Hello everyone. I was, until very recently, the driver of a 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG. I drove it home to visit my family for the holidays, and within a half hour of parking it it was hit by a Durango. The car was crushed between the truck and the curb, totaling it.

Since then, I've been looking at cars for the past couple of months. I looked at a couple of other cars that I liked (BMW M6, Mercedes SL-Class), but there always seemed to be something missing. I liked both cars, but I didn't really get excited about either of them. Then, I saw the XK, and I immediately fell in love. The other cars were nice looking, but the XK is simply beautiful (I love the design of all the newer Jags).

I'm currently looking at 07-09 XKR convertibles. I am going on deployment later this year (US Navy), so I may just buy a beater to last me until then and get an XKR when I get back.

Here are some gratuitous pictures of my old car:

When it still looked pretty

After The Incident:

Ouch! But that's not the worst.


Here's the real damage. It's hard to tell from these pictures, but in addition to the suspension damage the whole body/frame is bent.

And, before I bought the CL:

 

Welcome to the Forums!

Thanks for the great pics. I love the CL55... those quad exhausts just exude
evil. Super cool and sinister. And it is a horsepower masterpiece. Very sorry
you've had to say goodbye to the car.

Good luck on the search for your new XKR! It's quite a machine. You'll find
a myriad of useful people, and a helpful surrounding. It's a great forum, and
I've learned a lot here. The XK (2007-) Thread will probably be a good starting
point, seeing as how you are looking for one second-hand.

If you have questions, use the "search" function to see if some big
thread already exists, and then the answer will likely be available.
Or, obviously, just start a new one.

Once you reach full user status, you will get to post permanent pictures
on the account, which I'd like to have a look at... esp. the CL's interior!

Cheers and welcome,

Ian

 

Welcome to the forum,

My commiserations on the demise of the Merc, and good luck with your search for an XKR, head on over to the XK/XKR section and you'll get plenty of advice from the guys.

You should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Thanks for your condolences and welcomes. I'm currently at an impasse with my car search. I'll be going on deployment later this year, and I'm thinking I may just buy a beater until after I get back. This way I wouldn't buy a new car just to stick it in storage for 6+ months, and it would remove some of the pressure to buy a car quickly (the insurance stopped paying for the rental a couple of weeks ago).

Here's the closest thing to a decent pic I have of the interior. This was taken shortly after I bought it. I can't even describe how soft the AMG leather seats were. They also had heat, cooling and massage.

 

Its a good choice to wait, any of the cars you buy will be cheaper to buy once you return. Although, if you bought the Jag before you left, you would probably be so wistful of your Jag back home you might have to feign a heartattack, and ask for leave

Btw, I got quite the laugh out of your "current transport" lol...
Best of luck!

Cheers,

Ian

 

I spent a while looking for higher end cars that I liked. I considered the M6 and SL-Class, but I was really leaning towards the XKR. I didn't have a lot of time to travel to look at cars (all rare cars so the chances of finding the perfect one local are pretty slim), and I didn't want to rush into a decision like that, so I decided not to buy a high end car right now.

I started searching for a fairly cheap but luxurious sports sedan or coupe that's large enough to fit me. I've always had a thing for the performance oriented Lincolns. I looked at Mark VIII's, but those are reaching the age where it's very difficult to find one in good shape. Then I started looking at the LS. I like the simple, classic styling (I think most newer cars are over-styled). I found one near me that only had one owner, was dealer serviced its entire life, had all the options and was in great shape. It also cost less to buy than what I spent last year on maintenance for my CL55.

It's not a Jag, but it's a distant cousin (same platform as the S-Type and the 3.9L V8 is based on the Jaguar V8). I'll probably start looking at XKR's again next year after I get back from deployment.

I took a couple of quick pictures in a parking lot near the dealership. The color is somewhere between grey and brown. It looks great in the light, and while I don't think it would work on most cars it really suits the LS well.

 

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