what luxury car would you get??

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GregGreen

Golden Member
Dec 5, 2000
1,688
5
81
I'd say Lexus IS350, or Infiniti G37. I have to add in the Audi S4 as well, but you said so no German, so throw it out if you want...
 

madoka

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2004
4,344
712
121
I'd say Lexus IS350, or Infiniti G37. I have to add in the Audi S4 as well, but you said so no German, so throw it out if you want...

Eh, what's it matter what you throw out. OP gave such a vague description of what he wants that this thread is pointless anyways.
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
13,413
1
0
im told those german cars are unreliable, especially after 3 years. so those bmw/audi are not in my book

all i want is reliable. dont care for speed/performance. would be sweet if i die before the car (im 32). any recommendations?

My wife is do for another car in a year or so, and we'll be cross shopping in the entry level luxury arena. I think these are the cars we'd consider:

Hyundai Genesis (sedan)
Acura TL
Acura TSX
Lexus IS250 AWD


We really like the Genesis though; her uncle has one and it is very nice.
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
My wife is do for another car in a year or so, and we'll be cross shopping in the entry level luxury arena. I think these are the cars we'd consider:

Hyundai Genesis (sedan)
Acura TL
Acura TSX
Lexus IS250 AWD


We really like the Genesis though; her uncle has one and it is very nice.

I drove a Genesis sedan from NH to FL - I liked it a lot. I would definitely go for the V8, though - this was a V6 and it could've used more power.
 

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,506
95
91
not sure if you guys know but the Lexus IS uses premium gas. why???
as im doing more research, its seems luxury car uses premium gas. sigh.....

the current car i have is the Lexus GS awd and mileage is ridiculously poor. the $$$ i spent feeding the lexus is more than the dollars i feed myself for food.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
And current sienna minivan. 4 vs 6 cylinder. Also 2011 Sonata the turbo 4 actually gets almost as good mileage as the 198 NA.In fact the timing belt service played a key role in me not buying a Honda earlier this year. It was just about due for service and the dealership wanted $750 for it. So I had to add that $750 onto the price of a $9k vehicle and it was one of the top two reasons I just didn't bother. On a new car it's moot, though, because it will be 7 (?) years or 100k before it needs attention.Because they don't need it regularly. Nissan's V6 is absolutely the last thing you need to worry about in one of their cars.

So, tell the dealer you'd buy it if they do the timing belt included in the $9k price. They probably would do this as their labor rates are much lower than what they actually charge and this job is mostly labor.

$750 over 100,000 miles is $0.0075 per mile in added maintenance cost...virtually negligible.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,589
986
126
lol What?

I don't know about the newer ones but I used to work in the rental car industry and talked with a woman I rented a car to who owned a Bentley. She said every time she took it in for service it cost her $5,000 because there was something wrong that needed to be fixed.
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
13,413
1
0
I drove a Genesis sedan from NH to FL - I liked it a lot. I would definitely go for the V8, though - this was a V6 and it could've used more power.

Yea, I don't think we'd consider the V8 just because of the price tag.
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,811
126
not sure if you guys know but the Lexus IS uses premium gas. why???
as im doing more research, its seems luxury car uses premium gas. sigh.....

the current car i have is the Lexus GS awd and mileage is ridiculously poor. the $$$ i spent feeding the lexus is more than the dollars i feed myself for food.

Sounds like you should look at econo boxes rather than luxury. Money seems to be your primary concern over anything else.
 

MotF Bane

No Lifer
Dec 22, 2006
60,801
10
0
I drove a Genesis sedan from NH to FL - I liked it a lot. I would definitely go for the V8, though - this was a V6 and it could've used more power.

Just had a vision of a V8 in a G (the Infiniti). :drool:
 

alexruiz

Platinum Member
Sep 21, 2001
2,836
556
126
Unless my glasses need replacement, I don't see where the OP wrote budget ;)
Making the assumption that money is no object, I'll go with the Aston Martin Rapide.... :p Now that is a ride for a dad :D :D
 

RKS

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,824
3
81
Just had a vision of a V8 in a G (the Infiniti). :drool:

They may drop the 35h motor in there. I think 360HP and 30MPG G would be nice. It would be more impressive if they shoehorn the 5.6 V8 and make it the IPL G sedan.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
Luxury and Reliability - Lexus, Acura and Infiniti

If you're concerned about premium gas, Volvo but their reliability isn't as good as the above.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
Always cracks me up when I see this. As though that's somehow going to sway me against purchasing an otherwise ideal car. Honestly, it has never even been a consideration for me.

Also, why mention the IS250 but not the IS350? Personally, I think the IS250 is underpowered. Get the IS350, it is worth it.

