X350 Buying Advice

[Speedraser]

I'm thinking of buying an X350 to enjoy as a daily driver. I've searched a bit and found some advice, but thought I'd ask for pointers -- anything specific to these cars (or the facelift X358) I should look out for? I looked at a few over the weekend; MY2006 - 2008, with mileage between 30K and 63K. An '07 with 58K seems to have been the best-kept. I may do 20K miles per year or more in it, so I'm interested in how it should hold up beyond 100K miles.

Thanks all.

[rswift]

Hi, as no one else has jumped in here's my thoughts.

I have a 2003 4.2SE (on LPG) owned for almost 5 years. Bought at 40k, now done 110k. Nothing major has dropped off.

Things to look for;

Corrosion (not rust) the aluminium is prone to it, a later car may be better. Its not a massive issue, but looks ugly depending where you go to sort it, won't be a fortune. But look out for it as a haggling point. Basically edges of panels, door bottom, especially boot lip near rear window etc.

Air suspension, mine has been throwing an error code for 2 years now. If the pressure isn't achieved in a certain time the error is triggered. Mine only happens when it's really cold. It needs the compressor sorting, I have the new seal (£35) to fit when the weather is better. Re-con compressors (that someone else has fitted the £35 seal) are about £250. Jaguar will charge you £500....either way another haggle point, not a disaster.

Rear radius arm bushes, these wear out, Jag tell you that the whole arm needs replacing (again £££) but bushes are available.

The big one (possible £2k bill) Gearbox. Sealed for life, but doesn't appear to like it that way. General Jaguar independent and owner wisdom is to replace the oil at 60/70k. Not an easy DIY, or cheap job (£250 isn) but needs to be done to preserve the life of the gearbox.

I would check everything electrical, and there is a lot to check. Look at all of the panel edges very carefully, and either get a receipt for a gearbox oil change, or budget for it.

Generally an nice car, probably not quite as well screwed together as a big German car, or even a Lexus. But great on fuel/tyres etc due to the lack of weight.

I think the key is to find a good/knowledgable independent ( I have been using Chiltern Jaguar for 12 years or so).

I spent ages trying to find one with the Sat Nav screen, in hindsight I wouldn't have bothered. It's out of date, and almost impossible to upgrade or add an iPod/handsfree or similar connection. You're better off with the basic system, and upgrading it yourself. (The inbuilt phone in mine is woeful)

They are great bargains at the moment. I don't know much about the diesels, not a diesel Snob but on LPG mine does the equivalent of 50 MPG and apparently 0-60 in about 6 seconds.

Edited by rswift on Monday 24th February 23:35

[rswift]

Speedraiser.....I have just seen that you are in the US, so I guess the Diesel won't be available and Petrol (to give its' proper name...discuss) ! is probably less than €230 a litre (which is the approximate cost in the UK).

I'm not even sure you have LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) Which in the UK is a cheap & Green way of running a big car, I have a Jeep Cherokee also on LPG.

[Speedraser]

Russel,

Many thanks -- very helpful! I am going to have another look at the '07 on Wednesday. I took a good look at it over the weekend and it looked really well-kept. However, with the weather we've had, it (and everything else) was dirty, so I'll go back and see it clean -- and with your tips in mind. I've always liked them, and it seems like an amazing amount of car for the money now.

I am in the US, but I've been playing with British cars for a very long time, so I'm well-versed in things petrol, tyres, aluminium, boot, bonnet, even silly things like right-hand drive

[Ian350]

I have a 2003 XJR which I got at 102k miles and its now done 123k miles 3 years later. Rswift's advice is totally correct. The only problem I had was a split coolant hose although I had to change the gearbox oil too which cleared some fault messages. My air suspension warning light has been coming on for the last 3 years - cold days only!
At a steady 70MPH on the motorway I get 35 MPG according to the fuel computer. Brilliant machine!

[rswift]

Hi Ian,

Have you seen this ?

Got one in my glovebox awaiting me to get my arse into gear and fit it.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/161120429299?cmd=VIDESC&am...

[Speedraser]

So, my local Jaguar specialist, who did a PPI with good results, tells me that these are very good cars. But... he is seeing many MY05-06 cars with air springs (the bags themselves) that are going bad and need to be replaced -- at major expense.

Anyone have any input on this?

[SV8Predator]

Ian350 said:

At a steady 70MPH on the motorway I get 35 MPG according to the fuel computer.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 35mpg!

But that's bo11ocks, isn't it, really? You can show 99mpg on the instant readount with no throttle going down a hill.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 99mpg!

