Jaguar XJR (X350)

[swampy442]

Since the recent sale of my T5 R and the Panda, I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket. So I set about looking for something interesting to buy. Something thats special enough to look forward to driving and not be a daily, fast and a bit unusual.

Searched about but nothing really took my fancy, until I stumbled upon this on Marketplace. The colour instantly grabbed me as Id only seen black or silver ones, had the correct wheels but I wasn't sure about the interior, so off to London I went to check it out.
The owner was nice, the car was tip top, fully stamped service book, folder with until thousands of receipts for work done so I bought my first Jaguar.
Its fully loaded, believe the only option it doesnt have is the sun roof, even had the Alpine stereo upgrade which is fantastic. First impressions are 'why didnt I buy one of these sooner' Its pretty rapid, so comfortable.

Behold the door is open thats why the colour is off lol:-
















And a full recent set of matching P Zero's sealed the deal

Edited by swampy442 on Friday 21st October 17:03

Edited by swampy442 on Friday 21st October 17:12

Edited by swampy442 on Friday 21st October 17:17

[swampy442]

Its not without its problems, the clock doesnt work (disaster! ) Neither does the rear sun blind, it pulls left when braking and something is amiss with the front left in general. But the body is immaculate, the engine is silent, gearbox is great.

So things to do in no particular order - Gearbox filter and oil change because theres no record of it being done, fix the blind and clock, investigate the suspension. And enjoy it

[d_a_n1979]

That looks a superb buy

Always really liked these, but the small boot and little leg room in the rear always put me off

[swampy442]

To quote Hammond, nobody wastes space like jaguar I’ll be on my own in it so as long as I fit, that’s all I care about lol

[jwwbowe]

Nice OP, they are lovely cars the “Sepang” wheels yours has are the best looking IMO. Drivetrains on these are pretty robust if looked after. Had the pleasure of driving a X308 some years ago, there was always another half inch of throttle travel when pushing into the thick wool carpet! Great fun supercharger makes it. Enjoy

[B'stard Child]

Looks great - wasn’t expecting a two colour interior - that’s different

[swampy442]

I had my heart set on the black leather with red inserts, but I’ve only seen that with a light wood dash.
The contrast is better in real life as the leather it’s a bit lighter and the wood a bit darker. Looks great in real life

[ChocolateFrog]

d_a_n1979 said:

That looks a superb buy

Always really liked these, but the small boot and little leg room in the rear always put me off

Boots not that small.

We did a week at Butlins 4 up with a double buggy in it no problems.

[Chromegrill]

Very nice looking, but isn't it a bit wider and longer than most luxobarges? I wouldn't fancy taking it into a multi storey carpark, certainly not one I was unfamiliar with, nor parking in the supermarket on a Saturday morning. How practical is it for day to day use?

[tobinen]

Congratulations

[Geekman]

I've had several of these - great cars, and probably the most reliable of all the old, high performance barges.

For the rear sun blind, get someone to constantly press the button while you pull it up with a pair of pliers - that worked for me when I had that issue.

[swampy442]

tobinen said:

Congratulations

Thanks very much, I do wonder why it’s taken so long

[swampy442]

Geekman said:

I've had several of these - great cars, and probably the most reliable of all the old, high performance barges.

For the rear sun blind, get someone to constantly press the button while you pull it up with a pair of pliers - that worked for me when I had that issue.

That’s great! What do you know of front suspension woes?

[swampy442]

Chromegrill said:

Very nice looking, but isn't it a bit wider and longer than most luxobarges? I wouldn't fancy taking it into a multi storey carpark, certainly not one I was unfamiliar with, nor parking in the supermarket on a Saturday morning. How practical is it for day to day use?

It’s surprisingly big, I haven’t parked in a multi storey for years so I can’t comment on that, but it is quite long lol

[mph]

Fabulous cars, I've had two, the last one being the facelift X358.

My mates just bought one off an online auction, actually a Super V8, it's a Japanese import, pristine and with very low miles. He got a bargain IMHO.

For some reason the imported cars have much cheaper road tax.

Yours looks really nice. Enjoy it.

[anonymous-user]

swampy442 said:

Chromegrill said:

Very nice looking, but isn't it a bit wider and longer than most luxobarges? I wouldn't fancy taking it into a multi storey carpark, certainly not one I was unfamiliar with, nor parking in the supermarket on a Saturday morning. How practical is it for day to day use?

It’s surprisingly big, I haven’t parked in a multi storey for years so I can’t comment on that, but it is quite long lol

I enjoyed my 4.2 SE but they are tight in regular spaces



Front suspension is a pair of lower arms and a top A arm, you can get Lemforder parts from Autodoc and changing them is very conventional.

[carinaman]

Very nice.

[swampy442]

Geekman said:

I've had several of these - great cars, and probably the most reliable of all the old, high performance barges.

For the rear sun blind, get someone to constantly press the button while you pull it up with a pair of pliers - that worked for me when I had that issue.

That worked a treat, many thanks

[Geekman]

swampy442 said:

Geekman said:

I've had several of these - great cars, and probably the most reliable of all the old, high performance barges.

For the rear sun blind, get someone to constantly press the button while you pull it up with a pair of pliers - that worked for me when I had that issue.

That worked a treat, many thanks

Great. In terms of the suspension, they like to eat bushes in the front wishbones, so it would be worth checking those. Another thing that a lot of people forget is that while the air suspension can last a long time without leaking, the fact that it doesn't have a leak doesn't mean it's working properly. Underneath the air bags are traditional shocks, just like in any other car. It can be very hard to see if those are bad, and if they are, it won't handle right. There are various companies making the entire shock assembly with the airbag for a lot cheaper than what you'd pay at the dealer, but if that is your issue, make sure you get one from a proper manufacturer as some of the cheaper Chinese ones are junk.

[swampy442]

It does feel exactly like a tired damper, that tramping effect. The track control arms look shot so I’ll change those, everything else looks just fine, but you can get Arnotts units for 600 each so if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.