Hello everyone.

My name is Chris and I am new here.

Short story about me, I am a 20 y/o Rutgers student that's looking for a new car.

I had a 1994 W124 E320 Coupe that I bought for $10k with 76k miles back in 2006. It was my first car ever and it was my pride and joy, and dare I say my life. It meant the world to me. Then a huge puddle picked a fight with my W124 which was on tires needing replacement, I hydroplaned and my car lost the fight and was swung into a guard rail.

So, long story short. I'm still hung over it, but I owe my life to that car and Mercedes-Benz.

Here is the list of cars I am additionally considering.

Y34 03-04 Infiniti M45
Another W124 94-95 Coupe (Impossible to find)
A W140 96-99 S500/CL500 Coupe (the amount of things needing attention at some point is starting to scare me off big time)
D2 01-02 Audi S8 (also very hard to find)
W124 500E/E500, hard to find and high resale value
W126 560SEL/SEC, hard to find in good condition for good price
And finally, an X308 Jag XJR

Now I've done some research, and I actually stumbled upon a really comprehensive buyer's guide through Google for the X300s/X308s that I didn't see linked here so I thought I'd share.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/t...22245&hm=50031

From my gathering, these cars are actually pretty reliable and dependable. Am I correct? Jaguar has that general reputation from being unreliable, after BL tainted their image in the 1970s and 1980s.

But all this research has added the X308 on my list.

My ultimate question, how would the cost of ownership compare to my Benz?

I drove it from 76k miles to 149k miles over the span of 4 years, averaging as little as $700 to as high as $1800 per year in running costs, without any major issues (biggest thing I replaced on that car was the radiator, but that was partially my fault from a stupid fender bender in my times as a beginner driver). Very low running costs for a Benz. Other than that, I replaced an O2 sensor, the electric aux fan for the radiator, the windshield, sway bar bushings....and that's really pretty much it. W124s are great cars. If any of you ever consider them, ask me, I know them off of the back of my hand. I highly recommend them.

I try to do as much of my own work as possible, short of major engine, transmission, suspension and electronic work.

Would I be ok considering an XJR with around 100k miles? after reading, I know I would have a better chance getting an X308 MY2000 and up, but with my price range being $10-11k max, most of them have 90k miles or more.

The older ones, 97-99 seem more affordable but I would like to avoid the Nikasil, throttle body, and plastic tensioner issues as much as possible. (BMW had a similar Nikasil problem with the M60 V8 in the 540 and 740 in the early 1990s, mostly starting at the beginning of the V8 run to about 1995).

Of course, I also know to get a PPI whenever considering any used car.

Also, I understand the amount of power these cars have. I am a responsible driver. That accident was unfortunate and bordering on the side of freak because I was driving normally and according to the conditions (when it was raining). I still kick myself for not replacing the tires earlier.

So, any input, I would greatly appreciated.

The XJR was one of the first cars I have ever fell in love with for its classic design. So now I'm becoming more serious about buying one.

Thanks in advanced all. Look forward to replies

 

Sorry about your Benz! I'm 22 and just acquired my first Jag last week. Its a 2001 Vanden Plas. I was about 10 y/o when I fell in love with the X300/X308 body style and since then, it has truly been one of my dream cars. Now, that I have one, I am thrilled. It has 111000kms (app. 65000 mls). It is post-Nikisil production (just) and had the tensioners, cam gasket, rad replaced, along with a transmission rebuild all around 80000kms. All it needed was a front wheel bearing replacement, which cost me $300 all in. It runs perfectly now.
What you must consider when looking at 100000 mile cars is that that is about when things start to go wrong on most every car. On Jags, it just more expensive. If you find one with that mileage, I would recommend only buying it if it has had very significant work performed and parts replaced.
The XJRs are immensely quick, but the naturally aspirated V8 is quite sufficient. Its not blindingly fast like the R, but it still really gets up to speeds that will land you with large fines very quickly, and in great refinement. The R is just another step up. Insurance costs on the supercharged will be greater than the N/A cars, as will fuel consumption. After years of research on these cars, and with first hand experience, I have found that the X308s are reliable cars if (of course there's an if), they have been pampered for the duration of their lives. Find one that has had the tensioners replaced and possibly the engine pre-mid 2001 and you'll be fine. The biggest problem with these cars are the ZF transmission. They are okay tranmissions, but they don't tend to last long. As I mentioned previously, mine was replaced after about 50000mls due to sticking in reverse 2nd and 3rd (I believe). Mercedes and BMW used the very same transmissions. Other than that, there is nothing like over looking that huge sculptured hood with the chrome leaper on the end eating up the road, while in supreme comfort and style, that one experiences only from driving a Jaguar XJ. Good Luck!

