I'm looking to purchase a non-x308 car that is just like the x308 i.e. originally very expensive fast fun luxurious car that has now depreciated to around the $8-12k range. There is no real choice-limitation besides having 4+ seats and the price.

The BMW 760li V12 from '02-'08 seems to be the best value - anyone have experience with them, or any other 7-series from the E65/E66 generation?

The Bimmer seems to be among very few options semi-comparable to the x308 considering that I'm not a fan of MB or Japanese cars.

The only other options I've been able to identify are the Audi A8/S8 and Range Rover. The former has a painfully-ubiquitous boring-exterior and the latter has a crude interior and ride-handling (from the lower-cost Tata-era generations, prior to Land Rovers becoming Jaguar SUVs.)

Jag XK/XKR, Aston, Maserati, Bentley, Rolls and 4-seat Porsche's never seem get below the $20k mark unless they are salvage... Did I miss any car?

 

x350!

I was considering a 7 series for a while before the jag, though looking at the 2000 or 2001 e38, much better design IMO, and easier to work on, with less black boxes, etc. Driving a v12 e38 was a great experience. Drove one v8 e38, it was okay, but not the best taken care of car mechanically, so I wouldn't want to base my view off that drive.

Although the e65/e66 do have lots more bells and whistles.. I read that the earlier (02-04) e65/e66 had a lot of design/reliability issues. Strange things like windows randomly shattering due to stresses caused by the way they were setup in the car. Not going to say too much just since I don't have personal experience, but the consensus seems like the post-facelift (after 04 or 05) versions had many of those kind of issues resolved.

Another thing with the v12's is parts cost on some things. A set of spark plug wires for the e38 v12 is $360 a full set, don't know if the e65/e66 went to COP, and it may not be as drastic with other parts. Just stuff to keep in mind I suppose.

(some?) Audi v8's have the timing chains on the side facing the transmission. I'll leave that there.

 

Although lacking in the "bells & whistles" department I had a 93 Mazda 929 some termed the "Japanese Jaguar" years ago. It was a fine car & handled much like my X308s. I doubt there's many left in worthy shape though.

 

Well I had a 1989 735il e32 and my wife currently drives a 2001 740i e38...

 

2001-2002 Mercedes E55 AMG. great car, great motor and damn near indestructible!! I owned one for 5 years, beat it racing then drove it as a daily driver. Car never let me down nor did it ever incur any large costs besides tires!

 

The e38 was a great car (I had a 1998) with the 2001s being the best model year. I wouldn't touch a V12 - High ticket maintenance there.

I have always admired A8s, but they had timing belts through 2004, maybe 2005? I sold my A6 to buy the XJR and have never looked back.

Just my opinion.

Good luck.

 

This thread has already gotten so jacked, lol

No doubt at all that the AMG MB is an excellent car, as well as many Japanese options, but their styling doesn't fit my taste at all, so not an option for me.

Like some guys like thin chicks, others like big butts, one size does not fit all, lol.

nilanium, x350, seriously?! It's difficult to imagine how anyone saw x308 to x350 as an upgrade. Yes, clearly the x350 is substantially more practical, but loads of styling details and character were deleted in the process. Everything from stripping the all leather and trim from around the JGate to having a lazy single oval cut out in the wood trim for all 3 circular gauges. The x350 VDP tables are covered in plastic, that's sacrilegious. No way am I downgrading to an x350.

 

When I was a kid I loved the 7 Series, and used to ride my bike to the local BMW dealer every Saturday to look at it, sit in it and lust after it. I was enamoured by the dash, the switches and how comfortable it was. I used to read the brochure back to back and promise myself I would one day be the proud owner of a BMW750i. The fact it had a TV in the dash was mind blowing and I loved the little MPG gauge. Then James Bond had one, which was beyond cool.

Then I saw an X308 and life changed. I was taken by the 308's styling and interior design. When it came time to buy I looked at a few 7 series, but the big Jag had me.

The 7 Series uses the same gearbox as the N/A X308, so the same precautions must be taken. But other than that a good car that, like the X308, still looks sharp today.

 

The styling difference is a matter of personal opinion, I also agree the x308 looks better all around. But, as a daily, the massive increase in interior volume and headroom, air suspension, extremely comfortable base XJ8 seats, improved economy and weight, and other small tech upgrades like dimming outer mirrors and ventilated seats would edge out the looks concerns for me. Still would much prefer the x350 to the modern cad-clone Tata era sedans, but that's even more off topic.

