XJR running costs
Discussion
Hi,
Am currently looking into the idea of getting an XJR (either the X300 or an early X308) as I love 'em and they seem amazing bargains right now judging by the prices I am seeing being asked for on various classifieds sites.
Was just wondering about running costs - specifically what an annual service would set me back (is there much difference here between the two models ?) and also what insurance premiums are like ( would be a limited mileage/classic policy I would be after - does anyone have something similar ?)
Thanks in advance.
Jon
Am currently looking into the idea of getting an XJR (either the X300 or an early X308) as I love 'em and they seem amazing bargains right now judging by the prices I am seeing being asked for on various classifieds sites.
Was just wondering about running costs - specifically what an annual service would set me back (is there much difference here between the two models ?) and also what insurance premiums are like ( would be a limited mileage/classic policy I would be after - does anyone have something similar ?)
Thanks in advance.
Jon
Hi Jon,
Just moved my XJR on and went for an S Type R but thought I'd let you know how I got on having owned one for 10 months.
I did about 10000 miles in the car.
It was a 98' car which had 103k on when I bought her and had 113k when I moved her on.
When I got the car, it felt a little ricketty and loose so I had new front discs (£80ec) Pads all round (£100 ish), wheel bearings, spider joint/driveshaft, bushes etc £1000 approx but I had some of my mechanics do the work. 2 tyres and a general overall at a specialist 6 months later was around £650
I averaged about 19mpg, but I used the car on daily basis from 15 miles per day to 420 mile trips in a day. Great power though in a straight line and superb for motorway cruising.
Good cars, but they are older cars - so providing you are willing to pay for things at the drop of a hat, go for it.
I would suggest you provision keeping £1000 back just in case anything goes wrong, which should cover most items (exc Gearbox/engine obviously).
You don't say how much you'll use the car or whether it'll be a second car or not, or whether you are 'handy' to do any work yourself.
Just make sure you get one in the right colour combination, and that you have it checked out if (like me) you are not a mechanic. These cars were £expensive when new, therefore parts are also expensive.
(I had one of my Mechanics check out my new purchase and he spent about 2 hours checking everything, lifting all 4 corners and checking bearings etc). Time well spent!!
Good luck & enjoy
Just moved my XJR on and went for an S Type R but thought I'd let you know how I got on having owned one for 10 months.
I did about 10000 miles in the car.
It was a 98' car which had 103k on when I bought her and had 113k when I moved her on.
When I got the car, it felt a little ricketty and loose so I had new front discs (£80ec) Pads all round (£100 ish), wheel bearings, spider joint/driveshaft, bushes etc £1000 approx but I had some of my mechanics do the work. 2 tyres and a general overall at a specialist 6 months later was around £650
I averaged about 19mpg, but I used the car on daily basis from 15 miles per day to 420 mile trips in a day. Great power though in a straight line and superb for motorway cruising.
Good cars, but they are older cars - so providing you are willing to pay for things at the drop of a hat, go for it.
I would suggest you provision keeping £1000 back just in case anything goes wrong, which should cover most items (exc Gearbox/engine obviously).
You don't say how much you'll use the car or whether it'll be a second car or not, or whether you are 'handy' to do any work yourself.
Just make sure you get one in the right colour combination, and that you have it checked out if (like me) you are not a mechanic. These cars were £expensive when new, therefore parts are also expensive.
(I had one of my Mechanics check out my new purchase and he spent about 2 hours checking everything, lifting all 4 corners and checking bearings etc). Time well spent!!
Good luck & enjoy
Hi Jon
I'm also thinking of buying an X300 as I hear the next model used nikosil in the engines which caused problems. I do also worry about the running costs a bit. I currently drive a Merc W126 420SE and am often surprised that parts are actually quite cheap for it. I suppose its the power of the XJR that I'm keen on.
How much are you looking to spend? Have you seen/drive many yet?
Norm
I'm also thinking of buying an X300 as I hear the next model used nikosil in the engines which caused problems. I do also worry about the running costs a bit. I currently drive a Merc W126 420SE and am often surprised that parts are actually quite cheap for it. I suppose its the power of the XJR that I'm keen on.
