My fourth, probably last, Jaguar
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Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 73
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From: Oakland, CA
My fourth, probably last, Jaguar
Hi all! It's great to be in the company of Jaguar owners.
I live in Oakland, part of the San Francsico Bay Area and probably the USA headquarters for Jaguar cars. Plenty of Series 1 XJs grace our roadways, and there are excellent non-dealer shops to keep them running.
I'm 62 and healthy, and do not intend to outlive my Emerald-over-Ivory 2001 XJR. Upon purchasing it two years ago when it was pristine (woman-owned, one of several of her cars), I conferred with Juan, the owner and chief wrench at Continental Imports of Oakland, and to my mind the most knowledgeable, honest, and personable Jaguar wrench I know. (Continenal Imports - Jaguar Specialist Since 1973)
The car had 80K miles when I bought it. Having owned two X308 series previously I could almost recite to Juan what had to be done: All the timing gear, water pump, and smaller failure-prone parts were swapped out.
I've now got the car up to 117,000 miles. At 110,000 Juan totally scoured the ZF transmission, getting rid of every bit of fluid and debris that had accumulated there, including the hard-to-reach torque converter. In went the new fluid. One trip across the country and back (all two-lanes), the transmission fluid is still nearly clear.
Be aware, those "sealed for life" ZF HP transmissions tend to give up the ghost over 100K miles. There is some risk in exchanging the fluid, but I think Juan has it nailed. We're going to swap out the transmission fluid every 50,000 miles henceforth.
At that 110,000 mile service Juan also switched me to synthetic oil. I was immediately rewarded with an additional mile-per-gallon. On the freeways I get 21; in town around 17. I don't use the Sport button much.
The car remains fast and tight. There is no other car I would want to own. I drive only 8K/year or so. At that rate, my XJR will still be humming when the men in the white coats come to take me away to a home for the demented.
Anyone else going to keep their XJ forever?
I live in Oakland, part of the San Francsico Bay Area and probably the USA headquarters for Jaguar cars. Plenty of Series 1 XJs grace our roadways, and there are excellent non-dealer shops to keep them running.
I'm 62 and healthy, and do not intend to outlive my Emerald-over-Ivory 2001 XJR. Upon purchasing it two years ago when it was pristine (woman-owned, one of several of her cars), I conferred with Juan, the owner and chief wrench at Continental Imports of Oakland, and to my mind the most knowledgeable, honest, and personable Jaguar wrench I know. (Continenal Imports - Jaguar Specialist Since 1973)
The car had 80K miles when I bought it. Having owned two X308 series previously I could almost recite to Juan what had to be done: All the timing gear, water pump, and smaller failure-prone parts were swapped out.
I've now got the car up to 117,000 miles. At 110,000 Juan totally scoured the ZF transmission, getting rid of every bit of fluid and debris that had accumulated there, including the hard-to-reach torque converter. In went the new fluid. One trip across the country and back (all two-lanes), the transmission fluid is still nearly clear.
Be aware, those "sealed for life" ZF HP transmissions tend to give up the ghost over 100K miles. There is some risk in exchanging the fluid, but I think Juan has it nailed. We're going to swap out the transmission fluid every 50,000 miles henceforth.
At that 110,000 mile service Juan also switched me to synthetic oil. I was immediately rewarded with an additional mile-per-gallon. On the freeways I get 21; in town around 17. I don't use the Sport button much.
The car remains fast and tight. There is no other car I would want to own. I drive only 8K/year or so. At that rate, my XJR will still be humming when the men in the white coats come to take me away to a home for the demented.
Anyone else going to keep their XJ forever?
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 121,060
Likes: 6,652
From: PHX some of the time
Welcome to the forum,
Good to have you with us.
I guess the car is a keeper, it sounds like Juan is also.
If you haven't already done so you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
Good to have you with us.
I guess the car is a keeper, it sounds like Juan is also.
If you haven't already done so you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
Keep an eye out for the white coats. LOL
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 27
Likes: 7
From: Bay Area, CA
Thanks for the info on Continental
I bought my Jag early last year and live in Berkeley and have been searching for a good Indy shop. Helpful to know that Continental is good with Jags; do you know how they are with X350s? Mine has 76k now and runs great but have been thinking about that "sealed for life" ZF 6 speed. Dealers recommend not touching the tranny. I believe that fluid longevity/quality has gotten better (ie oil, coolant) but have trouble with the idea of "lifetime"
I, like you want to keep this car for a long time, in my case at least another 8-10 years (at least that's what I'm saying now).
