I have a lot of friends telling me to get a BMW that they go forever and I have friends too telling to get a Mercedes for the same reason. I don't know what to get. Which would you prefer and why?

BMW.  Mercedes quality has slipped over the last decade.  However, BMW isn't necessarily all that either - - I've drove several that seemed clunky and not that high quality.  I's generally choose BMW between these 2 tho.

Ahh yes, the turmoil involved in choosing the right status symbol....

BMW has better handling than benz---noticed from older models from '79 and '85---stick to the road very well--I'm sure the newer models are similar.  Beware though, all german vehicles do have electrical problems(same with other european vehicles),maintenance is high.

BMW, had a 06 325.  The performance was amazing.  You feel confident going around a corner, even with its weight.  The service center is great too, feels like you get white glove service as soon as you pull in.  If you can afford it, get it.

Of course, you'll have to admit you sold out and look like a yuppie prick :-)

they don't manufacture enough stick shift cars, no fun to drive.

Walk and/or ride a horse

Best car I ever owned was a BMW M3.  However, like a Mercedes, once you're off the warranty, everything and I do mean everything, is expensive.  If you have cash, you can buy a "previously owned" (used) Mercedes or BMW for a decent price now.  Car lots need to move their used inventory and cash is king.  Amazing deals.

do NOT get the mercedes C300. it SUCKS.

i have a bmw 540 wagon and i LOVE it. it's an older model, but it kicks ass.

unfortunately some stupid bitch hit it and it's in the shop now and the rental place stuck me with their version of a 'luxury' car - the C300. it's slow. it has no pick up. it hesitates going into gear. it's small.

I haven't got any experience with  Mercedes, but I can tell you BMW has lots of issues.  The buttons break easily, cup holders suck! Everything is really fragile. And I am sort of an oaf so I need tougher interiors. The VW I just got is terrific! Go Germany!

The 3-series Beemers are the most reliable in their lineup since it's proven and trickle down technologies from the 7- and 5- series. The 7-series is the technological guinea pigs and are the most error prone.

One of my friends is a senior engineer at a Bay Area dealership and he was telling me that from experience on the shop-floor.

Make sure to get the 6yr/100,000mile warranty and you won't pay a cent for all servicing and repair work (except for tyres and self-inflicted accidents) else it's really expensive to maintain them.

And errr ... spare me the American Cars !

Yea, can't beat a Lexus or Acura for bang-for-the-buck, but then at this level the brand counts for a lot too !

+1 Lexus, next time I'm in the market I'm getting one of the cute new little SUV's they have.
Oh god, did I really just say that?
Anyway, I'm sitting at Peet's coffee and it's dead quiet in here. Only me and this chick in a corner. She just FARTED. I'm right behind her. Oh god! The smell! The SMELL!!

You're sure to get opinions in every direction.  The thing is that outside of a few areas, it's very difficult to generalize what you can expect to experience from the cars...as such, unless you have very strict criteria, there will be no clear winner.  Experiences based on the ownership/experience of one model does not necessarily predict the experience you're going to get.

Your best bet is to make a short list of all the cars that you would consider, then test drive all of them and pick what you like best.  There is no substitute...for a test drive and imho, it often reveals aspects that you might not have previously considered.

Umesh you have a BMW?

Mercedes....BMW's fall apart and/or catch on fire.  I've never known a decent human being that owns a 500 series BMW.

Been very pleased with my 2003 C32 AMG.  No problems what so ever.  I wish I could say the same for the POS Audi I had before that.

Tried the bmw, love my audi way better. mom has a benz and i hate it. AUDI Rules.

I mean my Ferrari is just so much better than all this shite..really people? The tough lives we lead.

audi makes a great car.

I don't know if Mercedes can also do this, but BMW can open the car remotely if you locked your keys in. I have a X5 right now. I love it. One day I might get a Mercedes.....maybe when I'm older.

wouldn't bother with either one both are shit and have horrible lasting rates if ur willing to splurge money over the next few yrs on repairs then go for if not i would say go for lexus not an es though acura or audi. on top of that i heard ford now owns some of mercedez ha go figure. bmw's can last u long however it's a win lose if u do cause i still see some of the old school ones on the road but those are mostly the dieasel one's and like the guys above me a few said a whille ago bmw's been slippin over the yrs soooo yea

Drivers of both are assholes.

I had  a BMW 528. It was heavy and you feel it when you sit and you feel more safe. You may have to spend lot of money for maintainance after 40,000 to 50,000.