How much are you looking to spend? Have you seen/drive many yet?
Norm
Insurance is pretty reasonable if you're older with a clean licence - fortunately Jaguars are under the idiots radar and most owners drive pretty sensibly helping to make insurance costs competitive.
Annual service isn't very expensive - £150 or so - there's not much to do. If you do buy a V8 XJR you will need to budget for at least the secondary timing chain tensioners to be changed to the metal bodied type (£500 independent - easy DIY though) as soon as possible if they have not already been done. If you're unlucky and the chains have worn as well then you'll need to find £1200+ for the complete job. Anybody familiar with the Jaguar V8 should know about the chain/tensioner problems so make this a barganing point.
I'd suggest you also allow a few hundred for a fluid change - the whole lot, including the "sealed for life" gearbox and 'diff - which will help to avoid expensive problems developing later.
If you're serious have a look for Broardbean747's post on this forum, (sorry I don't know how to do links
) and learn and read as much as you can about the XJs you're interested in.
They may be pretty cheap to buy especially with the price of petrol and the threat of significant road tax increases but they have the potential to cost thousands, in some cases more than the car is worth, to fix if anything goes wrong.
Annual service isn't very expensive - £150 or so - there's not much to do. If you do buy a V8 XJR you will need to budget for at least the secondary timing chain tensioners to be changed to the metal bodied type (£500 independent - easy DIY though) as soon as possible if they have not already been done. If you're unlucky and the chains have worn as well then you'll need to find £1200+ for the complete job. Anybody familiar with the Jaguar V8 should know about the chain/tensioner problems so make this a barganing point.
I'd suggest you also allow a few hundred for a fluid change - the whole lot, including the "sealed for life" gearbox and 'diff - which will help to avoid expensive problems developing later.
If you're serious have a look for Broardbean747's post on this forum, (sorry I don't know how to do links
) and learn and read as much as you can about the XJs you're interested in.They may be pretty cheap to buy especially with the price of petrol and the threat of significant road tax increases but they have the potential to cost thousands, in some cases more than the car is worth, to fix if anything goes wrong.
Finally bought my XJR this week, drove it 300+ miles home and it's fantastic. Fuel consumption is surprisingly good so far considering what car it is.
Insurance, even here in NI, is cheap - £120 to add it to my classic policy with one other car.
I have budgeted to have the metal tensioners fitted although mine has the later plastic ones fitted as far as I can tell from the service history.
jaguarsteve - you say it's an easy DIY job, how easy and are there any instructions available anywhere?
Insurance, even here in NI, is cheap - £120 to add it to my classic policy with one other car.
I have budgeted to have the metal tensioners fitted although mine has the later plastic ones fitted as far as I can tell from the service history.
jaguarsteve - you say it's an easy DIY job, how easy and are there any instructions available anywhere?
stevep944,
Maybe a good starting point for you is an article in the September 2008 Jaguar World magazine. It's an article about replacing the timing chain and tensioners on an XK8 with the latest 4.2 V8 specification items. A good number of pics and advice.
BTW, you mention replacing metal tensioners with new design plastic ones. I think you have this the wrong way round!.
R.
Maybe a good starting point for you is an article in the September 2008 Jaguar World magazine. It's an article about replacing the timing chain and tensioners on an XK8 with the latest 4.2 V8 specification items. A good number of pics and advice.
BTW, you mention replacing metal tensioners with new design plastic ones. I think you have this the wrong way round!.
R.
Thanks for all the replies. If I did take the plunge the Jag would be a second, or indeed third car.
Currently have a 944 turbo which I love and have spent plenty of money on. I also have made plenty of friends amongst my fellow 944 owners so am loathe to get rid of her. Was thinking about spending more on extra mods (more power !) but for the money it would take I could easily get another car and the XJR would be top of the list.
As it wouldn't be my main form of transport fuel costs aren't the issue really, rather servicing and insurance and any expensive potential jobs. From the replies it doesn't sound too bad overall, have recently hit the big "4-0" so hopefully insurance would be ok.
