In response to John's post above, I think your points are well-taken, but I was comparing the 300E to a '94 Lexus ES300, not an '88 Acura Legend. I agree that the Legend is a piece of crap. A friend of mine has an '88 Legend sedan, and while it always starts and moves on its own power, it is a complicated engineering nightmare which always has something wrong with it. Lexus cars are in another league when it comes to quality and reliability, and seem to hold their value pretty well, too. While I am definitely no fan of Japanese cars (too bland for me), my friends that drive Lexuses (Lexi?) never stop blathering about how much they love their cars and how wonderful their dealers are.

I'd be willing to bet you that (all other things being comparable) a 1990 Lexus LS400 with 150,000 miles on it has retained a higher percentage of its purchase price in resale value than a 1990 MB S-class. I'd also bet that with equal upkeep on both cars, the Lexus would still be as solid and reliable as the Benz, if not more so. I know it's hypothetical, but what do you folks think?
Colin