Extending COE: Lexus GS300 vs Mercedes E200

[rocknroll]

I drive a W212 myself, but I will be the first to tell you that with your budget of $100K, don't consider either the merc or the lexus. Unless you have time and more money to fix them, or you enjoy tinkering with your car, try to avoid a car that is older than 5 years that has high mileage.

 

What I will advocate is get a used accord. For $100K, you can get a KM unit that is about 3~4 yr old. KM has 5 year unlimited warranty on those, so that will give you peace of mind. Accord interior is also as big as a e200 and perhaps bigger than gs300, and it is top of the line sedan for honda, so no shame there.

 

Having said that, if you die die must get between the 2 you mentioned, get a merc. ;) There is no better siokness than driving a car that has such great legacy.

 

[roller888]

if u get a 1.6 there will be a cap on the road tax for coe vehicle

[Cleefho]

I am a 9 yo GS300 owner and have driven the es300 too. Basically this 2 cars drive totally different with the GS300 much more modern in terms if looks and equipments.

 

The GS300 is a workhorse as mine is nearing 300K km with only wear and tear issues. Had the starter and battery replaced recently and that's about it. Do take note that for high mileage GS, have the rear axial check for oil leaks as it is expensive to replace. However this is wear and tear and not some quality issues. Lastly spares are not cheap but they can last a long time once replaced.

 

good luck on your search.

[Quantum]

I am a 9 yo GS300 owner and have driven the es300 too. Basically this 2 cars drive totally different with the GS300 much more modern in terms if looks and equipments.

 

The GS300 is a workhorse as mine is nearing 300K km with only wear and tear issues. Had the starter and battery replaced recently and that's about it. Do take note that for high mileage GS, have the rear axial check for oil leaks as it is expensive to replace. However this is wear and tear and not some quality issues. Lastly spares are not cheap but they can last a long time once replaced.

 

good luck on your search.

my concern GS300 as a RDW car, is there high hump on rear floor, whether can sit 3 passengers in rear seat?

[Civic6228]

Personally, I am not so sure about extending the COEs for both cars because of the high OMV.

 

I spoke to my neighbour a couple of weeks ago about this issue and he is drving the W211. He is not a heavy user and the mileage for the 9 years old car is less than 100k.

 

Right now, the COE is too high for him to consider to extend the COE. Assuming, teh prevailing COE is 70k and his PARF is 30k, the cost of the car is going to be 100k. Main consideration, he will lose the 30k.

[Cleefho]

my concern GS300 as a RDW car, is there high hump on rear floor, whether can sit 3 passengers in rear seat?

 

I actually find the headroom in the rear limited for tall passengers in the GS and not the middle hump which never bothers anyone.

 

if you shop around, most newer cars are getting smaller than its previous model and so I cant really fault the rear space in the GS300. even a 7 series bmw don't have plenty space in the rear for a flagship model.

[Thaiyotakamli]

 

I actually find the headroom in the rear limited for tall passengers in the GS and not the middle hump which never bothers anyone.

 

if you shop around, most newer cars are getting smaller than its previous model and so I cant really fault the rear space in the GS300. even a 7 series bmw don't have plenty space in the rear for a flagship model.

When looking at space in behind, there 3 types to note

 

 

- The foot well, how big the foot area, very important when carrying 3-4 passengers or else no place to put the foot

- head room, including the centre seat one

- knee space so passenger can slide down during long journey

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 series perform well in all the things above

 

While GS have small foot well and limited knee room. Headroom i forgot.

Best among class should be E class especially with generous head and knee room. Foot well also not bad

Edited October 20, 2014 by Thaiyotakamli

[Purplexus]

Hi all,

 

Was thinking of extending my current car's COE in 2015.

However was adviced that since I want to extend, should get something that is reliable and better value.

I narrowed down to the GS300 and E200 for their brand's reliability and comfort.

 

Hope to get some comments here on which is a better car in terms of reliability, parts availability and workshops' familiarity with it.

 

For mercedes, I am only aware of the good old w124 200E, 5spd, that is still running strong in many workhorses.

The 1996 to 2003 w210 onwards seems to be less popular.

 

For Lexus, I am only aware of the ES300 which is FWD and is a larger Camry-like car in other markets.

I am looking at GS300 for its RWD but other than that not familiar with its characteristics.

 

Appreciate any comments on the subject.

Thanks in advance.

Based on the PQP payment for say 10 years nearing 70K and the OMV scrap value lost of about 30K, you have 100K+/- to play with. Do a diligent search and one may get say a decent Jaguar XF, lexus IS250 or GS 300 or volvo s80 or even c class mercedes below 5 years. This gives you 5 - 6 years to drive and then when you scrap you get about 20+ K back. But if you are setting your mind to a 10 year old car ( I have done that twice - for a W123 Estate Merc and a W126 300sel- Both served well. ) then I think the GS300 would age better. It has a more modern look and some think more elegant and fluid then the latest GS. It has an amazingly smooth ride and everything just works well. I had owned a GS 300 for 5 years and enjoyed it but had traded it in for a XJ6L 2006 model - to scratch an itch of owning and driving this most iconic car. If the PQP was less than 50K I would renew the Jag! Happy hunting!

 

 

[Alheych]

Based on the PQP payment for say 10 years nearing 70K and the OMV scrap value lost of about 30K, you have 100K+/- to play with. Do a diligent search and one may get say a decent Jaguar XF, lexus IS250 or GS 300 or volvo s80 or even c class mercedes below 5 years. This gives you 5 - 6 years to drive and then when you scrap you get about 20+ K back. But if you are setting your mind to a 10 year old car ( I have done that twice - for a W123 Estate Merc and a W126 300sel- Both served well. ) then I think the GS300 would age better. It has a more modern look and some think more elegant and fluid then the latest GS. It has an amazingly smooth ride and everything just works well. I had owned a GS 300 for 5 years and enjoyed it but had traded it in for a XJ6L 2006 model - to scratch an itch of owning and driving this most iconic car. If the PQP was less than 50K I would renew the Jag! Happy hunting!