Least if I got an XJR my money spent would give me an asset to sell in the future if I so wished, whereas big spending on mods is essentially money down the drain as would never recoup that sort of outlay should I ever sell the 944.
Have read other threads here about the car and must say I am very tempted. I have some thinking to do !
Currently have a 944 turbo which I love and have spent plenty of money on. I also have made plenty of friends amongst my fellow 944 owners so am loathe to get rid of her. Was thinking about spending more on extra mods (more power !) but for the money it would take I could easily get another car and the XJR would be top of the list.
As it wouldn't be my main form of transport fuel costs aren't the issue really, rather servicing and insurance and any expensive potential jobs. From the replies it doesn't sound too bad overall, have recently hit the big "4-0" so hopefully insurance would be ok.
Least if I got an XJR my money spent would give me an asset to sell in the future if I so wished, whereas big spending on mods is essentially money down the drain as would never recoup that sort of outlay should I ever sell the 944.
Have read other threads here about the car and must say I am very tempted. I have some thinking to do !
stevep944 said:
Finally bought my XJR this week, drove it 300+ miles home and it's fantastic. Fuel consumption is surprisingly good so far considering what car it is.
Insurance, even here in NI, is cheap - £120 to add it to my classic policy with one other car.
I have budgeted to have the metal tensioners fitted although mine has the later plastic ones fitted as far as I can tell from the service history.
jaguarsteve - you say it's an easy DIY job, how easy and are there any instructions available anywhere?
Well I'll qualify easy for starters - I'm a ex mechanic. But there's no reason why a reasonably competent DIY'er shouldn't be able to do the job. If you're not familiar with cam/crank timing, or have not got the confidence in your abilities 'tho, get some help or get a quote from a garage you trust.Insurance, even here in NI, is cheap - £120 to add it to my classic policy with one other car.
I have budgeted to have the metal tensioners fitted although mine has the later plastic ones fitted as far as I can tell from the service history.
jaguarsteve - you say it's an easy DIY job, how easy and are there any instructions available anywhere?
Somewhere on jag-lovers, there's an article reprinted from Jaguar World Monthly covering a full chain and tensioner swap. It might seem a bit scary when you first read it but the secondary tensioners alone are just a tiny part of the work in the article.
Have a read of this article first, or get a copy of the Jaguar JTIS from e-bay. If you f
k up it WILL end in tearsBriefly:
Hire the crank locking tool, cam locking tool and tensioning tool from the JEC (£40)
Buy two tensioners and new mounting bolts (£120)
Buy, borrow or scrounge a good torque wrench and long 10mm ball end hex driver
You need to remove the cam covers, remove the TDC sensor from the bell housing and lock the engine at TDC with the timing pin.
Stuff clean rags down the timing cover - to stop anything you may drop disapering into the bowels of the engine. Don't damage the top face of the timing cover when removing the hex bolt (it's 125NM, that's furkin tight) use a length of split garden hose to protect the cover
Lock the cams on one bank with the cam tool, undo the 10mm hex bolt holding the ex. cam sprocket, undo the tensioner retaining bolts and lift the sprocket and old tensioner away. Fit the new tensioner, new (differnt length) bolts and refit the chain and sprocket. Tension the chain on the drive side and tighten the 10mm hex bolt. Remove the retaining pin from the new tensioner. Remove the cam locking tool.
Repeat on the other bank.
Carefully check what you've done.
Remove the crank locking tool. Turn the engine by hand through 720 deg.
Clean and re-use the gaskets and plug tunnel seals - you can usualy get away with this and save a few quid - if they do leak just change them later - if they don't, spend the money on beer.
And, err that's basicaly it.
HTH
Edited by Jaguar steve on Friday 5th September 17:37
stevep944 said:
Thanks Steve thats a great help - it tells me there's no way I'm attempting it myself!
On the tensioners I meant I had the version 2 plastic ones as opposed to the first ones.