 

You should be able to pick up a 60-70k 02-03 for around 12-14. I'd spend a bit more abd stay in that range. If you can do all of the regular service yourself you shouldn't be much different then your Benz, you just need to do it when it is called for, In the price range you're looking it is the only car in your list I would even consider. Do a good search test driving a few and settle for nothing but the one which feels right (i.e. reasonable mileage, good service history, no paintwork etc.)

 

I bought my XJR new 10 1/2 years ago; now at 125K miles, it has been utterly reliable, and the least expensive to maintain car I have ever owned, as well as the most stable at speed.
Other than normal wear items (tires, battery, belts, plugs at 100K. filters and oil, brake pads at 100K), it has required no repairs. Did the secondary tensioners myself (<$200 for parts) in one morning with no special tools. Nothing daunting about working on these cars, even for a shade tree mechanic. I've assiduously avoided dealer service departments after a few attempts at uh, date-rape by several of them
SO, IMHO, if you can find a well-maintained XJR, regardless of mileage, go for it. The best performance bargain you will find for your money!

 

I have only owned mine for 6 months, I have put 13K on so far and have thoroughly enjoyed this car. With some patient searching you should be able to find a '99 XJR under $10K. Mine was $9500 with 39.5K miles. I have done the front brakes, both serpentine belts and plugs. I don't know if the plugs needed it, but with 11 years on them, I decided it was time. As Marcus has said, this car really is a joy to drive and it really does appear to be DIY friendly. From what I can see, the main thing besides the secondary tensioners that will be an issue is the suspension components wearing quicker than some other designs. I think I will be replacing the bulk of the bushings in the next year or so, but even that doesn't really look to be a big deal.

A choice of a vehicle to buy in the used market is a very subjective thing, do your research (which it appears you are), and drive as many cars as you can, and most importantly, be patient! Search fleabay, autotrader.com, and craigslist. If possible, be willing to travel to find your car so that you can get the best possible bargain. I taveled 200 miles for mine, and would have traveled across the country if necessary or have the vehicle transported. Ultimately, I found mine using a craigslist national search engine searchallcraigs.com.

Good luck with you choice and search.

 

Agree with everything thats been said so far. You should really think about whether you really have to get an R or whether a standard XJ8 or vandenplas would do. In everyday driving the normally aspirated XJ is a great car. The R acceleration is immense and catches all of my friends out because most of the time the car is very docile, but in sport mode with your foot in the carpet it really does take off like a scolded cat.

As with any old car, you need to try and find one thats been looked after. There are nice XJRs out there, but it will probably take you longer to find one, but if thats what you want, go for it without fear of things going badly wrong. You should fully expect to either have written signed in blood proof that the timing chain tensioners have been done, or plan to have them done within your first week of ownership. And if you can keep above 2001 MY you should be free from Nikasil worries, although the actual switchover date is a commonly debated topic.

You should feel right at home with the XJR as it has a Merc gearbox. As said earlier, the XJ8 has a different gearbox which has shown some problems in the past. Some owners see problems, so do some searching on that (I didn't really follow the forum chats on this as I have an R and I knew the gearbox was different)

You should expect around 16mpg (US) around town and 22~23 on a run from an R. The XJ8s will return 2 or 3 more than that. You'll probably go through tires faster on the R, and they are larger/more expensive. The ride is also stiffer on the R, so you should sample an R and an XJ8 and decide which suits you best.

Finally, maybe you don't care about rear leg room, but the shortwheelbased cars are pretty cramped. The longer wheel based cars are only ok. You can't get a longwheelbased XJR, but you can get a Super Vandenplas, which is a long wheelbased XJ8 with the highet trim spec and a supercharged engine. These cars are pretty rare and tend to command a price premium

 

Wow guys. Solid, solid information.

Just thought I'd clear something up, BMW sources their transmissions from ZF which I believe ZF is in the XJR.

Mercedes have, and always made their transmissions in house. I don't really know of any cars that actually use Mercedes trannies aside from a stray 90s-00s Chrysler product here or there.

