Really close on pulling the trigger on a 2004 vanden plas stock red, but it's at 110k miles. Upside it's only $8500. Good deal? Everything looks good interior/exterior. Haven't got to check engine or under the car. I'm going to look at the Carfax when i go back. My main question am I looking at a money pit here or do these cars run to 200k no problem with regular routine matienence?

 

Eh... I would go over the air suspension and transmission with a fine tooth comb. If those 2 areas check out then you may be looking ok..

 

I think it's always 50/50 gamble - I bought a 2005 vandenplas 4 months ago for $9,500 (Canadian) with 96,000 miles on it, air suspension fault coming on a regular occurrence,at the first oil change I needed a suspension part on the rear- $800 later( part, labour, alignment) then 1 month later a slight leak under the engine cover turned into a major coolant leak -$1800 water pump, thermostat and housing, serpentine belt + labour. Glitches, yeah, but I get compliments wherever I go about the car and you just can't beat the ride!

 

That Jag isn't being peddled for nothing so you can expect that it's going to have at least one major issue with it. If at all possible, give it a test drive before forking over any cash.

 

Hi SRL1990,

To answer your main question, if you are unable or unwilling to do most of your own service and repairs, an X350 can certainly be a money pit. Some known common issues are described in the thread at the link below, particularly in Cambo's Post #1:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...13/#post922719


As abanono mentioned, the most common trouble area seems to be the air suspension, and the potentially most expensive is the transmission.

For the most part, these are wonderful to drive and the cost of replacement parts is not outrageous if you shop around. But if you have to pay someone else to do all your service and repairs, you may grow weary of the cost of upkeep long before you get to 200K miles.

If you do most of your own service and repairs, I highly recommend you invest in one of the Mongoose cable / JLR SDD software packages widely available at very affordable prices. This will give you dealer-level access to the car's many electronic modules for diagnostics and troubleshooting and give you the power to elect various dealer-selectable options (such as disabling the automatic engagement of the sometimes troublesome Electronic Park Brake).

Regarding the asking price of $8,500, you should be able to do better. You might print out Cambo's post on known X350 issues and show it to the seller to help you negotiate a lower selling price! :-)

Please let us know what you decide!

Cheers,

Don

 

I've owned a lot of Jags, and my hard, fast rule is to never buy one with more than 50k miles. The 2005 onward have actually improved dramatically, so I have loosened my rule to only buy a Jag over 50k miles if you test the radio and all the programmed stations are classical. That way you know it belonged to some old rich fart who took care of the mx.

Sorry, but I have no exceptions to any Jag over 100k. I just would not do it. If you cannot afford one with less than 50k miles, you certainly cannot afford one with over 50k miles!

 

Thank you for the replies. Here is the link for the car.


Used 2004 Jaguar XJ For Sale in Livermore CA | Stock: 14U2044




I did some more research on it.
- Car was dropped to $8500 from 9k
-KBB has it listed at retail value of $6,800, going to try to negotiate for sure.
-Carfax shows a really clean report of just routine maintenance but I think that would be impossible for this car with 110k miles right?
- Looks like its been garaged its whole life, I did see some minor curb rash on 1 rim, I will test drive it of course and listen to anything that's odd.




My problem is that I live in the Bay area of CA and its so hard to find a 04-09 with low miles, I would definitely pay higher for a better car but I seem to cant find any out there. I would like to walk out the dealership for this car including the fees for 8,500 if I can. I'm going into real estate and would love a nice luxury car and this Jag would be a 2nd car that is strictly for business or maybe a weekend car. If the car doesn't turn out right then I will buy a 2013 Ford fusion or Dodge charger. The charger and fusion don't have that special luxury feel at all, they look like cheap and plastic inside but I guess its a safe choice? I guess the main question is for you guys
By looking at that listing with the clean skeptical carfax would you guys buy that car?


I'm definitely planning on hiring a jaguar specialist to come look at it on the day I pull the trigger.


Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you guys had a safe new year.


-Mike B

 

Get the service records - all of them. Demand them as a condition to pursue the purchase. Never buy a Jag (or any used car IMO) without a full set of records.

It is worth paying up for a vehicle with lower miles and a full service history. This applies to any car, not just Jags.

I went National in my search. was absolutely worth the effort. Also paid for a full inspection at a Jaguar Dealership, including a test drive by both a master mechanic and a sales person (dealer wasn't the seller). They provided me with a write up and when I spoke with them, they were familiar with seller, rated the car a 9 of 10 and told me the car was well priced. It cost me $200 for their professional opinion and recommendations of people who've been around these cars for years.

They told me every issue, which were very few and minor. Between that and the 100 photo's and video, I had the car shipped to me, enclosed.

No surprises when the car arrived and no regrets.

I think the transmissions are some of the best in the world today. Suspension is problematic for some, no doubt.

Pay for an inspection. At worst, you're out a couple hundred dollars and not $4k in repairs. Never trust your own test drive/ visual inspection as the sole decision unless you're a skilled mechanic. I was a mechanic for years and still sought other opinions.

