Long story short, I usually have several cars in my stable. Right now I have an 02 F150 for work (theater tech director), as well as a 96 Impala SS, a 67 LeMans Convertible, a 66 Bonneville, and a 99 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad. I'm strongly considering selling the 96 SS and replacing it with a classy ride. The budget is somewhere around $5k, which makes Euro luxury cars a good pick... provided you pick the right one. Some are money pits that drain the wallet and others are reliable choices. For instance, my last Euro car was a 99 E300TD that gave me 204k miles of zero trouble. I look for gems like that; cars that depreciate hard by association, but they themselves are actually reliable gems.

Which brings me to my conundrum. I have my list narrowed down to the following:

-E38 BMW, preferably an 01 740iL sport
-C32 AMG, but that is a bit on the small side.
-X308 VDP or maybe XJR
-CLS55, but hard to find one for less than $8k
-Something else that you folks might suggest

So my main purpose in posting here is to sorta get a practical buyer's guide for an X308 as well as maybe get some insight on the others in the list if you have an opinion. I've already read about chain tensioners (did they fix it by a certain year, or was it an ongoing issue?) and Nikasil on the pre-2000 cars, but actual real-world experience is far better than a website saying "it was an issue."

Right now, I have two problems: 1) I am staying at a place with limited garage space and no lift. I plan to remedy that in the near future (buying a house and moving) but problem #2) My work is something that I absolutely love... but it takes a very large amount of my time. While I normally do all repairs myself up to and including building engines, my current stable does often go to the local shop for repairs because I have a steady income but not much time. So anything European I buy can't be $1000 for spark plugs, or $800 for brakes. I know nothing European will compare to my Chevy's $70, 1-hour brake jobs, or the Ford's 10-minute, $60 evap solenoid, but one of the goals is to get into a Euro lux car that won't be a drain on the wallet or sit in the driveway waiting for me to get time to fix it myself.

So, Hello to all, and help me pick a ride.

I drove this one today https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/ctd/6031301915.html
Nice ride, but the pre-2000 spooks me. It was also repainted and the used lot where it is was shady at best. Just makes me wonder what happened to require the paint. Clear title, at least.

I might go look at this one, but its a half hour away. Just need to find the time. https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/6030829958.html

This one looks absolutely perfect, but I wish it were a couple years older so it was in my price range. https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/ctd/6006670003.html

 

This sub-forum will be biased to the 308. But the first one with only 46,000 miles you have to ask how is the mileage so low and at that mileage, it might not have had the tensioners replaced, a very necessary and very expensive job if you have to pay someone to do it for you. And I'm always suspicious of a repaint because more often than not, its not been done correctly and will look horrible shortly after you buy it. The second one actually sounds more promising despite the mileage with the mention of all services done. If the seller can produce the documentation of all the maintenance, including those tensioners, then it may be worth a look. See the tail of the other car in the garage? That looks like it might be an XJS. That's a good sign that its an enthusiast owner who's selling.

The only other big expensive thing to ask about is the transmission valve body. These cars can be susceptible to A-drum failure at high mileage but the fault is the main pressure valve in the transmission. It can be replaced with an upgraded unit before the pressure spikes and busts the A-drum.

So find one with the tensioners replaced, valve body upgraded and all normal maintenance records, and you'll be all set.

 

If the nikasil hasn't caused issues yet, it probably won't cause issues now. The US switched to low-sulfur fuel sometime very early 2000's (?), or I guess the better term is tighened down regulations on sulfur in fuels. The high sulfur content was the major cause of issues with Nikasil. If you're on the fence, a compression test should tell you what you need to know.

The n/a x308's had issues with the zf 5hp24 transmission a drum seal failing around 80-100k miles and requiring a trans rebuild. There's various options for preventative maintenance and all, should be easy to find by looking up "A drum failure". The XJR's have the mercedes 722.6 which is generally more reliable. The tradeoff there is more moving parts and hard-to-reach hoses thanks to the supercharger, and a few mpg less. The VDP's have nicer quality materials on the seats and interior, and a much more squishy luxury suspension, vs the slightly more stiff XJR suspension (nothing wrong with either one).

The 04 you've listed there is an x350 - maybe more reliable, air suspension is a known trouble spot, many other more modern features, see the recent thread on the x308 vs x350 article.

I've found a lot of the things on my car have been more labor-intensive than cost-intensive - a fuel pump is cheap, getting to it isn't. I've had enough free time that I could afford to work on it myself though, in my sloped driveway, with no lift and almost no power tools. YMMV there of course. Many exceptions to this.

The 740iL was one I looked at for a long time as well, much more roomy than the x308, and a much more stealthy luxobarge than the Jags. Probably going to be similar to the x308 service wise, with the usual random bushings which take forever to R/I. Check out e38.org BMW 7-series information and links

Edit: Rust! Check thoroughly for it, especially on that car that was repainted. Wheel wells, front/back window edges, etc.

 

Hey I know you from GRM

 

Shhh... I want people here thinking I'm a classy sumbitch.