Discussion
Hi All
I am posting this on the Mercedes part of the forum too as I expect an element of bias from marque fans.
I am going to buy a second car for my father. It's a gift he has been rather ill and has never had a sporty car. He's 77 years old.
I am considering a 2007-9 Mercedes 350SL or XK 4.2 Conv.
The car will probably travel a maximum of 4000 miles PA.
My main concern is really reliability, things to watch out for and overall what would be the safest of the options.
Any views or warnings would be most appreciated.
I am posting this on the Mercedes part of the forum too as I expect an element of bias from marque fans.
I am going to buy a second car for my father. It's a gift he has been rather ill and has never had a sporty car. He's 77 years old.
I am considering a 2007-9 Mercedes 350SL or XK 4.2 Conv.
The car will probably travel a maximum of 4000 miles PA.
My main concern is really reliability, things to watch out for and overall what would be the safest of the options.
Any views or warnings would be most appreciated.
I've never had/driven an SL350 but I had a 2008 4.2 XKR (since replaced with a later 5.0 model) and my wife has a 2008 ML320. Both were purchased as approved used cars. I had to use the warranty once on the Jag, her car was in and out of Mercedes maybe 9 times over the first year. That's just my tuppenceworth obviously and the Merc isn't the same as you're considering but if our ML is representative of what Mercedes of that vintage are like then I'd have to think quite hard about having another personally.
We have both a Jaguar, only 2.5 yrs old, to be fair that’s been fine other than a premature seat leather seam wear thing. We have an SLK350, coming up 6 years old that has been problem free other than dodgy diamond cut wheels, although it’s still only done about 29000 miles. So from the manufacturer point of view, it’s the usual “do you feel lucky?”. They all have good and bad cars, IME.
I’ve driven both the XK, not sure which engine it was, and the SL350. The former was very good, if a little heavy feeling, classic interior, very comforting but, for better or worse, my son reckoned it was an old man’s car! I liked it. The Merc was more modern feeling, seemed lighter, very smooth but I felt the roof/boot mechanism was a little flimsy feeling, much more so than the SLK, IMO. Nice to drive though, much quieter than our SLK with the same engine. Which, by the way, can be quite good on fuel, if that matters, probably better than the Jaguar.
I’m not as old as your old man but I’m not too many years behind. If my son was going to buy me a weekend motor, I reckon I’d prefer the
Jag, no real head reasons, but the heart................just make sure you get a good one!
Good luck!
I’ve driven both the XK, not sure which engine it was, and the SL350. The former was very good, if a little heavy feeling, classic interior, very comforting but, for better or worse, my son reckoned it was an old man’s car! I liked it. The Merc was more modern feeling, seemed lighter, very smooth but I felt the roof/boot mechanism was a little flimsy feeling, much more so than the SLK, IMO. Nice to drive though, much quieter than our SLK with the same engine. Which, by the way, can be quite good on fuel, if that matters, probably better than the Jaguar.
I’m not as old as your old man but I’m not too many years behind. If my son was going to buy me a weekend motor, I reckon I’d prefer the
Jag, no real head reasons, but the heart................just make sure you get a good one!
Good luck!
REALIST123 said:
but, for better or worse, my son reckoned it was an old man’s car!
Would that be because every media report he sees says Jaguars are "old men's cars" though?Older people have sounder judgement because they've seen more and know more.
Maybe the OP's father would like to have a say in the matter...? It's for him to enjoy, not the (very generous) buyer.
Simpo Two said:
REALIST123 said:
but, for better or worse, my son reckoned it was an old man’s car!
Would that be because every media report he sees says Jaguars are "old men's cars" though?Older people have sounder judgement because they've seen more and know more.
Maybe the OP's father would like to have a say in the matter...? It's for him to enjoy, not the (very generous) buyer.
FWIW I think he has a point, though I don’t see it as a disadvantage!
As to your final point, I think it’s a fair one, though if in the OP’s fathers place, I’d appreciate whichever option was chosen.
REALIST123 said:
Simpo Two said:
REALIST123 said:
but, for better or worse, my son reckoned it was an old man’s car!
Would that be because every media report he sees says Jaguars are "old men's cars" though?Older people have sounder judgement because they've seen more and know more.
Maybe the OP's father would like to have a say in the matter...? It's for him to enjoy, not the (very generous) buyer.
Similarly I know there's no point take my X300 over to my mothers, she'd never get into it and certainly would never be able to get out of. She finds B8's E Class hard enough.
Maybe now that Jag have introduced things like the F Pace it's possible for the elderly to drive Jags, but not real ones.
Interesting tale but doesn’t sound enough to justify the legend.
I’m sure it’s more to do with the fact that Jaguars were all deep carpet, cracked leather and walnut when other brands were changing and emphasising other aspects. The pipe and slippers environment supposedly favoured by old men.
Of course, none of that’s true anymore; they’re just like everything else in truth, just as a BMW is no longer ‘the ultimate driving machine, if it ever was.
Anyway, we’re well off topic now. I still applaud the OP’s generosity and still favour the XK!
I’m sure it’s more to do with the fact that Jaguars were all deep carpet, cracked leather and walnut when other brands were changing and emphasising other aspects. The pipe and slippers environment supposedly favoured by old men.
Of course, none of that’s true anymore; they’re just like everything else in truth, just as a BMW is no longer ‘the ultimate driving machine, if it ever was.
Anyway, we’re well off topic now. I still applaud the OP’s generosity and still favour the XK!
REALIST123 said:
Anyway, we’re well off topic now. I still applaud the OP’s generosity and still favour the XK!
