A few months back we bought a 2005 3.0 X-type. Very low miles, white, immaculately clean previously owned by the wife of a business tycoon so it was babied and serviced only at Jag for oil and everything else (with or without wty, it is worth mentioning). The car went in a few days ago for a small leak at the oil pan gasket, but they fixed it right up. No biggie.

In the meantime while they had the Jag I was forced to give my lady my Mercedes CLK430 and I drove the BMW we keep for such occasions. Unfortunately she cannot drive a stick shift so I get stuck in the BMW and she gets the Mercedes when there is any issue with her car. No matter, I like the Bimmer.... but it's no Mercedes let me say. Well, she got a little tricky and decided not to pick the Jag up from service on tuesday when it was ready. Instead she picked it up today - two days late. Why? She wanted to keep driving my Mercedes.

She loves her Jag, and I like it too........ but not QUITE as much as the Mercedes. We both prefer the CLK. I have this thing where I get anxious if I keep a car longer than a year (I always want something new to drive after a year of the old same old same old). So when she got her Jag back today she called me 5 minutes down the road and asked "jokingly" if I would trade her my CLK for her X-type then proceeded to say "PLEAAASSEEE".

Now folks, hands down I like the CLK better. It's more of the car for ME (and apparently her too). I am however going on a year and a half owning the Mercedes and I am getting the itch again to find something new even though I practically put this car on a shrine as far as how much I like it. The Jag and the Mercedes have similar mileage, the Jag is a few years newer, but the Mercedes cost double the price of the Jag so it evens out on value.

I'm really torn here....... With as little bias as possible...... what would you do? She has to pay the Jag off, my Mercedes is paid for (paid cash for it when I bought it, she financed the Jag). The only real difference will be where we park in the driveway (LOL!) but neither of us like each other touching the others cars, most especially me since I have a neat freak compulsion to keep mine clean enough to eat off of. So once done I won't be near it much.

 

lol. wow but that was the snobbiest sounding dilemma i've ever heard. Wish i kept a spare bimmer for when the jags in the shop. keep the 430.

 

Just an old beater, but a clean one: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301940

 

damn thats spotless. But like i said, keep the benz. I love the sound of that little v8.

 

Truthfully?

I'd say keep the Merc bro

Jim

 

That pic does the Jaguar a LOT of justice. I've never been a huge fan of MB styling...

You can give me the Jag. I'll happily take it off your hands

 

You'll need to change your handle bro to "2jagSpartanX"

Jim

 

I REALLY do like the Jag and if I hadn't bought the Benz I would have bought the Jag (though I was looking at a black on black S-type instead when I was interested in purchasing). I'll tell you what I notice between the two in an unbiased fashion because I technically own both and love both (I've had to look at this woman for ten years, buy her anniversary rings twice, we're not actually talking about separating the cars or anything with this trade "it'll be around").

The Jag is a little more plush in APPEARANCE inside and out.
The Benz is better built inside and out. (quality of the interior parts on the Jag is horrible in comparison, but neither are Lexus quality).
The Jag cannot be faulted for being a 4wd 6 cyl, but it's worth noting the Benz is a 300 HP V-8 Coupe. (Benz gets better gas mileage!)
The Benz has factory HID's. Both have city lights in the high beams.
Both have good stereo's, but I stuck an Alpine in the Benz with an Ipod hookup which I use literally every time I am in it. (factory amps and speakers still in use)
The Benz has sport tuned suspension, the Jag had a more cushy ride.
The Jag has a TON of road noise. The Benz is quiet in comparison, but has a little bit itself. I blame some of the Jag's noise on the brand of tires.
The Benz shifts perfectly in tune with your foot. The Jag seems "touchy" on wanting to upshift and downshift when you simply touch the throttle.
The Jag has great handling. It has not been put against the Benz in the twisties yet.

Both are nice...... Hard decision.

 

I'm not sure if your Jag would own your Merc in the twisties, but I know my X-Type Sport with the manual will hold its own against many cars in the twisties. What can I say, i'm one helluva driver.But I digress...

If you're looking for the optimal daily driving experience, the Merc is your best bet. I've gotten used to the road noise from my Jag, the harsh sport tuned suspension, and so-so materials for a luxury car. But i'm 23, I have plenty of time to upgrade to an XF-R later on down the road.

 

Sorry, I can't be unbiased when you compare Jag,Mercs and bimmer .(If it was W140 then things might change butstill don't know) .So, this is really the snobbiest dilemma I have ever heard of .

 

A really nice problem to have though one.
The cars looked like very well kept clean examples too one.....Nice one

Jim

 

Thought I'd drive it today for a bit and get the feel for it since I rarely drive it. Got on it getting on the freeway and it started shifting hard from there on. I'm going to go out and drive it again later to see if it was a fluke, if not my mind is getting made up fast. Shifts simply became more harsh after that. I will give the computer a chance to rest and reset to see if it just got confused, but that is still pretty odd that a simple lashing of the foot would make it do that. The car is super clean and low miles so I know nothing is "wrong" with it. I just need to know if it will continue this behavior.

Wish me luck

 

i was looking at those clk models when i purchased my jag. I got the jag because i got a better deal. What i didnt like about the clk was the interior. Too much plastic and not enough wood. If anything goes wrong on the benz it will cost alot more to fix. Its a coupe with small rear seats.The stock stereo in the clk is terrible but then again so is the jag. Comparing the two is like comparing apples to grapes. Yes they are both cars but thats about all they have in common. One is a sports car designed for going fast and has a stiffer suspension. The other is designed for all weather driving and meant to carry passengers in relative comfort.

If it was an xk to a clk thats a more appropriate comparison. It basically boils down to what your needs are. If you want a sporty car then get one if you dont need the leg room. If you want a good all around car then get a better lux sedan. If it was me i would sell all 3 of your cars and get a new S-class or M5.

 

I hope I don't get my moderator priviledges taken away for this, but I'd say get rid of the X and get another CLK, or possibly some other car that's more to your liking. The reason I say this is because the CLK is "YOUR" type of car. Who cares which car is better? The important thing is that you drive a car that comforms to you. When shopping for my Jag, there were many choices that included Benz's and BMW's that were "better". However, the Jag was the type of car that fit my personality and style as well as my wife's. What about the CLK fits your style? 2 door sports coupe with a RWD v8? If so, think about an XK. Or is it the fact that it's a Mercedes and you've always liked Mercs? Let us know and we can give you a bit more advice. In the mean time, think about what is it that is your style and go in that direction. Good luck, and both cars are beautiful.

 

Actually the Jag parts are just as outrageous and in some cases much more as I have found out. Comparatively though I can work on the Mercedes easier than the Jag. I have to guess you looked at a CLK320, because the 430 is loaded with wood everywhere. The only exception being the trim around the speedo area on the Jag where the Mercedes has none there. There is a little more plastic in the CLK than the JAG, but in the Mercedes defense at least the plastic is higher quality and fits snug. On the Jag I went to the back deck headrests to try and secure the plastic covers that sit over the tie strap hangers and they just fell apart. It was a bad first impression to say the least, but I haven't had much problems otherwise so I still have faith.

Stock for stock the Jag radio is better, but I simply changed out the factory head unit in the Mercedes with an Alpine and kept the factory amps and speakers and it easily blows the Jag stereo away so it appears to be a deficiency in the stock radio itself and not the rest of the system.

Since I am not looking for anything special in a car I don't have many requirements. I've pretty much had everything on the market...... twice. I sold a Porsche Turbo to buy a Corvette and sold it to buy a Lexus IS300 and sold it to buy the Mercedes. Just to name the last few, so I am not really looking for anything special.

I have not made my mind up as of yet as to what I am going to do, but I may prefer to allow her driving privileges to swap cars once or twice a week and keep everything the way it is now. If I didn't like the Jag this wouldn't even be under consideration, so I am pleased with both cars.

 

Here's a small example of a few cars I have had in the last 2 years. I tend to keep 4 or so at a time so I can drive two and she can drive two. This way we each have a back up car incase of trouble. The Jag would be a change from what I would usually drive, but I think that's a good thing.

 

I didn't like having to click every link to see a pic, so I edited your post and put image tags at the end of your links so that I could see your pics all at once. Looks like what you really need is another lex...or that last thing you need is another X. Which ever which way you look at it. LOL!

 

I was just trying to save the forum from a huge pic post

 

Beautiful little collection you got goin on there one!
They all look in tip top condition too

Jim

 

black 944 turbo!! Sexy *** car man, thats my fave from your collection.