Luxury Car People I Need Advice

[Zuhaib]

Stay away from the higher end Luxury lines, way too costly to keep on the road and can be a PITA, especially jags. Stay away from them, i had an 03 S-Type and all hell was that car. And a lot of owners had the same thing. They are great cars, but not as your primary drive.
For that money I would stick to 3-Series, C-Class (CLK), IS, and etc. Even they can be pushing it, but near 15k you could find some good examples and they will be rewarding to drive and still have that Luxury feel to them.

 

[zenkidori]

BAD year ranges for Jaguar XJ in the US: 75-82, 88-90, 98-Early 00 (V8 engine chews up cylinders and dies - only fix is new engine - if car has replacement engine, should be fine)

Good years: 82.5-87, 95-97, 03.

Okay years, some well known problems: Late 00-02 (timing chain problems - factory fix kit available, brings it up to 03 timing chain standards; costs about $750-1000 to have dealer install it)

Your best bet is a 95-97 XJ. The 95-97 cars don't have quite all the gadgetry of the later V8 cars (they have an I6, a blower I6, and a V12 as options), but their electronics systems are simpler, there's less to go wrong with them, and they're actually better to drive. The I6 is a much stronger, much more proven engine than the V8, and the transmissions behind them are stronger as well, even though they are four speed instead of five. There is no significant difference in fuel economy, and the non-blower cars are only 40 horsepower less compared to the regular V8. The blower sixes have an even better transmission than the blower eights, and they're only down 50 horsepower - something easily remedied with a pulley and a chip. They're also stupidly cheap - under $6K for a normal XJ6 in excellent shape with low miles, $10-15K for an XJR (which is interesting, since that's MORE than what a 98-00 XJR can be found for.)

The 95-97 XJ actually had better initial and long term quality ratings than the LS400 of the same years. That's bloody impressive, and no Jaguar has managed to do that since. IMHO, the 95-97 XJ is the best sedan Jaguar ever built.

Thank you very much for that info! I've always liked those jags, my friend's mom had one they liked very much. Something about them just keeps me looking at them. I always see a couple in that good year range pop up for between 5 and 10k, so I'm glad I don't need to scratch them off the list.

Buying an old Luxury car is great... but honestly, if you're on a tight budget, in terms of luxury car, I wouldn't suggest anything other than the Lexus LS, GS and maybe a couple of Acura's, I've seen so many people buy old 7's Sclass because of the coolness but have pages of Electronic Problems and everything. Plus, maintenance on a V12 isn't exactly cheap and parts don't come cheap too, there are also other things to consider such as Fuel and insurance when you buy a big cc car.

Insurance really doesn't vary by engine size here, my 4.0 Jeep is as cheap as my girlfriends 1.5 Honda. Gas isn't too expensive where I live either, relative to the area and the country. as a state our gas prices are about $.07 cheaper than the national average, and right in my area it's about $.10 cheaper than that. It's not really something I'm concerned about, anything I get will get better mileage than my Jeep. You don't really see people in the US buying 1 liter cars for cheap insurance(even if there were any to buy, lol).

A V12 Mercedes-Benz S-Class would be as costly to own and maintain as a Pagani Zonda! I wouldn't recommend going for that option. Even the V8 Benzes have complex electrics and expensive parts.

It would be a similar story for, say, a BMW 740i but a BMW would probably be much more fun to drive and slightly less costly to maintain. Are you considering the 7 series at all?

The only thing that would stop me from buying a Jaguar is their somewhat spotty, inconsistent build quality but with Spectre as a guide you can't really go wrong. A good Jaguar is an excellent car.

The big old Lexuses, while mind-numbingly boring, are very reliable. But then they are mind-numbingly boring.

I don't want to forget that you're going in on this with your girlfriend so a lot of it will come down to want she wants as well. In my experience women are less interested in things like the manufactures history in the market sector or the way the brand makes you feel and are more concerned with tangible qualities such as ride comfort, noise levels and engine performance. If this is the case I'd lean towards the Lexus.

Things like the electronics, bad parts etc. is why I'm asking for all the info I can handle. I don't want a car that's going to crap it's self when it rains or anything like that. This is something I need to look more in depth at. I know that in general, mercs, bimmers and jags should be more expensive, but on the other hand, the lower end models I'm looking at use a lot of "parts bin" engineering as far as I can see, so maybe parts for say, a C230 Kompressor won't be as bad as a something more upmarket. The S600 V12 I just had to look at, because come on, it would be sweet to own a V12.

My girlfriend has similar tastes in cars as I do, she likes to feel the road, manual transmissions, RWD and all that. Her main thing is she wants a car with heater, AC, power door locks and windows that work, an alarm and a stereo. The luxo bit is just a nice extra. Most of the cars we've owned have been stripped down models, like her civic DX having manual everything and no AC.