Best of luck!

 

OK sorry, I didn't check the link before spouting off. You have a vehicle at the dealership where it appears to have been primarily and maybe exclusively serviced. Getting the VMI (vehicle maintenance inquiry) should be no problem.

Again, be weary of any gaps in history. With that mileage, all bushings should have been replaced. If not, they are overdue. All of them, roughly every 70k miles. They wear our faster than your average vehicle as they support the weight of the car. Car should have been aligned. Brakes should have been done at least twice, maybe thrice.

Look for defects in the aluminum paint. Query that on this site as to what to look for.

I would be shocked, pun intended, if at least the front shocks were not replaced due to leaks (front seem more common than rear. Also likely the air suspension compressor was at least serviced and possibly replaced.

Coolant system flush was due I think.
Ensure you have equal and sufficient heat on the driver side as the passenger side. The heater core's clog and are a pain to correct the condition.

Parking sensors have been problematic. They run about $70 used and there are 4 in the front and 4 in the rear.

Check for headlight flicker which may be a bulb or a ballast.

Transmission fluid should have been replaced (pan and filter as well). When test driving, gun the engine and listen for a "goose honk" sort of noise in the tranny. If you hear it, the tranny fluid, pan and filter should be changed and the tranny reflashed. Regardless of whether you hear it or not, the fluid, pan and filter should show up in the history as having been replaced.

I think those are the big hitters.

Lastly, there should be no leaks of any kind.

 

Thank you so much, I'll definitely take my time and make a check list.

 

Don,

Could you point me to the right direction where to get the Mongoose cable / JLR SDD software packages at a reasonable price? I have searched the forum and found link to by the cable but I thought that one has to subscribe to use the software.

 

I found this. Is it legit?

JLR Mongoose Pro,JLR Jaguar Land Rover Mongoose Pro--AutoTool-Mall

 

And I found this download:

Index of /265935/idscentral

 

Hi annamiata,

I'm using the Mongoose clone from the link below, the cheapest one I could find for testing. I get an occasional glitch that requires a restart but otherwise it's working fine:

JLR Mangoose SDD V139 for Jaguar and Land Rover Support till 2014 Year

When I bought mine, the JLR SDD software bundled with the cable was V134, but I had been led to believe that the latest version of SDD that would work without an active TOPix subscription was V131.03, so I purchased that separately from an eBay seller based in the U.K. I later learned that V134 works fine with our '04 X350 as long as I disconnect the computer from the Internet and reset the computer's date to August 01, 2012 before I start the SDD program, which I'm running in a Windows XP Pro virtual machine on a Windows 7 laptop. I once let the clock creep up to November 2012 and the software functionality was disabled because "It had been too long since the software was updated." Resetting the clock to August 2012 restored the functionality.

The seller is now bundling SDD V139 with the cable - I do not know if you can expect any problems with that version. Forum member bookman just purchased the package and received V138 with his cable (which appears to be the Mongoose Pro even though he ordered the standard Mongoose). He reports that the cable and software seem to be working fine with his '04 X350.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks for the lead, Don. The website says specifically it only works with 2005 and later models. I've queried the company to make sure. They provide it with v139 now. I'd love to have one for my 04 VDP.

 

Hi kbeachy,

The website said V134 only worked with 2005 and later models back when I bought it, but it works fine with our '04. Fellow member bookman just purchased the kit with V138 and he reports it works fine with his '04. You might ask the seller if they can provide you with discs for both V139 and V138 just in case V139 won't work with an '04, but I'm betting it will.

Cheers,

Don

 

There are very few low mileage " old geezer" x350s available here in the Bay Area. We ship our geezers to Florida and Texas😊 I bought an 04 dirt cheap with 160000 miles on the clock. Fantastic looking car, I did a trans pan, filter, battery and radiator to the car and now it runs great... Let the prev. Owner do all the needed suspension work, which by now, the car would have needed.. These cars should go 200-250K with reasonable care... A low mileage car with 40K is just coming up on the first round of OMG maintainance! Why pay top dollar for the car and then restore it??? As far as the radio tuned to classical Muzak, well in Florida maybe, but we here in SF ROCK!! Brandon

 

Hi Don, What is the difference between the regular Mangoose and Pro?

Thanks - Anthony

 

Hi Anthony,

bookman may chime in with more information or a correction, but from what he's told me via private message, he suspects the primary and possibly only difference between the Mongoose and Mongoose Pro is the driver software. The standard Mongoose can only be installed on Windows XP Pro 32-bit, but the Mongoose Pro drivers can be installed on Windows 7 (the seller doesn't state whether it matters if the Win 7 is 32- or 64-bit).

bookman ordered the standard Mongoose but the driver disc he received was labeled "Pro," and it installed and works fine with the Mongoose cable he received.

Hopefully bookman will chime in and let us know how it's going with his setup using SDD V138.

Cheers,

Don