Discussion
LewG said:
How did you manage that fuel economy?! I always struggled to get mine to do more than 16mpg unless I was on a run 
boots filled with lead
I think I miscalculated! I reckon I looked at the 'A' trip distance when I should have looked at the 'B'. Ooops. Basically I'm getting 21 mpg combined. I reckon purely motorway driving would see 24 ish. boots filled with leadWell, since the last installment, the car has been running well and apart from giving me random warning dash lights (we've had airbags, engine management, restricted performance so far) it's been great. The warning lights have not affected the running of the car seemingly, and when I start the car again, they sometimes disappear.
Loving the car overall. The performance is just so easy that I have to keep myself in check to make sure I don't break the speed limit (much). There is the odd niggle. One is that the gearbox seems a bit shunty when coming off throttle sometimes. I know that the gearbox oil was changed at 100k so not sure what else can be done about it. It isn't bad, it is just something that I notice now and again. Another slight annoyance is that the steering seems overly affected by poor roads and can want to deviate from the straight ahead quite easily. I think that wheel alignment will sort that out.
Here's a few interior shots to keep you all interested.
Edited by strangehighways on Monday 5th February 19:15
The XJR is somehow now in daily service, which wasn't the original intention. I sold the Galaxy band-wagon as there are no gigs in the near future and I was paying 3 lots of insurance and tax along with the Alfa 156. I decided to reduce from 3 cars to 2, so the Galaxy was sold (bought for £300, sold for £300, £100 fixing cost over 6 months and 10k miles, maybe my best financial car purchase to date) and as the Alfa has been a little poorly lately, the XJR is doing all the miles. It's done about 5k miles in 4 months.
For anyone who hasn't driven an XJ, it is unlike any other car I've driven. Though it looks pretty large from the outside, it is quite cosy inside. It has a cocoon type feel to it, which I love but others might not. The seats are quite soft and comfy and you sit quite low, staring out over the large bonnet.
I'll get straight to the point. I absolutely love this car. It just has the seemingly perfect balance of comfort with a hint of sportiness. I am not very good at describing these things, but it just drives in a very graceful way. I love the way the car is damped, it has a softness to it but not a 'falling apart at the first sign of a corner sitting on jelly' feel. It is not designed with 100% sporting intentions ala BMW M5 and nor was this the idea I'm sure. It just hits the perfect comfort/sporty nail on the head. It can still feel its weight in the slower corners though, and you are aware that it is nigh on 2 tonnes sometimes; the brakes don't inspire confidence really and always seem to need more effort than my foot wants to give. Adequate, nothing more.
The engine is very refined but you get a nice supercharger whine when gunning it. Personally, I would like to hear the engine a little more and if you were expecting a v8 growl from a (standard) XJR you would be disappointed. It would need some messing with the induction/exhaust to make it more vocal. Maybe something to look into in the future.
The Mercedes gearbox (only on the XJR, I believe non-XJRs have a ZF unit) has a sports mode which makes the car more responsive and holds the revs before changing up. Generally, I have it in 'normal' in the city where it will pull away in 2nd, and then switch to 'sport' as soon as I hit a faster road.
Since the last update, it's had a new MAF as the engine management light kept coming on. Now it's gone thankfully. I've had an annoying 60-70mph vibration running through the car so had wheel balancing done which helped a little but the vibration is still there. I reckon it is something to do with the propshaft/driveshaft and will get this looked at some point.
Averaging 22/23mpg on the way to work, which is probably 30% city and 70% a/b roads.
Over easter the car had a long drive to the Netherlands and back and as you might expect, it was a perfect high speed missile and lapped up the miles with no issues.
I've had more nice comments and stares with the XJR than any other car I've owned including my gorgeous old Alfa GTV. In particular, men over 40 seem to love it. My girlfriend said it's the best car I've owned to date.
For anyone who hasn't driven an XJ, it is unlike any other car I've driven. Though it looks pretty large from the outside, it is quite cosy inside. It has a cocoon type feel to it, which I love but others might not. The seats are quite soft and comfy and you sit quite low, staring out over the large bonnet.
