Greetings from Sterling, Virginia.

Must say I have to credit the many helpful members of this forum with the decision to purchase the 2005 XJ8 L - my first Jaguar.

Essentially every question I could have asked has been covered, and well-enough to tilt the balance to an XJ8 LWB vs a similarly spacious Audi A8 L or VW Phaeton.

Mind, a test drive down a winding road brought more than a few grins as well..



More as it transpires....

Bill

 

Welcome to the forum Bill,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

Congratulations on your first Jaguar. Good to hear you found useful information here to help with your decision. This probably means you already know your way around but if not, follow this link XJ ( X350 & X358 ) XJ6 / XJ8 / XJR - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the X350 section for help, advice and information.

Remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the US Mid Atlantic Region section by following this link Mid Atlantic - MD VA DC DE WV - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forum.

Graham

 

Thanks, Graham - been to the cited links - trying the sig now.

Will also add more personal details as time goes by. I have been up long hours getting all the details sorted to actually take physical possession of the XJ8 L later this morning.

So far, I have had to content myself with memories of crawling 'neath her smalls to find as clean a used car as ever was, a road test that would have humbled either of my long-ago BMW's ('71 1/2 'Bavaria' and '80's 525)

... and licking the XJ's photograph and whimpering a bit now and then...

 

Bill,

Sig details look good. Looking forward to seeing photos.

As I was replying to your Intro, I was thinking it must be very early in the morning in Virginia!

Graham

 

Hi Bill, congrats on your XJ8L, that is dream car for my future indeed.
You compliment the site so graciously, it's a pleasure to converse with such like-minded enthusiasts and I hope you supply the pics soon!
Whimpering and Drooling are part of my Zestful characteristics too, so I hope you find much mouth-watering adventures with your new Babe, and also relish and look forward to the same quality of info in your posts!
Tally-Ho! Regards, Stu

 

Don't wear a watch, get my 5 to 6 hours a day of sleep in short installments.

Age - homes and family on two continents - and too many years in shift-work, on-call status, MIL, telecoms, Unix servers......

Can't say as I miss a link to diurnal/nocturnal 'cycles', given it has made it easier to maintain an alert state for night VFR and night long-distance driving.

Both venues serve-up fewer OTHER fools competing for route-space in the wee hours. Same again with 'net bandwidth...

 

Actually arrived at by an odd route.

Part ONE was that a seldom-used 2000 Dodge Caravan was to be shed @ the 100,000 mile mark, nieces and nephews having outgrown summers in Virginia, so no longer a need of seven seats.

Part TWO was an aged Mum (92'd year..) dependent on a 'walker' who was not comfortable with my having to rush about Pullman/Wagens-Lit 'porter' style with a footstool so she could climb in and out of the Caravan .. or the Kia Sedona originally slated to replace it. She liked the closer to the ground hence easier bums-on-seat slide into her old Buick LeSabre....

.. but(t) . no one makes 'sedans' in America with decent rear-seating Lo These Many Years. They've gone over to either truck-chassis or lower-mounted but downright weird 'SUV' or 'Crossover' alleged-vehicles instead.

Also a 'merican auto-maker's primary skill is the ability to make a car big on the outside and small on the inside - quite the reverse of the Europeans.

Then there are the different flavours of dynamic-obsolescence-ugly each model-year...

So 'No Joy'. Not even in Lincoln or Cadillac camps. Even toyed with restoring a pre-WWII Packard, but ...

Next up was a VW Passat. Not good enough. Rear seating not TOO damned bad .. but how do you get INTO it without a funnel and K-Y?

Then the VW Phaeton. Comfortable enough. But upkeep-wise, must have been Dresden's delayed revenge for the notorious RAF raid of WWII.

Audi A8 L looked better, parts and service availability-wise, but was not actually all that comfortable. Owners must be seriously 'hard bodied' folks to consider those seats luxurious...

Enter the Jaguar. Start with a Royce / Lyons approach, add HP, torque ... and lightness.

All-aluminium put me off at first. More 'fuel' than metal, aluminium is, given where it sits in the periodic table.

