Comments on: Car Stereotypes: BMW, Lexus, Mercedes

By: Dean

Dean — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:30:48 +0000

If you want reliability you wouldn’t buy BMW or Mercedes, or just about any other luxury car for that matter. Other than Lexus and Cadillac, the rest of them are far below average in reliability. Additionally, repairs are costly no matter what you get. They aren’t likely to fall apart as soon as you drive it out of the lot like a Hyundai or a Kia, but some repairs should be expected.

If it’s just reliability you want, get a Toyota or a Buick or maybe Honda but I don’t think they’re all that reliable in the past 15 or so years…

As far as luxury goes, I’ve driven many older, upscale cars (’81 and ‘84 Buicks for example) and I would take those interiors over just about anything on the market today. Today’s cars are all made of cheap plastics. But if you like the standard European car interiors (BMW, Mercedes), they’ve generally kept their interiors pretty much the same over the past 35+ years.

Also the reason you see more BMWs on the street than Lexus’s is quite simple – 20 years later, what’s worth keeping? A 1989 Lexus? I could just as well get a car 10 years newer and a whole lot more luxurious for the same price. Lexus has got better recently, but they had no appeal when Toyota first launched the brand…

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By: The Lee

The Lee — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:53:32 +0000

I’m not entirely sure how “cool” = “reliable”. Then again, I guess it’s not very “cool” to be broken down on the side of the road while on a date…

There are a ton of car stereotypes, and (often enough) they’re fitting. BMWs attract a certain type of person, as do Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, 911s, Escalades, Camrys, etc. And they’re supposed to. The great thing about having such a diverse amount of cars to choose from is that they all appeal to different people for different reasons.

We happen to like BMWs. Are they expensive to maintain? They can be. Do their owners have a tendency to be arrogant? They certainly can be. Do they tend to be owned by geeks that probably ramble on about the vehicle’s features to others that couldn’t care less? We’re all reading this, aren’t we? That means we’re at least geeky enough about our Bimmers to browse a site simply to keep tabs on what they’re coming up with next.

We are what we are. So be it; I’m perfectly fine with that. At least I’m not a mullet-wearing, Lynyrd-Skynyrd-jamming, Coors-drinking Camaro driver… (put your guns down, F-Body owners; I’m just joking around.)

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By: D solomon

D solomon — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:37:19 +0000

BMW is always going to have technology inovation, but I guess people are looking for light, camera and action in the interior. Like Lexus and Mercedes Benz but BMW is prestige like the clock Big Ben, it has a classic interior and heavy, I have drove Japanese Cars and their not as heavy as the BMW and you hear wind in the inside. Get back to the topic, cars will always change the minds of people just because of the stage of life where that person is at. BMW will always be one of my first choices because of BMW heart. All of the Auto Manufactures are getting soft and putting cheat material in their car, suv, and truck segments. Give me what I pay for and that’s luxury and performace!

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By: Carlos Perez

Carlos Perez — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:58:20 +0000

@Tuesmq:
Still there are more old BMW in the streets, and no to many lexus, and one more thing the press, and the market are two totally different things, the Uk press is related to the BMW Brand, so it applies because the cars that are sold in the USA, are the same that the ones in the UK, MEX, etc… they are build in Germany, so the reliability of the cars should be the same.

@whitby:
I think that the Lexus replacement parts are a a lot cheaper, because they use Toyota parts, and still sell them to you more expensive.

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By: Tuesmq

Tuesmq — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:46:17 +0000

There’s no doubt that Lexus is more reliable than BMW as a brand. The link you provide is from a UK press, which has nothing to do with the U.S. market.

If you browse the BMW forums, you’ll see that many owners do not plan to keep their cars after warranty expires, or plan to purchase extended warranty. Consider that usually the people who are on the forum are usually more informed and more enthusiastic about cars, you get the bigger picture.

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By: Artmic

Artmic — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:12:05 +0000

I sat in a Mercedes C300, and the interior “looked” very nice, but the climate knobs were so cheap if a person with meaty hands pushed too hard they would break…. I guess Mercedes luxury does not go down to the C class of car. knobs made in China. i guess that is where they will make their money, 400,000 new knobs at $25 a knob.

BMW’s interior is boring, and needs a refresh badly IMO. The AC grills need to be made bigger IMO.

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By: whitby

whitby — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:53:31 +0000

Stereotypes often have their basis in facts. I have had 12 BMWs and very few Japanese cars (one in fact, it was an Infiniti). In general BMWs need to be looked after and, sadly, the ones built in the US are the worst from a reliability point of view (2 x X5s and a Z4 Coupe). I have also owned a MB (E500) which required as much work to keep it going as the worst of my BMWs. Bottom line is that BMWs require lots of love, care and attention which is the price you pay for a performance car. The Lexus appears to be for the “give it gas, oil and water and it will give you sterling service” group. However a Lexus drives like soggy rice pudding and does not give you the driving experience. You “pays your money” and take your choice. Me, I love BMWs and will continue to buy them, but I do not fool myself into thinking they are super reliable and cheap to run. They are not.