I'll get straight to the point. I absolutely love this car. It just has the seemingly perfect balance of comfort with a hint of sportiness. I am not very good at describing these things, but it just drives in a very graceful way. I love the way the car is damped, it has a softness to it but not a 'falling apart at the first sign of a corner sitting on jelly' feel. It is not designed with 100% sporting intentions ala BMW M5 and nor was this the idea I'm sure. It just hits the perfect comfort/sporty nail on the head. It can still feel its weight in the slower corners though, and you are aware that it is nigh on 2 tonnes sometimes; the brakes don't inspire confidence really and always seem to need more effort than my foot wants to give. Adequate, nothing more.
The engine is very refined but you get a nice supercharger whine when gunning it. Personally, I would like to hear the engine a little more and if you were expecting a v8 growl from a (standard) XJR you would be disappointed. It would need some messing with the induction/exhaust to make it more vocal. Maybe something to look into in the future.
The Mercedes gearbox (only on the XJR, I believe non-XJRs have a ZF unit) has a sports mode which makes the car more responsive and holds the revs before changing up. Generally, I have it in 'normal' in the city where it will pull away in 2nd, and then switch to 'sport' as soon as I hit a faster road.
Since the last update, it's had a new MAF as the engine management light kept coming on. Now it's gone thankfully. I've had an annoying 60-70mph vibration running through the car so had wheel balancing done which helped a little but the vibration is still there. I reckon it is something to do with the propshaft/driveshaft and will get this looked at some point.
Averaging 22/23mpg on the way to work, which is probably 30% city and 70% a/b roads.
Over easter the car had a long drive to the Netherlands and back and as you might expect, it was a perfect high speed missile and lapped up the miles with no issues.
I've had more nice comments and stares with the XJR than any other car I've owned including my gorgeous old Alfa GTV. In particular, men over 40 seem to love it. My girlfriend said it's the best car I've owned to date.
Edited by strangehighways on Sunday 6th May 09:08
Good to hear you're still enjoying it, my old one had a pair of stainless performancey type rear silencers on it and under load it sounded awesome without being too loud. It did however 'boom' at around 60mph in top gear which was a bit frustrating. They really are the bargain of the century if you get a nice example.
Definitely on my list of cars to own.
I remember being in the back seats of an XKR when my Dad test drove one; must have been 1999. It was a damp road and we were accelerating from a roundabout onto a slip road to merge onto the motorway. Back end came straight out. Brown trousers moment!!
For me its either an XKR or an R107 next.
I remember being in the back seats of an XKR when my Dad test drove one; must have been 1999. It was a damp road and we were accelerating from a roundabout onto a slip road to merge onto the motorway. Back end came straight out. Brown trousers moment!!
For me its either an XKR or an R107 next.
strangehighways said:
The XJR is somehow now in daily service, which wasn't the original intention. I sold the Galaxy band-wagon as there are no gigs in the near future and I was paying 3 lots of insurance and tax along with the Alfa 156. I decided to reduce from 3 cars to 2, so the Galaxy was sold (bought for £300, sold for £300, £100 fixing cost over 6 months and 10k miles, maybe my best financial car purchase to date) and as the Alfa has been a little poorly lately, the XJR is doing all the miles. It's done about 5k miles in 4 months.
For anyone who hasn't driven an XJ, it is unlike any other car I've driven. Though it looks pretty large from the outside, it is quite cosy inside. It has a cocoon type feel to it, which I love but others might not. The seats are quite soft and comfy and you sit quite low, staring out over the large bonnet.
I'll get straight to the point. I absolutely love this car. It just has the seemingly perfect balance of comfort with a hint of sportiness. I am not very good at describing these things, but it just drives in a very graceful way. I love the way the car is damped, it has a softness to it but not a 'falling apart at the first sign of a corner sitting on jelly' feel. It is not designed with 100% sporting intentions ala BMW M5 and nor was this the idea I'm sure. It just hits the perfect comfort/sporty nail on the head. It can still feel its weight in the slower corners though, and you are aware that it is nigh on 2 tonnes sometimes; the brakes don't inspire confidence really and always seem to need more effort than my foot wants to give. Adequate, nothing more.
