Lexus 400LS 96 vs MB E320 95

[acha3]

What car do you consider for the best daily driver?
what car is less cost to own?
Thanks in advance

Make that "fancy toyota" vs. MB.

Best of luck with your decision,

[Antony]

My father ownes the Lexus, I own the Benz, I repair both. Both of our cars has been very reliable, with expensise slightly higher for the Benz (it needed some A/C work last summer). The Lexus has run really reliably.
As a daily driver both are quite comfortable. The engine in the Lexus revs really freely to high rpm's, and the sound system is out of this world. The Benz motor seems 'tighter', less able to rev, but has really good torque. Both transmissions shift really smoothly- although at different RPM's.
If I had to choose I would buy the Benz again, it's just so well put together, and the materials used are much nicer.
I hope this helps.

J. D. Power's ratings show the Lexus to be better at Initial and Midterm quality. There is no Longterm data for the Mercedes but the Lexus is outstanding.

Initial quality is 90 days and is meaningless. Midterm is 1-3 years and is important because here's where design problems show up. Longterm (3-5 years) is important because it indicates longterm reliability.

However, if you are comparing two specific cars then you need to compare their condition and maintenance history. Are they both one owner cars? Are they both from private parties or from dealers? Do they both have OEM parts like filters or some indication that they have been serviced by Jiffy Lube?

I won't buy a used car but in this case, if the condition and maintenance history were a wash, I'd take the Lexus because they are consistantly ranked the best car from the best manufacturer (Toyota).

Finally, I've driven Mercedes for the last 20 years and my next car will be a new E-Class.

[Joseph_H]

You'de feel better driving it... that's all it matters... all cars cost $$ to fix... It looks good 20 years from now where the Lexus won't. my 2 cents. Good luck!