 8-10 years, therefore I am interested in the Japanese cars as compared to the Germans because I believe the mainentance costs (as the car ages) will be less. I have a landcruiser for wintery days. I also live two hours from any of the above dealers, therefore a reliable car would be a convienence. Is a new Accord an option? (since I have a dealer locally). TIA, just interested in your opinions.
Going from a Porsche C4S to anything will be tough. Not sure how you will like TL or the IS350 as I don't believe they come close to a C4S on the performance front. Anyway, if you are considering those two, you may want to give Infinity G35 some consideration as well. They also have a G35x which is an AWD version which IMO, is a must if available for any daily vehicle especially if one were to live in the snowbelt. Plus, for 2007, I think they upped the output to 305hp or so to match the IS350's output as well.
If you like the looks of the new IS 350, go for it, Its a great car, good power, refined yet sporty, I would drive one for a daily driver But I don't like the looks enough to pay $40k. I do think they look good, but thats a lot to spend for me. I would like something with german looks and Lexus reliability. I also have the Lexus "land cruiser" and I love it. Its been very reliable.
I drove one when they came out and it was a little too small for me. I do like the ES and the GS though. I had a 2001 3.2TL (before the new model) and really liked it...I hear that they are going to do a Type S again on the TL, this may be worth looking into.
My wife has a IS250 and she loves it. I could drive the 350 everyday if I had to. The Acura is a nice, but the looks are a bit boring to me. Matt
I like the Lexus more - better dealers here, more recent redesign, and I just like how it looks. I usually slam Asian car design, but Lexus did a seriously nice job on the IS. The back seat in the IS isn't huge, but coming from a 996 I don't think you'll mind it. I just can't buy an Accord. They're just so incredibly dull compared to anything other than a Camry. The TL also seems kind of vanilla to me. The Infiniti G Coupe looks good - have you ruled that out? 2 doors, but nicer inside than the 996 and the rear seat is slightly roomier. The other car I may look at, if it won't get me banned from FChat, is the Caddy CTS. I think it looks pretty good, and knowing GM it will come with a $10,000 discount, a huge warranty and dealers on every corner. Of course, I lease my daily driver, so if it falls apart in 4 years it's not my problem. The 'V' version is supposedly pretty hot.
I have found that the Japanese cars do last longer with fewer issues on the average compared to German cars but they also fade in quality {looks, condition} much quicker. I have a 30, 12, 8 and 6 year old group of German cars and for their age they all look great. I also have a 2 year old North American car that looks like hell warmed over and 2 Japanese cars that are 3 and 4 years old. While the last 2 are still working very well, they now look as shabby {not too too bad but shabby in my books}as the North American car that's only 2 years old. Of course the North American car is like all the rest *junk*. I always say if you want quality {materials} go German if you want quality {lasts and lasts} go Japanese. From the 34 cars I've owned this is what I've learned.
I have an IS350. I labored over the decision of which car to buy extensively for several months. Originally I was considering a wide array of cars in the segment, including C-Classes and 3 Series. In the end, I narrowed it down to the G35, the TL, and the IS350. All three cars were nice. I went went the Lexus because: it had just been redesigned (this was last spring, the new G wasn't out yet), it had the best build quality, it had the most features/was most luxurious, and was the best performer of the bunch. It also costs the most. The drawbacks of the IS compared to the others: the back seat is close to useless (I've had grown men back there, but not comfortably for extended trips), the maintenance is probably the most of the three (you said the nearest dealer is two hours away, too), it (as I said) costs about $10k more than a TL similarly equipped, and you will probably have to wait 3-4 months for a special order car if you want the car speced out how you want it as they are in short supply right now. Since you live so far from the nearest dealer, I'm assuming you haven't had a chance to test drive any of these yet. If you have an questions about the IS (or others), feel free to ask. I've had my car for about five months now.
well said, german car will look and feel as good as new many years down the road...the jap cars will run forever, but will look and feel old with worn seats, body rattles, and a general loose feel after several years....also keep in mind that BMW has finished 4th in the last few J.D. powers quality surveys, ahead of several of the japanese brands, including nissan.....
That stock is falling quickly as we speak. Sad, unwanted but true. Same with VW and Audi really, a bad last couple of years for the German brands.
I have a TL. Went from an AMG CLK to a TL. Big performance change, different price category. The TL is a bit pedestrian in the looks department but it has been bulletproof. On the inside it will keep you very entertained in traffic and the back seat is actually useful to passengers. The new TLs have real-time traffic reporting through XM. If I were you, I might even look into a lightly used AWD Acura RL, like an 06 or an 05. Those are great cars. RMX
I'd suggest spending 25 grand on a new LS2 Pontiac GTO. Even if you kept it half the years of the others Japanese brands....you have only spent about half the money.. It really is NOT A POS but I'm not here to convince you otherwise.. Just on the merits of its performance and ride. 400 hp .....tons of torque...rwd ...relatively mature styling....and the discounts are HUGE. Nice vehicle w/ 5 year/100k mile warranty to boot. Otherwise the IS350 at 44 grand is a good choice too.. The acura TL base sedan can be had for 30 grand ....(shop it hard as its in its mid life cycle so deals can be had )
my gs400 is a 99 with 135,000kms...still ooks great drives great. Just did the timing belts and all the breaks in the spring at 120 (First real money i spent in this car) plus the delaer came me a loaner for free for 3 days while they did the work. Bought my wife a rx330 in Dec 2005 as a 2006 model, havent been in the dealer at all for any manufacture defects (first time i came across this in my owning of about 5 new vehciles). Lexus is the way to go, I personally will never buy anything else again. IS350 is a bit tight, but no different that a c230 or Audi a4 IMO. The service you get from them are second to none. Good Luck !
Having just gone through this process this past summer with the same candidates, I bought a new rwd 3 series. First off, I already have a 4wd Tahoe as my bad weather car so I looked at the following: TL-this is a big Accord and I don't mean that in a negative way;if I spent most of my driving time in traffic and stoplight to stoplight driving I'd have bought the TL as the stereo and Bluetooth are great. However it is a front drive car and isn't as well balanced as a RWD car;the steering/braking/handling dynamics of a car are important to me.... G35-still had the old body style that I'm not a big fan of although they drove nice; 3 friends have the AWD version of the car and they all say the gas mileage sucks and 2 of them aren't hard on their cars; wasn't crazy about the quality of the materials....still a nice car but my knock on Nissan is that they don't have any involvement in a major racing series ala BMW, MB, Toyota and Honda all of whom are actively involved in F1 and I like to give my biz to companies who race.... I350-RWD which made it better than the TL and better materials/fit/finish than the G35;however the car dynamically isn't as good as a German car and the backseat was tight. If you enjoy spirited cornering the electronic driver aids come on too soon. Saw one in the parking lot next to my car this AM and they both look good.... Bottom line is there isn't a dog in the bunch....you can't build crap in this segment as it is too competitive... PS-Resale value was important to me and the 3 Series is one of the best in that regard, assuming you care.... Your primary consideration is where most of your driving will be done. If it snows alot get an Infiniti G35x or BMW330xi. In typical urban traffic give me a good stereo, navigation, Bluetooth and effective A/C-therefore I'd look at a TL....if you live in the suburbs with some nice driving roads and value vehicle dynamics check out a RWD BMW-coming out of a 996 I think vehicle dynamics would be a major factor in your decision.... Please keep us informed...
