Merc SL500 vs BMW 840 vs 850 vs Jag XK8 vs XKR?
Discussion
So my old man is looking at treating himself to something quick and comfy for less than £10k. What are people's experience on the above? I'm not turning this into a poll as I'd like to hear opinions.
If anyone could share experiences of living with the above, or alternatives to suggest that would be great.
If anyone could share experiences of living with the above, or alternatives to suggest that would be great.
A mate who works on these cars swears that the XKR is better than any of them.
He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
I'd guess of the bunch the Jag is going to be the newest and the cheapest to run/maintain?
BMW 8-series is lovely, but was a very advanced car for the time, I'd love a 850CSi (complete with open shirt and medallion, I've got the chest hair for it) but I can imagine they have the potential to be a money pit.
BMW 8-series is lovely, but was a very advanced car for the time, I'd love a 850CSi (complete with open shirt and medallion, I've got the chest hair for it) but I can imagine they have the potential to be a money pit.
Fun Bus said:
Make sure your Dad can afford to run them properly. Cars like you are refering to at the money your Dad is looking to spend, can be money pits - especially the 8-series.
That's the concern, I'm aware the 850 is probably the worst of the lot. But not a clue on the others (or how bad they really are).I'd go for the Mercedes, but not the 500 model, get one with a smaller engine, better mpg,easier to look after and negligible difference in performance.
The cabin is just a really nice place to be,supreme cruiser, and any of them can pick up their skirts when asked
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
Nice spec with panoramic roof.
The cabin is just a really nice place to be,supreme cruiser, and any of them can pick up their skirts when asked
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...
Nice spec with panoramic roof.
Edited by mercfunder on Saturday 20th November 07:48
My dad in law has an 850Ci that he uses for an occasional fun car. Money pit... Can be... But you have to be sensible about what to tackle. His car is fully loaded complete with 4 wheel steer and adaptive suspension. In 3 years of not much use it always started on the button, and only need an oil and plug change by a BMW specialist and air con compressor. He may have had suspension bushes done too. The 4 wheel steer has a warning light on so clearly there is a £££ issue there, but unless you want to buy and maintain a concours example, is that worth tackling?
At the end of the day he has a fun, attractive v12 which he picked up for very little initial outlay, and basic maintenance has been the only thing necessary.
At the end of the day he has a fun, attractive v12 which he picked up for very little initial outlay, and basic maintenance has been the only thing necessary.
I have had my current 840 Sport for four years and still over the moon with it. Also had a 'new' ex demo back in '99.
If he's keen on a 8 series I would suggest he forgets the V12 850 as there really isn't any huge advantage, besides a bit of willy waving. Also they stopped production in 1996, so even the latest are getting on a bit. The 840 Sport was discontinued in 1999.
There are loads of very knowledgeable guys on Bimmer Forums , as well as 8er.ch
Good luck
If he's keen on a 8 series I would suggest he forgets the V12 850 as there really isn't any huge advantage, besides a bit of willy waving. Also they stopped production in 1996, so even the latest are getting on a bit. The 840 Sport was discontinued in 1999.
There are loads of very knowledgeable guys on Bimmer Forums , as well as 8er.ch
Good luck
carlingofblack said:
He may have had suspension bushes done too. The 4 wheel steer has a warning light on so clearly there is a £££ issue there, but unless you want to buy and maintain a concours example, is that worth tackling?
Yeah I mean steering is a relatively minor thing....I'd probably want to get it looked at to at least want to know what was wrong with it (eg. is it going to pitch me into a hedge one day).
These cars may not be expensive to buy but they depreciate hard for a reason - their vigorous running costs.
A good rule of thumb is to plan for 5% of the price of the car when it was new as annual maintenence costs. So £50,000 car means £2,500 a year.
With a bit of luck you'll do better than that but at least you won't be bankrupted by unexpected bills. I've seen cars like these deliver service bills in the £,000s with monotonous regularity. check out the cost of a set of tyres too. A decent car needs decent tyres even when it's getting older.
