In my opinion there is no comparision. But dont forget I am comparing a 1987 to a 1994. BUT, and its a big but, they have very close mileage. The MB has 160K, and the Lexus has 138K. The MB is very torn apart with this mileage, these are what are wrong with my 160K MB:

It eats up a quart of oil per 1000 miles on average (Common problem, "some" oil consumption is even termed "normal" by mercedes, heh)

The A/C never worked (I actually fixed it by resoldering all the solders on the circuit board, but it still doesnt blow cold air, another common problem is the evaporator)

Stock radio is a piece of crap.

Windshield wipers are very very dangerous in a storm, they have a tendency to not clean very well, giving a smeared appearance that is very dangerous at night with light reflecting off the smears.

Sunroof track is broken, also a somewhat unrare problem on these. Replace the cable 3 times, still pops out.

These MB's are sloooow off the line.

Of course that is only one MB versus millions of other ones. But if you do a search of this site, especially for "climate control", "valve seals, and "wipers" you will be amazed at how many people are asking for help with these very common problems. So far my ES, which has 20k less mileage, is absolutely mint. I can almost smell the new car smell. The way it is laid out inside is an absolute dream, as well as comfortable as hell. No leaking sunroof, no peeling trim, no wind noise, etc. Oh and forget about driving around my MB in the snow, my old Camaro from high school handled better in the snow.

I did have the opportunity to test drive a 1997 ES320, which I considered buying. What amazed me was that the interior was still cramped, it still had the same basic look to the dash and climate control system, the windshield wipers still sucked in the rain, and it was still slow off the line. One test drive with the Lexus is all it took for me, expensive Toyota or not, I am very happy with it. I had some good times in the MB, but will not miss it.

Dont get me wrong, I am not dissing MB's. My friend had a 1994 SL500 which was very cool, rode like a dream, and also cost 4 times as much as my Lexus. I think to get the "MB" feel you have to have one of the bigger MB's out there.

But I still plan on getting a Roadster next summer, they still look super sharp to me and are very affordable, very nice summer car.

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2007 Corvette Convertible Torch Red
1996 MBz SL500
2008 Harley Davidson Night Rod Special