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Sedans BMW 3-Series BMW 3-series vs Lexus IS
1527 messages, Last post on May 20, 2009 at 1:33 PM
You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: wco81 (Oct 22, 2005 6:50 am) Truth be told when using synthetic oil, it isn't necessary or even worth changing at the 3K-5K mark except maybe at intial break in to remove the metal fragments. When used in the proper setup, with a metal filter, synthetic oil should easily last 10K+ with the harshest driving conditions. I don't know what kind of filter Lexus uses but the only way I can see changing synthetic oil at 5K is with a paper filter. The synthetic oil will actually out last the paper filter. On another issue, does the basic stereo on the 3-series have aux inputs? I believe that the 3 series comes with an AUX port of MP3 players but don't quote me on that. |
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Replying to: wco81 (Oct 22, 2005 6:50 am) The base system in the E90 has the aux port, but the base stereo is blah. I want to say that they are working on an ipod interface like the one that is in the E46 to be deployed sometime in Oct or Nov. If you go to carsdirect.com, you will see "MP3 capabilities available in Oct" under the Navi option. And just for grins and giggles, I want to jump into the texasmerc vs. brightness fray!!! I think that the mags are a little biased toward BMW in that they focus on the immediate driving experience rather than the experience of living with a car day to day. The enthusiats might really care about what the mags focus on (ex. turn in, body roll, toe-heeling, driving at 9/10ths), but lots of drivers focus ho-hum stuff like reliability, cushy seats, how well the A/C works in the summer, etc. There are probably shady things things that go on in any test or ranking related to ad revenue, but after reading lots of reviews and taking an average, you should be able to have a really clear picture of what to expect from a car.
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Replying to: cardriver7007 (Oct 22, 2005 6:03 pm) I can wholeheartedly agree with that summary. It just bothers me that people honestly believe that Lexus or Japanese brands for that matter never have vehicle breakdowns and that all non-Japanese vehicles are trash. That's one of the most pushed around misconceptions. Everyone always incites their reasons as CR and JD Power reviews and like someone else mentioned BMW for one was third on that list for reliabilty but everyone here is talking about them like it's a Ford Pinto. Nowadays pretty much everyone makes a "good" car. Obviously some are better than others and some cars in general are perceived a bit more reliable. Truth be told I've seen every kind of car on the side of the road broken down for whatever reason from Kia all the way up to Ferrari's and everything in between.
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Replying to: wco81 (Oct 22, 2005 6:50 am) On the ipod issue there were recalls on the nano before I had a chance to pick one up. So i havent decided what im going to choose yet. But yes there is a input in the A/C cooled center console. DL |
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Replying to: texasmerq (Oct 22, 2005 8:57 pm) Theres no doubt that BMW is #1 for performance and if one had to rent a BMW or Lexus, the BMW would win >90%. However, long term reliability cost goes to Toyota/Lexus hands down. I work at a huge firm, over 3000 people (engineers, techs), with plenty of BMWs, Lexus, etc. Those who own Germans cars for more than 5 years mention the cost of repair. Their car may not break down on the freeway, but with 1000 motors, one is bound to fail every other day! (JOKE from 7 series owner) I had a 92 Toyota MR2 turbo that was actually pretty reliable, but I was scared of any problems because parts/labor very expensive on that car. Oil pressure light came on, $15 sensor fixed it, but could have been oil pump which would be >$1000 for labor to get to it. BMW likely similar experience. BTW, CR loves BMW cars, they just dont recommend them strongly because their readers complain of electrical problems, etc. As far as bias, CR and JDP have low systemic bias. Even if they did have BIAS, why would it favor one car over another? So Toyota bribes CR readers and JDP staff, but the German companies dont? I was shocked to see this at Forbes, where BMW and Mercedes MUST advertise: http://www.forbes.com/vehicles/2005/07/05/luxury-cars-vehicles-lifestyle-cx_dl_0705feat.ht- ml |
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Replying to: lovemyclk (Oct 21, 2005 1:51 pm) |
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| The truth is that today's cars, at least in this category, are generally all so good that we are sometimes fooled by things reported in percentages. For example, I've seen statements like "Brand A is twice as reliable as brand B". Then you look at the actual data, and find that brand A has two defects in 1000 vehicles and brand B had four defects. Yes, percentage-wise A has half the defects of B, but in actual numbers we're talking really good results in both cases -- maybe even equal within the limits of statistical significance. | |
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Replying to: g17 (Oct 24, 2005 5:06 am) Sounds like a Honda tranny... |
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I have the comparo right in front of me. Since it is in magazine form, I will just type it up (this is for blue01s4). Here is the performance aspect: Powertrain: (330i/IS 350) performance (20) - 17/20 engine flexibility (5) - 5/5 fuel economy (5) - 5/5 engine NVH (10) - 9/9 transmission (10) - 9/8 total (50) - 45/47 Chassis: (330i/IS 350) performance (20) - 19/17 steering feel (5) - 4/4 brake feel (5) - 5/5 handling (10) - 10/9 ride (10) - 9/7 total (50) - 47/42 gotta-have-ite factor (25) - 23/23 fun to drive (25) - 23/22 The end result of the whole test: 213/212 Note: fit and finish (10) - 9/9 "The electrical ticks began shortly after it was delivered. Ours [push-button start] would work only after several exasperated pushes and fiddling... Then the ABS lamp lit. We tried to execute one stop on our high-desert test road and nearly executed a 360 spin at 70 mph... Shortly thereafter several airbag-malfunction warnings lit up... Even with its dash ablaze in emergency alerts, the 330i wormed its way into our hearts." - C&D I would consider the BMW if the interior didn't make me want to puke and the reliability was not an issue. But, that's a big IF. |
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Replying to: g17 (Oct 24, 2005 5:06 am) What Lexus did right was handle the problem without hassle for her. She wasn't out of pocket for any costs and the repairs were performed properly. I'm assuming the "$9K" in repairs for your 2003 were under warranty?
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