sub £1500 luxury v8

[darrenwall]

hi everyone , im looking for a fast luxury car in the next month or so but i dont know what to get .
i have decided on either an audi a8 4.2 or a bmw e39 540i but i was told also that a lexus ls400 v8 is a worthwhile alternative .
what can anyone recommend cos iv been reading up on them and the bmw seems to suffer a lot from gearbox and cooling issues and the audi can suffer from gearbox issues , but i havnt found any problems with the lexus so far but at the moment im being drawn towards an audi cos the lexus seems to "plain" .
what would you pick bearing in mind i want soemthing reasonably reliable ( i know im not going to get a faultless car for the money im spending but i dont want a moneypit either ) , fuel economy is not an issue cos at the moment my diesel landrover discovery is only getting 20mpg and i dont use the car a lot
thanks in advance Darren

[stewjohnst]

Ran an E39 540 and was great fun, get about 23-28 on the motorway depending on right foot and plenty of toys. Felt sportier than a mates A8 I've tried but still a relaxing drive and a lovely roar from the motor if your rev it.

Dont expect ti hear much of the v8 out of the exhaust though, stock exhaust is too well soundproofed tbh.

Mine ran pretty well and was over 130k when I sold it. On the earlier ones the radiator where the main hose connects is moulded plastic and fatigues with age so check it with a firm wiggle before buying or you're looking at the cost of a new radiator or a fried engine if it goes mid commute.

[MondeoMan1981]

LS400 is a cracking car. Lots of examples now in your range. Wont quite have the drive of a BMW but they appear indestructable.

[kieranjholland]

The more pricey our petrol becomes the more cars fall into this range. BMW is an awesome option though

[Sooty]

MondeoMan1981 said:

LS400 is a cracking car. Lots of examples now in your range. Wont quite have the drive of a BMW but they appear indestructable.

I loved my E34 540i, but if I was buying another similar car I'd get an LS400.

[300bhp/ton]

darrenwall said:

hi everyone , im looking for a fast luxury car in the next month or so but i dont know what to get .
i have decided on either an audi a8 4.2 or a bmw e39 540i but i was told also that a lexus ls400 v8 is a worthwhile alternative .
what can anyone recommend cos iv been reading up on them and the bmw seems to suffer a lot from gearbox and cooling issues and the audi can suffer from gearbox issues , but i havnt found any problems with the lexus so far but at the moment im being drawn towards an audi cos the lexus seems to "plain" .
what would you pick bearing in mind i want soemthing reasonably reliable ( i know im not going to get a faultless car for the money im spending but i dont want a moneypit either ) , fuel economy is not an issue cos at the moment my diesel landrover discovery is only getting 20mpg and i dont use the car a lot
thanks in advance Darren

Check out the prices of Lexus Soarers.

[davepoth]

+1 for the lexus. At that end of the market reliability is everything.

[wackojacko]

E39 540i
Ls400
S400 W140

[Ecurie Ecosse]

Also consider a Jag X308. Timeless.

[bmwdrivernigel]

Here you go! A touch over budget but...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2419360.htm

[R12HCO]

Lexus ls400.

A college at work hasnt serviced his in 60000 miles and 6.5 years! It still works fine! I find it comical its now on 170k

[XitUp]

300bhp/ton said:

Check out the prices of Lexus Soarers.

Toyota.

But yeah, look at them.

[shakotan]

bmwdrivernigel said:

Here you go! A touch over budget but...

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2419360.htm

Massively expensive for an early model. That's a Mk2 (91-94), you can pick up a decent Mk3 with reasonable mileage for well under £1500.

My Mk3, with FSH and only 130k on the clock was £1000.

[varsas]

Ecurie Ecosse said:

Also consider a Jag X308. Timeless.

For £1500? Brave....there aren't any in the PH classifieds at the moment so if one does show up it'll be ropey/high mileage. You'd be better off with a nice version of a cheaper car IMHO.

[Ecurie Ecosse]

varsas said:

For £1500? Brave....there aren't any in the PH classifieds at the moment so if one does show up it'll be ropey/high mileage. You'd be better off with a nice version of a cheaper car IMHO.

You can get good ones for £1500.

These look OK:

http://ipswich.gumtree.com/ipswich/50/71995850.htm...

Slightly over budget, but it's a 4 litre:

http://glasgow.gumtree.com/glasgow/07/72254107.htm...

Edited by Ecurie Ecosse on Sunday 30th January 14:46

[Ecurie Ecosse]

varsas said:

For £1500? Brave....there aren't any in the PH classifieds at the moment so if one does show up it'll be ropey/high mileage. You'd be better off with a nice version of a cheaper car IMHO.

You can get good ones for £1500.

These look OK:

http://ipswich.gumtree.com/ipswich/50/71995850.htm...

Slightly over budget, but it's a 4 litre:

http://glasgow.gumtree.com/glasgow/07/72254107.htm...

Edited by Ecurie Ecosse on Sunday 30th January 14:46

[Jw Vw]

540i for me, the Lexus will be bulletproof though.

[varsas]

Ecurie Ecosse said:

varsas said:

For £1500? Brave....there aren't any in the PH classifieds at the moment so if one does show up it'll be ropey/high mileage. You'd be better off with a nice version of a cheaper car IMHO.

You can get good ones for £1500.

These look OK:

http://ipswich.gumtree.com/ipswich/50/71995850.htm...

Slightly over budget, but it's a 4 litre:

http://glasgow.gumtree.com/glasgow/07/72254107.htm...

Edited by Ecurie Ecosse on Sunday 30th January 14:46

Maybe. They do both look OK, especially the 4litre one (he's got the wheel size wrong though, those are 17inch not 18, you'd think he'd know that given he's just put 4 tyres on it) I did look at a couple around that price and they all had something badly wrong with them. Usually loads of dents or nasty noises coming from underneath.