The engine is very refined but you get a nice supercharger whine when gunning it. Personally, I would like to hear the engine a little more and if you were expecting a v8 growl from a (standard) XJR you would be disappointed. It would need some messing with the induction/exhaust to make it more vocal. Maybe something to look into in the future.
The Mercedes gearbox (only on the XJR, I believe non-XJRs have a ZF unit) has a sports mode which makes the car more responsive and holds the revs before changing up. Generally, I have it in 'normal' in the city where it will pull away in 2nd, and then switch to 'sport' as soon as I hit a faster road.
Since the last update, it's had a new MAF as the engine management light kept coming on. Now it's gone thankfully. I've had an annoying 60-70mph vibration running through the car so had wheel balancing done which helped a little but the vibration is still there. I reckon it is something to do with the propshaft/driveshaft and will get this looked at some point.
Averaging 22/23mpg on the way to work, which is probably 30% city and 70% a/b roads.
Over easter the car had a long drive to the Netherlands and back and as you might expect, it was a perfect high speed missile and lapped up the miles with no issues.
I've had more nice comments and stares with the XJR than any other car I've owned including my gorgeous old Alfa GTV. In particular, men over 40 seem to love it. My girlfriend said it's the best car I've owned to date.
Yes, the n/a cars have a ZF not Mercedes gerarbox For anyone who hasn't driven an XJ, it is unlike any other car I've driven. Though it looks pretty large from the outside, it is quite cosy inside. It has a cocoon type feel to it, which I love but others might not. The seats are quite soft and comfy and you sit quite low, staring out over the large bonnet.
I'll get straight to the point. I absolutely love this car. It just has the seemingly perfect balance of comfort with a hint of sportiness. I am not very good at describing these things, but it just drives in a very graceful way. I love the way the car is damped, it has a softness to it but not a 'falling apart at the first sign of a corner sitting on jelly' feel. It is not designed with 100% sporting intentions ala BMW M5 and nor was this the idea I'm sure. It just hits the perfect comfort/sporty nail on the head. It can still feel its weight in the slower corners though, and you are aware that it is nigh on 2 tonnes sometimes; the brakes don't inspire confidence really and always seem to need more effort than my foot wants to give. Adequate, nothing more.
The engine is very refined but you get a nice supercharger whine when gunning it. Personally, I would like to hear the engine a little more and if you were expecting a v8 growl from a (standard) XJR you would be disappointed. It would need some messing with the induction/exhaust to make it more vocal. Maybe something to look into in the future.
The Mercedes gearbox (only on the XJR, I believe non-XJRs have a ZF unit) has a sports mode which makes the car more responsive and holds the revs before changing up. Generally, I have it in 'normal' in the city where it will pull away in 2nd, and then switch to 'sport' as soon as I hit a faster road.
Since the last update, it's had a new MAF as the engine management light kept coming on. Now it's gone thankfully. I've had an annoying 60-70mph vibration running through the car so had wheel balancing done which helped a little but the vibration is still there. I reckon it is something to do with the propshaft/driveshaft and will get this looked at some point.
Averaging 22/23mpg on the way to work, which is probably 30% city and 70% a/b roads.
Over easter the car had a long drive to the Netherlands and back and as you might expect, it was a perfect high speed missile and lapped up the miles with no issues.
I've had more nice comments and stares with the XJR than any other car I've owned including my gorgeous old Alfa GTV. In particular, men over 40 seem to love it. My girlfriend said it's the best car I've owned to date.
Edited by strangehighways on Sunday 6th May 09:08
Prop vibration will show between 45-50 MPH and again at around 90 on the 308. It'll be at a much higher frequency - almost a buzz - than wheel induced vibration.
