Mercedes E320 4matic or a Lexus GS300 AWD (new in 05)

Torn? Are you crazy? You can not beat Lexus quality and CERTAINLY not with a Mercedes these days. Mercedes is becoming what Cadillac became in the

1980s....a poster child for "has been". When I was a teen (in the 1970s), EVERYONE aspired to own a Cadillac. By the mid 1980s the Cadillac was a joke..the V8-6-4 engine, the Cavalier-Cimarron, diesel engines that died. Mercedes was then the car people aspired to. Read the quality reports ANYWHERE. The car people aspire to is Lexus. Why? Quality. If you have a GS on order and already have such good experiences, why punish your success?

Mercedes is not reliable these days. the new e320 looks awesome, I will give you that. But the lexus is soo much better.

Lease the Mercedes for 4 years - its warranty period - and then decide to buy it or move on.

I've owned Mercedes for 24 years now and concluded that ownership past the warranty period is not the ownership experience that satisfies many new car owners.

Cars are getting too complicated for independent shops and the dealer's (owner paid) repairs are very expensive. As cars' technology content increases they will become obsolete as well as worn out - scrap in either case, not family treasures.

Yeah but that is NOT true for Lexus. Go to CLUBLEXUS.COM and see how many older Lexi are still running strong without aggravation to the owners. Then go to a Mercedes forum and see what you find there. It's simply not true, as you implied, that an out-of-warranty Lexus will be as troublesome as an out-of-warranty (or even IN warranty) Mercedes.

Checkout the infinity G35x

it is their version of a AWD - sporty and fun in addition to reliability

I bought a used Audi S8 for a combination of sports ability and daily driver usage. Not the A8, but the S8. Might be worth a look for all wheel drive in a sporty sedan.

We also have the Lexus RX330 for a bit more serious snow use.

Both are great. And if you're willing to buy a used vehicle, you can get a bargain. The 2002 S8 stickered with options at about $80,000 new in 02. Now you can find them in the high $40s, low $50s with low miles. Mine is Audi Certified, which gives me a warranty out to the end of 2007 or 100,000 miles.

Just something to think about if you're going to buy a new Mercedes E320

4matic (which I think will be underpowered based upon my former 99 S Class S420) for those kind of dollars, anyway.

Yeah - Check out the Infinity, if you don't give a rip about resale value. In fact, I am pretty sure you can buy a G35 for at least 15k off sticker.... just ask. Nissan / Infinity will do ANYTHING to sell a car.

All cars have problems. Your odds are better in a Toyota, but there are no guarantees. Further the E-class has typically been among the more reliable of the Mercedes. So if they're close, go for the Lexus, but if you really like the Mercedes, don't buy a car you don't like just because of the reliability record. And keep in mind that the first year of any new model is often problematic. The 98 GS300 had quite a few problems, thus the actual delta in reliablity between a first year Lexus and a 3rd-year Mercedes may not be much at all.

- Mark