I'm looking at the used market of RR phantom drophead cars.

I realize the V12/drive train is made by BMW (760Li), electronics are outdated, etc.

But they are beautifully made and very comfortable to drive

Just wondering if anyone has first hand experience owning these cars? Thanks!

 

A friend of mine had one in his collection, it only had 700 miles on it when he got it, it was a cancelled order so the dealer had taken a deposit on it, he got it at approx. £100k discount !!.
He actually had a two tone paint job done on it for the bonnet and screen surround and then round the top part of the car, it really set it off nicely, his was originally light green and they added a darker green on top.
He kept it about 2 years and eventually sold it on, in the UK the biggest issue was you just could not park it if you went out for the day, parking spaces too small and with the suicide doors you really need a lot of space to get in and out of the car. In his garage I had to remove a skin of the wall to give a bit more space to open the door wide enough to get out. He had to scoot across and get out the passenger side .
Overall an amazing car but over here completely impractical to use, I think he covered about 1200 miles in the time he had it.
He has numerous cars and the replacement for the RR was a dealer registered Mulsanne with just 30 miles on the clock so really as new but at a massive discount !
I would suggest you try to get a test dive for a day and that would show the sheer size of the car, and you would see the issues with the doors as well.
Best of luck in what you decide to do.

 

It is indeed a massive car and very very heavy. I drove one yesterday. Here in the US everything is of course much bigger, including our cars haha. Driving it was different than anything I have driven before. It floats down the road, very comfortable. Interior is amazing and beautiful. Sort of like going back in time where everything is metal and wood, no plastic. There is something special about that, at least in my opinion.

However, I don't know much about the current RR (BMW), so trying to gain more knowledge from experienced people

Thanks for your comment!

 

Here was the car on display at a car show where we first saw it, it was on the stand of P&A Wood that were personally known by my friend from previous cars.

 

that's a beauty!

 

HOw about some pics of your Jaguar?

 

My 2004 Super V8

Love the Sepang alloys on this

I don’t use this very much now but really cannot bear to part with it. The noise of the supercharger is amazing. It has done 193000 miles now and I have had it about 5 1/2 years and covered about 80000 mile in it, although just less than 1000 in it since I got the S Class last March.

 

Trying to upload some pics of the 2015 XJL but it will not take it at the moment so will try again

 

My 2015 XJL Portfolio advertisement pictures before I bought it, also before I put my number plate on it.

Lovely interior, I always like light colour interiors.

Plenty of space in the rear

this is my 10th Jaguar over a 30 year period

 

An ideal comparison photo to compare the S Class and XJL together

this was my 2011 XJL that was sadly written off last summer by a drunk driver, it was my pride and joy and the first ( and last ) brand new Car I had ever bought, really loved the colour but could not find another Claret used LWB anywhere in the UK to replace it after the accident, the blue of the 2015 Portfolio Was my second choice

 

Thanks for posting those. The 2004 Super is by FAR the most attractive of the bunch.

 

Beautiful! I have loved Jaguar for my whole life! However, when the new model came out in 2010 (?) I was not so happy and went to Mercedes Benz
I've never found a good used one and gave up searching years ago. Thank you for sharing your awesome cars

 

Thank you for the kind words. The Super V8 is the last of the traditional Jaguar cars and looks stunning in the Radiance Red, I had a 2003 XJ 3.5se ( in the UK that was still the same shape as the 2004 model ) before the Super V8 and it was the same red as well, that is why I wanted the red XJL so they looked nice as a pair. Then about 3 1/2 years after getting the XJL I traded the older x350 for the super V8 as it was the same colour and a year newer, the older car was on 204000 miles then so in need of trading in.

I know what you mean about the appearance of the newer range of Jaguar cars, they are an awesome car to drive and I have an amazing local main dealer 10 minutes up the road, they have helped me for so many years . I get special labour rates and they even let me source my own parts , particularly useful if anything is needed on the older car and I run then on a tight budget, they are happy to fit used parts for me as well, I even got an ebay air suspension compressor and 4 parking sensors that they fitted for me last year on the old one.
The classic shape still attracts a lot of lovely comments and even though it is not worth much money now I cannot bear to part with it.
The 2011 was and 2015 is diesel powered 3 litre twin turbo cars, this is by far the most popular engine to choose in the UK.
The performance figures are amazing, it will hit 62mph in 6 seconds and is limited to 155mph, however there have been some people claiming to hit 165mph in theirs.
The mid-range torque is awesome, from around 50mph to 100mph it really flies. If you are on a economy drive then the fuel consumption is amazing, on a boring motorway trip recently in speed restricted road works I actually achieved 59mpg on a 50 mile trip , which shows that 60mpg is within reach !!
The red XJL received a lot more comments than the blue one, it is a rare colour in the UK, there are some Italian Racing red but in my view it does not suit a LWB car and is more suited to maybe the XJR or Supersport models.
The XJL does drive differently to the S Class, you can hustle it more quickly and feels more sporty to drive, mind you the S Class is a smoother ride and you tend to drive it more serenely haha
I was amazed to find that the XJL is actually a fraction longer than the Merc but the Merc seems to have a bit more space inside. The biggest negative with the Merc is there is nowhere for a spare wheel so it has to sit in the boot/trunk all the time.
The cars are all covered up and on battery conditioners at the moment due to the coronavirus at the moment, I am just running around locally in the van if I need to do anything.