Don't put off having the metal ones fitted. It is the one job that should be done straight away.On the tensioners I meant I had the version 2 plastic ones as opposed to the first ones.
groomi said:
stevep944 said:
Thanks Steve thats a great help - it tells me there's no way I'm attempting it myself!
On the tensioners I meant I had the version 2 plastic ones as opposed to the first ones.
Don't put off having the metal ones fitted. It is the one job that should be done straight away.On the tensioners I meant I had the version 2 plastic ones as opposed to the first ones.
And, while you've got your wallet out have a chat with the garage about a oil change for the gearbox and 'diff. If you're keeping the car for a long time money spent on oil is worth every penny. I've got an X300 XJR bought for £5K in November last year. Done 3K miles including a recent trip to France covering 1200 miles in 2 weeks, without one single hiccup. Absolutely fabulous car and I'll keep it for many years. The fule consumption is a bit naughty around town, but I saw the average rise to mid twenties on the open roads in France. Insurance very reasonable too, but shop around; my quotes varied massively. Don't bother with club insurance schemes either, I called the JEC brokers and they were a bloody joke. I would personally avoid early V8's as there are many things to watch out for. the X300 is bulletproof though. Buy a good one and I guarantee you won't regret it.
RedBull said:
I've got an X300 XJR bought for £5K in November last year. Done 3K miles including a recent trip to France covering 1200 miles in 2 weeks, without one single hiccup. Absolutely fabulous car and I'll keep it for many years. The fule consumption is a bit naughty around town, but I saw the average rise to mid twenties on the open roads in France. Insurance very reasonable too, but shop around; my quotes varied massively. Don't bother with club insurance schemes either, I called the JEC brokers and they were a bloody joke. I would personally avoid early V8's as there are many things to watch out for. the X300 is bulletproof though. Buy a good one and I guarantee you won't regret it.
Sound advice there IMO. All other things being equal if you're on a limited budget - both to buy and more importantly run an XJR - then the X300 is the safer choice. Not only will you be able to afford a much better example for the same money but parts are generally cheaper and more readily available from after market suppliers, and they are simpler cars to work on too which means you should be able to either DIY a bit more or get a lower labour rate at a garage.XJRs are meant to be driven hard, and most of them probrably will have been, as anybody prepared to pay more to buy and run one over an ordinary XJ will have done so so to exploit the performance potential.
If you take you time and look carefully £4-5000 should buy you a really mint X300 XJR. Perhaps one that's belonged to a Jaguar enthusiast and been lovingly maintained and cared for. On the other hand the same amount could buy a V8, but I'd be surprised if it was anywhere near as good reliability wise.
X300s are tough cars - well made using mostly good quality components and have a well proven engine and drivetrain capable of vast mileages with regular maintainence. It's not surprising they have such a good reputation in Jaguarland, they deserve it.
The X308 on the other hand is more edgy - more designed by accountants rather than engineers. Timing chain tensioners, "sealed for life" components and lots of other smaller examples abound as evidence of attempts to cut costs and in doing so compromising quality and durability. They are OK if looked after - I've driven a XJ8 with 197k on the clock which still rattle free and tight, but it was immaculate and significantly over serviced - evidence of real care from it's owner. I suspect if it had been serviced according to Jaguar's very minimalist schedule and been thrashed all its life it would have been proping up several other cars in a scrapyard long before now.
Jon951 said:
Hi,
Am currently looking into the idea of getting an XJR (either the X300 or an early X308) as I love 'em and they seem amazing bargains right now judging by the prices I am seeing being asked for on various classifieds sites.
Was just wondering about running costs - specifically what an annual service would set me back (is there much difference here between the two models ?) and also what insurance premiums are like ( would be a limited mileage/classic policy I would be after - does anyone have something similar ?)
Thanks in advance.
Jon
Hi JonAm currently looking into the idea of getting an XJR (either the X300 or an early X308) as I love 'em and they seem amazing bargains right now judging by the prices I am seeing being asked for on various classifieds sites.
Was just wondering about running costs - specifically what an annual service would set me back (is there much difference here between the two models ?) and also what insurance premiums are like ( would be a limited mileage/classic policy I would be after - does anyone have something similar ?)
