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New Member Area - Intro a MUSTNew to Jaguar Forums? Drop in and tell us about you, your ride and location. This is your chance to introduce yourself to the forum.
As I'm sure everyone here would agree, Jaguars are great looking cars. Their styling is unlike any modern car out there and I don't see the auto industry reverting their designs back to that era any time soon.
So after many years of admiring online, monitoring ebay/Kijiji/Marketplace, and these forums to get a sense of what ownership might entail, I recently purchased my first Jaguar in Canada from a hobby mechanic who had kept the car up himself.. The model is a black 1999 Jaguar X308 Vanden Plas with 150k KMs on the odometer, in fairly goood shape for its age.
There we're no major mechanical issues with the car however the timing chain tensioners have not been replaced. Other than that, there are some suspension parts that need replacing. I took it to the mechanic for some of the work but thanks to the forums, I was able to find step by step tutorials that allowed me to replace the front shock mounts, struts and sway bar links in my uncles garage which has a lift (I live in an urban setting with no garage access). I still need to do the rear shocks and rear U-joints but again, those tutorials exist.
I will say that my love for Jags mostly end with the aesthetics - I am not a 'purist' as some are on here. In fact, I have already modernized the radio with a double din screen that allows for BT/Carplay/Android Auto, etc. and at some point in the future, I plan on doing an LS swap for more power and better reliability (not crazy power #s though).
I look forward to sharing my experience and contributing to the forum where I can
It sounds like you've already found the relevant model forum but if not, follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj8-xjr-x308-27/ to the X308 forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues. You can also use the Canada Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/canada-73/ to find other members in your region.
If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help
Hello, Charles,
Congratulations on your First Jaguar! And from here it looks a Beauty.
Although we do have a few "purists" here, they're respectful of YOUR right to do whatever YOU want to do with YOUR car. Most of us also feel that Modernizing the workings and user interface of these old beauties is a worthwhile endeavor.