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By: Gil

Gil — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:16:29 +0000

*shrug* I have all 3 brands sitting in my driveway, and then some. I love cars too much. In the end, all these cars *are* reliable if properly maintained. The question is: how often and how much? From my personal experience, my (1999) 740iL goes in about every other month. But it’s aging quickly, so things do break more often, and I understand that. I love that car too much I’ll keep it running forever and ever.
And that’s followed, in order:
2006 X3 (not amused by the frequency of service),
2006 GTI Mk.V,
2003 S500 4matic,
2001 LX470,
and amazingly, the old clunker 1993 GMC Suburban, which requires the least amount of service. Surprised? :)

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By: samK

samK — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:03:19 +0000

Lexus vehicles are just basically luxury Toyotas. Its all about branding actually. Even though BMW interior isn’t up to par compared to other brands, I still prefer it towards Lexus interior. I just find Lexus interior very plastic and gives you a fake-luxury feel.

BMW 7 Series/ Mercedes S Class > Audi A8/ Lexus LS

@jon H: I do like the S-Class’s door closing feature. Its really a cool feature! :)

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By: jon H

jon H — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:50:26 +0000

@BMfan: S-classes have had quiet close door foeer, beginning im pretty sure two generations ago.

Im not defending mercedes but I just know this for a fact as many of m friends parents had them. If the door was partially closed the system would pull the door closed the rest of the way and seal it.

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By: sam

sam — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:34:15 +0000

I totally agree with _Auday_ the interior parts of BMW are fragile! One time I forgot to push the cup holder of a 5-series back in place, and then when I enter the car I accidently kneed the thing, and it broke. The thing is literally destroyed.. and not covered by warranty.

Like said, these stereotypes don’t happen without a reason. I mean, imagine choosing between a 2000 BMW and a 2000 Lexus as a reliable daily driver. Any sane person would choose the Lexus. My coworker owns a 2000 E46 323i and just in this year, he had a cracked hose and a failed water pump, both of which cost over $4k in repair. BMW labor rates FTL.

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By: _Auday_

_Auday_ — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:12:29 +0000

dont want to sound negative here, but some stereo types have a reason. BMW are great and reliable cars but compared to Lexus they are less reliable.
BMW specifically has a problem with interior parts, for example door panels, door handles, glove boxes, even sun roofs… they all have some kind of failure after the years. Simple things like CD player that skips like hell in a sport car that is designed to have firm suspension, a glove box that rattles from day one in a convertible, a door panel (especially E36) that goes off because it’s attachemnt liner is attached by glue.

If you buy older cars and do lots of DYI, you will discover lots of things that are very badly designed an manufactured in BMWs.

Other than interior, there were lots of other issues even low suites against BMW regarding things like rod bearings failure, subframe differential mounts … etc.

I drove my aunts 1998 Lexus ES and the car felt and worked like it’s just coming out of the showroom, everything in the interior is rock solid, zero rattles, and all electronics work perfectly. But yes it’s very boring.

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By: Lawrence

Lawrence — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:22:54 +0000

BMW is a solid brand that most people have no knowledge of. BMW’s are extremely reliable if properly maintained. And dont forget, these car manufactures can say how reliable there cars are but I think reliability comes from the engineering and BMW does phenominal engineering on all of there cars especially the M3. So that girl may have picked Lexus, but how is Lexus’s engineering? Does Lexus’s engineering stack up against BMW?, I dont think so.

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By: Giom

Giom — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:55:01 +0000

I agree whole heartedly with you Horatiu. I think the problem with assumption is the lack of knowlidge about anything other than your prefered brand.

The reason I prefere BMW to any ather marque is because I know where BMW is strong and the others arn’t. To me it’s not a bline faith thing. I know who pioneers and who follows. But most people don’t know enough about the other makes to make up their own minds. Everything they know is what they hear from other people. And thats a pitty.

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By: BMfan

BMfan — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:55:52 +0000

I really dont know what luxury is in Mercedes, that’s not in BMW. BMW to me is always ahead in innovation. As at 2007 there was still no comfort access in Merc and till now I doubt if their brands-even the S class-comes with soft close doors. I could be wrong but I was in an auto fair recently and as I opened the new E-class boot it flew on my face as against the BMW that glides open gently-wats the luxury in merc then.

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By: Andy Pan

Andy Pan — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:18:52 +0000

Let me guess – was she Asian?

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