Maybe I'm getting old(er) but I cannot seem to get excited about any of the newer cars out there; they all exude brutish muscularity and are not at all appealing to look at; so this car will be with me for a long time. So lastly, it would be helpful to know how their costs are compared to the dealerships. I mainly use the dealership in SF; while they are good, they are very $spendy$.
I, like you want to keep this car for a long time, in my case at least another 8-10 years (at least that's what I'm saying now).
Maybe I'm getting old(er) but I cannot seem to get excited about any of the newer cars out there; they all exude brutish muscularity and are not at all appealing to look at; so this car will be with me for a long time. So lastly, it would be helpful to know how their costs are compared to the dealerships. I mainly use the dealership in SF; while they are good, they are very $spendy$.
Hi all! It's great to be in the company of Jaguar owners.
I live in Oakland, part of the San Francsico Bay Area and probably the USA headquarters for Jaguar cars. Plenty of Series 1 XJs grace our roadways, and there are excellent non-dealer shops to keep them running.
I'm 62 and healthy, and do not intend to outlive my Emerald-over-Ivory 2001 XJR. Upon purchasing it two years ago when it was pristine (woman-owned, one of several of her cars), I conferred with Juan, the owner and chief wrench at Continental Imports of Oakland, and to my mind the most knowledgeable, honest, and personable Jaguar wrench I know. (Continenal Imports - Jaguar Specialist Since 1973)
The car had 80K miles when I bought it. Having owned two X308 series previously I could almost recite to Juan what had to be done: All the timing gear, water pump, and smaller failure-prone parts were swapped out.
I've now got the car up to 117,000 miles. At 110,000 Juan totally scoured the ZF transmission, getting rid of every bit of fluid and debris that had accumulated there, including the hard-to-reach torque converter. In went the new fluid. One trip across the country and back (all two-lanes), the transmission fluid is still nearly clear.
Be aware, those "sealed for life" ZF HP transmissions tend to give up the ghost over 100K miles. There is some risk in exchanging the fluid, but I think Juan has it nailed. We're going to swap out the transmission fluid every 50,000 miles henceforth.
At that 110,000 mile service Juan also switched me to synthetic oil. I was immediately rewarded with an additional mile-per-gallon. On the freeways I get 21; in town around 17. I don't use the Sport button much.
The car remains fast and tight. There is no other car I would want to own. I drive only 8K/year or so. At that rate, my XJR will still be humming when the men in the white coats come to take me away to a home for the demented.
Anyone else going to keep their XJ forever?
I live in Oakland, part of the San Francsico Bay Area and probably the USA headquarters for Jaguar cars. Plenty of Series 1 XJs grace our roadways, and there are excellent non-dealer shops to keep them running.
I'm 62 and healthy, and do not intend to outlive my Emerald-over-Ivory 2001 XJR. Upon purchasing it two years ago when it was pristine (woman-owned, one of several of her cars), I conferred with Juan, the owner and chief wrench at Continental Imports of Oakland, and to my mind the most knowledgeable, honest, and personable Jaguar wrench I know. (Continenal Imports - Jaguar Specialist Since 1973)
The car had 80K miles when I bought it. Having owned two X308 series previously I could almost recite to Juan what had to be done: All the timing gear, water pump, and smaller failure-prone parts were swapped out.
I've now got the car up to 117,000 miles. At 110,000 Juan totally scoured the ZF transmission, getting rid of every bit of fluid and debris that had accumulated there, including the hard-to-reach torque converter. In went the new fluid. One trip across the country and back (all two-lanes), the transmission fluid is still nearly clear.
Be aware, those "sealed for life" ZF HP transmissions tend to give up the ghost over 100K miles. There is some risk in exchanging the fluid, but I think Juan has it nailed. We're going to swap out the transmission fluid every 50,000 miles henceforth.
At that 110,000 mile service Juan also switched me to synthetic oil. I was immediately rewarded with an additional mile-per-gallon. On the freeways I get 21; in town around 17. I don't use the Sport button much.
The car remains fast and tight. There is no other car I would want to own. I drive only 8K/year or so. At that rate, my XJR will still be humming when the men in the white coats come to take me away to a home for the demented.
Anyone else going to keep their XJ forever?
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From: Wisconsin, United States
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I see you haven't yet posted an Intro yourself.
Johntechwriter's last forum login was over six months ago so a reply to your question in this thread is not a certainty.