A good rule of thumb is to plan for 5% of the price of the car when it was new as annual maintenence costs. So £50,000 car means £2,500 a year.
With a bit of luck you'll do better than that but at least you won't be bankrupted by unexpected bills. I've seen cars like these deliver service bills in the £,000s with monotonous regularity. check out the cost of a set of tyres too. A decent car needs decent tyres even when it's getting older.
redgriff500 said:
A mate who works on these cars swears that the XKR is better than any of them.
He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
Are the XKR brakes very different to the XJR ones? My father in-law paid £350 (not including fitting) for front and rear pads+discs. They were 315mm from memory.He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
redgriff500 said:
A mate who works on these cars swears that the XKR is better than any of them.
He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
No disrespect to your mate, but are you sure that isn't just favouritism towards Jaguar, because they're British and more working class than Aston? I only ask because hear it a lot from people.He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
andrewrob said:
redgriff500 said:
A mate who works on these cars swears that the XKR is better than any of them.
He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
Are the XKR brakes very different to the XJR ones? My father in-law paid £350 (not including fitting) for front and rear pads+discs. They were 315mm from memory.He was servicing a V12 Aston last week and still says the XKR is the better car.
However he did point out that the brakes and a few other bits were horrifically expensive.
IIRC a set of OE pads were circa £500 and discs were over £1k
If they were manual I'd have one in a shot though.
My Dad had an SL500 and an 850 and they didn't seem in the same league (albeit I'd suspect they are more reliable)
Thorburn said:
carlingofblack said:
He may have had suspension bushes done too. The 4 wheel steer has a warning light on so clearly there is a £££ issue there, but unless you want to buy and maintain a concours example, is that worth tackling?
Yeah I mean steering is a relatively minor thing....I'd probably want to get it looked at to at least want to know what was wrong with it (eg. is it going to pitch me into a hedge one day).
. The steering is just fine, as the failsafe mode locks the rear wheel steer of the 850i into the straight ahead position. It's just that the rear steering is not working due to a pump failure. As ever though, these parts are not readily available on an older car when the option in 1994 was as rare as hen's teeth. God knows why the first owner specified it....!840 is pretty reliable, expensive parts are things like 8 series specific panels and headlights and so on, engine came in 5 and 7 series and arent too much hassle.
One of my friends dads had an XKR and it was a money pit in 2 years it needed a supercharger rebuild, new timing chain and then a new engine when the newly fitted by Jaguar timing chain decided it had enough after around 800 miles. He was very glad he didnt have to pay for that one. Brakes were expensive, exhausts were very expensive and he was very happy when he got rid of it.
Made a nice noise and went like **** off a shovel mind.
Actually all of them can be a real money pit. How about a nice clean unmodified (ie not wrecked) Toyota Supra? Same sort of performance, a clean one still looks pretty flash and a lot more reliable. Dash is really dated in them but yet again the XKR interior isnt great.
The BMW dash is still very nice and they are nice to sit in with all the windows down. Fast but dull though almost too competant. Never driven one but got that impression as a passenger in an 840i
One of my friends dads had an XKR and it was a money pit in 2 years it needed a supercharger rebuild, new timing chain and then a new engine when the newly fitted by Jaguar timing chain decided it had enough after around 800 miles. He was very glad he didnt have to pay for that one. Brakes were expensive, exhausts were very expensive and he was very happy when he got rid of it.
Made a nice noise and went like **** off a shovel mind.
Actually all of them can be a real money pit. How about a nice clean unmodified (ie not wrecked) Toyota Supra? Same sort of performance, a clean one still looks pretty flash and a lot more reliable. Dash is really dated in them but yet again the XKR interior isnt great.
The BMW dash is still very nice and they are nice to sit in with all the windows down. Fast but dull though almost too competant. Never driven one but got that impression as a passenger in an 840i
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