OTOH, its oxide is tight and tough, so.. with a bit of help from legacy chemical-etch and zinc-chromate memories, I believe I can keep its load-bearing bits in good order longer than the equivalent ones in steel. Repairing a rusted McP strut tower on the Dodge as we speak...

The 'clincher' was finding a 2005 XJ8 L that was in stunning condition as to undersides, paint, and leather. Near-as-dammit 'Concours' if you will, and for ANY age, even new or near-new.

..and ... had experienced the misfortune circa June of 2009 @ 48,919 miles into its chassis' overall 85K ... of needing Jaguar to install a complete new engine.

Said engine has now been 'proven' to have been properly done in a further 36,395 miles and four years of use... thereby giving the vehicle a high probability of a longer lease on future useful years than had it never failed in the first place....

A certain ration of anguish for the previous owner THEN, no doubt.

But the veritable 'silver lining' for me, NOW.

VERY appreciative also of the rest of the care the vehicle was obviously given.

I've already ordered two types of OBD II gear and more than one service manual CD (in case of scratches.)

This one promises to be a 'keeper' for me old age, and a pragmatic and economical choice as well...

Bill

 

Welcome to the forum Bill,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Thanks, did that early-on. Should I add the category (X350) and VIN number as well?

Also ... 'unable' to utilize the 'garage' feature just yet. S'pose that opens up with time?

Regards,

 

N'er mind - got the 'garage' initialized now. More to do...

 

welcome to the forum and the Jag family - this is a great place for info and support - enjoy!

 

Thanks!
Not just 'great'.

Essential.

I would not have dared to take-on the maintenance risk of a Jag - used OR new - without it.

Example: ABS warning / DSC de-activated lamps illuminated in first 200 metres of test drive. Pulled over. Shut down. Waited. Re-started. All was well and remained so until the last quarter-mile when returning the car wherein they went back ON, could not be cleared as easily.

Dealer offered to fix that at a $400 price-premium, or take $300 off and it became MY problem.

Told him I was already aware of roughly eight possible causes from the jaguarforum, cost to repair from nil to US$ 3K, and that HIS man would cease work at the first fix that cleared it, whilst I (my **** and my family bums-on-seats, after all) would check ALL of them.

So I took the $300. And the risk.

Per Carfax dates, it has been on his lot for about 20 days, so I am hoping (betting, actually) that the primary contributor is just a below-par battery charge that a short test-drive with lights and A/C on could not fully alleviate.

Reality will make itself known later today. And subsequently, of course... but I'll probably not need to ASK for further help .. just go and dig the archives where it has been well-covered.

 

Bill - the forum is indeed the best tool in a Jag owner's tool box! Has saved me many times as well.

 

Was going to take the T60p and 'Clearspot' voyager with me as I depart to go and fetch it home. Then realized the IBM/Lenovo battery went hors d' combat just last night...

'Luck' and an SOG or Leatherman tool will have to do.

Fortunately, it's only 17 miles from home, and there is a reputable Jaguar service outfit about mid-point ... many a new owner would be glad to have had it so good!

Update later today ....

On Edit:

Update SEVERAL days - and about 700 miles in two trips later:

- ABS/DSC lamp went out, and has stayed out, once battery was up to a normal charge.

- Car has not otherwise set a foot wrong.

- 'Foots' - a set of four imperfectly worn Goodyear Eagle GT's - have set the car a bit wrong.

Running them @ 38 PSI front / 40 PSI rear minimizes that 'til the budget recovers enough for new shoes - currently being researched.

- MY foots - shod in 12-wide leather, are wishing the brake pedal sat about an inch further to the left of the accelerator, however.

Only other issue to date is an erratic / NOP on-wheel Cruise Control 'Cancel' button. The others work fine, and a tap on the brakes covers the 'Cancel' for the time being.

.. and I am still researching the most economical means of getting out from under risk of possessing but the one lone fob/key...

Couldn't be happier with the value-for-money of this used Jaguar.

 

Another Breaking Bad fan I presume? Welcome to the forum, Bill. Congrats on your new car.