But thought I'd clear that up for you guys

And I am pretty adamant about getting an XJR. I feel it's time to move up in the world. Hehe. I also want to be able to out gun my friends. As much as I loved my Benz, I hated the fact that my friend's RX8 and my friend's Mustang GT could pull on me on the highway.

I know, this is just the child in me when it comes to owning a car, but no need to lecture. We are responsible individuals and save our little moments of hoonery when there is minimal, if no traffic at all on the highway. Who doesn't?

Also, SARC, I am really not concerned with rear leg room. I don't really haul my friends too much. I don't need the extended wheelbase for any reason. As much as I love land yachts, that's just too much hehe.

If I can't find an XJR or will have to settle for a lesser XJ8 due to insurance reasons, was there ever a sport version of the XJ8, which basically means same chassis/suspension/steering tuning as the XJR, just minus the supercharger?

For example, you could buy a E39 or E34 BMW M540i, which basically had everything that the E39 and E34 M5 had, just with a lesser engine. (Kinda, the E34 came with an I6 but the M540i came with the M60 V8 from the standard 540, and the E39 M540i came with everything that the M5 did, except with the detuned engine from the standard 540i).

 

I also forgot to add, Thanks to everyone for input

 

W124s are solid cars far better than their predecessor W210 . I am sorry to hear about that incident but sometimes inevitable just happens and glad you're alright .
Actually, XJs and XJRs are equal to S Class therefore parts should be slightly expensive than E Series .
Anyway, our friends summed up pretty nicely and I would not add too much , I trust you will be happy with your choice and anything else let's know
Thanks

 

chinny:
Actually, the gearbox in the XJR IS a Mercedes W5A580, not built by ZF. The aluminum casting on the gearbox even has the MB cast in. The normally aspirated XJ8 has a ZF gearbox.
For alll around style, get a Jag. The Benz is for those who wear a hat.

 

I have owned three x300-8's and my experience is similar to Markus

You can find very nice cars -- you just have to look for a while. Many have been garaged kept and q cared for.

The R does have a Mercedes transmission - It was the only transmission that was able to handle the power at that time and was used in quite a few different high performance cars. But it has many variations - Mercedes upgraded a bearing that caused some early failures around 2000.

The other cars use the ZF -- also a widely used transmission -- the biggest problem with this transmission is the drum cracking. ZF is a huge power train company -- in the early days they made all of MB auto boxes.

I have a W210 wagon and love it -- you can find some great w210 sedans for 8-10k. Some of the other MB's you list are getting too old IMO. My W140 bought new was an electrical nightmare -- it replaced a 350SDL that I loved but the w126's are expensive to fix and the gasoline models really like gas.

Good luck -- get good tires!

 

Yes, they did make a version with most of the XJR upgrades, less the supercharger. They were sold as "XJ8 Sport".

Take your time and watch craig's list/classifieds/autotrader/etc like a hawk. A lot of these cars were bought by retiree's as their "last" cars. And only use it to go the grocery store and to bingo until they're too old to drive. Or it's their spouse's car and the spouse dies. In either case, they're emotionally attached to the car, so the car sits for a couple of years until the owner dies and then the kids unload it cheap as they just want to get rid of it and it's simply one more asset to be disposed of as part of the estate settlement.

Examples: I'm the 4th owner of a '98 VDP. I bought it in January with 37k mi on the clock. The previous owner bought it in October of '08 with 19k on it. My second choice was a '00 XJR with 34k. About 2 months before I was ready to buy I missed a Super V8 with 40k on the odo for somewhere in the $12-15k range (asking).

 

Yo, another young guy here. I'm a college student and I have a 2000 Vanden Plas that I customized. Checkout my photogallery/profile. Everyone is right, the XJR has the Merc transmission that is used in the AMG line of Benzs around the '98-2003 years. The guys on this forum def know their stuff about these Jags. No need to correct us. There is poster on this forum that literaly built a complete XJR from just a bare frame.

Many mechanics tell me that the XJR is more reliable than the XJ8/Vanden Plas. Be careful with the power of these cars. I got my Jag when I was 17, and I was kinda stupid with it until about 19. The 290hp XJ8/Vanden Plas v8 is QUICK. These cars get HUGE stares from people on college campuses. I goto school in Boston and people act like its a bentley. Some people will get jealous. haha. No surprise. Girls drop their jaw when I drive by.