I traded BMW and I brought E350. I really enjoyed driving this car. The drive was very smooth.  I leased this car for 30 months.

Now I leased ML350 fully loaded SUV.  I realized now that I am not a SUV person. The car is OK but I don't see good pick up compared to the cars I drove before but excellent safety. I have compared X5 with ML350 some reason I went with ML350

One thing for sure. All these cars are computerized you have to be very careful about the maintainance. From my exp I have seen people spending three time more then any Japanese car

BMW is a driver's car, good for those who know cars.
Mercedes Benz is a grandpa/ma cart witha  comfy ride and no balls (even the AMG's)
Lexus is a nice car, but I still feel like I'm driving an overpriced Toyota.
Infinity is a nice car, but I still feel like I'm driving an overpriced Nissan.
Acura is a... (You get the idea by now).......Honda.
Audi blah blah blah blah................Volkswagan.

Of you gotta go import, get the BMW...just don't turn into a lame fuck (if you aren't already). That's the usual side effect of owning a BMW.

BMW and Mercedes are more different than you think if you get familiar with them.  Drive each and see what feels better to you.  Take the brand name out of our consideration.  Buy whichever you think is the better car.  

In case of a tiebreak, BMW still offers full maintenance for free for 4 years/50k miles.  You have to pay for all maintenance out of pocket for Mercedes.

If I had the money I don't think I would go with a Lexus. It would be like buying an expensive Toyota Camry, the same would go with an Acura. Same when the Acura NSX came out, I saw the price tag and was like WTF? Who would wanna get a 80k 2 seater Honda. I'd rather get a BMW, or Bently for that much.

in my opinion it depends on the model and the year,
right now the mercedes across the board is a better when comparing the two.
during the chrysler years the bmw was slightly better.
the lexus is living off its reputation right now.

Caitlin, no I don't have a BMW.
I was merely recounting what my roommate who's a service engineer at BMW told me.

I think we all should go to the car show at Moscone Cntr. this year.

4 minutes ago Joao "El Masiso" B. says:

If I had the money I don't think I would go with a Lexus. It would be like buying an expensive Toyota Camry, the same would go with an Acura. Same when the Acura NSX came out, I saw the price tag and was like WTF? Who would wanna get a 80k 2 seater Honda. I'd rather get a BMW, or Bently for that much.
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u do have a point to a certain extent however 80% of bmw or mercedez owners run into alot of problems with there cars over the yrs bmw and mercedez is just a name point blank period when u narrow it down to be honest and yes the resale value for them are good however it's still an anomoly on why they would when they have more problems than any other car out there. And yes when u buy an acura, lexus or infinity it is like buying an overpriced honda, toyota and nissan duhhh those are the brands they do branch off of  personally i own a an acura and the name at all doesn't bother me a bit as a matter of fact i consider myself a lil more luckier than the guy driving a mercedz or bmw cause the parts for my car are alot cheaper and they're so practical i can pretty much to the work myself bmw and mercedez ppl don't really have that option well all in all it's all depentent on opnion like i said if u have the money to afford high costly maintence or speratic breakdowns then by all means go for it but if u want a luxury name thats practical and is gona last u long without breaking the  bank then a japeanease car would be da best choice.

My razor hasn't broken down yet

Funny thing is, no one has asked Joao how much he wants to spend. Why don't we start there, eh ?

Funnier thing is that nobody asked Joao why he has a picture of Che as an avatar yet started this decidedly capitalist thread.

Since he's already talking about a Beemer or Merc we assume he's got enough for a 3- or a C

I'll answer both questions:

1) I have about 4K to spend on a used either MB or BMW

2) How is this tread capitalist, Hitler had a BMW.

Hitler wasn't a Marxist.

I'm not saying he was, I'm just saying he had a BMW.

ok...dial it back down...
hummm...a good used car for 4k...well then...
a real clean 1-owner older couple honda is in your future.
your other choices will be oney pits.

So, your argument is since Hitler, a fascist and anti-communist owned a BMW, it is perfectly logical that Che, a Marxist and communist, would be equally justified in owning a BMW?

money pits, i mean.
wait do you mean 40k...then if possible grab an E-class 08 before they are all gone.

yeah, 4k? honda is your friend. or toyota.

unless you're mechanically inclined and can do your own work - and have a good source for parts.

also, josh, punctuation is your friend. it's hard to take you seriously with that

if don't know the difference or can't tell yourself - why spend so much money on a car?