Graham
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 145
Likes: 27
From: Connecticut
John, you may surprise yourself, at only 62 and healthy, your "forever" is probably a bit longer than mine. I am a few months shy of 80, and yes, I intend to keep (and cherish) mine for however long my "forever" turns out to be.
Good luck.
Richard
Good luck.
Richard
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Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 73
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From: Oakland, CA
Well it's four years and 40,000 miles later and my '01 XJR continues to deliver great driving pleasure with minimal maintenance. It's now got 148,000 miles on the clock and still feels remarkably fresh. It helps that those are mostly highway miles. The first owner was flying-averse (like me) and used the car to commute between business interests in San Francisco and L.A. That's a 500-mile trip and on the I5 you can get away with 80 mph.
Since buying the car with 80,000 miles on the clock I've done two major road trips to Canada and two to Death Valley. Never did the car miss a beat. For that I credit my technician Juan at Continental Imports, Oakland CA, who's been working on Jags exclusively since 1973. His preventive maintenance keeps unpleasant surprises at bay.
In two weeks I'm driving up the coast from Oakland CA to Vancouver, then around the islands up there and back down, visiting family and friends. That'll be 2500 miles.
In September I have planned a long run from Oakland to Ottawa Ontario Canada, also to see family and friends. I expect to clock 6,500 miles on that excursion.
I nominate the X308 XJR as a top-ten road trip machine! At 75 mph it's loafing, and its seats will leave you refreshed after thousand-mile days. Fuel economy could be better but I can live with 21 mph highway. The ride is sublime and the wood-and-leather atmosphere soothing. (This was the last year for genuine Connolly leather, and the XJR got the extra leather surfaces that the VDP got, quite a bit more than the stock XJ.) When you need power the supercharger provides. That said, this is no back-road bomber; it's a cruiser with one of the great interiors in cardom.
This app won't let me attach captions to photos so I'm entering them here:
1) The Emerald mica paint was a $1,000 factory option.
2) The car has never been commuted in or parked outside so its leather is pretty fresh. For minor cracks I use "The Original Leather Finish" from wood-n-stuff.com. They matched my car's Ivory leather perfectly and the product is easy to use.
3) The simple lines of the X308 make today's luxury car styling appear busy and frivolous. I think it's still the best looking post-WWII sedan.
4) I found the SUPERCHARGED badge on Google. It looks OEM in my opinion.
Since buying the car with 80,000 miles on the clock I've done two major road trips to Canada and two to Death Valley. Never did the car miss a beat. For that I credit my technician Juan at Continental Imports, Oakland CA, who's been working on Jags exclusively since 1973. His preventive maintenance keeps unpleasant surprises at bay.
In two weeks I'm driving up the coast from Oakland CA to Vancouver, then around the islands up there and back down, visiting family and friends. That'll be 2500 miles.
In September I have planned a long run from Oakland to Ottawa Ontario Canada, also to see family and friends. I expect to clock 6,500 miles on that excursion.
I nominate the X308 XJR as a top-ten road trip machine! At 75 mph it's loafing, and its seats will leave you refreshed after thousand-mile days. Fuel economy could be better but I can live with 21 mph highway. The ride is sublime and the wood-and-leather atmosphere soothing. (This was the last year for genuine Connolly leather, and the XJR got the extra leather surfaces that the VDP got, quite a bit more than the stock XJ.) When you need power the supercharger provides. That said, this is no back-road bomber; it's a cruiser with one of the great interiors in cardom.
This app won't let me attach captions to photos so I'm entering them here:
1) The Emerald mica paint was a $1,000 factory option.
2) The car has never been commuted in or parked outside so its leather is pretty fresh. For minor cracks I use "The Original Leather Finish" from wood-n-stuff.com. They matched my car's Ivory leather perfectly and the product is easy to use.
3) The simple lines of the X308 make today's luxury car styling appear busy and frivolous. I think it's still the best looking post-WWII sedan.
4) I found the SUPERCHARGED badge on Google. It looks OEM in my opinion.
Last edited by Johntechwriter; Jun 22, 2017 at 01:14 PM. Reason: Add captions, fix typos
Veteran Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 26,755
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From: Tehama County, California, USA
Hello, John,
I'm gad to read of your continuing love affair your Jaguar.
Many of us, no matter which one we drive, hear you Loud and Clear!
I haven't met you before, so I'll say, Hello from ElinorB.
(';')
I'm gad to read of your continuing love affair your Jaguar.
Many of us, no matter which one we drive, hear you Loud and Clear!
I haven't met you before, so I'll say, Hello from ElinorB.
(';')
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