The good thing is you are coming from a Benz, so maintaining a luxury european car will not be a huge surprise. Esp. regarding the price. I too fix my car except for the drive train as I don't have access to a lift. I have researched this car to death as I am VERY attached to it. I know the electrical diagrams, chassis design, durability testing, manufacture process, and etc. My mechanic literally calls me from time to time asking me to help diagnose a customer's car. I am a huge car fan. Ask me if you have any questions.


BTW: The chassis on the short wheel base cars (XJR,XJ8, XJ sport) is stiffer than the long wheel base cars. The steering rack in all X308s is the ZF Servotronic II, but XJR has less assist and a firmer sportier feel.

 

You might like this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WGzu7AjVMU


HORRIBLE driver in a Jag XJ6 (XJ40 body) vs. a Benz W124

 

Like Burmaz I too am young at 23, and got my XJ8 when I was 22. It really was a good move. I did look breifly at a Mercedes CLK 230 and a BMW 750i but it was the Jaguar that won. Actually it found me in a "Christine" type way. You can have the Transmission fluid changed on the ZF box to increase life. I just had it done and it was a good choice. If you look after these cars they will look after you, so keep on top of things and don't rag around everywhere at 100mph!
Like Burmaz said these cars have the charm factor, people look at these cars with an affectionate glint in their eye.

 

Here's a supercharged Vanden Plas. Mileage is 105K, but it is a rare beast. Gives the best of the luxury and yet the punch of the XJR.

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/1950461581.html

And here is an example of a sport model. Notice the grill is vertical slats rather than the mesh, and of course is the normally aspirated engine.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/ctd/1976333558.html

 

Alrighty.

I just got back from my first look at an XJR.

it's an 01, with 67k miles on it. The guy is the second owner. He is a police officer with a Jeep Cherokee and he is selling it because he doesn't drive it enough to justify the existing loan he has on the car.

it's a VERY clean car. He bought it from a high end used car dealer last year and has only had one issue since. Car has never seen snow or winter and clearly looks like it was garaged and well cared for.

Car started right up, and settled down to idle. Throttle was responsive and the car had the power, but the brakes felt like they could use a flush. A little more pedal travel than I was expecting, but could that be I'm used to the firm brakes of a Mercedes? EIther way they worked well.

No clunking over bumps, smooth ride. But the steering wheel was off center, and there was some pulling to the right, so it's obvious the car needs a wheel alignment.

Everything inside worked. The wiper functioned fine. However, when I tried the washer fluid, it worked fine...but then like 10 seconds later the wiper moved once more, and didn't move for the remainder of the test. Owner said that it happens...I'm guessing that's a safety feature?

Onto the one issue he had: Fuel pumps went during his ownership, but the car was bought with a 3rd party warranty that expires in Feb 2011.

What made me raise an eyebrow was that they went considerably early, at least I think.

Either way though, the car seemed ready to go. Transmission shifted smoothly and reacted the way it should.

Overall, what do you guys think?

Regardless of how clean a car is, I am taking it to a indy Jag shop to have it looked over. Also, since it is a newer car, I do plan on buying an extended warranty for the car from a 3rd party.

What companies do you suggest? We were gunna stick to AAA, they have a comprehensive extended warranty program. But I would like to see if you guys have any other suggestions.

Here is the ad. I want to try and get him down to $11k.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

 

Quick correction: There was pulling to the right ONLY UNDER BRAKING.

(Where's the edit function?)

 

Looks very nice. Nothing you describe seems abnormal. Pulling could be related to needing a brake job or was from not doing it right the first time. The fuel pumps can be influenced by many things, and I wouldn't worry about them especially if they are now already replaced. Alignment is a normal thing and these cars are a bit hard to align, so it takes a very skilled shop to get it right. The wiper issue is normal as the owner describes. It is a final wipe to pick up any fluid that flows back up the windscreen after the main wash cycle.

Be sure to pull the carfax just to be sure. It isn't the be all and end all, but it can be a good guide to the vehicle history. Some states, you can even see what service as been performed without going to Jaguar to get a history. I personally used both carfax and autocheck. They are different enough that you can get a better picture painted by combining the two.

I still suggest looking at as many as you want, even XJ8's just so you can be sure if this one or any other one is really the right one.

Good luck...

 

The brake pedal on these cars do feel a bit soft for the first part of the pedal travel. It should feel firmer when pressed slightly harder. Any rattles on the car? Check to ensure the rear subwoofer works properly. Its volume can be turned up independenly of the other speakers. These tend to blow out easily.