4K ??? :-O
(feel like a Beemer salesperson who just realised he was wasting his time and effort)

You should look at '90s Toyotas and Hondas (or Nissan) etc

also depends on what type of car.... roadster, SUV, or luxury sedan.

you could probably get a really old BMW... like '95 for 4k.

Benz!  I drive a ML and love it.

doesn't look like jd powers says toyotas are way better than BMW or mercedes.

but i do agree that buying new is a waste. you lose value as soon as you drive out of the lot

whats the best place to take my friends for my 21st birthday!!??!

i know euge's answer to this question:

BMW

Mercedes, just a more comfortable and cooler car to be in.   BMW's are nice if you're less than 20 years old.

how about you ask between specific models. what are you looking for? what are you planning on getting out of your vechile? you take you car to the track, autox.... i mean. it likes asking whats better, japanese food or chinese.

anyone that tells you to choose a brand over another is either an idiot or someone like me that just HATES another car brand for a whole list of reasons.

that being said, ive always been a benz guy. although i stick with the commonly except notion that the w204 was the last real mercedes. my w210 e430 was pretty solid but i still felt the w204 was a better built car. in general, mercedes over engineers the crap out of their vechiles, meaning a lot of electrical issues can come up, espeically, in the crappier recent cars. (this all applies to bmw also).

i have never been a lexus fan. never liked their cars. never like the concept of their vechiles, but with the interaction i have had with their service departments for the last three lxs, i must say i would consider buying a lexus just for the service.

unless you have a starmark, dont even think about doing anything more than the basic shit with a benz these days. hell. my w203 c55, you cant even take a measurement of the engine oil (8.8 of synthetic btw, a consideration for maintence costs) without using the onboard computer, unless you take the "sealed" cap off and stick in a clks dipstick...

basically. most people dont know jack shit about what they are talking about. get specifics. find what you want. what models. what years. what do you want from a car....

29 minutes ago Suge K. says:

also, josh, punctuation is your friend. it's hard to take you seriously with that
______________________________________________________

sorry bro i apologize for the punctuation i forgot i was filling out a resume to add my my opinon on a paticular subject i'll take it into consideration next time lol .

suge... i love you

46 minutes ago from Yelp for iPhone Don "Unstable Ptenophytium" B. says:

So, your argument is since Hitler, a fascist and anti-communist owned a BMW, it is perfectly logical that Che, a Marxist and communist, would be equally justified in owning a BMW?
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Geezzz, drop it already.  I feel like I'm in a college class discussion class.

there is a big factor between bmw and merceds though, albeit a really shallow one. take a c63 and a m3. not talking speed, handling or anything like that....

c63, can be mistaken as any old c class by people on the road. not flashy nor are there many of them

m3, its an m. its a rich hk kid car. its a car you will get reved on by all sorts of rice rockets, teenagers....

i dont buy cars because of what people will think of me, but its pretty damn annoying to be pulled up on and revved on by every freaking little kid with an exhaust.

for the Company to kick around in...
the last 10 years have seen on lease an E-Class, a CTS, a Lexus, and now a Linclon, also an assortment of honda and toyota and subaru.
the Mercedes was the keeper,  the bookeeper/office mgr got the CTS, my kids got the hondas...the Lexus was just too bland.  I like my new ford half ton more than that Lexus in fact.

My sherman.  It's built like a tank.

that being said..... holy crap. next car might be american!!!
ahahah

i wanted to get this ridiculous car since it came out. i held back and bought the "reasonable" c55.

but im thinking the next car is gonna be american. i hate when panels come loose. i hate squeaks. i hate shitty interiors... and i knw this car will be all of those and more. but fuck it. im do a short term lease, make it a company car and pick up a

JEEP SRT8 HAHAHAHHA soooo anti me. 6.1 hemi.13 flat, wet or dry. buwahahhaha such a ridiculous car. doesnt handle. doesnt do crap except be obnoxious!!! hahaha

16 minutes ago Bobby "I'm A Cracker" H. says:

Sorry, but Lexus is not just an expensive Toyota.

The engineering, assembly, features, engine are superior and must meet much more stringent quality checks than a Toyota.

Not that Toyota's are bad. They're way better than BMW or Mercedes.

