"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
03/21/2018 at 15:59 • Filed to: None
3
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"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
03/21/2018 at 15:59 • Filed to: None | 3
| 14 |
I always liked the XJ series (until the current X351 yuckmobile) and have been entertaining the idea of a late production X350 or X358 XJ8 as my next car. Naturally they’re cheaper than used prophylactics at this point, but I need to find out the service history of these cars before engaging the checkbook. (also availability of aftermkt warranties) Aside from lurking on Jag owner forums, what’s a good source of intel for these cars?
Land_Yacht_225
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 16:54 |
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Ask somebody who has owned 2! A 2004 and a 2005 X350 Vanden Plas perhaps?
MINIGTI
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 17:00 |
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I’m loving my 1985 XJ6
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Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> MINIGTI
03/21/2018 at 17:09 |
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Nice. How’s it hold up? Do you put many miles on in a year? I’m thinking of a 2005-2009 V8 car.
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MINIGTI
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 17:17 |
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Just bought it last fall so a little early for an opinion, but I’d say not too bad for a 30+ year old somewhat neglected car.
I did have to get a transmission rebuilt which was a bit expensive. The key is having a good mechanic and I found just the right guy who straightened out some minor engine problems before they became major. I’ve been driving it quite a bit lately as the weather improves. It’s my fair weather beater to save the clutch in the MINI from at least some Chicago traffic.
Don’t listen to all the hate about Jaguar electric, there’s only a few minor glitches in mine which is supposed to be one of he worst.
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Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> Land_Yacht_225
03/21/2018 at 17:28 |
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I’m listening...
Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 18:24 |
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As a new owner of a yuckmobile, I’ve read that the 3rd gen and newer AJ V8s are pretty good. I’m sure there are X350 buyers’ guides lurking on said forums, Reddit, etc.
A good service history of at least several years is important for these cars. You also want a trusty local Jag specialist on your side. Hopefully such a shop exists in your area.
Good luck and looking forward to your Cougar—err Jaguar hunt!
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Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
> MINIGTI
03/21/2018 at 18:26 |
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Beautiful car.
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Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
> Land_Yacht_225
03/21/2018 at 18:27 |
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I’m listening too. Love the X350 body style
someassemblyrequired
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 19:35 |
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That gen had a semi-dodgy air suspension, but other than that, supposedly great cars. The shocks are like $900 each, but there’s coilover conversion kits for not much more (so when an air shock dies, just do the conversion).
Jags in general are great if you can swing a wrench, parts are cheap (ebay.co.uk and FCP Euro are your friends) and they are relatively easy to work on. Taking them to a shop is what drains your wallet.
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Land_Yacht_225
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 22:18 |
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Our 2004 was actually totaled, and I bought the 2005 (One model year newer with 15,000 less miles, that’s Liberty Mutual!) about 14 months ago, so my experience is actually pretty recent!
It’s a flagship luxury car, so a PPI is a necessary evil. They can have have no lights on the dash, and a slew of incomprehensible codes stored on the BCM and ECU (think “coolant overflow reservoir plausibility error”). It runs on a CAN-BUS just like any of its BMW, M-B, Audi, or Lexus contemporaries. Watch for your oil and coolant leaks because the engine block is actually in two pieces which are sealed together and the 4.2 can leak from the base plate - the labor to reseal is more than just installing a new engine. Coolant leaks are common but it’s rarely more than hoses or the notorious fitting on the coolant overflow reservoir at the front of the engine. Maybe a radiator, but that’s uncommon.
Like any luxury car, they can be showing errors in the instrument cluster that don’t actually mean anything. I have a parking brake fault which is a faulty actuator module on the brake and an air suspension fault because the pump is starting to get weak at 150,000 miles - go figure. Arnott sells reman suspension components for X350-358 and the ones I installed in the front of our 2004 did wonderfully. If you don’t mind angering the queen, there are several varieties of coil over conversion kits available for about $1,500 should you just decide to chuck the whole system in the event you incur a failure. Also, any one you buy - the headliner will be starting to sag after 100,000 miles. Can’t be helped, the glue they used sucks. Get an XJR/Super V8 if you want the supercharger, but I will warn you that more disassembly is required under the hood to do routine stuff.
Now for the good part: darn near everything under that hood is a Ford part. The ignition coils? If I remember correctly, Mercury Sable coils bolt right on. Relays and fuses are shared with the Freestar. You just have to have a good indie mechanic who knows all those shortcuts - or be really good with google. The 6-speed is way more robust than the 5-speed ever was. And don’t believe any mechanic who says it can’t be serviced - $900 will cover labor, fluid, and a new transmission pan with the integrated filter. We did it to our 2004, our 2005, and our 2005 S-Type R. Fuel Injectors, spark plugs, and coils are all super easy DIY. Even a strut replacement or air pump replacement is doable in the garage in a day. I have never had an issue with the infotainment, NAV, telematics, or climate control in any car I have owned. The only time I have seen DSC, ESC, or TC lights on the dash or info screen was before startup when the battery was going out. Actually, that’s probably a really good thing to look for - if the battery hasn’t been replaced recently, budget for that immediately. The only time the electrics go screwy is if the voltage from the battery isn’t absolutely optimal - our 2005 had issues because it still had the original battery when we bought it...the original battery with 136k miles at 11 years old. Oh! And sunroof drains - make sure those are clear otherwise you will get water in the driver’s footwell.
I have only ever had a Vanden Plas - never an XJ8 or an XJ8 L. If you’re going to buy one, I would suggest passing up anything that isn’t at least a VP. I know the non-NAV standard radio/climate control units are not as reliable as the touch screen/dual climate control units.
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Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> Land_Yacht_225
03/21/2018 at 22:43 |
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Thanks much for the owner report. How expensive are the replacement suspension bits to make one consider going with coilovers? I’m curious if the AJ V8 had fewer issues than the older I6, but that would mean going back to the X300 and I don’t think I’m up for a 20 year old Jag. But a 2 piece engine block? Yikes.
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Land_Yacht_225
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 22:56 |
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I once asked a co-worker who designed fuel injection systems for Cummins for 20 years what the advantage to casting the block in two pieces was. And I think he said it had something to do with the main bearings of the engine - sealing it together with an independent base plate rather than bolting in the mains was seen as potentially less prone to warping? Y-Blocks and cross bolts were in the explanation somewhere too, or some other kind of stress - I am not really an engineer. Either way, it’s either leaking or it isn’t. I looked at one locally at a buy-here-pay-here and it was leaking. I drove up to Virginia and had one looked at by the local Jag dealer - the service adviser came out with a folder full of every service they had done to the car for the last 10 years for us to look at - and it was not leaking. I imagine because it was serviced so regularly and religiously at the dealer.
An air strut (rebuilt with polyurethane rather than rubber seals) will run you about $550. A new compressor is about $500.
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Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
> Land_Yacht_225
03/21/2018 at 23:02 |
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I see a few XJ-Rs when surfing the ads. My dad leased one new back in 1999 and loved it. You did say they’re more work to access underhood stuff, but are they more problematic than the n/a V8s?
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Land_Yacht_225
> Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
03/21/2018 at 23:20 |
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That is a hard question because I have never had an X350/358 supercharged. I have an S-Type R Supercharged, same engine but surrounded by the less reliable, albeit lighter, S-Type body. We have had to do some crazy maintenance since we bought it from a friend, but I don’t know if it is really on account of the engine design or the budget maintenance over the past few years. We spent $2,200 replacing all the cooling lines, some of which ran under and into the supercharger, because we would spring a leak as soon as we fixed one. But that just falls into the same category of being very vigilant for leaks of coolant or oil.