Considering Lexus 400

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Originally Posted by turnne

Mine was a turbodiesel...and the Mercedes had some internal engine problems with the 90-95 3.5 liter turbodiesel engine..namely the connecting rods would bend and cause internal wear...the fix was a new short block and piston set..or a MB offered a remanufactured long block

Ohhh, you had the 350SD eh? With the "sunlight seeking" rods? No wonder the warranty paid out so much on that car...those were the most problematic of the W140s. What kind of warranty did you have on it? Starmark? It seemed like it covered everything that went wrong on it...

[turnne]

It was an aftermarket warranty...however there was "legal" action on my part to get them to cover the engine replacement

When the mechanic at the MB dealer told me I had bent connecting rods he said the fix would be about $9000.00( parts and labor) for new short block replacement.
This was the fix that MB gave the owners when they had this issue under factory warranty..many times before the cars had 50K miles on them I learned later..but most often at about 80-90K miles which was my personal case

In my case the warranty company kept asking for more and more engine teardown..they also had parts sent to a third party party mechanic to give his diagnosis....well after my engine was completely torn apart and three mechanics had all given the same answer..they denied my claim

I authorized the MB dealer to put an exchange rebuilt long block engine assembly in my car( $13,800) and then sued the warranty company...well long story short they ended up paying this repair and the associated attorneys fees about a year later
They probably paid about $26000 on my car( including some attorneys fees)
They would have been much better of paying the initial $9000 a year earlier

And after all this I had a car that had a 4 year 48 month warranty on the entire engine..and then about $7000 of other replaced parts

but a buddy of mine bought a 1992 400SE( a starmark vehicle) years ago and he probably had about $10000 paid by the Mercedes starmark warranty


so that makes me laugh when I see something about buying extended warrantys that was talked about in this forum...some were saying they were never a good idea...depending on what you have bought I would disagree


but in any case this was one of the reasons I traded for a BMW the next time


Warren

[61loub]

I know everyone has there opinion, but I think the 2002 Seville is junk. It handles like your fathers Oldsmobile, is cumbersome to drive in city traffic and has more issues than I care to get in to (inherent to the car). I have never owned a lexus although I have sold many and they seem to be great cars.
I sold a 2004 Mercedes C series for the cadillac and my wife drives an ML320. I am selling the caddy in the next month and going back to Mercedes or possibly a Lexus. I'm not being disrespectful to anyone that owns and loves their cadillac, as we say in the car business there's an a$$ for every seat and mine doesn't fit well in the seville.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

@ Turnne, who was your warranty company?

[Mountie]

From this inside out, the 400 is a great car. ( I got into one and it talked to me! ) Power head rests etc....

But on the outside.... you wouldn't sit outside on the front yard looking at it. It's just not sporty.

[adamh21]

I own a 99 STS, and previously a 98 SLS. Ive driven (extensively) a LS400. I have also worked at a lexus/toyota dealer. There is no question that the fit and finish of lexus toyota is WORLDS above cadillac chevy. There is no question (in my mind) that lexus toyota has never built an engine on the level of the N*.

In my opinion, I would rather, and do, own a STS over a LS400. But everyone would have different reasons for what they would buy. I have seen some good points made in this thread, and I have seen some pointless things pointed out...Such as the lexus cabin being more quiet than the cadillac, which is false.

I think these cars are too different for someone to want to buy both, but that was proven wrong before I wrote is, as someone obviously was considering both.

So in summation, I just said precisely nothing of value or interest....

Terrible.

[tateos]

I rode in a LS400 maybe 10 years ago - I thought it was the most solid, quiet, smooth car I had ever been in, and I think that still holds true. I would never buy one though - like John Mellencamp sings:: "This is our country"

[adamh21]

Originally Posted by tateos

I rode in a LS400 maybe 10 years ago - I thought it was the most solid, quiet, smooth car I had ever been in, and I think that still holds true. I would never buy one though - like John Mellencamp sings:: "This is our country"

You are aware that there are more Lexus/Toyota/Scion products built in the US, than any "American" car company...right?

[Yaemish]

I like the Northstar too but the Lexus engine may be just as strong. Its defiantly faster to accelerate than the Seville and *maybe* quicker than even the SRX which is a beast compared to the Northstars in all my previous Caddies.

[tateos]

Originally Posted by adamh21

You are aware that there are more Lexus/Toyota/Scion products built in the US, than any "American" car company...right?

I don't think that is anywhere near true. I don't think any Scions are made here. Maybe certain Lexi? Not sure on that. Yes to some Toyota's. So I think there are a lot more vehicles made in the US by the Big Three than made here by Toyota. I understand what you are saying, but I prefer to support companies that are based in the US. If Toyota makes a profit on a US made vehicle, where does that profit end up? Back in Japan, right? I think maybe it is mostly a patriotic thing, but I am old school. There are so may things that you just can't even buy US made that I try to do so whenever I can. I bought an Ingersoll Rand impact wrench 6 months ago at Sears - all of the Sears and Craftsman impact wrenches are made in China.

I do have to confess that we bought a Pontiac GP in '04 made in Oshawa Ontario, but I guess that's sort of OK, since I consider US and Canada economies as virtually the same. Anyway, to each each his own.