# Help me choose a V8!



## jammerrs (Jul 21, 2016)

Hi everybody,

I'm currently thinking THINKING of trading in my boxster for something V8 and a bit more grand touring. Fuel economy is not really an issue, just purchase price - a very firm upper limit of 8k.

The current list of potentials is;

BMW 6 series E63 645/650 - seems to be the best car for the money and more suited to being quite young
Jaguar XK8 or XKR - not had chance to view one of these yet but I am imagining more waft less sports?
Mercedes CLK500/CLK55 - CLK55 seems fantastic value, looks quite dated though, the only car in this lineup that accepts roof bars (to my knowledge)

Any reviews of the above? Any ideas as to cars I'm missing? Failing that has anybody won the lottery and wants to donate a DB9? :thumb:


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

The 6 series is a barge of a thing, physically massive, I wouldn't go there.

With the Jag, does your budget stretch to the newer shaped ones, which is basically an Aston Martin in all but name and probably better built?

You don't see many of those Mercs around, but they are very pretty cars.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Of those 3 I'd go for the 6 series as long as rear seat space is not a priority.

Did consider all of what you are considering when I put the CL up for sale, as I always do, I read and researched.

6 series - can take big mileages, as witnessed by the large number of cars with high mileages, no clear weak spots as long as well maintained and build quality is high

XK8 - don't wear the miles as well as a 6 series but fairly robust, rear seat space even worse than the 6 series. The XK8 shares nothing with an Aston Martin 

CLK - not the most robust Mercedes ever built, definitely not a sporting car and the 7 G-tronic transmission is a weak spot


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## bigfatsi (Apr 15, 2015)

BMW 840is are a thing of beauty. I've always wanted one, but I hanker for the 850 CSi...

S


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Another vote for the 6 Series out of your list


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## dchapman88 (Mar 17, 2016)

I've always had a massive soft soft for a jag!! Would be pretty awesome!


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Bearing in mind what I said above...

Have a look for a Jaguar XF SV8, they can be had from anywhere from £6,995. They were basically the precursor to the XFR but less racey focused.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Starbuck88 said:


> Bearing in mind what I said above...
> 
> Have a look for a Jaguar XF SV8, they can be had from anywhere from £6,995. They were basically the precursor to the XFR but less racey focused.


Or even the S-Type R - good ones are now starting to rise in value, the XF was essentially the same car mechanically - real wolf in sheeps clothing and probably the best all round car I have ever owned


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## Puntoboy (Jun 30, 2007)

What's the budget?

I highly recommend a Jaguar V8


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## donfresh (Feb 23, 2016)

840 would be nice!
or a vitesse sd1...


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## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

I've got the same engine as the XF SV8 in my STR and it's blisteringly quick. The supercharger sounds awesome too.

Just a word of warning though, have a read up on the ZF gearboxes. They're an expensive issue if not properly maintained.


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Just jumping back to my comments, where I said go for the 6 series out of your list.

I wouldn't personally even consider the 6 series when you have an XF SV8 or S Type R as contenders.


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## Sam6er (Apr 3, 2016)

Iv got a 645 vert. I was contemplating the Jag XK8 and SL500 at the time but decided the BMW was the one for me. Iv done over 30k in mine including a 3k euro trip last summer with 3 people and a boot full of luggage in the car it coped perfectly, its now sitting at just below 90k miles. Besides standard servicing, iv done some preventative maintenance including: Crank case breathers, all fluids changed including Power steering fluid, diff fluid and replaced the gearbox sump/fluid/filter/mechatronic sleeve (As these have plastic sumps they can warp over time causing leaks). Also had a rear suspension link replaced and a leaking oil pressure switch replaced. Apart from that touch wood its been solid so far. 

If you do look for one, make sure you try and see if the valve stem seals are good (leave the car idling for a few minutes once fully warmed up then press the accelerator pedal, there should be no white smoke, if there is valve stem seals are leaking in which case either get the person to drop the price by a few K or find another example, there are plenty around). Check for coolant leaks also. Apart from that there is not much that can go wrong with these cars. Just make sure you do regular oil changes (Dont believe the long life crap, i change my oil every 10K or once per year depending on mileage). 

For 8K budget, my money would go on a 6 series. But im a bit biased being a BMW fan


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## Andyuk911 (Sep 10, 2006)

RS4, if you don't mind the carbon in the inlet manifold


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## AndyN01 (Feb 16, 2016)

If you want waft go for Lexus V8 - LS400/430. But the styling isn't to everyone's taste.

