Hello all. Just landed a 2008 3.0 liter and wanting to know if anyone has experienced or heard of any "normal faults' to look for in these cars. Its a very straight and well maintained car with 85k miles. I ve read lots of positive reviews from owners of these, hence my reason to take the plunge. Any help or suggestions would be great and much appreciated !

 

Hello and welcome.

Short Answer . . . "Sure, and this forum is full of them".

Medium Answer . . . "Yes, but then, that's the nature of a forum like this. People tend to arrive with a problem. Get help. Then many disappear until their next problem arises. Only relatively few linger to really explore the forums, learn to understand and correctly maintain their Jaguars, and find they develop great friendships with kindred souls."

I bet you can't wait for the Long Answer . . . By jumping over to the New Members Area of JF and posting a suitable intro, then editing your signature (via User CP) to include your MY/engine/variant, you will not only receive a far broader welcome, but also helpful pointers on how to search the forums for all the resources you will need . . . and many you don't know you need! Using that approach will ensure you gain the maximum benefit from being an active member of JF.

Oh . . . and by the way . . . GREAT choice of Jaguar. You are so right to feel as proud as Punch of your "new" beastie!

Cheers,

Ken

 

+1 on what Ken said.

 

Fairly likely that it has NOT had its trans fluid replaced, as many kinda don't notice it should be (according to Jaguar and its maker ZF).

Otherwise, most of the time nothing very vital tends to fail and you can just fix things as they do.

Any weird faults - suspect the battery.

 

Thanks all. Will do some editing shortly...

 

I take by all the views, but not a lot of responses, this thing is bulletproof, lol !

 

Keep telling yourself that....or do a quick search, I'd recommend starting with the how-to's in the stickies....but I'll give you a quick primer:
Coolant system - reservoir, DCCV, upper rad hose, radiator, climate control module
Suspension - ball joints, bushes
Headlights - spotting the deck in front of the car
Electrical system - absolute BSC if you let the battery get flat, quiescent battery drain, resulting in BSC electrical faults
Interior - Visor mirror covers, center console latch, rear seat cupholders, defrost valence, headliner
Boot - water intrusion leading to BSC electrical problems
Gearbox - the "Lurch" the wiring loom leak, no dipstick to check level when it does spring a leak; fix it or guess! Also, before taking John's advice on changing the fluid, check that the fill-plug can be removed before you EVER drop the pan! (or warn whoever you take it for that service to do that)

Your engine is relatively trouble-free, however. I believe yours is late enough to have the new IMT o-rings. Broken air-box due to ham-fisted brute-force & awkwardness on the part of whosoever tried to open it, broken electrical connectors in engine bay due equal parts ham-fistedness and low-grade, lowest cost plastic construction.

But they're great cars and you'll absolutely love it!

 

Thats better ! I appreciate your candor and details Aholbro1. Looks like much of that is " the usual" and doesnt scare me. I have a retired Jag Tech who will do what I cant, and trust him infinitely ( one of my crew back in my Jag Service Days) and know he will do things right. I have done a fair bit of research into what I can find as far as reliability, but its is what it is; a Jaguar. Things are expected...

 

+1 on all the excellent advice above.

These modern Jaguars do not have the 'legendary' issues attributed to the British Leyland years such as Lucas electrical components.

 

This is a great listing by [aholbro1]. However, pretty much all of this is territory you should be familiar with after researching through JF. The final sentence is brief, but to the point . . . and reinforces earlier posts.

Best wishes,

Ken