Discussion
Good morning gentlemen.
I am in the market to replace my car, After some thinking and looking at BMW's & Audi's I have found a few Jags that have very very much caught my eye.
All around the 3.5-4K Mark, All dark with light leather (personal preference on Jags) with history but I dont know the main things to look out for assume usual Belts(chains), tensioner's and serviced regulary there much else?
The short list today is down to these 2
XJ8 3.2. S reg 98 58K
S Type 03, 114K 3.0 SE Sat Nav etc
Now the sensible part of me suggests the XJ8 due to its millage, its not going to have as many "toys" as the rest, a slightly more dated interior and its a fair bit bigger than the others but its the one that has most caught my eye.
The S Type is the most expensive and the X & XJ8 are the same.
I do about 20 odd K a year mostly motorway miles almost 80 miles a day on the M4, not able to find a decent S Type Diesel for the cash and both these dealers are within about 20 minutes from home or work for peace of mind and they will get 12 months warranty to.
I am in the market to replace my car, After some thinking and looking at BMW's & Audi's I have found a few Jags that have very very much caught my eye.
All around the 3.5-4K Mark, All dark with light leather (personal preference on Jags) with history but I dont know the main things to look out for assume usual Belts(chains), tensioner's and serviced regulary there much else?
The short list today is down to these 2
XJ8 3.2. S reg 98 58K
S Type 03, 114K 3.0 SE Sat Nav etc
Now the sensible part of me suggests the XJ8 due to its millage, its not going to have as many "toys" as the rest, a slightly more dated interior and its a fair bit bigger than the others but its the one that has most caught my eye.
The S Type is the most expensive and the X & XJ8 are the same.
I do about 20 odd K a year mostly motorway miles almost 80 miles a day on the M4, not able to find a decent S Type Diesel for the cash and both these dealers are within about 20 minutes from home or work for peace of mind and they will get 12 months warranty to.
Have they both got FSH? Are the dealers specialists?
Tensioners can be an issue on the pre-2000 XJ8, ensure it has the latest ones fitted, I believe this is about a grand at a main dealer.
I'm sure you must have read about relatively small number of pre-2000 cars with Nikasil bore problems too. Should be OK at this age if still running but that is quite a low mileage and might be worth having it checked. There is a lot of discussion about this elsewhere.
The XJ, imho, is far classier than the S-type but the 03 model S is face lifted and superior to the eariler ones. I've had two XJ8 and, also, I've never actually beeen in a S-type!
Tensioners can be an issue on the pre-2000 XJ8, ensure it has the latest ones fitted, I believe this is about a grand at a main dealer.
I'm sure you must have read about relatively small number of pre-2000 cars with Nikasil bore problems too. Should be OK at this age if still running but that is quite a low mileage and might be worth having it checked. There is a lot of discussion about this elsewhere.
The XJ, imho, is far classier than the S-type but the 03 model S is face lifted and superior to the eariler ones. I've had two XJ8 and, also, I've never actually beeen in a S-type!
Congratulations upon making a life changing decision, now take a breath and consider an XJR, at the moment they are great value.
Oh and once you've actually driven one you'll realise there is nothing else that comes close for the money. no doubt the 'usual suspects' will be along to quantify my thoughts.
:shout; Fellas!!!!
Oh and once you've actually driven one you'll realise there is nothing else that comes close for the money. no doubt the 'usual suspects' will be along to quantify my thoughts.
:shout; Fellas!!!!
Cooky said:
Congratulations upon making a life changing decision, now take a breath and consider an XJR, at the moment they are great value.
Thank you very much, thats what I am thinking I haven't driven on in a while in fact had my first lessons in my uncles a XJ8 
going to see S type at lunch, XJ8 tonight as its probably going to be a Christmas present for little ol me.The miles on the S Type are the only potential down side for me, I am aware of the Nikasil problems, not sure exactly what can be done about it though or what can be done to test for it? They both have service history not sure if its all main dealer though will let you know gents.
Finally a lovely car with room and not a bloody Alfa( for a while)
Just be aware of the fact that all the V8 engined cars will need timing chain tensioners renewed at 100,000 miles as part of Jaguar's standard service schedule, so think carefeully about cars getting near to this mileage. You could be lucky and find one already done or do a deal to have this done before purchase. Also, for cars over 100,000 miles check the tensioners have been replaced and by the metal version for the older V8 that were plastic originally. At a JMD the price to renew will be around £1500, and at an indie somethng around £1250 maybe.
R.
R.
My chioce of those two would be the XJ.
I know there's a perfectly good arguement to be made about not buying old low mileage cars - mainly due to the frequently wrong assumption they will only have done short journeys and suffered a lot of engine wear as a result, but if the service history is complete and there's no evidence of abuse or neglect, the mileage is on the one you are considering is probrably low enough not to have suffered any of the transmission problems that occasionally crop up with the XJ as well as general wear and tear you always get with higher mileage cars.
