nk1983

Hey guys

Hope everyones doing well and had fun on the holidays. I personally am still recovering from new years..lol
OK so heres the deal. I plan on picking up the new GS in about 2 years after its had at least a year or so on the road. In the meantime I want another car.

My choices are
Jag XK8 98-99
MB CLK 98-99
MB E4** 00-01

So let me know what you guys think and feel free to make other suggestions. I felt I should stay away from the current GS just to vary it a little so even though I know that would be a good choice in this area ill leave that one alone. Im leaning towards the JAG just because its so damn sexy.
Thanks in advance. Also does anyone have any good jaguar forum links?

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I personally love the W208 CLK and that woud be in my garage but I just can't bring myself to the potential high cost of ownership. Go to any Mercedes forums and it has a lot of problems including AC. Owners estimate about $2000 a year in maintenence cost provided you don't have any major problems. From your list I would choose the CLK though.

talgrl626

get giggy with the jaggy

jracerlmn

E430...

it's a strong solid car...i can attest to that...
if you get one get a 2001 or newer model

fireballs gs400

my friends dad has a jag and he says it sucks cause its in the shop more than its on the road.

er i don't know which one to go with

MoFunk

First of all, it kinda puzzles me how you've thrown in the E430 along with the two coupes, what will you be using the car for? Cause if you have a family and need space obviously the E class is the go, but if you already have a family car and need a coupe i'd recommend the CLK over the Jag anyday.

Driving an XK was probably one of the biggest disappointments i've had, maybe i expected too much from it. The handling is dubious, felt way too many bumps, though the interior i admit is probably alot better than the CLK which i must say unless you get a 320 or above, the interior is almost Hyundai like...plastic everywhere.

LexFather

check out roadfly for the jag forums. All it is, sadly, is complaint thread one after the other. I have to go with the CLK 430 but none of the cars are bad.

nk1983

no family just lil' ol me.

honestly the only reason i threw it in is becuz i drove it and liked it. My choices are not in a certain category just a mix of cars i like . Therefore i am also open to any other suggestions. Thanks for the suggestions so far and u guys are definitely swaying more towards the clk..lol
aaah i love CL

MoFunk

the CL ? check that out too then. Now that alot has been cleared up, i honestly would recommend the BMW 330Ci i personally believe it's a better car than the CLK, much better in my opinion espeically when it comes to the manual gearbox. Not quite smooth as silk in the 01 models but far better than that of the CLK. Though if an 8 cyclinder is what you be wishing for obviously you would consider an M3

Cant think of any other cars (aside from Lexus of course) off the top of my head, i'm rather sleepy. I'll get cracking again later

D-MAN63

Hey NK1983, whats up man ! Go with the CLK bro hands down ! That body style is a classic, WAAAAYYY better than the new body style.. Good luck with your choices.. Stop by to the BBQ meet again in the spring !


btw: my car is 'not done yet', its 'almost finished'.

Gojirra99

I agree, yes they are known to have reliability issues, but I think the other 2 choices aren't much better, so I'd go for the CLK.

Hameed

Why not just forgo the CLK and get a 2000 E55 AMG instead? They can be had for pretty cheap now and they are generally more reliable than the CLK's.

Take a look at some of the 2000's here: (these are Canadian dollar prices - which is about US$1.00 = CDN$1.2)
1999 - 2004 E55 AMG's

Absolutely AMAZING PERFORMANCE from it's 5.5 Liter V8. 349 HP and 393 lb ft of Torque. I am so tempted to buy the Midnight Blue one there. All the major mods I have done to my GS (suspension, wheels, brakes) are already done on this car from the factory! Sports car straight from the factory!!!!!

lkirchner

Even though they have improved the Jag's they are still fairly unreliable. I considered getting a new one last spring; visited the forums ----- frightening and the looked at the resale values even more frightening. Those things drop like a lead balloon in an elevator shaft. I owned both a CLK 430 and an E 430, two totally different cars. The CLK is surprisingly quick and holds its value much better than the E class. In fact it has the highest resale value for"luxury cars" for the last 3 years.

nk1983

LOL wsup dman!

Ive heard u and jonny are creating quite the ruckus at car shows.. i have an idea..sell me your car so you can stop *****ing about such a beautiful piece of machine needing more and more..haha I'd hit it...

Hameed: Thanks gfor the E55 suggestion I have no idea why I didnt think of that car.. I think I just figured it would be out of my range..now to speak to my insurance...*sigh*


Oh and MoFunk: by CL i meant Clublexus not the Ac...ill leave the ac alone..hehe

Thanks guys and keep em coming. Im still kind of in the air but I did drive a beautiful silver CLK430 today. I have no idea why im having difficulty finding one with COMAND though
oh well
WISH me luck guys

ANd DMAN you and Jonny can expect to see me at the next spring BBQ ( as well as all you other N.E. ) peeps. Ill Have beer in hand this time and leave the grey goose at home..LOL

Hameed

Before you plunk down your cash for any of the cars, you owe it to yourself (an absolute must) to test drive a 2000 and newer E55 AMG. You will be completely blown away.

I drove one about two years ago, and I have been smitten ever since. It is an absolute beast. The Torque is just unbelievable from the 5.5 liter engine. Almost 100 lb/ft more than our GS400!

The handling, brakes and comfort are just phenomenal. The one and only thing I would change is to get rid of those 18 inch monoblock AMG wheels and put some nice 19 inch HRE's on it. And oh yes, two other minor mods would be to get rid of the standing MB emblem on the hood and add a trunk spoiler. Everything else is just PERFECT. The drop, the amazing BBK all around (not just fronts), HID's, two tone leather upholstery, amazing combination of handling and ride. Very nice body kit too! - Can you tell I love that car?

When I bought my 99 GS400 two years ago, I wanted the E55 AMG so badly, but the price of a 2000 model was about 10 to 15K more than the 99 GS, and was just out of my budget. If it had been about $7K difference only, for sure I would have gotten the MB. To hell with the electrical issues, I would have put up with that for the amazing performance of this car!