Buying Jaguar XJ 3.5 V8 2003
Discussion
Anything to watch out for on the above? Is this the best engine? Not many 4.2's around and they seem to be about the same price. 3.0 V6 seem to fetch more money but not really much in the MPG they all do around the 26mpg mark.
Either one of these or a 735i BMW and I'm thinking this will be more reliable than the BMW (less electronics to go wrong)?
Can't believe how cheap these Jags are now. They are under £4k on ebay from private sellers. I'm 33 so not sure if the BMW is more 'me'.
Either one of these or a 735i BMW and I'm thinking this will be more reliable than the BMW (less electronics to go wrong)?
Can't believe how cheap these Jags are now. They are under £4k on ebay from private sellers. I'm 33 so not sure if the BMW is more 'me'.
Known as the X350 to distinguish it from all the other XJ variants.
Anything you may read about Nicasil bore errosion, timing chain and tensioner, waterpump and throttle body problems apply to the earlier V8 XJs and were sorted by the launch of the aluminium bodioed cars in 2003.
Generally pretty reliable. You may have the odd air suspension compressor failure, electricial fault and weak suspension bush - now available individualy rather than having to replace a whole wishbone. Any hard driven car will be showing signs of abuse and there's plenty to choose from so buy the best you can find. Drive several to get a feel for the car - they ride drive and handle nothing like any earlier XJ. Even the base V6 is pretty quick and very nimble for such a big car. Personally I'd avoid larger diameter wheels and low profile tyres. Replacement tyres in 18" and up sizes are expensive and the ride is way too hard IMO. Budget for a gearbox oil change - worthwhile insurance against premature failure.
More info on Honest John.
Your main conceren will be corrosion. Several cars have had paintwork problems which is either a electrolytic reaction between the aluminium panels and traces of steel in the aluminium from the bodypress, contamination prior to painting or very thin clear coat wearing away. Whatever the cause you should look very carefully all over the body paying special attention to any area with a sharp curve, such as the front of the boot lid, door and wing bottoms and tops, A B C pillars and round the front and rear screens. Jaguar offered a 6 year paint warranty on the aluminium bodied cars but there's reports of them either not honouring this and claiming the damage is down to the owner or paintwork repirs failing again soon after they have been done. Impossible to say if it's a specific colour or year that's affected - but I've seen some really shockingly bad examples of corrosion and paint failure on earlier cars.
More info on this on The Jaguar forum
Anything you may read about Nicasil bore errosion, timing chain and tensioner, waterpump and throttle body problems apply to the earlier V8 XJs and were sorted by the launch of the aluminium bodioed cars in 2003.
Generally pretty reliable. You may have the odd air suspension compressor failure, electricial fault and weak suspension bush - now available individualy rather than having to replace a whole wishbone. Any hard driven car will be showing signs of abuse and there's plenty to choose from so buy the best you can find. Drive several to get a feel for the car - they ride drive and handle nothing like any earlier XJ. Even the base V6 is pretty quick and very nimble for such a big car. Personally I'd avoid larger diameter wheels and low profile tyres. Replacement tyres in 18" and up sizes are expensive and the ride is way too hard IMO. Budget for a gearbox oil change - worthwhile insurance against premature failure.
More info on Honest John.
Your main conceren will be corrosion. Several cars have had paintwork problems which is either a electrolytic reaction between the aluminium panels and traces of steel in the aluminium from the bodypress, contamination prior to painting or very thin clear coat wearing away. Whatever the cause you should look very carefully all over the body paying special attention to any area with a sharp curve, such as the front of the boot lid, door and wing bottoms and tops, A B C pillars and round the front and rear screens. Jaguar offered a 6 year paint warranty on the aluminium bodied cars but there's reports of them either not honouring this and claiming the damage is down to the owner or paintwork repirs failing again soon after they have been done. Impossible to say if it's a specific colour or year that's affected - but I've seen some really shockingly bad examples of corrosion and paint failure on earlier cars.
More info on this on The Jaguar forum
Edited by Jaguar steve on Wednesday 15th August 16:02
Thanks for that. I'm off to look at one today.
Is the sound system any better in the cars that have full screen sat nav as apposed to the car's without. I heard they have Alpine audio systems? The car I am looking at is a standard 3.5 V8 SE without sat nav. I'm not fussed about the nav as it won't be very good by todays standards.
Is the sound system any better in the cars that have full screen sat nav as apposed to the car's without. I heard they have Alpine audio systems? The car I am looking at is a standard 3.5 V8 SE without sat nav. I'm not fussed about the nav as it won't be very good by todays standards.
You need to get a car with touch screen - you'd frankly be a fool to have one without. It makes everything so easy to use. Who cares about the actual satv-nav? It was crap when it came out in 2003 
3.5 should be a nice car (only engine I haven't had the pleasure of with these cars).
If a nice spec'd v6 came up, don't refuse to look at it because it's a 3.0 - they're not underpowered at all. Some half-decent ones around at the moment too.
3.5 should be a nice car (only engine I haven't had the pleasure of with these cars).If a nice spec'd v6 came up, don't refuse to look at it because it's a 3.0 - they're not underpowered at all. Some half-decent ones around at the moment too.
dba7108 said:
Can sat nav be retro fitted?
edit - just checked on ebay they are £125. Not sure if you need anything else to make it work, a GPS receiver maybe?
edit - just checked on ebay they are £125. Not sure if you need anything else to make it work, a GPS receiver maybe?
Edited by dba7108 on Wednesday 15th August 16:49
Personally wouldn't even consider a retrofit. There is too much that could go wrong with either the software and installation and you may well end up with a whole raft of faults that'll cost a fortune to sort out
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