If the OP had complaints about owning his XK.... just move up to a Benz or Aston and see what real head aches are all about.

 

Is that based on your personal experience or what you’ve read on the internet? Because it doesn’t match mine, which in fact is based on owning 2 Jaguars, 3 Mercedes’, and 1 Aston over the years.

 

C7?

 

911 Turbo or 911 S with RWD.

 

Another Jag, of course.

 

Well, we can wait a couple of (months? years?) for the next jag GT...4 door, like the Panamera.

(I know, it's a mockup....with that Maserati nose from the F).

 

and battery-operated of course

 

So we"ve come full circle. I remember as a child. just how cool it was to have a battery operated anything!
wj

 

I think the only real competitor, when the X150s were new, was the Maserati GranTurismo. I don't think you'd get away from having some things break on it, if that's the goal, but it is definitely a real GT car with a very appealing (if probably expensive to maintain) engine. I test-drove a 2008 model several years ago and it was great. The Aston Martin DB9 is also now in reach for a reasonable price, but again, there are potential pitfalls with the running costs and unexpected failures, more so probably than with the Jaguar. I have always loved the DB9 and its variations, the Virage version being one of the nicer ones. But I think the Aston comes freighted with a bit of a "you think you're James Bond, don't you" stigma, much like the 308 Ferraris did with Magnum. So the Maserati edges it out, in my view. If you had a lot more to spend, and are unbothered by what people think of the marque, the Ferrari Roma is the best looking GT car on sale right now. Particularly in the right color, like this metallic medium red or silver-blue. Just stunning.

I think it's hard to use anything above the Jaguar XK or the Maserati on a regular basis and drive them to the shops, without either being wealthy enough that you don't care if it gets damaged, or caring a whole lot and fretting about it every second. A very OCD friend of mine, after an insanely long search, found just the right Porsche 911. But he drove it to an upscale mall, and someone (of course) parked next to him even though he was in left field. He couldn't take the stress and sold the Porsche.

 

Really interesting thread, and one that resonates with me.

Haven't had an XKR for a few years and am STILL lurking about for another. Why don't I have one yet? Here are my thoughts on the issue:

- if budget permits, limit your search to 2013 - 2015 XK only. (And my preference is for an XKR 'vert. And if you're gonna get one of these cars, spring for the supercharged 5.0) Why those years? As I've commented elsewhere, keep in mind that EVERYTHING in the car ages. We all focus on things like oil changes or transmission fluid flush, but leather stitching and plastic coolant parts and switches get old too and are increasingly difficult to even source. Best advice on this thread is "get the newest one you can." For sure.

- I'm currently driving a 2011 SL550. Why? Long and short of it, Mercedes is better about supporting old parts. And so many of the SL's were made that there's an Indy Mechanic (an "Old Mercedes Guy") pretty much wherever you live who's good with them. For me - who went from a 2010 XKR to a 2011 SL550 - it's simply a more supportable car. Which is an issue for me.

- Comparison? I drove the XKR a lot, and do the same with the SL. First thought: I really notice the difference in cabin size. While the interior of the XKR is not a lot bigger than the SL, that small bit makes a big difference. I miss it.
- Mostly, I miss the power of that supercharged 5.0, and the exhaust note. And yes, the XKR still gets noticed. BUT... the SL handles better. And it's beautifully made. Better than the XKR.

- they both have tech that feels like it's from the 1990's, so no difference there.

- gotta admit I do like that convertible hardtop on the SL-- and I do wish I'd found one with the glass Panorama roof. A $2000 option what was worth it.

So my suggestion might be obvious: go for an SL. The R230 ,which in the US is 2009 - 2012. (PS: no, there is no 2010 SL550. Why? They overbuilt and overshipped the car in 2009, so they didn't send more over until 2011. So your options are 2009, 2011, 2012. As others have commented, the next gen, the R231, is, honestly, kind of ugly.

And yes I'd love to get a 2011-12 SL63 AMG. But I'd be nervous - both the supercharging system and the transmission are... unique. That makes me nervous. The 5.5 litre that's in the SL 550 is not super fast (and NOT great with gas) but by all accounts is a tank engine.

If you can swing it, I'd also suggest a 2017-2020 SL450. Just a great car. But lots of folks know this and good ones sell quick.

-

 

Despite having a crush on older Astons, I've been a confirmed Jaguar nut ever since I bought my first one in the early '80s. This means I've bought Jaguars over the years even knowing they weren't as good/fast/reliable/economical etc as other similar cars. I've also bought Jaguars because - here in the UK at least - they were often stupidly cheap. My first XJ40 ( a 4.0 Sovereign) cost £50 when I bought it around 2000 because the seller couldn't get it to start (bad battery). I bought a really nice LWB X308 for £800, and my last car - a 4.2 X350 - cost £1,600 (although the fuel tank straps broke on the way home from the seller). When the time came to dispose of that car I wanted to break the habit of buying dirt-cheap and get something I could keep for a long time. But it had to be a Jaguar.