So not really much of a contribution to the OP's questions, eh? What average, day-to-day fuel consumption do you get? Certainly not 35mpg!

[rswift]

SV8Predator said:

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 35mpg!

But that's bo11ocks, isn't it, really? You can show 99mpg on the instant readount with no throttle going down a hill.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 99mpg!

So not really much of a contribution to the OP's questions, eh? What average, day-to-day fuel consumption do you get? Certainly not 35mpg!

Well, I very rarely use petrol, as I'm on LPG. But when I have my average fuel on the computer shows as 32 MPG. Mix of motorway and central London, and a 4.2 V8 and per journey (on gas) it is cheaper to run on fuel than my wifes 2 Litre Diesel Citroen.

These are relatively light Aluminium cars, and at motorway speeds doing barley 2000 rpm. So rather than getting upset at someone else's claim, I suggest you just don't buy one, that way everyones is happy !

[rswift]

Speedraser said:

So, my local Jaguar specialist, who did a PPI with good results, tells me that these are very good cars. But... he is seeing many MY05-06 cars with air springs (the bags themselves) that are going bad and need to be replaced -- at major expense.

Anyone have any input on this?

I don't have any knowledge of this being problem, a friend with an old P38 Range rover, has replaced the airbags, quite cheaply now on the RR.

You can buy aftermarket airbags, or even a spring conversion kit for the Jag

www.arnottindustries.com/part_JAGUAR_yid20_pid136....

I think the airbags are about $450 (£270), so yes more expensive than conventional shock absorbers, but not a disaster, and as the cars get older and the aftermarket boys get involved hopefully the same fate as the Range Rover will happen, i.e. you can buy genuine Dunlop air suspension springs for less than £100.

[SV8Predator]

rswift said:

Well, I very rarely use petrol, as I'm on LPG.

Can't really offer a real-world opinion then eh?

[rswift]

"Well, I very rarely use petrol, as I'm on LPG. But when I have my average fuel on the computer shows as 32 MPG. "

Sorry if that was too confusing for you, apologies if English isn't your first language.

Yes, I have run the car reluctantly on petrol many times, as I've owned it for 4 years and done about 70k in it. When on petrol it will average 32 MPG in mixed driving, so I can see that 35 MPG is quite easily achieved. But what do we know, we are only the guys that own them. I'm not trying to sell it, I have no vested interest in making false fuel claims.

But I am not sure what you are are adding to this thread or how you are helping the OP with his question. If we've missed something, please feel free to enlighten us, otherwise, and I don't wish to offend or upset you, but life is too short for this sort of pedantry, so feel free to reply, but please don't take it personally. I won't be replying

[Speedraser]

Russell,

Thanks again

[jacko10]

I recently bought a 2003 XJR with 91k miles. Looking back at the history, other than routine maintenance the only mechanical issue its had was split coolant hoses around 85k miles. Not a major issue but you have to take the supercharger off to reach them which can be a hassle.

As rswift has pointed out check everything electrical. My rear parking sensors are playing up, detecting things that aren't there which is annoying when trying to reverse. Also there is a flap on the ignition barrel that closes when you remove the key, this has worn down over time so when you remove the key the flap does not always make contact meaning the central locking works intermittently. A new ignition barrel is about £200

Again, it is throwing up an air suspension fault code, but I have been told it only needs a new sensor. It's been throwing the code up for 5 years according to the previous owner but jaguar quoted £500 to fix it and so he never bothered to rectify the issue.

None of these issues are particularly significant and I'm sure you can factor them in when negotiating a price. Having owned a variety of much newer German diesels over the last couple of years, i'm now covering 20k miles per year and couldn't think of a nicer place to be sat!

[Ian350]

SV8Predator said:

Ian350 said:

At a steady 70MPH on the motorway I get 35 MPG according to the fuel computer.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 35mpg!

But that's bo11ocks, isn't it, really? You can show 99mpg on the instant readount with no throttle going down a hill.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 99mpg!

So not really much of a contribution to the OP's questions, eh? What average, day-to-day fuel consumption do you get? Certainly not 35mpg!

Sorry to confuse you. Ask mummy what "steady" means.

[Ian350]

rswift said:

Hi Ian,

Have you seen this ?

Got one in my glovebox awaiting me to get my arse into gear and fit it.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/161120429299?cmd=VIDESC&am...

No I hadn't - thanks for the link. Will get one :-)

[rswift]

jacko10 said:

I recently bought a 2003 XJR with 91k miles. Looking back at the history, other than routine maintenance the only mechanical issue its had was split coolant hoses around 85k miles. Not a major issue but you have to take the supercharger off to reach them which can be a hassle.

