Hi guys, can anyone give me some advice? I’m looking at buying a 2009 XF with (160,000km) on it.


I have been a member of the forum for a long time. I’ve owned an Stype and Xtype in the past.

My X type was written off in an accident and want to know what your guys opinions are on this type of model for a daily driver.

Will I have may issues with this year and these kms? Looking for any help or opinions as I am open to all.

Also, if anyone has a link to or can name some of the things I should check over before buying if there are common issues that would be helpful!

Thanks Jag Fam!

 

I'm very happy with my new to me '09 XF. I bought it at 85,000 miles.
I knew I wanted the late version of the 4.2 vs the new version of the 5.0. RE: Timing chains and tensioners.
I'd liked to have gotten an XFR but my mechanic buddy said NO. Too many problems with the engine management system and the active suspension.
I'd liked to have gotten AWD but I couldn't go a 2015 XF to gain AWD but avoid the early 5.0. Not in the budget for our 4th car.
I like the early XF style more than the second gen anyways.
We had to refresh the rear end suspension, shocks, upper control arms, links. The front end was already done.
At 100,000 miles I plan to replace the tranny and diff fluids.
I'm a little bumbed about the dash leather shrinking but it's not worth replacing. I just spent $2,400 to replace the leather headliner on the F Type that shrank and was sagging.
The rain WILL leak in from the cowl. I "repaired" it with Gorilla tape sealing the cowl covers to the windshield so that rain can't leak under the covers and get into the fresh air port. A new cover is $400.
I cut off the rear mufflers and installed some Magnaflows. The car was way too quiet. It now has a nice V8 grumble.
I get errant messages about low voltage and rear park assist. I put that down to the Ford BCM being a little schytzo.
I pretty much have to drive around with the tranny in "S" all the time. It's just too reluctant to kick down and giddy up otherwise.

Do a pre-buy. Look for rust. Look for perished suspension bits, engine mounts, subframe mounts. If it needs rear brakes you will need a caliper tool to turn the pistons in the rear calipers back in. At the advertised mileage you'll definitely want to do tranny and diff fluids. Look for coolant leaks.

 

If you’re buying from a dealer, and there’s only one key (fob), I would ask them to “throw-in “ a second one.

If you only end up with one after you buy, make sure you get yourself a spare ASAP.

 

To piggy back on what's been said, I'd let it run for a while and check for coolant leaks/smells. That seems to be a common problem and inevitably it'll happen with the hoses at least needing to be replaced but also the coolant tanks have tendency to crack as well. The coolant hoses is a pretty big job and I got quoted at around 2k from the dealer which I found a local guy to do it for $450+parts so a total of around 8-900 to get both done. Maintenance records would also be a must imo to if it's been consistently maintained.

 

Sadly keys/chips are in "short" rn and JLR doesn't have extras laying around. apparently they aren't giving two keys too the new cars.

 

If that’s the case, I’d suggest the OP buy a $50 key fob and request the dealer program it free of charge.
That’s still a pretty hefty saving both dollar-wise, and maybe more importantly, time-wise

 

My opinion on this probably won't be popular here but i will give you it any way.

Should I buy a 2009 XF? Not without going in with your eyes open.

They are beautiful, drive well and are comfortable. It is a huge improvement mechanically and aesthetically over the X-type.

However they are flawed, the wiring Jaguar use is cheap brittle and prone to failures especially on the boot. Some parts are becoming hard to get from Jaguar e.g. Jaguar no longer make the cat for my 2008 xf and I would have to pay £1400 for a used one from a breakers, there are multiple parts they are now running low on, or no longer have any stock. They are expensive for parts that are still available, the parts used are engineered deliberately poorly to maximise profit e.g. engineered to fail and if you are going to do the work yourself you will need to buy new tools for almost every job e.g. Jaguar use odd sized tools/bolts/fixings or custom tools to discourage home mechanics.

They are not reliable - they are average for a JLR produced car but to give an example the oil dip stick lost its seal (small O ring) on my xf and it went in to limp mode and had to crawl to a garage to get a new one - something as small as that will cripple it, this thing will breakdown. It is fragile, it likes to have a topped up battery if it runs low as it tends to in winter with short journeys it does odd things, very odd things, It will behave like it is haunted by a ghost who likes pushing buttons. Ultimately it will cost you money to fix every time it sees a mechanic. The main dealers are crooks never use a jaguar main dealer for servicing ( in the uk any way) they will not do the work you pay them for so find a good independent garage who know Jaguars.

After owning my XF for 10ish years and owning a Range Rover before that I can safely say after this one dies I will never buy another Jaguar or Land Rover again - I would happily buy Audi or Toyota (currently also have1980's landcruiser and Audi S4 - ) both easy to work on and much more reliable with lots of parts availability great cars as is the flawed XF when it works.

The XFs are the best looking saloon and if you want one go for it but at least now you know what you are letting yourself in for e.g. wonderful when it works and a complete total Pain in the A$£ when it doesn't which will be more frequent than it should be.

 

The above is true. The car doesn’t even think about charging the battery until driven a good 15 miles. The insulation on the wires inside the headlights are all cracked and falling off. I had to re-insulate the wires with shrink tubes. New headlight assemblies are $600 each.

But, to be fair, I’ve owned BMW’s and Audi’s from the same era and they are far far worse.