Vitesse SD1 would be a good project. Can't be may other those left and a properly detailed one would be simply stunning.

Overall my vote would be for the Jag.

Good Luck with your search.

Andy.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

I guess it depends how sporty you want to be, but you know that AMG will sound the best of the the lot (and is probably a good tourer - that's purely subjective as I've never been in one).


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Merc CLS500 would be worth adding to the list


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Jag s type R.
BMW 840.

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## Simonrev (Nov 26, 2012)

Mustang !


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Come on you lot - read the original post - 8k max budget


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## Derek Mc (Jun 27, 2006)

Chrysler 300C SRT8 Cheap and is faster than any Bat out of Hell, but not everyones cup of Americano,,,,,


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

I've got a 2007 650 coupe. It's not quite the barge people think it is, it's actually quite chuckable and a great GT

Great value for money too


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Curveball!!

BMW X5 4.4l Sport


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## Chris J S (Apr 24, 2017)

Can't comment on the other cars, but my daily drive is a E63 650i and I really enjoy it so I'll do you a quick mini review:

I agree it's not the barge some people think it is, but you must find one that is in good condition. It's fast and stable at high speed. The engine has lots of torque and is very comfortable in traffic as well as open roads needing very little effort to get it moving

Its capable in the bends if you don't over do it. They don't have LSD's and don't respond well beyond the limit. 

The build quality is fantastic, a very solid car. Reliability has been OK. It suffers from oil leaks from rocker gaskets and oil sump but they aren't to expensive to get fixed. The valve stem sills are an issue I hear about, but I haven't had that issue and am approaching 115k miles. I put this down to changing the oil and filter every 5k miles.

The seats are very comfortable and have worn well, look great still. 

The car audio system is good. The computer is a bit clumsy but functions as intended.

Huge amount of space in the boot. Not much space in the rear though.

Great car for the money, but expect 15mpg in town and maybe 26mpg using cruise control on the motorway.


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## scuba-phil (Feb 18, 2016)

Audi S4 around 2003-2005 will be available for £6k ish and come with a lovely V8 plus 4 wheel drive and a 'sports' type ride and drive with a manual box


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Out of the 3 I hate to say it the BMW is the best choice.

The Jags are pretty lame, wallowy and old man....the Mercs in that price bracket will be old and tired and they electric hoods tend to go wrong an cost mega bucks along with a plethora of other issues.

Go with the 650i....nice cars..I was actually looking at 630i's for a day to day car...you can get a lot of car for the money if you shop wisely.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

nick_mcuk said:


> The Jags are pretty lame, wallowy and old man


That's like saying Skodas are built badly and are chronically unreliable. The XF SV8, S Type R and XK8s are not as hardcore as M and AMG (true M and AMG rather than the trim lines) but in no way are they lame or wallowly.

For a lot of the time the extra degree or two of compliance makes them better suited to UK roads than the comparable BMWs and Mercs


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## jammerrs (Jul 21, 2016)

Wow a great response thanks everybody.

Sounds like the sensible thing to do is buy the BMW - this is kind of what i expected.

The jag would be very cool, especially an xkr with the supercharged V8 but quite right people would expect somebody twice or 3 times my age stepping out.

I didn't think rear leg room was too bad in the 6 series when i test drove one but only being 5'8" my seat was pretty forward and my 15st friend sat behind me. But anyway the boxster doesn't even have back seats so it doesn't really matter. 

However the test drive of it was rubbish. Dealer didn't know enough about the car for my liking and wouldn't let us test drive it long enough to get it up to temperature. Didn't put me off a 6 series but it did that car and from that dealer. 

All of your help is appreciated :driver::driver:


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

jammerrs said:


> Wow a great response thanks everybody.
> 
> Sounds like the sensible thing to do is buy the BMW - this is kind of what i expected.
> 
> ...


I'm not 30 yet and I wouldn't assume an older person to get out of an XKR, XF SV8 or S Type R. Maybe if they were metallic beige or something. :lol:


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## Puntoboy (Jun 30, 2007)

Don't fall into the stereotype of old men in Jags. It just isn't true any more. The average ages of a Jag owner has reduced significantly and I know many owners in their 20s now. I bought my first Jag at 30.


