OT: Entry-Level Luxury Car Comparison

[LeaSD]

Lexus IS 350

I have a Lexus IS 300 (is a 2003 model – before they started making the IS 250/350). Great car – love it – love the Lexus dealer – sporty but also practical – back seat is comfortable enough for passengers (I don’t have people there very often or for very long) – one caveat – trunk is small. But mechanically – no problems – I look longingly at getter a newer model but I just can’t justify as mine is still so perfect and I am still happy driving it after 4 years (I bought used).

[an]

My preference would be:
G37 > 328i > C300 > A4 2.0T

Since you mentioned price and reliability and everything else under etc. I think G37 scores highest in price/reliability. Here are the prices according to Carsdirect.com of a relatively fully loaded cars:
G37 – $35,784
328i – $42,665
C300 – $43,798
A4 – $38,570

So, comparably equipped, the G37 is ~$3k-8k cheaper than the Germans. Even with the free maintenance of BMW, you still won’t make up the $7k price difference, especially if you stick to their maintenance schedule.

If you plan to keep the car well past 100k miles, although I don’t have personal experience w/ the BMW or Audi, I can say Infiniti is much more reliable than the Benz and much cheaper to maintain after you’re out of warranty too. FYI, if you buy the Infiniti, you can always bring it in to any Nissan dealer and they’ll maintain it for you, since it shares a lot of parts w/ the 370Z. It’ll save you a lot of $ in maintenance if you don’t care about being pampered. Mercedes tried to charge me for a $900 oil change once.

[an]

My preference would be:
G37 > 328i > C300 > A4 2.0T

Since you mentioned price and reliability and everything else under etc. I think G37 scores highest in price/reliability. Here are the prices according to Carsdirect.com of a relatively fully loaded cars:
G37 – $35,784
328i – $42,665
C300 – $43,798
A4 – $38,570

So, comparably equipped, the G37 is ~$3k-8k cheaper than the Germans. Even with the free maintenance of BMW, you still won’t make up the $7k price difference, especially if you stick to their maintenance schedule.

If you plan to keep the car well past 100k miles, although I don’t have personal experience w/ the BMW or Audi, I can say Infiniti is much more reliable than the Benz and much cheaper to maintain after you’re out of warranty too. FYI, if you buy the Infiniti, you can always bring it in to any Nissan dealer and they’ll maintain it for you, since it shares a lot of parts w/ the 370Z. It’ll save you a lot of $ in maintenance if you don’t care about being pampered. Mercedes tried to charge me for a $900 oil change once.

[an]

My preference would be:
G37 > 328i > C300 > A4 2.0T

Since you mentioned price and reliability and everything else under etc. I think G37 scores highest in price/reliability. Here are the prices according to Carsdirect.com of a relatively fully loaded cars:
G37 – $35,784
328i – $42,665
C300 – $43,798
A4 – $38,570

So, comparably equipped, the G37 is ~$3k-8k cheaper than the Germans. Even with the free maintenance of BMW, you still won’t make up the $7k price difference, especially if you stick to their maintenance schedule.

If you plan to keep the car well past 100k miles, although I don’t have personal experience w/ the BMW or Audi, I can say Infiniti is much more reliable than the Benz and much cheaper to maintain after you’re out of warranty too. FYI, if you buy the Infiniti, you can always bring it in to any Nissan dealer and they’ll maintain it for you, since it shares a lot of parts w/ the 370Z. It’ll save you a lot of $ in maintenance if you don’t care about being pampered. Mercedes tried to charge me for a $900 oil change once.

[an]

My preference would be:
G37 > 328i > C300 > A4 2.0T

Since you mentioned price and reliability and everything else under etc. I think G37 scores highest in price/reliability. Here are the prices according to Carsdirect.com of a relatively fully loaded cars:
G37 – $35,784
328i – $42,665
C300 – $43,798
A4 – $38,570

So, comparably equipped, the G37 is ~$3k-8k cheaper than the Germans. Even with the free maintenance of BMW, you still won’t make up the $7k price difference, especially if you stick to their maintenance schedule.