I can't get an SC300, because both me and my girlfriend would want to do this:

Plus I can't EVER find one with a manual.
If I end up getting a GS or LS, It'll probably end up with coilovers and wheels at least.

Thanks for all the insight so far guys, some of it I've known but most of it is stuff I shouldn't have known or thought about.

 

[andyhui01]

^Manual Soarers are super rare, I know a mate who spent almost a year sourcing for one in Japan. If you can import from Japan, you prob. have more chance.

 

[zenkidori]

yeah no. no importing anything from anywhere, haha. I'm not even willing to look out of state.

 

[InfernalVortex]

Maybe Im showing my biases big time here, but I'd definitely grab a 95 Impala SS. You want a sports car land yacht, that's it. Not really a luxury car though, but that's debatable.

LT1's arent the greatest, though... The optispark has cursed many a driver many times over...

 

[Dsemaj]

Oh, X300 Jaguar XJR, no questions asked. Absolute no brainer!

Supercharged AJ6 I6, interior like a gentleman's club, cheap as and they look so badass! And for the other reasons Spectre has mentioned!

 

[JoHaaN]

Her main thing is she wants a car with heater, AC, power door locks and windows that work, an alarm and a stereo.

OMG what a list of options, i'll doubt if any car can live up to your requirements!! :shock:

 

[Labcoatguy]

Japanese reliability, but less boring than a Lexus? Try an Infiniti Q45 from the same era. Interiors were a bit more plasticky, but they're worth a look.

Loads of pictures from an eBay auction of a '99

Or a Mazda 929; it's still RWD and Japanese, if only V6. Last-gen Acura Legend? High-revving V6 and possibly a 6-speed manual on the GS version. These were discontinued in the mid-90s, so it'd be tough to find a low-mileage one. Thanks to all three of them not being Lexus, depreciation hits them harder and you (hopefully) get a better deal, depending on how long you plan on keeping them.

 

[MadCow809]

second hand S class or E38 7 series. you cant go wrong with those 2.

 

[GM_IV]

^Manual Soarers are super rare, I know a mate who spent almost a year sourcing for one in Japan. If you can import from Japan, you prob. have more chance.

Getting a SC300/Soarer that came with a manual stock is quite difficult. The good news is that particular manual is a very common Toyota manual originally designed for the Mark II Supra. Its called the W58 its very durable for non-turbo applications and because its usually swapped for a stronger manual its quite plentiful and equipped on many many cars including mine. The V8 however for both LS and SC never had a manual but doesn't stop Lexus owners from making their own conversions to make that V8 compatible with mostly the Supra manuals.

 

[Interrobang]

The S600 is the greatest Car out of that Bunch, no doubt about it. Driven one of these 5 Years ago and it was awsome. But I wouldn?t recommend one to you. First, the Image of that Car is ruined. It seems like only Idiots (Wanna-be Gansters who haven?t made it so far) drive these semi-old S-Classes. But most important, prices for Spare-Parts are ridiculously high, even here. I?d guess ever higher in the Us. That V12 is a dream ... but even minor faults set you back a little fortune. If you are buying with a budget, I wouldn?t take the S600 if I were you. Might all be fine for a while but when it goes wrong ... it?ll really hurt your wallet.

My second favorite would be the Jag ... but again ... spare-parts might not come cheap ...

The 3 Series ... isn?t that too small? XJ, S-Class ... the 3 Series doesn?t quite fit in there. It?s a great drive and you don?t need an M3 to enjoy that. A 325i or 328i are still damn fast and great engines ... but I think you would find a 3 Series a bit cramped.

Lexus ... i have no Idea.

 

[zenkidori]

Maybe Im showing my biases big time here, but I'd definitely grab a 95 Impala SS. You want a sports car land yacht, that's it. Not really a luxury car though, but that's debatable.

LT1's arent the greatest, though... The optispark has cursed many a driver many times over...

they are just so ugly tho, I just can't think of a domestic luxury-ish car I've liked.

Japanese reliability, but less boring than a Lexus? Try an Infiniti Q45 from the same era. Interiors were a bit more plasticky, but they're worth a look.

Loads of pictures from an eBay auction of a '99

Or a Mazda 929; it's still RWD and Japanese, if only V6. Last-gen Acura Legend? High-revving V6 and possibly a 6-speed manual on the GS version. These were discontinued in the mid-90s, so it'd be tough to find a low-mileage one. Thanks to all three of them not being Lexus, depreciation hits them harder and you (hopefully) get a better deal, depending on how long you plan on keeping them.

hey thanks for that suggestion of the Infinity, I hadn't really thought of that!

the Acura is a no, a friend of mine has one and I wasn't too impressed.