 

 

OT, but you had a W123 estate? wow...

 

i agree with you that the previous GS300 looked more elegant than the current one.

[TyreShield]

W210 is a good choice, stay away from the 96, 97 models plenty of issues, had the 96 model many years back, burnt my wallet ! check the dip sticks and crackcase to ensure properly maintained, Regularly used is better than irregularly used car ! There's always more to what meets the eye. But the 3 pointed star is the shiniest star !

[Hybrids]

I am a 9 yo GS300 owner and have driven the es300 too. Basically this 2 cars drive totally different with the GS300 much more modern in terms if looks and equipments.

 

The GS300 is a workhorse as mine is nearing 300K km with only wear and tear issues. Had the starter and battery replaced recently and that's about it. Do take note that for high mileage GS, have the rear axial check for oil leaks as it is expensive to replace. However this is wear and tear and not some quality issues. Lastly spares are not cheap but they can last a long time once replaced.

 

good luck on your search.

My experience too. The Lexus cost relatively little when they age. Big difference compared to others. I like the refinement too.

[Anshng]

What about RX? Anyone with experience of driving the RX? Is it high maintenance or are all Lexus fuss free? I see few hybrids battery failed like after 5 years and it seems costly to replace

[Hybrids]

RX is great though for me the suspension set up is much more old school Toyota than the more recent euro style Lexus set ups. Of course the hybrid are the preferred RXs. Yes the hybrid battery is costly to replace, about the same cost as the German cars when they replace gearboxes, engine rebuilds etc. But from around 2011/12 the hybrids came with 10 year battery warrentee. Rumour has it that batteries issue affects the very low annual mileage cars.

 

The Harrier is another option though, if not considering Hybrid. It does without the sound insulating glass the standard on the RX, so I heard, and uses the 2.4 litre 4 cylinder engine rather than the thirsty V6.

 

New Harrier looks great!

[Anshng]

Oh no i belong the to group with low annual mileage of 10k. So it looks like more worth it for me to get the normal Rx instead as i don't benefit much from the low Fc either. Do you know if the normal Rx is easy to maintain?

[Prozac51]

Problem with all these cars are the repairs (if it's the merc) or progressive road tax that keeps increasing. Paying 3k+ road tax a year (from the 15th year onwards) on top of the 20k+ you lost on PARF rebate, can cover your kids' tuition fees through O Levels.

 

I drive an ES300 myself and love the pampering, torque and V6 howl but I can't bring myself to lose the above money in a COE renewal. If I really wanted a reliable, quiet and spacious car to renew my criteria would be low CC,low OMV. Think Camry or Accord 2.0.

[Alheych]

Problem with all these cars are the repairs (if it's the merc) or progressive road tax that keeps increasing. Paying 3k+ road tax a year (from the 15th year onwards) on top of the 20k+ you lost on PARF rebate, can cover your kids' tuition fees through O Levels.

 

I drive an ES300 myself and love the pampering, torque and V6 howl but I can't bring myself to lose the above money in a COE renewal. If I really wanted a reliable, quiet and spacious car to renew my criteria would be low CC,low OMV. Think Camry or Accord 2.0.

 

i know this thread is a bit old, but i just did the sums because i really like the GS300.

 

over 10 years, the road tax is going to be:

 

2618, 2856, 3094, 3332, 3570

3570, 3570, 3570, 3570, 3570

totalling $33,320 in 10 years. which is really 20k more than a new 2.0L car.

[sg4henry]

I'm joining this thread to discuss whether renewing COE vs buying new car.

The comparison has to be the same model to provide an apple VS apple comparison.

 

Car Brand: Lexus IS250

Car Price = $224,000

COE = $58,100

PARF = $20,150

OMV = $26,637

New car premium = $145,750

 

to reduce complexity I'm comparing buying old car vs buying new car based on premium we pay.

 

I calculate the premium of this new car based on this formula:

Premium of buying new car: Current new car price - COE -PARF = $145,750

What is premium of buying old car? It is only its scrap value or $20,150

 

Premium saving:

So buy buying old car you will save immediately the premium differences which is $145,650-$20,150 = $125,500

 

Extra cost of old car:

1. Road tax of new car is $1800.

in 10 years of with increasing road tax; the old car owner needs to pay extra $7200.

2. Insurance

I'm not too sure how much more insurance. But if I add $300/year; it will translate to extra cost of $3000.

3. Repair cost

Let's assume you think your car is good at the end of 10 years and you still budget extra repair cost of $1000/year.

So you'll spend about $10,000 in 10 years.

 

The extra cost of having old car = $7200++3000+ $10,000[unpredictable repair cost] = $20,200

 

 

The monetary saving of renewing same series of Lexus IS250 versus buying new one: Premium Saving - Old Car Cost = $125,500 - $20,200 =$105,300.

 

However you may not like driving this old car where the newer series rolled out on the road. That might be another consideration for you to scrap your car earlier.

However I see potential saving of $105,300/$224,000 x 100% = 47%

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2015 by sg4henry

[Reo]

I believe the car will be insured based on third-party coverage only - no comprehensive plan.

 

2. Insurance

I'm not too sure how much more insurance. But if I add $300/year; it will translate to extra cost of $3000.