The 308 is very sensitive to wheel balance and tyre roadforce variation which typically manifests around 60-70 MPH. There's a good chance that good enough wheel balancing for most cars needs to go to a higher level and all the wheels and tyres need to be checked for run out too.
The Jag has hit a milestone of sorts. 140k miles. So I thought I'd update as it's been a few months and maybe you were expecting the car to have screwed me over royally by now.
It hasn't! It's been as sound as a pound since purchase 8 months to the day. In that time I've covered 9000 miles averaging about 22 mpg. The only ball-ache I've had was the breakdown just after I bought it which required a new water pump. Since then it's been 100% reliable. There's a couple of things chewing away at me though, one a little bit, the other quite a lot.
Firstly, the small one. As mentioned previously, the vibration is still present on the car, very slightly and not always noticeable (no-one ever riding in the car has even mentioned it, perhaps I'm just anal) at speeds between 55 and 60 mph. I've had the wheels aligned/balanced/swapped over a few times and it has improved things a little but it's still there. It's something I can live with but if I had limitless money I would sort.
The bigger one which comes into my mind every time I see the car is the rust. It has rust issues, around the front arches slightly, which I can live with, but the front of the rear arches are really getting to me. I don't think there is a good way of sorting it unless I get a new arch put in. I am wondering if I should try to bodge it in some way in the meantime..... I have never done anything with bodywork repair before so maybe I should stay away from it! Not sure how it would cost to fix it properly but I imagine quite a bit.
Other than that, I love driving the XJR and it is as special as I thought it would be. It isn't the sharpest thing on the road, but it just fires along in such a relaxed manner, but achieving silly speeds.
One thing that could be improved slightly are the gear ratios. It's a 5 speed box and works well, but it almost needs another gear between 2nd and 3rd. Picture the scenario.... overtaking a slow lorry/car on an a-road travelling at about 50 - 55 mph. It won't kickdown to 2nd (which is good for 70 ish), so uses 3rd and while the performance is still strong, because 3rd gear is pretty long, it doesn't give the performance that the car is capable of (you could manually use the j-gate to make it in 2nd but I'm talking about when the car is in D). I wish the car either had 6 gears or with the 5 speed, 3rd a bit closer to 2nd. The upside to 3rd being quite long is that, it is PERFECT for the motorway overtake, if you are cruising between 70-85 mph before the overtake. If you boot it then, it will kickdown to 3rd and give its absolute best. Another good one is going from 25 ish off a roundabout in 2nd; it just flys to 70 ish before changing up.
It could be a little louder and I might look into an exhaust modification next year once I've sorted any bodywork issues.
The X308 really sits low on the road compared to modern cars and I love it that it looks so different in profile compared to the short, round blobs that seem to be designed now. I really do think it is one of the best looking saloons ever made, especially with the Asteroid 18 inch alloys.
Would love to hear from some more XJ owners out there.
strangehighways said:
The Jag has hit a milestone of sorts. 140k miles. So I thought I'd update as it's been a few months and maybe you were expecting the car to have screwed me over royally by now.
It hasn't! It's been as sound as a pound since purchase 8 months to the day. In that time I've covered 9000 miles averaging about 22 mpg. The only ball-ache I've had was the breakdown just after I bought it which required a new water pump. Since then it's been 100% reliable. There's a couple of things chewing away at me though, one a little bit, the other quite a lot.
Firstly, the small one. As mentioned previously, the vibration is still present on the car, very slightly and not always noticeable (no-one ever riding in the car has even mentioned it, perhaps I'm just anal) at speeds between 55 and 60 mph. I've had the wheels aligned/balanced/swapped over a few times and it has improved things a little but it's still there. It's something I can live with but if I had limitless money I would sort.
The bigger one which comes into my mind every time I see the car is the rust. It has rust issues, around the front arches slightly, which I can live with, but the front of the rear arches are really getting to me. I don't think there is a good way of sorting it unless I get a new arch put in. I am wondering if I should try to bodge it in some way in the meantime..... I have never done anything with bodywork repair before so maybe I should stay away from it! Not sure how it would cost to fix it properly but I imagine quite a bit.