Thanks in advance.
Jon
I have a 2001 XJR8 which I use as my main car.
A Jaguar independent specialist garage work on my car for servicing etc. ... approx prices all inc VAT:
10k service £175; 20k service £260; 40k service £470
2 secondary timing chain tensioners (fitted) £275 inc VAT
Gearbox oil change £110
Engine oil/filter change £70 (do mine every 5k in addition to annual service)
Front pads/discs (pair fitted) £190 (beware Brembo brakes option are much more expensive!)
Pirelli Pzero Rosso XL tyres (from local express fit) £180 fitted
Average 21mpg
Insurance £400 (Admiral - 12k annual miles, parked on street, business use, guaranteed ncb protection)
Have been toying with the idea of a cat-back stainless sports exhaust to let the engine breathe a bit more, but it seems it would cost about £900 so not sure it's worth it.
The only problem I have had was with gearbox intermittently not engaging any gear - turned out to be a dirty microswitch which garage detected when they plugged the car into the computer and then fixed/cleaned FOC.
Hope that helps,
Chris
CHJ said:
Jon951 said:
Hi,
Am currently looking into the idea of getting an XJR (either the X300 or an early X308) as I love 'em and they seem amazing bargains right now judging by the prices I am seeing being asked for on various classifieds sites.
Was just wondering about running costs - specifically what an annual service would set me back (is there much difference here between the two models ?) and also what insurance premiums are like ( would be a limited mileage/classic policy I would be after - does anyone have something similar ?)
Thanks in advance.
Jon
Hi JonAm currently looking into the idea of getting an XJR (either the X300 or an early X308) as I love 'em and they seem amazing bargains right now judging by the prices I am seeing being asked for on various classifieds sites.
Was just wondering about running costs - specifically what an annual service would set me back (is there much difference here between the two models ?) and also what insurance premiums are like ( would be a limited mileage/classic policy I would be after - does anyone have something similar ?)
Thanks in advance.
Jon
I have a 2001 XJR8 which I use as my main car.
A Jaguar independent specialist garage work on my car for servicing etc. ... approx prices all inc VAT:
10k service £175; 20k service £260; 40k service £470
2 secondary timing chain tensioners (fitted) £275 inc VAT
Gearbox oil change £110
Engine oil/filter change £70 (do mine every 5k in addition to annual service)
Front pads/discs (pair fitted) £190 (beware Brembo brakes option are much more expensive!)
Pirelli Pzero Rosso XL tyres (from local express fit) £180 fitted
Average 21mpg
Insurance £400 (Admiral - 12k annual miles, parked on street, business use, guaranteed ncb protection)
Have been toying with the idea of a cat-back stainless sports exhaust to let the engine breathe a bit more, but it seems it would cost about £900 so not sure it's worth it.
The only problem I have had was with gearbox intermittently not engaging any gear - turned out to be a dirty microswitch which garage detected when they plugged the car into the computer and then fixed/cleaned FOC.
Hope that helps,
Chris
groomi said:
Yep, can tally up with all those figures except the timing chain tensioners which are typically between £800 - £1000 to get replaced by a specialist. CHJ - where on earth did you get such a good price?
Looks like only 2 secondary timing chain tensioners (fitted) £275 inc VATNot the full set and chains.
NormanD said:
groomi said:
Yep, can tally up with all those figures except the timing chain tensioners which are typically between £800 - £1000 to get replaced by a specialist. CHJ - where on earth did you get such a good price?
Looks like only 2 secondary timing chain tensioners (fitted) £275 inc VATNot the full set and chains.
NormanD said:
groomi said:
Yep, can tally up with all those figures except the timing chain tensioners which are typically between £800 - £1000 to get replaced by a specialist. CHJ - where on earth did you get such a good price?
Looks like only 2 secondary timing chain tensioners (fitted) £275 inc VATNot the full set and chains.
Yes, secondary tensioners only - done at Dorset Jaguar Centre ... www.dorsetjagcentre.co.uk
Had excellent service from there.
Chris
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