There was a similar thread recently, in similar alternatives to the x308 and I believe the rough consensus was the e38 7 series for non-Jag cars, and the x300, followed by the x350, for Jaguars. For more modern alternatives, the 4.8 v8 7 series, the post facelift ones I mentioned, would be the only one I'd look at for sure, but it's hard to say without having driven one.

 

Also an Infiniti Q45 presidential conversion is pound for pound one of the smoothest rides I've encountered.

 

Never seen the Q45 president aka. PGF50 before, nice but odd looking and does not exist in the USA.

 

I am expecting to retire the 308 from daily use this year and replace it with something much more modern, like at least 2012 or newer. I'm not sure there's any chance of finding anything comparable - comfort is my priority. Seems that everything today is trying to be a "sport sedan". One of my research factors has been what size tire does it come with. Chrysler 300 is the only luxury car in that time frame that comes with less than an 18" wheel and close to as much sidewall as a 308. Infiniti's tend to have the next tallest sidewalls. Generally when you opt for a v8 engine in any luxury car that offers one, the package comes with a 19 or 20 inch wheel. Your 760Li is going to have a staggered fitment with 245/45r19 on front and 275/40r19 rear (or 20s depending on the package). I wouldn't expect it to ride anywhere near as smooth as your 308.

 

IMO -- MB always did the big sedan better vs BMW. After my 02 X308 purchase .. I no longer needed a big sedan .. so my Jaguar got fewer miles and I hover bought a new one. I bought a LR RR and then a Cayenne S. Cayenne prices have come down .. and they are great vehicles. You would need to buy properly and not a 2004 ... my RR looked great being towed.

 

I guess that was part of where I was going with this thread - anyone have actual experience with both for comparison?

The optional wheels on the e66 760li were actually 18" (the standard were 19" exactly as you mentioned,) my x308 is a VDP which comes with the largest sidewalls on 16" and a recommended sub-100mph tire pressure of marshmallow-like 26psi or something (but I always filled to the 100+ mph pressure of 32/33)

Yeldogt, the Cayenne Turbo from the mid-2k-era looks like an amazing bargain, but the interior does not come into the remote quality-vicinity of Jag, BMW or a LR-RR - especially in the non-GPS equipped models where the center console looks like they pulled any old off-the-shelf radio + HVAC and added some minimal plastic to frame it - the same as every subcompact rental car of the 1990s.

 

I had a white conversion, just sold it last year to a buyer in Germany. Not sure what he's doing with it, but we agreed I'd get rid of all my pics of it as part of the deal lol.

 

Porsche's interiors are what they are ... I agree $100 spent on better plastic for the interiors would have done wonders. Porsche is more competitive on that front recently.

The 2006 Cayenne is the one to get ... mine was a S w/blacked out trim and sport seats .... I did not want the Nav or air suspension. The air is nothing but trouble .. and the Nav not very good .... I'm not a big Nav user. The Cayenne is IMO the best sport SUV -- I actually liked my 06 vs my newer. The turbo would be the way to go if bought correctly. I have my eye out for a low mile one to keep at my winter place.

The big BMW and MB's do nothing for me.

 

Reviving this thread... I just drove an '07 750li 4.8 V8 and was quite surprised- at how slow it was! Traveling uphill on a steep grade, my old high-mileage N/A Jag could effortlessly overtake this bimmer without much fuss. Does that sound right? Maybe this specific BMW had some performance issues?

Ride quality was indeed relatively rough but still okay. Transmission shifts were also rough in sport mode, and 'okay' in comfort mode.

The biggest difference by far was in lateral handling, while it was very sharp and precise, I'm used to the waftiness of my Vanden Plas that grips road corners transparently without feeling anything in the cabin - hard cornering in the bmw was throwing me around in the seat. I did not expect the car to be that stiff and found it unpleasant - perhaps others see that as a positive, but in the bimmer if I've got a back seat passenger and near-miss an exit they'll go flying to the opposite side of the car. In the jag they may not even notice the maneuver, lol.

 

No X308, even VDP SC, ever had the gear shift surround made of leather.
The earlier ones had a molder rubber and the later one had it covered with vinyl/ambla

 

So it's convincing fake leather, whatever, lol, it's plain cheap molded abs plastic in the x351...

 

The only other super saloon would be the VW Phaeton W12.
This video struck a cord...

But, when these types of cars go wrong, it can be horrifically expensive, BMW V12 et al! for example a tire pressure sensor is $1000 plus.