Other than that, I love driving the XJR and it is as special as I thought it would be. It isn't the sharpest thing on the road, but it just fires along in such a relaxed manner, but achieving silly speeds.
One thing that could be improved slightly are the gear ratios. It's a 5 speed box and works well, but it almost needs another gear between 2nd and 3rd. Picture the scenario.... overtaking a slow lorry/car on an a-road travelling at about 50 - 55 mph. It won't kickdown to 2nd (which is good for 70 ish), so uses 3rd and while the performance is still strong, because 3rd gear is pretty long, it doesn't give the performance that the car is capable of (you could manually use the j-gate to make it in 2nd but I'm talking about when the car is in D). I wish the car either had 6 gears or with the 5 speed, 3rd a bit closer to 2nd. The upside to 3rd being quite long is that, it is PERFECT for the motorway overtake, if you are cruising between 70-85 mph before the overtake. If you boot it then, it will kickdown to 3rd and give its absolute best. Another good one is going from 25 ish off a roundabout in 2nd; it just flys to 70 ish before changing up.
It could be a little louder and I might look into an exhaust modification next year once I've sorted any bodywork issues.
The X308 really sits low on the road compared to modern cars and I love it that it looks so different in profile compared to the short, round blobs that seem to be designed now. I really do think it is one of the best looking saloons ever made, especially with the Asteroid 18 inch alloys.
Would love to hear from some more XJ owners out there.
You were lucky you caught the Water Pump failure just in time. It could have been catastrophic. I had mine changed as a preventative measure and I'm glad I did. The impeller on the old one didn't look in the best of condition.
Your mpg is really good I think. The best I've ever got was 19mpg and I normally get good mpg out of all of my cars. Try pressing down harder on the accelerator
As for the wheel vibration. As with most cars, try cleaning the surfaces of the brake disc and the wheel where they touch. Even the slightest imperfection/rust/dirt could cause problems. Use a wire brush or maybe some wet and drive if they're in a poor state.
The bodywork on mine was good (but it wasn't that old when I sold it). Because you paid so little money for it in the first place, it might be worth investing some money to save it while you can. I guess it depends on just how bad the rot is?
Don't change the exhaust. XJR's don't need to 'shout'. You don't have to prove it's a V8 and you'll ruin it if you make it louder IMHO. Do change the supercharger pulley if you haven't already (bottom pulley will be enough). It's an easy modification and will give you 400bhp and much much more mid range torque. You'll really notice the difference. Have fun!
I would get that rust fixed ASAP, probably will need new metal sadly 
Regarding the exhuast, it was one of the best modifications I did to my car in terms of driver enjoyment and draws compliment for the sound. Then again, my car is not exactly popular with most of PH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO0ISWGPz-o
Regarding the exhuast, it was one of the best modifications I did to my car in terms of driver enjoyment and draws compliment for the sound. Then again, my car is not exactly popular with most of PH!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO0ISWGPz-o
The Jag has just had its MOT slightly early (but I kept the expiry date the same by calculating the 13 month rule thing). I just wanted to get it out of the way and I knew that that it would be more than the cost of an MOT and oil change!
This is what was done at a Jag specialist.
MOT
Oil/Filter
3 bits of welding underneath
Wheel bearing
New lower front balljoints
Total was just over a grand. Not sure why but I was quite happy with that. They've quoted me £900 + VAT to replace both rear wheel arches, will I will sort early next year (probably).
So how much has it cost me over about a year to run the XJR as my 2/3rds daily car? (1/3 is the Alfa 156 v6).
Water Pump £262
Mass Air Flow Meter £30 ish
MOT/Service/Stuff above £1065
I don't think that is too bad considering I bought the car at the cheaper end of the market at £2400 and have done 14k miles in that time. If I can get by in the next few years spending about a grand a year on the car, that would be great but I suspect it might be more than that, especially if I am doing so many miles.
