I just purchased a 1999 XJ8 sedan, my first Jaguar, here in Nashville. I hope this forum will be a good resource for me to keep it running for years to come. It has only 39,300 miles and one previous owner, who cared for it well. According to the dealer, she is an elderly woman, who drove it mainly to to the grocery store and church, and (with her husband) had owned 7 Jaguars in her lifetime. She reportedly cried when she brought her "baby" in to sell it to the dealer.

The only things the dealer did were to replace all the belts, change the oil, top off the fluids and detail it. Even before the detailing, it looked immaculate (except for the mirror - see below), so I'm crossing my fingers that I will be happy and it won't bankrupt me or give me regrets. I drove it home today on local streets and the interstate, and so far, so good!

I actually bought the car against the advice of several friends who warned me about the frequency and expense of repairs. However, I found a local mechanic and when I asked about routine maintenance like brake jobs, the price seemed reasonable, only a little higher than our 2000 Nissan Maxima, which this is replacing. The insurance is also just a little bit higher.

The XJ8 is mainly for use by my wife, who commutes 15 miles a day, and occasional use by myself, a middle-aged self-employed guy. We have three kids from 10 to 20. (I might let the two older ones drive it once in a great while, maybe, but they're away at college most of the year.)

This is already too long an introduction, but one very minor problem I'd like advice on is a stain and abrasion on the rear view mirror, which looks as though maybe it had some oval bracket glued to it (perhaps for a magnified mirror?). I would like to fix or replace this mirror -- but not for the $400 I see the dealer wants. I found a detailed procedure online for removing it, a delicate operation to avoid cracking the front glass. But first I'm going to see about maybe re-silvering or thoroughly cleaning it.

 

Welcome nashville! Read up on your car, its engine and common 'issues' and prevenative maintenance to be aware of, and enjoy the forums. The 4.0 in your xj is shared with the 97-2002 xk8, so there will be overlapping topics if you choose to browse there also.

 

Welcome, enjoy your ride

 

welcome aboard one of the best and friendliest forums around Nashville
Nice intro & Good to have you here with us.

Please feel free to check out the regional sections for members that may be close to you. Off topics always a blast too with plenty going on......
Get posting!!!!

In the meantime I've upgraded your membership to full forum access so you can better view all the sites features
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Welcome to the forum,

Just over 3K miles a year, that is lightly used.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome to the forum Nashville. Nice town, I have work in Ashland City from time to time. Tootsies & Printer Alley are great. You'll find a wealth of information here. My 21 year old uses my 99xj8 as a daily driver, I've been able to take care of many issues with help from all the members here on the forum. Please take note of Gus's links, plenty of great information to be had. Research the secondary timing chain tensioner issues that will affect your engine later 80-90k miles. This will probably be your single biggest issue to deal with. The car is no more costly to maintain than any other premium vehicle. Enjoy your ride.
Ralph
99xj8

 

Thanks for the warm welcome to jaguarforums.com! Y'all come drive over to Nashville and keep us company, anytime.

I have a 1999 XJ8, not a '98. Oops. I bought the car 3 days ago and just got mixed up. I was thinking of the year my XJ8's "generation" started, 1998.

I'm posting a follow-up question about my auto-dimming rear view mirror problem (doesn't work, stained) in the right section.