Euro luxobarge question. Seeking GRM enabling.

I'm having lustful thoughts about the following cars: E38 BMW 740i Sport X300/308 Jaguar XJR R129 Mercedes SL500

I have some exposure to smaller BMW products, no experience with Jag or Mercedes. I would prefer the earlier 6 cylinder. XKR but they are hard to find. Looking for opinions as to which would be more fun to drive and the least problems. I'd want a really nice example that would look good cruising around town.

Mine. Ask me any questions... I've had a few and am part of a large owner's group.

First order of business with any of these cars: There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Euro LuxuSport sedan. Don't buy one at KBB or lower and expect to be into it cheap. Not gonna happen. Mine was $7500 a year and a half ago and it's been flawless since, but that was almost double KBB. And nice ones can go much higher.

I bought this at 150k miles with most of the big ticket maintenance items done (Timing Chain Guides, Valve Cover Gaskets, cooling system, front suspension bushings), and it's at 167k now, and absolutely wonderful on long trips as well as being an agile dance partner in the twisties. Buy one right and you will not regret it.

A very handsome car to boot. As Jags also tend to be.

I have an x308 xjr love it tbh. Not as muscle fast as the c55 amg and not as athletic as the e39 m5. But, it's beautiful, quiet, comfortable and gets you to 140mph without trying. Very much a gentlemans car.

Swaggalicious is what i describe it as.

I agree with yupididit. I also have a V8 XJR that I am completely smitten with.

I've had this car for three years now, which is a staggeringly long length of time for me. I've thought about faster, handlingier, roomier cars, but I just love the Jaguar so much that I keep keeping it. The 6cyl XJRs are cool but I prefer the X308s by a lot.

The XJ40/X300/X308 Jags are very good cars. They drive surprisingly well for their size and they just feel good to drive. And they ride very nicely.

The E38 7 series is a similarly good example of a well-executed big car.

X308 XJR.

I loved mine.

I'm also quite smitten with my giant euro luxobarge. 507hp is really quite fun, in a serene and docile package when you want, and it is amazing at crossing continents.

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I've never owned a eurobarge, but have spent considerable time with people who own or have owned E38 740i/ils and R129 500SLs. I'd go for either the XJR or the R129, as the timing guides on the 740i are an annoying PITA to deal with, and the cooling system can be aggravating. I haven't heard any XJR horror stories that don't stem from deferred maintenance, and I can personally attest to the reliability of the 500SL, which I'll give a brief write-up on.

Full disclosure, the only R129s I have worked with have been pre-99 models with the M119 V8 engine.

R129 SL500s with the M119 are pretty damn bulletproof, save for a couple minor things to watch out for. If it's an early model with the mechanical odometer, the gears like to go out occasionally. Another thing that can happen is that the plastic timing chain rails can sometimes go on high mileage examples, and it's almost always the upper ones that do so. This is actually a good thing because the parts are rather cheap and you don't have to perform any extensive disassembly to replace them (you don't even have to pull the timing cover). The actual tensioners for the timing chains pretty much never fail on M119-equipped models.

In terms of general checks, make sure every electric gizmo works. The power adjustable head rests, power adjustable interior rear view mirror, and power-locking door bins are usually the first things to have issues crop up. None of them are ultra essential, but it's worth checking. Make sure the car comes with both the factory aluminum hardtop and a good condition soft top that's willing to operate via power. Otherwise, you're in the clear. Just keep up on maintenance, and you'll be set.

1992-mid 1996 mercedes are best avoided due to wiring issues, but there isn't too much else that's particularly bad about most of them. The one thing to be careful of on a 96 or newer jaguar is emissions monitor issues if you live somewhere that has emissions testing where they check. Many are fine, but I have heard of some of that era jaguar being extremely difficult to get the monitors set and the check engine light off long enough to pass emissions testing in places where its required. I used to want one, but because of that and being too tall id go for a mercedes instead.

Pre-2001 xjr needs timing chain tensioners replaced.they're plastic and will break

What about driver legroom? I shop in big and tall. One reason I'm passing on the XK8 coupe which has beautiful lines. I just can't find comfortable legroom so I'm a bit concerned about the Jag sedan. I assume the BMW will have tons as my 3 series sedan had more than I could use. The only Merc I've sat in had a busted drivers seat so I couldn't test the legroom.

I'm only 6' and 195, but I was very comfortable in my XJR.

I'm 6'2" and 250. I tried on a XK8 and my knees were touching the lower dash with the seat all the way back and down. Not much headroom either at that point, but I could have lived with the headroom. I won't drive with my knees touching the dash.

I would rock an E38 so hard. They are on my weekly search.

In reply to maj75:

R129s have a ton of both room and seat adjustability. More than the Jaguar, and on par with the E38.

In reply to maj75: Height doesn't tell much, I'm only 5'9" tall but find a lot of cars not tall enough for me. However my leg length is so short that if it was much shorter I'd have to staple my shoes to my butt. (heavy addiction to opium based drugs as a seven year old boy)

I have an 03 E55 AMG. Its pretty great. Mine is all modded up, full length headers, dual 3" Fabberge exhaust, 20s, pullied, tuned, TCU tuned, split cooling, carbon doodads, etc. I did blow up the trans in it at the drag strip, but it was easy enough to swap out. It runs 11.98 on Quicktime Pros and 12.2 on 20s with all seasons. Easy enough to work on, good online presence, very fast and fun.

I do sort of miss simpler stuff though, so I am looking at sending it down the road for an IROC Camaro.

All this enabling and nobody suggesting an A8 or (gasp) a Phaeton. If you're gonna go big, silly and German: do it right! W12 baby!

The big question is, are you willing and able to turn wrenches? These are just cars. No more complex than normal cars (generally) but they're all needy to some extent. Those needs MUST be met or things will get ugly in a hurry. If you can't do the work yourself, the people that are willing to do it well don't come cheap.

The right well maintained E55 with good service records has a huge amount of bang for the buck. I've put 40k on this beast with tires being the biggest expense..

I think my top picks would be X308 XJR, e38 740i, AMG e55, R129. My reasoning is that well maintained examples can be had for 10k or so (frequently less) aren't made of unobtanium, and are reasonably easily serviced.

yupididit wrote: Pre-2001 xjr needs timing chain tensioners replaced.they're plastic and will break

2001-2002 are still plastic, but fiber reinforced. They still fail and should be replaced.

I have a line on a $1200 97 xjr right now in IL. It supposedly runs great but needs a front suspension knuckle to drive. I've been in contact with the guy and he seems like a stand up character. I'd be checking it out tomorrow if our schedules matched.