With the colder weather setting in, the car feels quite a bit more punchy due to the lower temperatures. The heated seats are most welcome on these cold mornings but only has 1 setting so it gets turned off after 10 minutes or my a%$e starts to fry!
Thanks to all those who replied previously in the thread, especially those uploading pictures of their big cats.
This is what was done at a Jag specialist.
MOT
Oil/Filter
3 bits of welding underneath
Wheel bearing
New lower front balljoints
Total was just over a grand. Not sure why but I was quite happy with that. They've quoted me £900 + VAT to replace both rear wheel arches, will I will sort early next year (probably).
So how much has it cost me over about a year to run the XJR as my 2/3rds daily car? (1/3 is the Alfa 156 v6).
Water Pump £262
Mass Air Flow Meter £30 ish
MOT/Service/Stuff above £1065
I don't think that is too bad considering I bought the car at the cheaper end of the market at £2400 and have done 14k miles in that time. If I can get by in the next few years spending about a grand a year on the car, that would be great but I suspect it might be more than that, especially if I am doing so many miles.
With the colder weather setting in, the car feels quite a bit more punchy due to the lower temperatures. The heated seats are most welcome on these cold mornings but only has 1 setting so it gets turned off after 10 minutes or my a%$e starts to fry!
Thanks to all those who replied previously in the thread, especially those uploading pictures of their big cats.
A 1998 car with front end damage made £2k last weekend on eBay,so you did very well.
I averaged 18mpg over the 10 years I drove mine . I cannot think of anything else I would rather drive right now.
Mine is still sitting on the drive whilst I try to find one without terminal rust.
Glad yours is looking after you.
I averaged 18mpg over the 10 years I drove mine . I cannot think of anything else I would rather drive right now.
Mine is still sitting on the drive whilst I try to find one without terminal rust.
Glad yours is looking after you.
I thought some of you might be interested to know the running costs of the XJR, having had it for 15 months and put a lot of miles on it.
I will average out these costs to be over a 2 year period as the car had an MOT recently, and it cost a fair bit to get through. A 2 year cost will take it to Jan 2020, so these are accurate as long as there are no other costs till then! (apart from fuel etc). I've left the cost of the car (£2400) out of it as I think the car is still worth this roughly.
Costs from Jan 2018 - Jan 2020 (2 years)
- 2 x 13k miles a year @1.25 per litre, 22 mpg = £6716
- 2 x car tax = £651
- 2 x insurance = £890
Maintenance/Servicing/MOT etc... Water Pump, Tyres, Wheel alignment/balancing, Battery, MOT, Welding, Oil change, wheel bearing, lower wishbones, MAF = £1966
So, for a per year cost... £5112 for everything. (£426 per month)
Discounting tax/petrol/insurance, maintenance only.....£983 per year (£82 per month)
I think that is pretty damn good! About £1000 a year for maintenance is fine with me, especially considering the amount of miles I'm doing.
I will average out these costs to be over a 2 year period as the car had an MOT recently, and it cost a fair bit to get through. A 2 year cost will take it to Jan 2020, so these are accurate as long as there are no other costs till then! (apart from fuel etc). I've left the cost of the car (£2400) out of it as I think the car is still worth this roughly.
Costs from Jan 2018 - Jan 2020 (2 years)
- 2 x 13k miles a year @1.25 per litre, 22 mpg = £6716
- 2 x car tax = £651
- 2 x insurance = £890
Maintenance/Servicing/MOT etc... Water Pump, Tyres, Wheel alignment/balancing, Battery, MOT, Welding, Oil change, wheel bearing, lower wishbones, MAF = £1966
So, for a per year cost... £5112 for everything. (£426 per month)
Discounting tax/petrol/insurance, maintenance only.....£983 per year (£82 per month)
I think that is pretty damn good! About £1000 a year for maintenance is fine with me, especially considering the amount of miles I'm doing.
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