Hi all,
I'm looking at getting a new/used car and have always wanted a Jag.
I've checked out the XF and really like them.
Wondering how they are as used car purchases??

I currently drive an '05 545i and also have a 2004 X5, wife has a 2007 X5, so I'm pretty used to European car repair prices. I just don't want something that is going to break often.

Do the XF have a good reputation for reliability? (comparable to BMW?) I know the mid-2000 XJ have been quite reliable, but not sure on these as they are newer and more computerized.

I have my eye on one local car; 2009, XF supercharged, 60,000 miles. 2 owner car. It's at a local used car lot that specializes in European cars, but this was obviously an auction car, as it came from California. There were a couple receipts in the car, so I know it had a 40k and 50k service, as well as brakes done recently. Ask is $22,000.

I will have the local dealer do a PPI.
Anything in particular I need to look out for on these? I've scrolled through the forum, but didn't see anything as a real red flag.

sorry about the long post...
Thanks for any input.
I appreciate it!!!!

 

The 4.2 motor in those cars is very solid. I'm on the S-Type list and the only complaint of those engines is the coolant line that runs under the supercharger. It leaks at around the mileage of the car you're looking at and it is somewhat expensive to replace since the supercharger needs to be removed to access it.

Good luck
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Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar
Current: '08 S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 hp / 259.67 torque)
Past: '05 X-Type 3.0/auto Jaguar Racing Green

 

very IF the previous owner did regular maintenance and I dont just meen oil changes. And fixed the things that with all cars eventually will come up

 

Thanks! I'll be sure to have that coolant line checked. I imagine it looks great until it lets go though, as it would corrode from the inside out. At least they might be able to tell if it has already been done.

 

The 2009 was the first production year for the XF so some of the issues that surfaced were cleared up in the subsequent production years. What that means is less headaches for you to deal with. Have you looked at the 2012's? Many of these are back as low mileage 3 year lease returns and great deals can be had. The 2012's have the updated XJ type front ends, 5.0 V8 385 HP engine and some other features that you may like. The 2013 and later models have the 3.0 V6 340 HP engines unles you go to the R model. Whatever you end up getting, make sure you get an extended warranty.

 

>Thanks! I'll be sure to have that coolant line checked.

Good luck, I don't believe that anything can be seen. It's just that you'd know it when it goes.

If I were you, and the car, otherwise, looked good, I'd try to contact a non-dealer Jaguar repair shop and get an estimate for the job. That way you could be prepared when/if it happened.
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You dreamed of a big star
he played a mean guitar
He loved to drive his Jaguar...

 

That's a great idea. Thanks.

 

So I called a local shop and he said l, yup he's done 3-4 of them in the past month or so. He said one needed a water pump and several hoses and that ran about $2,200. To another one that didn't need all of that so a low of ~$1,100.

Does that sound right?? $1,100-$2,200? Big variance but I'm not sure how many "while you're in there's" there can be.....

 

The water pump is a common issue on these cars (not just the 2009 - true of several model years). They can fail as early as 20k miles and some people have had them replaced twice already. But $2200 for the water pump and a few hoses sounds very pricey to me for a non-dealer shop - I'd expect under $1000 but maybe I'm out of touch... Others have done this recently and can comment. And sounds like you are familiar with Euro car repair costs given the BMWs you have.

There are some issues with the 2009 - most will have been resolved by now but worth giving it a very thorough inspection by someone who knows what they are doing as 'small problems' can be costly. Main issue seems to be the differential that has been failing on a few 2009 cars - search the forum for posts on that. Sounds like it's a $10k replacement, so make very sure it's not showing early signs of wear.

If it were me I'd step up a year to the 2010 SC which has the 5.0L engine, doesn't appear to suffer the diff issues (as far as I can see).

Good luck! These are great cars and I'm sure you'll love owning them. There are a decent number around for sale, so don't get rushed into the first one you see...

 

It is for the hoses under the supercharger, which per I'm told needs to be removed to change the hoses.

That said, I'm just trying to learn so not sure if that's reasonable or not.

 

Congrats on thinking of stepping up to Jag. Yes, stepping up. While I hold no truck against Beemers (I've had a couple 3 and 5s along the way), comparisons between them (they both have 4 wheels, a body, and power plant to move you), the maintenance is the same. But the experience in how it gets you from point A to B is different. To me, BMWs talk to the engineering mind: germanic precision, no nonsense, no drama. Jags talk to the soul of the driver: visceral, responsive, unique, and not afraid of showing a little 'flair' when need be.

I'm of the opinion that you get out of the car what you are willing to put in. EVERY car has failure points...some are more expensive to repair than others. Figure that even if .01% of the parts are prone to failure out of the thousands that it takes to build one, that's still potentially a lot of grief.

So, on the 4.x series motors, the coolant pipe along the top of the block is prone to failure. You know that going in, and can account for the potential expense when it fails or just change it out before it does, cleaning up any 'while you're there' bits and such. Either way, the car itself is still the XF that you are enjoying.

All things being equal, while only you can make the decision, these forums tend to be deep with what's wrong with whatever car make and model they are focused on. Note what is a common thread, account for it if you decide to step into the Jaguar world, choose the best car you find for the $$$ you have to spend, and enjoy (and maintain...) YOUR ride.

Just my $.02.

 

Another vote to get a 5.0L. I have a 2005 STR and the 4.2L SC is a fine motor and you have been told about it's worse design feature which is a stupid $25 rubber hose under the super charger that leaks. Of course you need to change about $400 worth of gaskets to get to that hose!