You'll need to see if it has had a replacement engine fitted - if so that will put to bed any remaining concerns about the Nikasil issue and will buy some time for the timing chains, water pump and thermostat too. Whatever engine it has you will need to replace the secondary timing chain tensioners as soon as possible. These can fail without any warning and miss-timed cams will smash the top end of the engine to bits.
The V8 XJ is a great car. But only if you buy a really good one and take care of it which means you'll have to spend money on regular maintainece and I'd suggest a full fluid change - the whole lot - either as part of the deal or soon after you've bought it. Any Jaguar indy should take a morning or so over this job including the sealed for life gearbox and 'diff, but you need to be aware the correct transmission oil is very expensive. If you left it with them for the whole day I'd expect them to change the secondary tensioners too.
So 8 hours labour or so and two tensioners and bolts £100, gaskets £50, 10 Ltrs Esso trans oil £80, gearbox filter and gasket kit £30, 'diff oil £15, coolant £25, engine oil and filter £50.
Stick Mr Darlings
donation on top of that lot and you've spent around £1000. A reasonably skilled DIY mechanic could do the work for a lot less though although filling the gearbox is a bit tricky.
In my view there's no point in having an XJ if it's not right and chances are sooner or later it won't be without this level of care and maintainece. Most of the XJ's well documented problems are down to a very minamilist service schedule and chronic lubrication failure, which if you buy a good one in the first place and take care of it shouldn't be a problem for you.
You could of course take the opposite view and run it 'till it drops and then stick it on e bay (there's two dead V8's on there at the moment) or tow it to the scrap yard - lots of people do, which is a shame IMO as big bills and breakdowns are easily avoided.
I know there's a perfectly good arguement to be made about not buying old low mileage cars - mainly due to the frequently wrong assumption they will only have done short journeys and suffered a lot of engine wear as a result, but if the service history is complete and there's no evidence of abuse or neglect, the mileage is on the one you are considering is probrably low enough not to have suffered any of the transmission problems that occasionally crop up with the XJ as well as general wear and tear you always get with higher mileage cars.
You'll need to see if it has had a replacement engine fitted - if so that will put to bed any remaining concerns about the Nikasil issue and will buy some time for the timing chains, water pump and thermostat too. Whatever engine it has you will need to replace the secondary timing chain tensioners as soon as possible. These can fail without any warning and miss-timed cams will smash the top end of the engine to bits.
The V8 XJ is a great car. But only if you buy a really good one and take care of it which means you'll have to spend money on regular maintainece and I'd suggest a full fluid change - the whole lot - either as part of the deal or soon after you've bought it. Any Jaguar indy should take a morning or so over this job including the sealed for life gearbox and 'diff, but you need to be aware the correct transmission oil is very expensive. If you left it with them for the whole day I'd expect them to change the secondary tensioners too.
So 8 hours labour or so and two tensioners and bolts £100, gaskets £50, 10 Ltrs Esso trans oil £80, gearbox filter and gasket kit £30, 'diff oil £15, coolant £25, engine oil and filter £50.
Stick Mr Darlings
donation on top of that lot and you've spent around £1000. A reasonably skilled DIY mechanic could do the work for a lot less though although filling the gearbox is a bit tricky.In my view there's no point in having an XJ if it's not right and chances are sooner or later it won't be without this level of care and maintainece. Most of the XJ's well documented problems are down to a very minamilist service schedule and chronic lubrication failure, which if you buy a good one in the first place and take care of it shouldn't be a problem for you.
You could of course take the opposite view and run it 'till it drops and then stick it on e bay (there's two dead V8's on there at the moment) or tow it to the scrap yard - lots of people do, which is a shame IMO as big bills and breakdowns are easily avoided.
Edited by Jaguar steve on Tuesday 23 December 13:00
Edited by Jaguar steve on Tuesday 23 December 13:17
Went to see the S Type at lunch and was helped out but the sales man who explained to me its actually a bit of a dog, Which was was nice of him in the current climate.
Local XJ tonight but there are actually more than I expected around those miles and age so I wont leap into this car tonight me thinks.
Anyway thanks for all your help and suggestions I appreciate them.
Local XJ tonight but there are actually more than I expected around those miles and age so I wont leap into this car tonight me thinks.
Anyway thanks for all your help and suggestions I appreciate them.
There's some real XJ bargains around, but the difficulty is finding one.
Consider you may have to spend a fair proportion of the price you pay on some maintainence when you get it, factor in maybe some new tyres and perhaps a bit of work for it's next MOT and suddenly your XJ bargain has cost you quite a bit more than a better one that's had all the routine work would have cost in the first place.
I'd allow up to £4-5000, take my time and drive several before I went ahead. The advantage of looking at several means you'll know a really worthwhile one when you see it.
have a look on jagads (the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club classified ads).
Consider you may have to spend a fair proportion of the price you pay on some maintainence when you get it, factor in maybe some new tyres and perhaps a bit of work for it's next MOT and suddenly your XJ bargain has cost you quite a bit more than a better one that's had all the routine work would have cost in the first place.
I'd allow up to £4-5000, take my time and drive several before I went ahead. The advantage of looking at several means you'll know a really worthwhile one when you see it.
have a look on jagads (the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club classified ads).
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