Likewise 
Although the last SL I drove was an R129 so can't really compare them.
If it were for me, I suspect I'd chose the XK, but if it were my wife choosing a car for herself I suspect she'd go for the SL. Perhaps the MB 350 engine is more characterful in the SL than in an E-Class, but the Jag V8 would be hard to resist given the choice.
a8hex said:
REALIST123 said:
Anyway, we’re well off topic now. I still applaud the OP’s generosity and still favour the XK!
Likewise Although the last SL I drove was an R129 so can't really compare them.
If it were for me, I suspect I'd chose the XK, but if it were my wife choosing a car for herself I suspect she'd go for the SL. Perhaps the MB 350 engine is more characterful in the SL than in an E-Class, but the Jag V8 would be hard to resist given the choice.
From my experience the 350 in the SL is very refined; certainly in comparison with our SLK in which it’s a bit raucous in a quite ordinary way. I wouldn’t say either are characterful.
REALIST123 said:
I’m sure it’s more to do with the fact that Jaguars were all deep carpet, cracked leather and walnut when other brands were changing and emphasising other aspects. The pipe and slippers environment supposedly favoured by old men.
I think it's more to do with the time when Jags were driven by the Chairman of the Board, and they were usually about 60. You had to be 60 before you could afford one. Young people drove Morris Minors.Now the 60y/o 'Chairman' in a pinstripe suit has been replaced by the 30y/o 'CEO' in jeans because you can make money faster these days, and he likes blue LEDs.
REALIST123 said:
Anyway, we’re well off topic now. I still applaud the OP’s generosity and still favour the XK!
Yes and yes 
I did around 1,000 miles in an SL350 after someone backed into my Z4M and the insurance company gave it to me as an 'equivalent' car while being repaired, and I've spent a lot of time in Jags, having owned a few and run a Jaguar dealership '08-09'.
The SL350 feels no more special than an optioned up E-class, whereas the XK will make your dad smile from the moment he starts it up. Not necessarily relevant for a 77 year old, but the XK drives well at all speeds, whereas the SL quickly feels out of sorts when driven enthusiastically.
I was glad to get back in my Z4M, which was five years old at the time and the SL was new, whereas I would have reluctantly handed the keys back to an XK.
The SL350 feels no more special than an optioned up E-class, whereas the XK will make your dad smile from the moment he starts it up. Not necessarily relevant for a 77 year old, but the XK drives well at all speeds, whereas the SL quickly feels out of sorts when driven enthusiastically.
I was glad to get back in my Z4M, which was five years old at the time and the SL was new, whereas I would have reluctantly handed the keys back to an XK.
Having owned a 350Sl merc and now drive xkr ,the sl has the potential to cause you serious financial harm (check out online ) Whilst running the sl a lovely car i was fortunate that i had no serious problems only replacing small antenna on rear wing( stolen) and glove box lock (broken) which the previous owner had GLUED SHUT but both of these items were £35 for the antenna and about £50 for the glove box lock apart from that just the usual ie oil, tyres The 350 comes with normal suspension not the air suspension ,i had the command unit retro fitted bought a recon unit from Bosch Germany for about 400£ ,the interior of the Sl is superior to the xk but if you want a bit of go get the xkr 420 hp.One other problem with the sl it has two batteries and you get message on dash electrics offline which in the winter means the heated seats window heater doesn,t work and in the summer you cannot operate roof until this message clears about 10-15 mins also check out Honest John review on the sl 2003-08 frightening.
Edited by snafu10 on Sunday 3rd May 06:48
Edited by snafu10 on Sunday 3rd May 07:11
Back when the XK (X150) was still in production, the reliability surveys at the time had it top in it's class (large GT)
Indeed, the XKR that I ran for over three years needed nothing other than servicing, I remember changing the supercharger oil myself just for good measure, which was easy enough. We've had various petrol powered Jags in the household for over 12 years now and they've been considerably more reliable than our previous cars, from Germany, France and yes, even Japan.
In contrast, a mate has a low mileage 2004 SL500 which seems to need a constant supply of new parts including a new roof mechanism a little while back. He seems to like it though, but then he's a German car fan (build quality blah blah, reliability blah blah)
Indeed, the XKR that I ran for over three years needed nothing other than servicing, I remember changing the supercharger oil myself just for good measure, which was easy enough. We've had various petrol powered Jags in the household for over 12 years now and they've been considerably more reliable than our previous cars, from Germany, France and yes, even Japan.
In contrast, a mate has a low mileage 2004 SL500 which seems to need a constant supply of new parts including a new roof mechanism a little while back. He seems to like it though, but then he's a German car fan (build quality blah blah, reliability blah blah)
Are you aware of the balancer shaft issues on the 350 V6 engine of that era, fixed approx 2010 from memory. Many cars already repaired so check to see if it's been an issue. A search should bring up the affected engine numbers.
Both cars can suffer if battery is poor, not just the SL. SL's folding hardtop makes it quite different to the XK. I can't remember whether the active suspension was an option on the SL 350 but, if it was, it wouldn't be my choice due to potential for large bills. XKs can be suceptible to electrical gremlins due to poor earthing. Check for gearbox fluid/filter changes on both cars.
Both cars can suffer if battery is poor, not just the SL. SL's folding hardtop makes it quite different to the XK. I can't remember whether the active suspension was an option on the SL 350 but, if it was, it wouldn't be my choice due to potential for large bills. XKs can be suceptible to electrical gremlins due to poor earthing. Check for gearbox fluid/filter changes on both cars.
Gassing Station | Jaguar | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff