Good morning all. I owned an 04 XJ8 for several years and sold it about 3 months ago. Bought a loaded E350 4 matic as a replacement, mostly because I wanted all-wheel drive.

As a member of this forum I read with interest the many complaints and concerns about Jag reliability, cost of parts and repairs, etc. Many posters indicated that they would sell their Jags and return to German cars.

Well, as a person who has now owned both I can say without hesitation that the Jag is a better and more satisfying car. Faster, smoother and at least as well finished as the Mercedes. More exclusive as well. And you think this forum lists lots of problem areas with the Jag? You ain't seen nothin yet. Go to the Mercedes forum or the Alldata site and the list of big-time (read incredibly expensive) problems is staggering. German reliability is a myth.

All high-end cars are complicated and have their issues. However, I for one regret selling the Jag and intend to return to the fold as soon as it's economically practical to off the Mercedes.

Enjoy your cars!

 

Thanks jake for sharing your unique perspective, though I am sure it pains you to make that realization. Come back soon!

 

Thanks for sharing that. What year is the E350?

 

I'd agree on that as well. Had two Benz and an Audi unfortunately they spent more time in the shop than any other cars I've owned (the Lotus Europa is special child and forgiven). I will say the A6 Avant was an incredible car in the ice and snow. And I've filled it to where the suspension just about bottomed. I can't even look at a Benz today without feeling a chill. I'd take an old Benz against a Abrams M1, now it's not much more than a name.

Had a 78 XJ6-L & 91 XJ6 VDP put on over 100K on both.

 

Same here our AMG55 has had noting but problems the worst being the roof stuck halfway closed.
Try driving it to a dealer with the roof halfway up. Triggers limp home mode and wont ley you go over 10kph or so
I'd probably forgive the thing if it wasn’t slower than the XJR

Cheers
34by151

 

Just to clarify. The E350 is an 08 with 30,000 miles. Loaded to the max. Extremely rare Siena Black paint, Level 2 Sport package, Panoramic roof, voice command...you name it. Base E350 was about $50k in 08, this one stickered for $65k. On paper it should outclass the Jag in almost every way. In reality it doesn't. Very cool car but, as I said, not a Jag. Oh well, it's just a car and there's always another one down the road. Spent almost nothing on the Jag in 35,000 miles of ownership (brakes and tires). Hopefully the Merc won't be a bottomless pit for however long I own it. Take care.

 

E350 is equivalent in class to XF not XJ. XJ is equivalent to S550.

 

NIce to read something about how other cars stand up in use. At one time Mercs were almost bullet-proof, but those days seem to have long gone. Jaguar has really upped its game in recent years and is now up there with the best.

 

My father has an 2011 e350 and x358 drives way better. Even he admitted so. I just wished that it had AWD like the benz

 

Nothing rides like a Jaguar.

 

I too was reaching a "tipping point" with the amount of money I was investing in my XJ8 compared to its purchase price. Recently, I looked around for alternatives, and came to the conclusion that a Lexus IS would be a smaller, sportier, and certainly more reliable alternative. After all, Lexus is Toyota, right? You can't beat Asian reliability, Right?

Well, I started reading owner reviews and forums on the Lexus IS, and wow, there are some nightmare stories of everything from transmissions to engines failing to poor workmanship.

Indeed, the "grass is always greener" syndrome certainly applies to some Jaguar owners. My conclusion is that nothing even close to the cost of my XJ8 investment would be as satisfying to own and drive. After all, I still turn around and take another "look" each time I park my white beauty.

 

Hi I have a old is 200 and the only thing that's gone wrong in 9 years is a front shock had a mist of oil on it so I changed it but it's still on original bulbs it's all about how you look after a car seems like the old cars may not be so technically advanced but reliable. Still love the jag always feel special when driving it even though it's older than a lot of cars on the road still cannot see anything else I'd like to be in

 

Reliability and maintenance costs are holding me back atm from buying a Jaguar. But as you state, every forum from any make is a collection of horror stories.
I own an Alfa Romeo 159 and this car would have cost me about 1/4th of it's second market price in the first year if it wasn't for the 1 year warranty...

 

I've had my 2008 XJL for about 8 months and i've spent about $4500 in repairs and maintenance on a car that had 71000 miles on it when I bought it. I can honestly say that the repairs were expensive, but i've had friends and associates who own other luxury brands and have spent large sums of money on them also. So spending money on repairs and maintenance is not exclusive to Jaguar and neither are other brands excluded from expensive repairs.

In fact, I have one friend who after owning and maintaning 2 BMWs, left that brand and got a Kia Optima SXL.

 

A good friend of mine bought a 2005 Mercedes Benz C230 Kompressor new, special ordered to his specifications. He loved Mercedes since he was a child, and this was his first. To say it was a huge hunk of junk was an understatement. Every time the weather changed, he had to get the ECU remapped, as it had issues running. He burned up several valves within the first 50k miles, and ended up trading it in before the warranty expired.

As much as he loved Mercedes Benz, he traded it in on a Mini Cooper S(another HUGE mistake), which he then traded on a Lexus IS350... and FINALLY found a quality car. He ran his first IS350 well over 100K miles, then traded it in on another IS350.

Yes... didn't mention Jaguar in this post... but with all the issues he had with the Mercedes(this was just the most major, he had a LOT more issues with that car), I figured I would post it up. We joked with him that he bought Mercedes "Loaner Car" deal... as he loaner cars more times than his own car.

 

I guess relying on anecdotal evidence based on owners' experiences can lead to skewed impressions of a particular brand's overall reliability, hence the wildly differing opinions of any particular brand. Admittedly that is a problem with reading owner reviews and forums to make a car buying decision.

If you look at JD Powers or Consumer Reports automobile reliability ratings, the differences between the highest and lowest rated brands often amount to just a few percentage points difference in "incidents per 1,000".

 

comparing my wife's 03 S430 to my 05 SV8, maintenance costs were about the same. Repairs were a bit higher on the S class but not by much. Quality of the 03 Mercedes S Class compared to the Jag is a matter for debate. My wife thinks the Jag is quieter, faster and more stylish. On this, we agree.

There is no comparing the 03 S Class to our 2010 E350. Obviously the mid size to full size doesn't tie out but the E class was terrible.

My wife picked it out. I hated it from day one. 2 safety issues and 1 certification issue with wood fading, all within the first 5 months of ownership. I finally got her into a Cadillac SRX and she's a happy camper.
And I still have my SV8 - so life's good.

 

If I couldn't wrench my own cars I would never own an older Jaguar or Mercedes...And I have both!

 

Must say I repair my own car but I'm a mechanic by trade and I enjoy working on my own car and I must say I have had my jag just over a year and the only thing that has gone wrong is the battery and that was the original one the rest of the work has been preventive maintenance. Also the price of parts and availability is very good in England and the parts people very helpful they will order anything even if it's a few pence any will ring when the part is in the biggest job was the the valley pipe now that could have more thought put into it .

 

Your experience is similar to mine at 1yr 3mo in and I'm not done. I need to service the transmission and hope there isn't internal damage and replace the thermostat housing. Yes, I do the work myself but it adds up. If it keeps up I may have to rethink this car. I've never owned a car that required this much upkeep.