My 2012 XF Supercharged recently suffered a catastrophic engine failure. At ~75000 miles, everything else on the car is in excellent condition. A DIY rebuild (a-la DaveTibbs epic thread chronicling his rebuild) is out of the question. I simply do not have the technical acumen to do it. I just need to maximize the remaining value of the car. I have priced a replacement engine and would MAYBE break even putting a used supercharged engine in it. This raises the following questions:

Can I replace the supercharged engine with a normally aspirated XF 5.0L?
What other Jaguar/Land Rover engines would work as replacements?
What title issues are raised with replacement engines?
How do I put a value on the car as-is?

 

no. Too many things are different. Sure if you had to you coould but I wouldnt and i do a lot of stuff. Wat happend to the motor?

 

This is the nightmare scenario that keeps me from buying an expensive late model used Jag. Cars that are too new to be cheap, to old to be warranted and too complicated for most independent mechanics to work on. I read an article in Jaguar World a couple of years ago about an XKR with over 350,000 miles on it, always actively driven and toured. What I found interesting was that the owner would just replace a bad motor or transmission with a used one from a wrecker. I think that he was on his second engine and third transmission. If you can find the right indie shop willing to do the work that is probably your best bet. Using the correct engine it would just be an R&R. I've replaced several old school American V8s and they just needed a couple of wires and hoses connected. The modern Jag engine has more electrical components and they are more densely packed. In California you wouldn't want to mess with any emission related hardware. You could end up with an expensive mess that can't be legally registered.

I think that you have to crunch the numbers and decide if it's worth it to you. Will you keep the car for enough years to make the process pay off.? Will you have enough faith in the reliability of the car to drive it long distances? If you don't keep and drive the car than in my opinion it's better to cut your losses and call it quits.Good luck to you and keep us up dated.

 

I humbly disagree with Rivguy.
ALL cars are complicated with electronics today. One needs to understand the electronic systems to successfully maintain any car. If an Independent shop does not understand the electronics, they should not be touching the car. if the car merely needs an engine, give it an engine.
Though I have not replaced an engine or transmission or differential on any of the Jaguars, I have replaced the engine on the Land Rover. Same process and costs.
Now your particular dilemma- the case of break even. I for one have never considered a car an investment. They are my entertainment. The question that only the owner can answer is: what is the entertainment worth to you? Is it worth it to fix, fix and sell, or just sell the car as is? This is not a question of money to me but one of preference. If it is strictly a balance sheet you are looking at, I hope you enjoy the colour red.

 

What is the nature of the engine 'catastrophic failure'? The answer to that question will determine your next steps.

If a Jaguar specialist can confirm the engine must be replaced, have them provide an estimate and see if it makes sense financially. If not, take what you can for the car and find another one with a service history.

 

I had gotten into Toyota Supras a few decades back and bought several wrecked ones to either part out or repair and sell on back before the supply here in Texas "dried" up. There's no doubt that most any car is worth a great deal more in individual parts. I would caution you tho that it takes a very long time and great deal of effort to realize the full value of the parts and you must have a place to do it. If you decide to part it out, prepare to do a lot of work. You've got to post advertisements for the individual parts online, take lots of good, well-lit photographs, try to find odd-shaped boxes (don't forget to charge enough to cover your packing materials), pack everything well, drop packages off at the shipper (or arrange pick-up), communicate with buyers both before and after the sale, be ready to deal with a few lost packages, etc. Then you have to deal with recycling the bare chassis once it stripped. You may not be able to get away with slowing dismantling it depending where you are. You're city's code enforcement officer may give you a hassle. If that's the case, you'll need to strip it quickly and have storage for the parts. You might find that you didn't make very much per hour for your labor.

Now, on the other hand, there's great value in doing this for our community. If you part it out yourself, then the most critical parts will not go to waste because you'll dismantle it carefully and completely in a logical order. If you sell it to a salvage yard, probably 50% of the parts will just be wasted. They'll let it sit there in the yard for a little while, getting slowly picked over, but eventually they'll want to use that space for something more popular and lucrative like a Honda Accord or Chevy pickup. On top of that, they don't care what order it gets stripped. If someone buys that sunroof, whatever is left of the interior will be ruined as the rain and dirt fall in. Worse yet, if it sits in a self-service yard, when someone wants the differential, they're going to throw the dirty, greasy drive shafts inside the car right on the passenger seat. At only eight years old, there's not going to be a lot of demand for the interior, but in another ten years, somebody will dearly love to have every piece of it.

Another idea, and I've done this, is to have a "party." Invite the local Jaguar club over to help you dismantle the car, buy whatever they remove for cheap and box up the remaining parts. I bought a t-boned Supra when my storage building was already full. Invited a bunch of other owners over and had 3/4ths of the rest of the car gone in one Saturday. Took a while to sell the a couple of big boxes of parts, but that solved most of my storage problem as all of the bulky items were gone. When my neighbor across the street blew the engine in his Porsche Boxter, he did the same thing as the salvage yards weren't offering much. The local Porsche club made quick work of it. Just not sure if this idea would work with an XF as you need some local enthusiasts.

 

It depends on what you consider by "catastrophic failure"......

I've destroyed a few Jaguar engines over the years and some transmissions. A rebuild of either, whilst being technically satisfying, doesn't make economic sense on anything more than a three to five year old model. My approach has always been to source like-for-like from a specialist breaker. Low unit cost and zero compatability issues. Lift it out - drop it in.

I've also had a few cylinder head/timing chain issues where repair does make economic sense and have taken that path. Of course, it does help to be able to do the work yourself. Specialist expertise is always expensive.

One thing is sure. Trying to sell an SC specification with a NA engine would certainly be difficult and probably less rewarding than parting out.

Graham

 

The Jaguar shop here has not torn down the engine. However, it took two of them with a 6' cheater bar to turn the engine. I have contacted a few other mechanics and described the event and the findings of the Jag mechanics and they all independently said the same thing: probably a main bearing failure or something else in the rotating assembly. 99% sure it needs a new engine.

Guy, I agree regarding the "investment" aspect of cars. Cars are tools and toys. I got 6 years of grin-so-hard-your-face-hurts fun out of a car I bought with 7500 miles for 60% of new sticker. I could have gotten a "service plan" from a 3rd party for $4K, but I chose to try and get another year out of it. I gambled and lost and it will cost me $6-8K, but c'est la vie. I have already purchased a 2017 F-Type R, so the grins are still hurting my face. I'm not going to keep the XF one way or the other. I have an offer from a mechanic to buy it. I probably can't do any better by getting a new engine after the cost of install. The warranty on this one ends June 2024. My name will not be on the title as of May 31, 2024. Hopefully, there will be another gorgeous cat to pine for by then.

 

Agree is is likely less expensive to replace it with a different car altogether with a different good history used. Unless you are the wrenching type, which it does not sound like you are. A used engine might be worth it to you, but with labor of having someone else do it, it is a prohibitive proposition, considering that there is still really nice examples out there for little money all things considered. I picked up a 2005 Super 1 Owner, with a impeccable service record from the Jag dealer since day one for 10K American. Sounds like you have a parts car on your hands.