Getting a SC300/Soarer that came with a manual stock is quite difficult. The good news is that particular manual is a very common Toyota manual originally designed for the Mark II Supra. Its called the W58 its very durable for non-turbo applications and because its usually swapped for a stronger manual its quite plentiful and equipped on many many cars including mine. The V8 however for both LS and SC never had a manual but doesn't stop Lexus owners from making their own conversions to make that V8 compatible with mostly the Supra manuals.

yeah I know all about manual conversions, but I'm not about to attempt one. I do see manual SC300s pop up from time to time, but not often and they usually aren't in such great shape.

The S600 is the greatest Car out of that Bunch, no doubt about it. Driven one of these 5 Years ago and it was awsome. But I wouldn?t recommend one to you. First, the Image of that Car is ruined. It seems like only Idiots (Wanna-be Gansters who haven?t made it so far) drive these semi-old S-Classes. But most important, prices for Spare-Parts are ridiculously high, even here. I?d guess ever higher in the Us. That V12 is a dream ... but even minor faults set you back a little fortune. If you are buying with a budget, I wouldn?t take the S600 if I were you. Might all be fine for a while but when it goes wrong ... it?ll really hurt your wallet.

My second favorite would be the Jag ... but again ... spare-parts might not come cheap ...

The 3 Series ... isn?t that too small? XJ, S-Class ... the 3 Series doesn?t quite fit in there. It?s a great drive and you don?t need an M3 to enjoy that. A 325i or 328i are still damn fast and great engines ... but I think you would find a 3 Series a bit cramped.

Lexus ... i have no Idea.

Yeah, I like the S600, but it was more of a, "sweet it's got a V12!!!" kinda thing. the gangster image doesn't really apply here, most wanna be gangsters have SUVs on dubs, old boats on dubs or just some riced out honda. the VIP look hasn't really made it's way over there yet.

3 series too small? All I've got is myself and my girlfriend.

well I'm off to go drive a few today, hopefully I'll have some better idea after getting behind the wheel of a few of these.

thanks for all the suggestions so far!

 

[Donington]

I don't know how they depreciate in the states but I, personally would get one of these.

I certainly intend to do so.

 

[Austere]

The reliability of that model Benz (the W220) is too just too unpredictable for me to recommend it. They're ridiculously complex and they're also built in a time when Mercedes-Benz were on that whole "let's try making them just as well as we used to while spending half as much as we used to" trip. If you can live with the inevitable problems and afford to fix them then it could be worth it because when they're actually working properly they really are very, very good.

The Lexus would almost certainly be less problematic but Lexus makes me feel..... nothing. If you don't have that same problem then just get a Lex'.

other than that I don't have much knowledge of Benzes made after the mid eighties.

I could recommend this but that would be about it. The most robust engine they've ever made fitted to a fine example of the finest S-Class they've ever made.8)

Almost forgot; J.R Ewing had one.

 

[zeoniks]

I would definitely go for an A4.

 

[cvrefugee]

Lexus LS with VIP look

 

[Phila]

 

[nist7]

Steve echoes my opinion. 8)

I'm going to give you the standard caveat about cars: The cost of maintaining them is directly proportional to the original cost of the car, not to the price you pay for them now.

In other words, expect a Jag or a big Merc to have lots of complex and expensive parts which will need service.

Whatever you buy if you go mega-top end (and you could look for 7 series BMW's, as well) you need something with a complete service history. Look for someone to have done lots of maintenance if the car (almost certainly) has high miles on it. Think about things like timing belts and so forth.

As much as I like Jags, I'd stay away from them like the plague. Why? IME, why modern Jags are better than older ones, they still have a higher percentage of "issues" than anything else. For example, while 1986 and 1987 were mentioned above as being within "good years" I know of two impeccably maintained XJ's in that timeframe that were not abused and yet, even 10 years ago, were money pits to their owners.

You also want to judge your tolerance for things that don't work. For example, if the passenger's window motor fails, are you okay with it not working for a while, or are you the kind of person (like me) that would be irritated by it, but also irritated by the 600 dollars it might take to fix it?

Personally, of your choices, I'd go with the Lexus.

Sorry for this rambling on.

Steve

 

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Kinda like mine?

No bones about it, your car is almost precisely what I want to buy when I'm done University.

 

[WannabeSS]

Im going to go ahead and suggest a car, i personally love, and you can get a relativly cheap one with low miles (they didnt sell well due to their high MSRP)

A current or last gen, Infiniti Q45. like an 02-04. You can cop one of these for as low as 13,5. (what i have been seeing on ebay)

Its a GREAT car. Very comfortable, fast, RELIABLE! (compared to your Jags and stuff, its BY far the best, maybe not Lexus though) and has LOTS of toys. 8)

I love this car to my heart. And i plan on owning a black one some day.

Test drive one. Trust me, you will get a LOT of car, with a LOT of life left in it for a great price!