Again, JD Powers ratings don't lie jdpower.com...
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Toyota's better than BMW and Mercedes? You must be either Japanese, work for Toyota, own a Prius, or just simply outta your mind. If you look closely at a Lexus, specifically the engine, it says Toyota Motor Co.

hey, like an american!

Infiniti, that's how I roll

I love my Mercedes, and intend to get a 2010 E-class soon.  At the end of the day, it is all about your comfort zone, and how a certian "brand" makes you feel when we are talking about this much money for a car...

Joao says: Toyota's better than BMW and Mercedes? You
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Car mags usually give Toyota higher ratings in the areas of Most Dependable, Fuel Efficiency, & more.  On the same note, other Japanese cars like Honda often get rated well above both BMW and Mercedes.  And yes I'm talkin about straight Toyota & Honda - - not even their high end brands like Lexus & Acura

funny story. so back when i was living in the old sisters mcmansion, the old men were gone so the ladies wanted to have a nice evening out. they decided to take out one of the old mens yellow 360 modenas. my sister being the one that can drive a stick, she drove from fremont to sf to a club, parked all vip like in the front of our buddys club and all that jazz.

gina, my sister, i said, hey you took out mikes ferrari? how was it?

lets see. rock solid suspension. a clutch she could hardly press down with her foot. SCREAMING engine behind her ear....

see said verbatim ( will never forget this because of how much i was laughing ) "you couldnt fucking pay me enough money in the god damn world to sit in one of those things again"

moral of the story... what the fuck do you want in a car?

gina liked my sl600 much better. easy to drive. not flashy. can park anywhere. but still classy

euge, i love you too! let's hang out soon.

"doesnt do crap except be obnoxious!!! hahaha"

yea euge...I hear ya, downsized my Jeep for a 4motion VW (now that is one quirky car)  
but just had to get an American FU my whole S-cruve lane/put a smart car in the bed truck again.

My M35 would smoke over half the recomended goodies here. Heh.

I have an 09 Nissan Altima Coupe and I bought it around the same time my friend got her BMW 328i. I love the way her car looks but comparing our features I think I got the better deal.

She paid significantly more, obviously, because its a BMW but mine has bluetooth hands free calling and is 270hp, while hers is (i think) 230? Both of us have leather interior. Not that much of a difference except the price...

In terms of style though...I'd definitely pick BMW over Mercedes. i love the 6 series and the M3...and M5...and M6.

A Forbes study states: Automakers from Asia topped the individual categories this year, with Acura, Honda (nyse: HMC - news - people ), Lexus, Mazda (other-otc: MZDAF.PK - news - people ), Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ), Scion and Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) all placing as segment winners. The Toyota marque stood out with five wins, including the Toyota Prius in the compact car segment, Toyota Highlander in the midsized SUV segment and Toyota Tundra in the large pickup segment. The Solara topped the midsize sporty car size category and Sequoia the large SUV bracket.
Robert Passikoff, the president of New York-based Brand Keys, a market research company, says Toyota's reputation for both reliability and eco-mindedness makes it highly valued by consumers in a down market."
forbes.com/2009/03/18/mo…

Interestingly, neither BMW nor Mercedes ranked in the top 5 overall.  Instead, it was Buick, Jaguar, Lexus, Toyota, and Mercury.  Some surprising names there and one can find many different lists and cars named in these various lists, but my point = it's generally a lot easier to find asian-made car brands in the top 5 than it is to find BMW or Mercedes these days, esp Mercedes

A moment ago euge "fanfuckingtastic" l. says:

that being said..... holy crap. next car might be american!!!
ahahah

i wanted to get this ridiculous car since it came out. i held back and bought the "reasonable" c55.

but im thinking the next car is gonna be american. i hate when panels come loose. i hate squeaks. i hate shitty interiors... and i knw this car will be all of those and more. but fuck it. im do a short term lease, make it a company car and pick up a

JEEP SRT8 HAHAHAHHA soooo anti me. 6.1 hemi.13 flat, wet or dry. buwahahhaha such a ridiculous car. doesnt handle. doesnt do crap except be obnoxious!!! hahaha
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LMAO. So true. I know a guy who bought a  0 mile fresh off the lot  Jeep Wrangler for like 30K which a week after he bought it started making a squeaky noises everytime he braked. He took it back to the dealer, they gave him a another one, this one made so much noise on the rooftop everytime he was on the freeway he couldn't even hear the radio, he gave up and said forget it. The guy ended up buying a Honda Element, hasn't had a prob. since then. Small 4cyl American cars suck.

wow. you must be so proud. your m35 can smoke.

funy how car threads ultimately becomes a bench racing forum.

personally. i don tlike to "smoke" cars i drive them. on a track. being safe and reasonable. do i enjoy my cars on the road? sure. when no ones around. dont need no idiot kids crashing into be because hes got more car than brains.

besides, top speed ive gotten in the sl600, about 165 on 280 when was more car than brain, thats like cruising along on my motorcyle on the front straights a thill.

meh

HI SUGE. we should hang soon lady. ive been good. taking liek easy. trying to be better. hell i took public transportation out last night!!