Man if Jaguar had only made that one steel with a short rubber hose on the end to get to the throttle body it would have been very simple to change out.

I just replaced mine and it was in the top 10 most terrible repairs I have done!
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Does the 5.0L supercharged motor not have the hose leak issue?

 

No. It does have water pump problems but the part is cheap and fairly easy to change so I would not really consider it a big problem.
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If you go to a 5L you won't get anywhere near the amount of options you'd get on the 4.2L Supercharged. The only options that didn't come standard on the 09 Supercharged were the a heated steering wheel and adaptive cruise control. The 09 SC would also have options you can't get on the base 5L like: 420hp, larger brakes, more seat bolstering, different front bumper, 20" rims, and sportier steering. The base 5L may not even have fold down rear seats.

The 5L can also leak from the coolant cross over piping: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ngines-143771/

The 5L water pump fix might be cheap to do yourself but dealer quotes listed on here are in the $1750 range. $500 range for a normal shop. The water pump on the 5L is very common. Search this forum and you'll see a ton of threads on it.

There are higher mileage XF 4.2L SC on here and there doesn't seem to be a major issue with coolant pipes leaking. See this post noting that there aren't people with this issue on here. The only people posting about it are the S-type guys...

The only major 4.2L issue the original power should be worried about is the rear differential. He should have it checked out for leaks and verify it isn't making any odd noises when driving. If it isn't making any noises drain the fluid and refill it for about $30 to get all the contaminates out of it.

 

I don't believe milage has anything to do with the transmission coolant lines leaking. I think it's more of an age thing. I had the leaking lines changed on my 2009 SC last year with only 33k on the odometer. It is an expensive fix ($1000) being that I was told they have to remove one of the motor mounts to get to it. From what I was told it is pretty common on the '09, but a lot of dealerships fail to check for it. I had stated in another thread that I was surprised that it's not talked about more on the forum. With that being said, I still love the car. Just started getting the creaky sunroof thing which is driving me nuts. I just received new headliner clips in the mail and will be replacing them. I found 2 of them broken and when I push up on the headliner in those areas, the noise stops.

 

Thanks for that info. I was very impressed with how loaded the 09 XF Supercharged I was looking at was.

 

Bought my XF in June after having had a 335xi. Before that was a 550i, an Infiniti G37xS (hated that car), 540i, and 330xi. I've also had a couple Audis too, so I've been around my share of euro lux.
My XF has over 100k miles, and I had it thoroughly checked out by a non-dealer mechanic. He was very impressed at how it was holding together, which was why I was ok with the purchase (also because it only ran me $16k for a S/C).

So here's my take. Keep in mind these are opinions based on my experiences.

Bimmers feel better in the corners. One of the few things I really dislike about my XF is how detached the steering is. Don't get me wrong, it holds the corners well, but it just doesn't feel as good doing it.

I never had any major problems in my BMWs, but everything I read makes me think that this car is more reliable than the 5 series. The money I'm saving in window regulators alone is astounding.

The XF is better looking inside and out than any car I've ever owned. It's just a gorgeous layout, and as chintsy as it is, I like the rising shift knob and opening vents. The little pulsing start button gives me a warm fuzzy every time. The interior lighting at night also looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, the materials they used seem to be less quality than the BMWs. You'll see plenty of posts about the leather on the dash bubbling up and I had to replace the arm rest in the car because the finish wore off. This car is newer than any BMW I've owned, but looked more worn when I got it. To be fair, it does have over 100k, though.

The power and the S/C whine (when you remove the resonators) is addictive. Jag did a bit TOO much to quiet it down in my opinion, but it's completely worth doing these little free things to get that sound out of it.

I love having the touch screen. It's more intuitive and works better than the knob system in the BMW (which was ridiculous). However, the BMW Nav screen that shows traffic on the map on one side while displaying radio or whatever on the other is something I miss. Jag's map looks like it was designed by Nintendo circa Mario Bros 1.

The cooled seats work better than any others I've tried, including Benz. Of course, the seat comfort sucks compared to BMW. Slippery and flat. Just no getting around that.

Overall, I love my car. It's been reliable for the short time I've owned it and the performance is great. They may have cheaped out on things like dash glue, but everything I've seen and heard makes me think they really thought out the parts that make it go. I'm way more confident owning this with over 100k miles than I was about keeping my BMWs past that threshold.

 

Hey N8,
Thanks so much for that write up. I really appreciate it. I has always loved the BMW interior, but all 3 that I have owned have ended up needing a ton of work once they got up around 100k miles.

The XF interior design is one thing I love. Bummer to hear the seats aren't better, but.... Not the biggest problem.
It really is the overall reliability I'm looking for , so I think I'm gonna go for it.... Thanks for all the input.

 

Test drove the 09 XF SC. I was very impressed. Drove great. The steering was much lighter then any of my BMWs. Car is super clean - no issues with the dash leather. Interior is a 9.5/10. Exterior 9/10 (two little touched up scratches)

They have a few dollars in reconditioning the car - brakes, windshield, a bumper repainted. I think maybe plugs too.
Has 60,000 miles.
He said firm at $22,995. Seems reasonable to me. I am going to get a PPI on Monday.

Has the BW sound system. Blind spot monitor. Auto unlock when you approach, cooled seats. A lot I think is standard.

What options were available on the '09?