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## dchapman88 (Mar 17, 2016)

Personally I love a stereotype, breaking them that is. Love the look on people's faces when they see you at the lights in their flash sports cars and you beat them off the line in your Nissan Juke.


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## Welshquattro1 (Dec 6, 2013)

I would go for one of the Audi's, S4 or RS4


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## Welshquattro1 (Dec 6, 2013)

Puntoboy said:


> Don't fall into the stereotype of old men in Jags. It just isn't true any more. The average ages of a Jag owner has reduced significantly and I know many owners in their 20s now. I bought my first Jag at 30.


I think a lot of people still think jags are still for old men tbh but then I guess they haven't seen yours! Love the new jags :thumb:


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

andy665 said:


> That's like saying Skodas are built badly and are chronically unreliable. The XF SV8, S Type R and XK8s are not as hardcore as M and AMG (true M and AMG rather than the trim lines) but in no way are they lame or wallowly.
> 
> For a lot of the time the extra degree or two of compliance makes them better suited to UK roads than the comparable BMWs and Mercs


But none of the above Jags you mention are going to be in the OP's budget! (unless they have moon miles) the XK8's wallow nearly as much as the XJS did and boy are they unreliable when they get a bit leggy!


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Puntoboy said:


> Don't fall into the stereotype of old men in Jags. It just isn't true any more. The average ages of a Jag owner has reduced significantly and I know many owners in their 20s now. I bought my first Jag at 30.


But you are an old git before your time Chris


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## Puntoboy (Jun 30, 2007)

nick_mcuk said:


> But you are an old git before your time Chris


I'm just a git


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

nick_mcuk said:


> But none of the above Jags you mention are going to be in the OP's budget! (unless they have moon miles) the XK8's wallow nearly as much as the XJS did and boy are they unreliable when they get a bit leggy!


Not sure about an XF SV8 but you will certainly get a good S Type R and a good series 1 XK8 for 8k


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## RonanF (Mar 27, 2016)

Welshquattro1 said:


> I would go for one of the Audi's, S4 or RS4


I always fancied a B6 S4, but the timing chains keep scaring me away - http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-an-awful-used-car-1676466510


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

RonanF said:


> I always fancied a B6 S4, but the timing chains keep scaring me away - http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-an-awful-used-car-1676466510


Every car has its weak points, just looking at some of my recent cars and their known problems:

Corrado G60 - supercharger exploding - did not happen to me

Golf V6 4Motion - Haldex issues / timing chain stretch - did not happen to me

Alfa GTV V6 - diffs exploding - did not happen to me

Boxster 3.2S - RMS / IMS - did not happen to me

S-Type R - gearbox and supercharger valley pipe - did not happen to me

CL500 - ABC failure - did not happen to me

Either I'm extremely lucky or many of these problems are overblown in terms of the extent.

I do not think a car has ever been made that does not have potential issues - doing the research, buying the right car and going in with your eyes open should minimise the problem a lot of the time


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## jammerrs (Jul 21, 2016)

Puntoboy said:


> Don't fall into the stereotype of old men in Jags. It just isn't true any more. The average ages of a Jag owner has reduced significantly and I know many owners in their 20s now. I bought my first Jag at 30.


Your jag is exempt from the rule :thumb:

however yours is also up and over the horizon of my budget :lol:


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## Puntoboy (Jun 30, 2007)

jammerrs said:


> Your jag is exempt from the rule :thumb:
> 
> however yours is also up and over the horizon of my budget :lol:


I started off with a 2.2d only 4 years ago. So it's something to look forward to


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## techtim (Apr 2, 2010)

Another curve ball would be the Vauxhall Monaro (Re badged Holdon Commodore) 5.7ltr V8, 300+BHP, you can get a 2005 model for between £6k-£9k

Austrailian police force used them for years so can't be too bad


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

techtim said:


> Another curve ball would be the Vauxhall Monaro (Re badged Holdon Commodore) 5.7ltr V8, 300+BHP, you can get a 2005 model for between £6k-£9k
> 
> Austrailian police force used them for years so can't be too bad


Problem with though is body parts - cars are getting written off because things like front bumpers and wings are so difficult and expensive to source


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## Welshquattro1 (Dec 6, 2013)

RonanF said:


> I always fancied a B6 S4, but the timing chains keep scaring me away - http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-an-awful-used-car-1676466510


