[cjscopp]

With the 560 vs. Ferrari debate going on I wanted to hear from you all about other luxury cars you are impressed with. Just arranged the purchase of a 2002 Jaguar XJ8 for my mother and boy what a car! An XJ has been her dream car since she was a teenager and me being the car guy am always on the lookout for cars of all sorts. I came across this one last friday and we went to buy it yesterday. She took it for a 24 hour test drive and I took it for a good long drive too. With only 21K miles on it, it is extremely low miles and is Jaguar certified used. Being a european technician I know all about the Jaguar horror stories but apparently since Ford bought Jaguar things have gotten much better. While the car is a little small for me compared to my 126 it is still a very impressive car. What other makes are you all impressed with but which still reinforce our passion for our beloved 126's?

 

[Peter Seow]

I am not impressed by a w126 in terms of luxury. It's the most relaible car I can find.

Oh i love a Jag but problems and repairs have put me off.

A roller or bentley would be better.

If I am lucky over the next few weeks and owner agress to my price I will be picking up an aston martin lagonda.... Yes it's a four door.

 

[w108]

Why buy an Aston Martin Lagonda when you can find one for free? All you need is to assemble an excavation team, because the facts are several of them were abandoned in the deserts of Middle Eastern countries by their wealthy original owners when their electronics failed and the cars broke down.

Kinda neat looking though - please post some pics of her when you get her.

T

 

[MBZER]

cjscopp - 4/5/2006 7:51 AM

With the 560 vs. Ferrari debate going on I wanted to hear from you all about other luxury cars you are impressed with. Just arranged the purchase of a 2002 Jaguar XJ8 for my mother and boy what a car! An XJ has been her dream car since she was a teenager and me being the car guy am always on the lookout for cars of all sorts. I came across this one last friday and we went to buy it yesterday. She took it for a 24 hour test drive and I took it for a good long drive too. With only 21K miles on it, it is extremely low miles and is Jaguar certified used. Being a european technician I know all about the Jaguar horror stories but apparently since Ford bought Jaguar things have gotten much better. While the car is a little small for me compared to my 126 it is still a very impressive car. What other makes are you all impressed with but which still reinforce our passion for our beloved 126's?

Define >"Luxury"< for me...pleeeze.

 

[cjscopp]

Luxury is a rather wide term that must be defined by the user. The cars I consider luxurious are the top end of many makes- MBZ S class, BMW 7 series, Jaguar XJ etc. Not the riduculously expensives like Maybach, Rolls Royce or the like, but actual cars real people can own without hocking their entire estates.

 

[MBZER]

cjscopp - 4/5/2006 10:39 AM

Luxury is a rather wide term that must be defined by the user. The cars I consider luxurious are the top end of many makes- MBZ S class, BMW 7 series, Jaguar XJ etc. Not the riduculously expensives like Maybach, Rolls Royce or the like, but actual cars real people can own without hocking their entire estates.

As you know...I'am a little slow... Are you defining Luxury by interior goodies,engine size,or cabin capacity?

It escapes why you would eliminate the Maybach...That to me defines LUXURY to a Tee.

 

[Teutone]

The XJ8 drives nicely. Jaguar and Ford should be the recipe for a good car. My Father had an Mk 2 where you had to lift the car to get to the distributor. I remember thinking what a great car it would make with everything else MB. It was and still is a great looking car. The German autobahn killed many of the english long stroke, narrow bore engines of days long past. And the maker of electic/electronic systems Lucas was known as the prince of darkness. I do not care much for the larger present day BMW sedans, but compared to MB you still get more driver feedback (sorry guys). Peter, the Lagonda you are looking at was not one of their better efforts, and what about that strange instrumentation. His friend had one when my Father had a Quattroporte (not for long) and they would exchange tales of woe. We had a DB 4 in the family, great car. Like many cars of those days our Iso had a stitched leather dash. Does anyone remember Facel Vega? Now that was an interior. All leather and wood with no annoying plastic smell. There is way too much plastic in todays top cars. Yesterday, at my neigborhood grocery I saw a new Rolls with maybe 22 inch spinning wheels. Is not culture a beautiful thing? But that's just my opinion and maybe I am turning into a reminiscing old fuddy duddy. Cheerio, Horst K

 

[mssdoglover]

I haven't studied it extensively enough to know whether it's reliable or not, but I like the looks of the late 80s Audi 5000 with the diesel in it... I would have gotten it if it had had the same glowing reports that grace Benz diesels... the mileage, sound, smell, and durability of a diesel is what I was shopping for that led me to benz.

 

[cjscopp]

MBZER I don't want to argue what is luxury or not and if you can afford a Maybach great, but I cannot. I referred to cars the common man may be able to afford without hocking the home MBZ S class BMW 7 or Jaguar XJ etc. There are bound to be many opinions on what is luxury, and that is the point of my post. The Maybach is an unbelievable car. Having actually sat in one in Newport Beach Ca a while ago, it is simply awesome, but well beyond my reach and probably many others too...

 

[Peter Seow]

It's cheap that's one good reason to buy and it's in perfect working condition.

I am current bargaining with the owner/broker for a lower price.

This is my brother's favourite dream car. It won't be mine for long unless he does not want... It will be for my brother

 

[jdc1244]

When I was in collage I recall how some new 126 owners were ‘disappointed’ that their new Mercedes was not more ‘luxurious.’

The steering and throttle were too heavy, the ride was too stiff and there was no front bench seat like a US luxury car. The interior was too austere, not plush enough.

As Peter once correctly noted: (paraphrasing) one drives a 126. Period.

 

[BenTwombly]

COMPARISON OF MY BIG CARS

1985 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL
Overall Weight: 2210 kg(SEL) (4,872 lbs) [2.4 US tons]
Overall Length: 5285 mm (208.1 in.) [17.3 feet long]
Overall Width: 1820 mm (71.6 in.)
Overall Wheelbase: 3070 mm (120.9 in.) = smooth ride
Love the combination.

1993 Bentley Brooklands LWB Limo
Overall Weight: 6,460 lbs. GVWR [3.3 US tons]
Overall Length: 17 ft 3.5 in. 17.3 feet long]
Overall Width: 6 ft 11.1 in.
Overall Height: 4 ft 10.5 in.
Overall Wheelbase: 120.5 in. = smooth ride
Love the ride.

1991 Cadillac Seville STS (front wheel drive)
Overall Weight: 4,595 lbs. GVW [2.3 US tons]
Overall Length: 190.8 in. (4846 mm) [15.9 feet long]
Overall Width: 72.0 in. (1829 mm)
Overall Height: 53.2 in. (1351 mm)
Overall Wheelbase: 108.0 in. (2743 mm)
Love the responsiveness.

The 500SEL has the same length and wheelbase as the Bentley giving it the same silky smooth ride. The 500SEL has the same weight as the Caddie resulting in great responsiveness. Power while retaining the safety of a still massive body.

 

[blnk124]

wow that maybach has a lot of options that ive seen available for the w126. i guess you could kind of say the maybach is the w126 of today. kind of. anyways ive heard the same thing about jaguar getting better ever since ford took over. i have to give ford respect for that.

 

[jdc1244]

Considering the build quality of 80s era Jags that was not hard to do.

The Maybach is a five-star luxury hotel on wheels...

 

[NZ Benz]

blnk124 - 4/7/2006 12:53 AM

wow that maybach has a lot of options that ive seen available for the w126. i guess you could kind of say the maybach is the w126 of today. kind of. anyways ive heard the same thing about jaguar getting better ever since ford took over. i have to give ford respect for that.

This responce always crops up, see what these people had to say:

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1245280&posts=40&fid=9