Hey all,

For the past 8 years my daily driver has been a 2002 Jaguar XJR 100. I love the thing to death. Never gave me any problems to date *knock on wood* and is a thrill to drive. Sure it may look dated, but I've done a few subtle mods and upgraded the supercharger pulley to make the drive that much better. But the time has come to consider retiring it for something else. This bad boy is about to break 230k on the clock (I do a LOT of driving here in the Northeast to get to meetings and clients), so I think it's time for a replacement.

I was hoping you guys could help narrow down my choices.

- Audi S5 (4.2, 6 speed)
- E39 BMW M5
- Jaguar XF Supercharged (gotta stick to your roots!)
- 997 Porsche 911 (beater status, not garage queen)
- Enter your choice here

The Audi, BMW, and Jag can be had within a close price range, but I wanted to hear from you guys what your opinions would be in terms of upkeep and reliability.

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!

 

I still think this one is pretty attractive:

Certified Used 2012 Jaguar XF | Sudbury | VIN:SAJWA0FB2CLS50926 | Near Boston, Newton & Waltham

Only a few hours away from you in NJ.

And it's still CPO
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Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar
2015 JCNA National Slalom Champion Class M
Current: '08 S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)
Past: '05 X-Type 3.0/auto Jaguar Racing Green

 

You'll get a very biased view on this forum of course! I'd go XF SC / XFR for sure. Great power, terrific car
The one at Sudbury looks clean and v low miles. But not SC. And seems pricey to me (maybe I'm out of touch).

Look around here on the forum - a few people have recently been selling 2010-12 SC or R models and pricing seemed quite reasonable

 

As a fellow X308 driver in the same boat, I will be curious what you choose. I'd always driven trucks and sports cars. Then five years ago I bought this old Jaguar as a temporary, inexpensive solution while I healed up from back surgery. I have really enjoyed it and driven much longer than intended. Unfortunately, I spent the last few weeks driving my pickup truck daily again while I waited on parts for a Jaguar repair. I decided that I really ought to get something newer and I can't go back to a sports car or truck, at least not on a daily basis.

Trouble is, modern sedans just don't appeal to me. Not that they look bad, rather they all look quite nice, just very similar. Choosing among current options seems devoid of any emotion, reduced to analytical feature by feature comparison among literally everything on the market. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've carried a back seat passenger so what I'd buy if they still made them would be a "personal luxury car". But the choices are few and seem just short, squatty versions of their four-door counterparts. Nothing like the Riviera GS or Lincoln MKVIII LSC of old.

Among your choices, the Porsche would be too sporty for me for daily use on the asphalt cattle trails Fort Worth calls streets. The XF and E39 have two too many doors. So it'd have to be the Audi, tho I'd probably have to go with the A rather than the S for some more compliant suspension. Its not a bad looking car, but the coupe's aesthetic design like the modern sedans provokes little to no emotional response in me.

 

depending on your budget (but cars you posted there are all over $20k) and if you did have a $20k budget I would strongly suggest a E55 AMG which is comfortable, cheaper to maintain and faster then all of those cars on the list

 

I don't recommend the XF supercharged/R as a carefree daily driver, unless you are willing to change to aftermarket wheels that are hopefully stronger and easier/cheaper to replace if damaged. I think in the northeast the roads are likely to be damaged more often, due to severe weather. The XF SC/R comes with 20" wheels (to clear the brakes), which means low profile tires. I am always keeping an eye open for potholes when driving my XFR since it's just too easy to damage the wheels.

 

I'm completely with you on older cars, they have much more character to them, in fact, their quirks make them even more lovable.

Ideally I'd pick up a well taken care of Mercedes 560 SEL ('91 MY), but that won't suit my needs, I do a LOT of driving and driving something like that running the risk of small things going wrong can't happen.

That's the beauty of the Porsche, the 911 silhouette has remained virtually unchanged since it came out. But practicality becomes of concern. An A5/S5 would be neat, I've driven a handful and they aren't half bad! Even the newer Jag's, there's a man selling a 2009 XJ Super V8 Portfolio (pretty sure this was a limited production car) that is absolutely perfect. It has everything our X308's have but it's also modestly refined and can easily compete with your modern day S class, 7 series, or A8.

I've been on an off with the AMG's, always loved them! I owned an SL55 briefly but the air suspension was a nightmare. The 55's are certainly cheaper than the 63's at the moment, it may be worth re-visiting the market once again. Always loved Merc's AMG division.

Potholes are a disaster up here. I've cracked countless rims on almost all of my cars because of them. The 19's on the XJR aren't bad at all, but I too keep a mental pothole detector on high alert whenever I'm driving...if not your rim, it'll be a bubble in your tire.