Christopher "Perspicacious" L. says: My M35 would smoke over half the recomended goodies here. Heh.
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heh well yes it also depends what your criteria is.  If top criteria = speed . . . I have a friend who likes to state the fact that his $4000 motorcyle will smoke any of the fastest cars on the consumer market

the early porshe and the ferrari...no damn cup holders
the car mags used to say more toyota's fall off the boats than ferrari makes.

that being said..... most important learn how to drive please. just because you have a license doesnt mean you know how to drive.

whatever car you pick, take some cones to an empty parking lot. do some emergency braking, wet would be good too. try to steer out of situation instead of slamming on the brake..... learn to drive your cars please.

20 80... 80 20

Agreed

euge, heh yeah - - and slow down on that bay bridge s curve damnit

ahah jack. totally. but then you can take that further to apply to bikes.

fav moto moment. at the lights at stonestown on my old ninja 250. two bikes pull up. some newish 600cc sports bikes. i give them a nod. the friendly hello between bikers. they do too. but one guy revs it. aahahah. ok. sure their bikes are the state of the art bikes..... but 20 80 80 20.... i let them go first. they take off then hit the brakes? brakes?!?! at lake merced? i blow by them like theywere standing still...... and i suck at riding. hell im  the slwoest guy at every track day!

more cars/bikes than brains/ skill most people are

i love this pic but placing this caption on it, genius i must say!!

static3.px.yelp.com/phot…

the caption didnt come out. damn it...

its supposed to say

QUICK follow me to starbucks!

euge, exactly - - professional car/bike racers could probably win a race against average joe using a vehicle with only 60-70% of the capabilities

10 minutes ago Bobby "I'm A Cracker" H. says:

troy s. says:

What happened to Lexus's style?  I am just not into the Japanese Lexus look.  Looks like they were all designed by ninjas.  German styling is just so much better.

-----------------

believe me, this is style us.lexusownersc...

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whaa what do u kw about vvvvvippppp!!!!! man when i see those vids of the big body sedan and the wheels tucked nice and flush all i have is two words BA_NANAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

In short I guess a BMW.

apparently a BMW takes three weeks to fix if some stupid bitch takes out your front fender, bumper and hood.

Joao "El Masiso" B. says:

In short I guess a BMW.
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Are you sure? I mean, yes, a BMW was Hitler's choice, but Pol Pot drove a Mercedes. So, don't make any hasty decisions.

What do you drive Don?

Benz

Oh, I have quite the stable of vehicles! A LeMond Buenos Aires, a Gary Fisher ProCaliber Ltd., an old Gianni Motta, and as far as gas guzzlers go, I have a 1977 Triumph Bonneville T140 (but I need to build a new wiring harness for her). As far as automobiles go, I used to have a Jeep CJ5, but I gave that to my dad a couple years ago. When I was 17 I had a 1964 Plymouth Sport Fury. Oh, and I has a Volkswagen Type 2 Fastback. Man, that was a sweet car. Had to sell it when I moved.

I think Stalin had a Packard, but he disguised it as a Soviet ZIS-110.

*had a Volkswagen*

Is someone showing off her new-fangled Merc ???

Hey Hazel, it's not 1:00am yet !!!

A'ight Hazelita, I'll be there to say g'nite  ! :-)

If you want people to compliment you and ask if your car is made in "men's" buy a BMW or Mercedes. If you want a vehicle that will last, buy Toyota.

BMW 6 series suck, 9mpg...whack.

I always see BMW on the side of the Road, ALWAYS. I bought a Mercedes because its my name and it runs great. Althought, my Audi ran better...

just thought i would find an inane post and bump it.

*bump*

BMWs are prettier to me.  I like the 330i?? 2 door.  It's so cute.  But I paid cash for a brand new VW and am happier with no car payment!

and cue pretty p

bump some more brent