Once my kids had grown up and moved away and I didn't need seats and luggage space any more I wanted to go back to my first love - GT/Sports cars, and ideally convertibles. I have owned several V12 XJS's, including a convertible, but I didn't want a museum piece and anyway the XJS convertible was a about as rigid as a wicker basket. An E-Type would obviously be out of the question on cost grounds, storage grounds (I don't have a garage) and 'parkability' grounds - although it's ironic that a 1965 car seems to have better spares, maintenance and repair support than many modern cars. I did test drive a later E-Type once years ago and didn't like it anyway. I like my luxury and my toys.

Having owned so many Jags, a lot of them V12s, I've endured a lot of scorn from people over the years - too old-fashioned, bad image, too rusty, too unreliable, and too slow. The V12 may be one of the world's greatest auto engines but, mated to a GM400 transmission you weren't going to get away from the lights in front of anybody in an XJS. In fairness the X350 couldn't rust, was pretty reliable, and was unexpectedly fast - raising a lot of eyebrows on uninformed passengers. But it still looked like a bank manager's car. I toyed with the idea of buying an XF but that would be yet another saloon and besides, they are ridiculously common round my way. They seem to be everywhere I look.

But the X150... it's a Jaguar of course. One box ticked. It's just about affordable. It's drop-dead gorgeous. It's an actual sports car, unlike the XJS. Having a rag top doesn't make it bendy as a banana like the XJS. The 5.0 XKR is ludicrously, insanely, unnecessarily quick and goes round corners like it's on rails (remember I'm just comparing it to other Jaguars I've owned). And yet I can burble down to the supermarket with no fuss, in peace and comfort, and with the top up I don't even notice it's a convertible. To me, it's exactly what you always thought a Jaguar should be. And it's not so exotic that I have to lie awake at night worrying about whether it'll still be on my driveway in the morning.

The only thing that scares me about my car is the non-mechanical stuff like the modules and the displays and so forth. These are unique tech and a liability in the long term. I have such fond memories of one particular car I owned - a 1982 Jaguar XJ12 - which was an early Series III with some Series II details still there. I did all sorts of work on that car. It had one "module" - the fuel injection ECU. Other than that it was hard-wired. Switches, relays etc. Actual working gauges for water temp. oil pressure, volts. A dipstick for the transmission fluid. It was visual, it was tactile, you could fix it. You could disconnect and reconnect the battery whenever you liked and it would start on a nearly dead battery.

"If not an XK, then what??" For me it would be something older - pre-OBD, pre-engine management, pre-CANbus and all that malarkey. But what (from Jaguar?) Unless you have the money, the secure garaging etc for a nice Series II E-type, that just leaves the good old XJS. Maybe an early convertible, upgraded with the X-frame that's supposed to stop the shake, a 5-speed ZF manual conversion (easy to do I'm told), straight-through exhaust and modified intakes, and Waxoyled to within an inch of its life. And that would cost me twice what I paid for my XKR. And the doors would still drop, the locks would stil fail, the boot would still leak, the headlight bowls would still rust, the antenna would still jam... ok maybe not.

 

Well this has turned into quite a decent thread! Although I’m not sure we’re any closer to addressing the OP’s question, lol.

It’s refreshing to read a number of different viewpoints but all centered around our common love of cars. Some are dyed-in-the-wool Jaguar fans and others (like me) are more brand agnostic. This diversity of opinion is a good thing!

 

Something to keep for a long time without hurting the hip pocket my next ride would be a Lexus LC500, the last of the NA V8.

 

But one of the ugliest snouts on the road (and yes, my other car is an ugly snouted Lexus, which I keep parked nose in to the garage, so I don’t see its ugly face).

 

I agree with XKRAU on what I call the Lexus Nose. I respect that the company went all in on that grille, making it a "love-it-or-hate-it" feature of the brand.
Guess I'm in the "hate it" camp.

 

For this search, my must-have list is:
- convertible.
- two doors
- love a folding hard top, but if it's a cloth top it has to have a glass rear window.
- plush interior. Comfortable and roomy enough for the occasional 1000+ mile trip.
- gas-powered v8 (preferably). Not yet ready for an EV.
- some storage behind the front seats. Even the XK "tiny rear seat" is fine. This is non-negotiable.
- not too hard to do simple maintenance (oil change, air filters, etc).
- can pick it up used for under $50K

The "storage space" must-have eliminates a lot of cars: F-type, Corvette, etc. The "plush interior" knocks out cars like the Mustang and Camaro, and the "simple maintenance" (not to mention under $50K) requirement knocks off the Ferrari California (lots of haters, but I like them)

As far as I can tell, that leaves me with the Germans or Jaguar.

 

Mercedes S class coupe or vert .

 

I like this list. To expand for me, big power and big brakes.
I'd love an Aston Martin Vanquish 2015 or newer, but not only are parts and service astronomically priced, but the purchase price for a ten-year-old one are still quite a bit higher than the original MSRP of my 2010 XKR of $115,000 that I got CPO off a 3-year lease for $35k.

 

I think you are overlooking the Maserati GranTurismo, which ticks every single box.

 

Not cheap and break ALL THE TIME. I'd never get a newer Maserati. Hot garbage.