Which luxobarge

ArnieSilvia

Well,

I'm looking into buying a luxobarge for myself and shortlisted to obvious suspects.

Coming from a modded 9-5 Aero and (now) Mitsubishi Legnum VR4 I want a driver focused car with good grip in all conditions and adequate power. VR4 is a great car but I'm looking for something more modern and refined. I don't want car to feel boring. Should be relaxing but engaging if stepped on (not numb)

All around 2004ish, budget 5k, all petrol, automatic. A V8 and big boot a bonus. Not much into coupes these days.

Repair costs, tax, fuel etc are part of the game, these are very complex cars, some on air suspension etc, I know and accept this. I'm good with electronic diagnostics, have some equipment already and will get car specific interface if I decide on one plus an DSO.

Merc s350
BMW 735
Audi A8 3.8
Jag XJ (newer)

Of them all A8 & XJ seem to have advantage of alloy body and were released on the market later than Merc & BMW.

A8 is 4WD and has best looking dash and seats IMO

Then there's an XJR, AMG and S8 but budget would not allow.

Anybody had a chance to test drive all of these?

And biggest question of all - is there much real life difference between those and one step smaller cars, i.e E240, 525i, A6 2.4. Cost of upkeep is half to a proper luxobarge.

Would I be right saying that 5-series of that era feels too firm and seats are too hard (it's been a long time when I was in one)

I was in an S-type but it didn't impress either (Due to low roof line and weird seats, felt like a big car on outside but small inside)

bazz26

Is a Lexus LS out of the equation? I know people will just say it's a big Toyota, etc and they are not known for their sharp handling but they are one of the most refined luxury V8 cruisers you can get.


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Lexus/LS430/Pristine-Condition/37213824270653320/

Seweryn

bazz26 wrote: »

Is a Lexus LS out of the equation? I know people will just say it's a big Toyota, etc and they are not known for their sharp handling but they are one of the most refined luxury V8 cruisers you can get.

Lexus LS, yes. They are fantastic cars and reliability would be probably the best of the bunch.

Anan1

bazz26 wrote: »

Is a Lexus LS out of the equation? I know people will just say it's a big Toyota, etc and they are not known for their sharp handling but they are one of the most refined luxury V8 cruisers you can get.

And also one of the few that will be reliable.

@OP - At your budget/age of car I wouldn't be too specific about make/model - you're looking for the right actual car.

Bigus

Of your list the alloy Xj defies it's oldish looks , it's the most advanced car underneath, and you can feel the welcome lack of mass when you accelerate, brake and turn.

The really cheap ones seem to have been snapped up, however I'd have no problem offering 5 k cash to somebody listing one a lot dearer.

Very reliable , but suspension faults are regular and expensive, fresh NCT helpful in this regard.

maceocc2

I'd go for the A8 myself, the second gen, pre-facelift model is a really nice looking car and comes with heaps of extra bits, the engine is not a bad unit at all either (Although a 4.2 would be nicer :pac:)

But in saying that if an E38 was on your list, I'd be inclined to reconsider. .

Anan1

maceocc2 wrote: »

I'd go for the A8 myself, the second gen, pre-facelift model is a really nice looking car and comes with heaps of extra bits, the engine is not a bad unit at all either (Although a 4.2 would be nicer :pac:)

I had a D2 4.2 30v for a while and, nice car that it was, a lot of bits broke. It was a one owner 60,000 miler with FASH, so no excuses there.

maceocc2

Anan1 wrote: »

I had a D2 4.2 30v for a while and, nice car that it was, a lot of bits broke. It was a one owner 60,000 miler with FASH, so no excuses there.

Interesting, serious repairs or just odd bits? I actually wanted to get one of these some day myself.

ArnieSilvia

I know someone who had an A8 of previous gen that what I'm after and it broke his heart.

I intentionally didn't put that lexus on the list. I could put a Honda Legend on it as well.

I'm mechanically minded so not frightened at repairs (as would be expected at this budget) but don't want a dog either. I've done engine conversions, turbo conversions, built a drift car but also troubleshoot modern electronics (successfully!) and found my way of doing things without spending too much.

I've had jap cars for last 8 years or so and happy days but now looking for something completely different.

Lexus doesn't have the styling I'm after (looks dated already). I wouldn't expect handling to be inspiring at all.

To put into perspective, I've had loads of cars but one of most impressive was e39 523i. It was amazing how suspension was dealing with all this mass. Learned that mass likes torquier engine and an autobox badly.

Seweryn

maceocc2 wrote: »

But in saying that if an E38 was on your list, I'd be inclined to reconsider. .

An E38 would be OK, but Arnie listed the next generation 7-series, which I wouldn't touch with a 17m long pole.

ArnieSilvia

Out of lexuses I think that newer GS series were aimed at younger/more active folk.

I thought these are out of my price range but just checked and they depreciated in last year like a stone. Some examples for sale show that there's issues with them as well or (as usual) hard to find someone able to fix it.

Interiors are bland though:pac:

Eric Cartman

the e65 7 series was a bit of a sore spot for bmw with launch issues , Id avoid a 2002-2003 one like the plauge , 2004 should be fine but make sure its a 2004 model year (built from novermber 2003 onwards iirc , it will have a build date under the bonnet ) and make sure absolutely everything electrical works , even something as simple as auto wipers not working could be an indicator of a bigger electrical issue. Also make sure it was brought to a bmw dealer for software updates to all the various computers.

maceocc2

Those earlier E65s where renowned for software issue alright, if your buying from a dealer get them to fork out for a software update, or work into the price, they can get surprisingly expensive.

Anan1

maceocc2 wrote: »

Interesting, serious repairs or just odd bits? I actually wanted to get one of these some day myself.

Sensors and various engine and trim woes - it always felt hewn from solid (and it was great to drive), but little things were always breaking and it made ever increasing demands for oil.

L-M

Of that list I'd be on the XJ or the A8. I had the pleasure of driving a 03 4.2 A8 and it really was a fantastic place to be. I still think they look very modern in comparison to the pre face lift 7er and the S class a like.

As Anan said, with that sort of criteria, it really is all about finding the right car.

L-M

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/jaguar-xj-series-3-6-litre-petrol/5463737

Pity that's gone. That looks far short from an 11 year old car. Crackers in black.

Idbatterim

how about one of these?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/CLS-Class/350-4DR/37013896263797610/advert?channel=CARS

ArnieSilvia

Idbatterim wrote: »

how about one of these?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/CLS-Class/350-4DR/37013896263797610/advert?channel=CARS

CLS is great, love that hooligan character of it. Saying that, just looked at them now and this kinda stands out:

2007 10-14k
2005 7k

In 2 years it'll be worth half of 7k again. It's still depreciating fast.

Makes me think that 2003 A8, XJ, s350, 735 in comparison, are much better value IMO as there's very little depreciation left.

So far I think that:

7-series is the ugliest but at the same time controversial, has most character and drives well

S-class is luxurious but heard that it can handle well plus there's choice of s500 v8 and so on. Will be cheapest to keep going as there's plenty of them being broken for parts. I know from friend that the fuel economy is great for size too.

XJ is a bit conservative but also like 7-series, controversial, that's good. As pointed out, will do the job very well

A8 seems to fill my criteria, alloy body, very nice interior, v8 they got really cheap for what they are but that's a bit frighteningly cheap, like someone wanted to offload it asap onto next naive buyer

pete4130

Phaeton?