Yes as said all cars have a weak point but if you know what to look for then the risks are small. S4 b6/7 do have this reputation with the timing chains(rattle of death) but you can either pick one up cheap and have the chains done urself or find one which has had them done but costs more. Trouble with the S4 engine and what makes it expensive to have the chains done is that the engine is for all intents and purposes fitted backwards as the chains are at the rear of the engine so to have them changed you have to remove the whole engine out of the car. There are not many sounds that are better than a Audi v8 roar


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## hibberd (Jul 5, 2006)

I have had an SD1 Vitesse, great car and under-rated, build quality is a problem so watch for rust. I had a BMW 650 also a great car which I enjoyed (have a look at the BMW 550 oft forgotten but can be saloon as well as estate) I have an SL55 AMG now which is stunningly quick car and chea**** to buy. Expensive to run though if you get a bad one, which there arent many. The SBC can be a problem but often changed under warranty. The ABC can cause grief if the oil isnt changed as often as required. SLK 55 is good too but a bit small for most although more room that it might let on to have I have a SLK 350 and thats quiet a nice car but not a V8.


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## jammerrs (Jul 21, 2016)

techtim said:


> Another curve ball would be the Vauxhall Monaro (Re badged Holdon Commodore) 5.7ltr V8, 300+BHP, you can get a 2005 model for between £6k-£9k
> 
> Austrailian police force used them for years so can't be too bad


You have made my dad a happy man suggesting this!:driver:


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Sorry I did not see the budget.

So the newer shape 2 door Jag is out, shame because they are fine fine cars.

I don't know how much Jag XF you will get for that money but it is worth a try. Jags tend to have a more compliant ride and will be faster than a hot hatch down a rough road.

Audi and Merc have a range of V8s, need to research them. Don't be put off by horror stories, I have run cars to big miles and never had anything too terrible happen to me, but you do need to be aware than buying a car which was 50K or more new will have repair bills in keeping with a 50K+ car, this is not a Ford Fiesta you are running. They want servicing, preferably by a specialist who knows about them, not someone who is Halfords chief battery fitter.

The Mercs have a reputation for bullet proof engines but it's the auxiliary stuff that goes wrong.

The 6 series Beemer does nothing for me as it just looks too portly and bland for me. Even the latest variants look weird, though from the sounds of it, it would be the safest purchase financially.

I am sure there are some other wildcard suggestions, you will be surprised to see what you can get for that kind of money. You are delving in the titanic depreciation bucket which sees some very rare and very expensive machinery swallowed into an abyss whereby no one will touch them because they are perceived as being very expensive to run.

I like the Monaro suggestion as well. It's appetite for fuel and tyres would bankrupt me.

EDIT

Yes an 8 series would be amazing. And it is one of the reason I detest 6 series. BMW, really, you built that thing, when you could have just build a new swoopy 8 series? What were you thinking?!


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

The e63/4 is much nicer looking than the newer ratty looking cars IMO. 

I agree they could have done a better job of it but once you've had one around a while you get it. Also on utube there are some docs showing the design and build of it, that's when I 'got it'. There are some nice design points that are easily overlooked.

Either way the engine is brilliant, enough noise without being annoying. They also did a 7 series V8 which you can get for buttons.

The Audi is a nice car and was on my list at the time, just didn't really have the same GT grunt of the 6, and I use mine a lot to go across Europe so I wanted more space and comfort. The Audi is more sporty but the back seats are equally useless, the 6 pips it but not by a lot.

The Jags were quite small inside and a bit stuffy (I'm 5'8 and not particularly chubby) and a bit wallowy.

BMW also chucked the V8 in the X5...and Range Rover used to as well. Some more food for thought!




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## thomjones83 (Apr 24, 2017)

jammerrs said:


> Hi everybody,
> 
> I'm currently thinking THINKING of trading in my boxster for something V8 and a bit more grand touring. Fuel economy is not really an issue, just purchase price - a very firm upper limit of 8k.
> 
> ...


What about a Monaro? Can get a supercharger kit too!! 

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## FJ1000 (Jun 20, 2015)

I used to own a B6 S4 and the timing chain issue always played on my mind, and I sold it before I got stung by the £2.5-£3k repair bill if I got the rattle of death! It's an engine out job to get to the chains.

If you can find one in budget that's had chains done though, they're lovely. I just remember it being so comfortable, with supple napa leather, an epic sound, and really creamy smooth acceleration.

I then got a sensible 2.0T. Sounded like a vacuum cleaner. Had to go back to the V8 so bought an RS!






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