It is for me as someone who has had a timing belt go and destroy my engine. One less thing to worry about and pay to replace.
 

amdhunter

Lifer
May 19, 2003
23,332
249
106
BMW 335i or Audi S4. (And yes, I read the OP.)
Maybe a C350 fully loaded with Panoramic Roof. (Maybe.)
 

zsdersw

Lifer
Oct 29, 2003
10,505
2
0
I'd vote for the Acura TL. But then I'm biased.. I've owned one (2005). It was the most reliable and cheapest-to-maintain vehicle I've ever had.
 

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
I would LOVE an RS4. Not many of them in the street, and it looks so much nicer than the newer S4. I'd shit on myself if I had to fix something on it though.

yeah, i've read they're more reliable then the bi turbo'd s4's though ... which is a plus...they're sex!

I actually want a tdi Q5 too ...... haha
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Always cracks me up when I see this. As though that's somehow going to sway me against purchasing an otherwise ideal car. Honestly, it has never even been a consideration for me.

Also, why mention the IS250 but not the IS350? Personally, I think the IS250 is underpowered. Get the IS350, it is worth it.

I agree the IS250 is a bit weak and unsatisfying personally, but the OP specifically mentioned that he didn't care about speed/performance, so the average ~$7k saved might be good for him. If I was gonna have an IS, it'd have to be the 350. The IS-F is cool, but at that lofty price point I'd have a near-impossible time choosing it.

As per timing belts, the OP said he hoped that he would die before the car, hence someone who wants to drive the damn wheels off the thing and keep it until he can't drive anymore. Not the most realistic idea, but some people do it :) Not having a timing belt on a regular reliable motor like the VQ is a bonus, particularly for people who drive ~25k+ miles per year. Timing belt service is time consuming and $$$, unless you do it yourself, then it's still a small PITA. AFAIK, I haven't heard of any VQ's under 200k miles that needed any kind of timing chain service, and I've seen a lot of the VQ30s with almost 300k miles with no rebuild, gaskets, etc ever done to them. So it's kind of a nice thing. I'd imagine that on some higher-strung motors that the timing chain might need service nearly as often or as often as a timing belt, but the VQ doesn't seem to be like that at all.

as far as nissan, timing chains are pretty reliable on the 3.5/3.7 engines. replacement is probably 6-7 hours or so (flat rate labor), so costly but not horrifying given the parts are not that bad. but if you're tearing the front covers off it's probably because some dick didn't change the oil and the VVT stuff is fubar (and cam sprockets and covers (house the solenoids) are not cheap at all). with proper oil change intervals, that's a pretty decent motor. i would just say its dings come from not being QUITE so reliable as the honda engines plus their transaxles.

also, to whoever said brakes/tires are more expensive- try about 4x as expensive. the stuff costs a lot more in the first place, plus you're changing stuff out twice as often. then if you get to people who warp rotors (98% of them) and those that don't have their tires rotated, their is a SHITLOT of routine upkeep (some caused by owner error) on a majority of luxury cars.

Definitely :)
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
It is for me as someone who has had a timing belt go and destroy my engine. One less thing to worry about and pay to replace.

To play devil's advocate, that's something that *could* happen with a timing chain as well, but I've never known anyone personally that's had one fail. To me, it's just one expense/time thing I don't have to worry about.

I've also had a timing belt break and murder the motor : my ex's 2G Eclipse. Terrible, the belt was replaced with OEM at Mitsushiti dealer, but it still failed well under its rated lifespan.
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
not sure if you guys know but the Lexus IS uses premium gas. why???
as im doing more research, its seems luxury car uses premium gas. sigh.....

the current car i have is the Lexus GS awd and mileage is ridiculously poor. the $$$ i spent feeding the lexus is more than the dollars i feed myself for food.

Look at the new Focus, it's quite awesome when well equipped, with luxury, leather quality, interior design, features that are definitely on par or better in some cases than most entry-lux cars. All while giving you combined average fuel economy of well over 30mpg on regular unleaded. It also should be quite reliable and simple to maintain. And it looks nice, and not dumpy like a lot of compacts do.
 

A5

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2000
4,902
5
81
Look at the new Focus, it's quite awesome when well equipped, with luxury, leather quality, interior design, features that are definitely on par or better in some cases than most entry-lux cars. All while giving you combined average fuel economy of well over 30mpg on regular unleaded. It also should be quite reliable and simple to maintain. And it looks nice, and not dumpy like a lot of compacts do.

Yeah I was going to say this. Focus Titanium with all options is like $28K, 30 MPG, pretty nice. If you don't want to put in premium gas, then all of the normal luxury brands are out.