If you plan to keep the car well past 100k miles, although I don’t have personal experience w/ the BMW or Audi, I can say Infiniti is much more reliable than the Benz and much cheaper to maintain after you’re out of warranty too. FYI, if you buy the Infiniti, you can always bring it in to any Nissan dealer and they’ll maintain it for you, since it shares a lot of parts w/ the 370Z. It’ll save you a lot of $ in maintenance if you don’t care about being pampered. Mercedes tried to charge me for a $900 oil change once.

[an]

My preference would be:
G37 > 328i > C300 > A4 2.0T

Since you mentioned price and reliability and everything else under etc. I think G37 scores highest in price/reliability. Here are the prices according to Carsdirect.com of a relatively fully loaded cars:
G37 – $35,784
328i – $42,665
C300 – $43,798
A4 – $38,570

So, comparably equipped, the G37 is ~$3k-8k cheaper than the Germans. Even with the free maintenance of BMW, you still won’t make up the $7k price difference, especially if you stick to their maintenance schedule.

If you plan to keep the car well past 100k miles, although I don’t have personal experience w/ the BMW or Audi, I can say Infiniti is much more reliable than the Benz and much cheaper to maintain after you’re out of warranty too. FYI, if you buy the Infiniti, you can always bring it in to any Nissan dealer and they’ll maintain it for you, since it shares a lot of parts w/ the 370Z. It’ll save you a lot of $ in maintenance if you don’t care about being pampered. Mercedes tried to charge me for a $900 oil change once.

[CafeMoto]

I would drive them all and buy the one you fall in love with and can afford. Personally I would look into buying a used one for the huge discount off new and maybe step up in size to a 5 series or E class. My vote: 328, C300, then A4, and last the G37. I have not driven them all but I did not care for the G35 sedan I tested with 20K miles. I really liked Flu’s analysis.

[CafeMoto]

I would drive them all and buy the one you fall in love with and can afford. Personally I would look into buying a used one for the huge discount off new and maybe step up in size to a 5 series or E class. My vote: 328, C300, then A4, and last the G37. I have not driven them all but I did not care for the G35 sedan I tested with 20K miles. I really liked Flu’s analysis.

[CafeMoto]

I would drive them all and buy the one you fall in love with and can afford. Personally I would look into buying a used one for the huge discount off new and maybe step up in size to a 5 series or E class. My vote: 328, C300, then A4, and last the G37. I have not driven them all but I did not care for the G35 sedan I tested with 20K miles. I really liked Flu’s analysis.

[CafeMoto]

I would drive them all and buy the one you fall in love with and can afford. Personally I would look into buying a used one for the huge discount off new and maybe step up in size to a 5 series or E class. My vote: 328, C300, then A4, and last the G37. I have not driven them all but I did not care for the G35 sedan I tested with 20K miles. I really liked Flu’s analysis.

[CafeMoto]

I would drive them all and buy the one you fall in love with and can afford. Personally I would look into buying a used one for the huge discount off new and maybe step up in size to a 5 series or E class. My vote: 328, C300, then A4, and last the G37. I have not driven them all but I did not care for the G35 sedan I tested with 20K miles. I really liked Flu’s analysis.

[kcal09]

I favor the German cars over the Japanese as they tend to be more fun to drive. Infiniti may be the exception – it drives very peppy.

My ranking:
328 – Audi 5 – G37 – C300.

[kcal09]

I favor the German cars over the Japanese as they tend to be more fun to drive. Infiniti may be the exception – it drives very peppy.

My ranking:
328 – Audi 5 – G37 – C300.

[kcal09]

I favor the German cars over the Japanese as they tend to be more fun to drive. Infiniti may be the exception – it drives very peppy.

My ranking:
328 – Audi 5 – G37 – C300.

[kcal09]

I favor the German cars over the Japanese as they tend to be more fun to drive. Infiniti may be the exception – it drives very peppy.

My ranking:
328 – Audi 5 – G37 – C300.

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