As rswift has pointed out check everything electrical. My rear parking sensors are playing up, detecting things that aren't there which is annoying when trying to reverse. Also there is a flap on the ignition barrel that closes when you remove the key, this has worn down over time so when you remove the key the flap does not always make contact meaning the central locking works intermittently. A new ignition barrel is about £200

Again, it is throwing up an air suspension fault code, but I have been told it only needs a new sensor. It's been throwing the code up for 5 years according to the previous owner but jaguar quoted £500 to fix it and so he never bothered to rectify the issue.

None of these issues are particularly significant and I'm sure you can factor them in when negotiating a price. Having owned a variety of much newer German diesels over the last couple of years, i'm now covering 20k miles per year and couldn't think of a nicer place to be sat!

Hi Jacko, I'm no expert but you can identify which parking sensor is playing up...if you have someone you can trust ! I can't remember the exact procedure, but involves having someone sit in the car with it in reverse (or Drive if it's a front sensor) with their foot on the brake (thats quite important) whilst you stick your ear next to each one. I think you should hear a clicking sound but not from the faulty one. It's somehwere on the Jaguar UK forum. Or next time it's serviced the computer will tell them (safer option) Mine went a bit odd in the wet weather, but responded from a bit of gentle cleaning with a toothbrush around the sensor, I think some muck or a small stone had got trapped.

Re your air suspension, if it's driving ok and just an amber light (as opposed to red) I wold suspect you just need the £30 seal like the rest of us ! A sensor would usually cause it to be low at either end, or not rise, or throw RED danger light. £500 was Jaguars price for a new compressor, translated to about £250 for an indie, or £30 DIY (it's about an hours labour) Compressor lives behind the front bumper, and either is removed by taking the bumper off or through the wheel arch)

That ignition barrel flap is also well known (X types as well) You need to lubricate it, but apparently WD40 gunges it up. But again check out Jaguarforum.co.uk (there's also a useful American one (Jaguarforum.com) or similar. I don't think it's anything special, couple of squirts and your away.

[SV8Predator]

Ian350 said:

SV8Predator said:

Ian350 said:

At a steady 70MPH on the motorway I get 35 MPG according to the fuel computer.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 35mpg!

But that's bo11ocks, isn't it, really? You can show 99mpg on the instant readount with no throttle going down a hill.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 99mpg!

So not really much of a contribution to the OP's questions, eh? What average, day-to-day fuel consumption do you get? Certainly not 35mpg!

Sorry to confuse you. Ask mummy what "steady" means.

But what use is this "steady" figure? Presumably you were trying to encourage the OP to buy one of these cars. So how would explaining that it will get 35mpg at a "steady" 70mph encourage him to buy? When average day-to-day fuel consumption is likely to be 20? What was your reason for quoting this 35mpg figure?

[andymadmak]

SV8Predator said:

But what use is this "steady" figure? Presumably you were trying to encourage the OP to buy one of these cars. So how would explaining that it will get 35mpg at a "steady" 70mph encourage him to buy? When average day-to-day fuel consumption is likely to be 20? What was your reason for quoting this 35mpg figure?

My 4.2 averages 26mpg in a mix of urban, rush hour commute and driving up and down Derbyshires glorious hills. When I take it on a longer run such as down to Devon that figure jumps up to 35mpg (and I don't drive like miss daisy) In 2012 I took mine to Germany: 3 up, boot and other 2 seats filled with heavy kit, 100mph cruise plus several forays up to the speed limiter and over 2000 miles I averaged exactly 30mpg.
Not sure where you get your 20mpg from. How were you driving it?

[Speedraser]

SV8Predator said:

Ian350 said:

SV8Predator said:

Ian350 said:

At a steady 70MPH on the motorway I get 35 MPG according to the fuel computer.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 35mpg!

But that's bo11ocks, isn't it, really? You can show 99mpg on the instant readount with no throttle going down a hill.

That's great! I'm going to go out and buy one now and look forward to getting 99mpg!

So not really much of a contribution to the OP's questions, eh? What average, day-to-day fuel consumption do you get? Certainly not 35mpg!

Sorry to confuse you. Ask mummy what "steady" means.

But what use is this "steady" figure? Presumably you were trying to encourage the OP to buy one of these cars. So how would explaining that it will get 35mpg at a "steady" 70mph encourage him to buy? When average day-to-day fuel consumption is likely to be 20? What was your reason for quoting this 35mpg figure?

I understood what Ian meant.