I noticed you had a 2014 S550, that would have been virtually the same as my S500, not sure why they have the different badge in the US to here. They are absolutely lovely cars, this is my first S Class, I did have a couple of earlier Mercedes estates some years ago and also still have the GL420 which is a great car as well, it does not seem like a diesel when I am driving it and it is a practical workhorse as well.

Hope you are keeping safe over there , this is not going to end anytime soon I feel.

 

Greetings, thank you for such a detailed reply in regards to Jaguar cars. You are quite the expert it seems, and having owned so many over the years, also very familiar with them as well. You make a lot of excellent points as well. Were it not for that styling I'd be in a much different-car- and maybe not even in the Mercedes Benz family. Used Jaguars are quite inexpensive, that is true. But if you have a good shop you trust and know the cars history......it sounds like a great ride. I must admit my desire for one is now beginning to resurface!

Yes, I did have a S for the 4 year warranty. I bought it new, configured and waited for it to arrive as I did with my other past, and current car........as others have mentioned; it's the only way to go at this level of car/money. It was a great car too, fast as you needed.......faster actually, very posh and comfortable, and great looking to boot! I simply didn't want to own it out of warranty so I sold it back to a dealer for 45K with about 47K miles on it......I've been enjoying my AMG ever since

Hope you're staying safe and busy as well. Sounds as if you are

 

Beautiful cars except they all have the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car.

 

Interesting you get a 4 year warranty where we would only get 3 years.
my S class was a Mercedes used one owner car with 40k miles. It came with a very extensive years used car warranty , an £800 service and transmission service, a years road fund licence valued about £350 or so, very very good condition throughout.
the original build sheet shows it was £99800 new, it has driver assist and magic body control etc and very high specification, I got it last March so 4 1/2 years old and paid £33k for it.
this March I bought another year of Mercedes warranty , it was about £1200 but that is quite a good price for the UK, my XJL warranty is a bit less at £1100 a year.
if these cars go wrong it will be very expensive.
some people do not think the warranty is worth buying but I think it gives me peace of mind. The Jaguar will probably do 20000 miles a year whereas the Merc will be only about 7000 or so.

 

haha that is what I say sometimes to you guys over there on the jaguar and Mercedes forums. Alway great to see how you feel about your cars and how we all get over our issues and love our cars in similar ways.
😄😄

 

I drove this RR Dawn today. Very nice ride and very quiet, even with the soft top, compared to the coupe or sedan. Heavy car, not as responsive as my S class, nor does it have the magic body control, but it has an excellent soft and quiet ride. The craftsmanship of the interior is superb. The twin turbo V12 is very smooth and tons of torque, it shifts silently. Engine and trans are BMW, but the car is definitely RR to all senses.

 

That is a lovely car, it has the two tone paintwork, my friend added a darker green to his drophead shortly after he got it. The people that did it were P&A Wood here in the UK and are well renowned for their car work on Bentley and RR. They have helped him with several of his cars, they have had some of their cars appear at Pebble Beach . Sadly I do not have a picture of the two tone work on his, I thought I had but cannot find them in the computer.

 

How about a 1908 Ghost instead, this is one of P&A Woods cars that they restored and look after. Stunning !!!

 

Wow, this is awesome

 

Noticed that you mentioned the fact that there is no MBC. That was my thought when I recently drove a new Flying Spur. Very heavy, billowy ride, very much UNLIKE my S560 with MBC. I did not care for the Bentley over my S Class. What are they asking for this Dawn?

 

2017 RR Dawn, 4400 miles, 235k, msrp 393k

I had basically the same impression, the car floated a lot, it did take the bumps well due to its weight and air suspension, it was very quiet and interior was blissful

Better than my S class with MBC? No, but I do love that old world interior, wow

 

Coz it's a sports car, that's why. I'd try a Cullinan if I were you.

 

What are you talking about?