I am looking into purchasing one but had a couple questions. The car seems to have everything I am looking for. The seller says it has the comfort package but it is not listed on the vehicle invoice. Was the comfort package standard equipment on this year and trim? It lists parking assist package, illumination package and wheel locks/lp frame package.

I know what wheel locks are but what is lp frame package? What other options where available in this year and trim other than the rear entertainment package (not really a big deal to me)?


In short:

1. Is comfort package standard?

2. What is lp frame package?

3. What other options were available it is missing?


Lastly, I will have it taken in for a pre purchase inspection. Are there any major concerns I should look out for? Car is almost coming up on 50k miles.

 

def, I can answer atleast some of what you are after. When it comes to what the options are that is available on the car in question, take a look at: 2016 Jaguar XJ Specs, Trims & Colors | Cars.com. Play with the different trim packages and you will see things appear and disappear. As you get higher in the trims, some things that were optional, now become standard. So, your XJL could have massage rear seats, it may not. Could have adaptive cruise control, it may not. This is where the website is hopefully going to answer a lot of questions.

As for the comfort package being standard. When you look at the XJ line, for some cars it is standard, others it is optional. In the case of your car, it is standard equipment. This is going to consist of:

• 4 Zone Air Conditioning
• Heated & Cooled Front Bucket Seats w/Massage
• 14x14 way active ventilated power front seats (forward/rear
• cushion height
• back seat recline
• cushion tilt
• powered headrest and 2 ways adjustable bolsters) memory function w/3 setting for driver and passenger and 5 massage modes and 5 intensity setting
• Electric Rear Sunblind

As for the LP frame package, are you sure it is not an ip frame package (ie, an illumination package). This is desireable by a lot of people as the vents are lighted, the door sills have a metal plate there that lights, and the trunk opening has a lighted plate there that says "Jaguar". I do not see anything relating to an LP frame package.

As for problems with the car. Doing some looking around here, you are going to find a lot of issues. But, for the most part, I think you are going to find that most of the issues are going to relate around the following:
-water pump - known issue with the car and is a weak point. some say to make it part of say a 3 year maintenance item, others say to run it till it starts to leak. Whatever you do, if you see the temp gauge start to rise, TURN THE ENGINE OFF IMMEDIATELY!!!!!! A new engine for your car is $42K (not counting install costs).
-I would say another issue is the adaptive suspension. It seems to get a mind of its own periodically and then will snap out of it and be fine. some times the rear will completely deflate, sometimes over inflate. I have seen cars have issues where one of the shocks will act up and cause the car to ride really stiff. This normally throws some sort of error message up on the dash. If there are issues, it will be fairly obvious.
-Supercharger snoot - the bearings in this tend to go out and will make lots of noise before becoming a major problem. Not a hard fix, but if you do not take care of it, can lead to major issues. Checking the supercharger fluid level is a must. It is a separate system to the engine oil system.
-The last one I would say is issues with A/C units and their inability to always transfer data between the cars systems. Of all the electronics in the car, this seems to be the one that will give you grief. When it works, it works great. If not, pretty much nothing wants to work right. Common issue, not so much. But, if the car is goign to have issues, that is one.

Keep in mind that a good review of the CarFax or other car monitoring sheet can be good info. I just recently bought a second XJ (stepped up from a 2012 XJ to a 2016 XJL) and one of the dealerships was trying to sell a 2016 XJL for like $25K with only 50K miles on it. It was a hell of a deal. But, when I looked at the CarFax for the car, I could see where the car had been brought in for an overheating condition. A new water pump was installed, but they also replaced the head gaskets (telling me it was significantly overheated and most likely warped either the block or the heads). After this service, about every 2K miles, the car was being brought in for coolant system issues (failed pipe here, lots of gas in the system there, etc). That car was going to be a nighmare. I told the dealership about the car and they could have really cared less (granted, had a surprised look on their face when I explained to them what they had). Granted, this was a run of the mill used car lot, not a certified Jaguar dealership, that I had researched and knew their history with how they treated their customers (not well at all). So, buyer beware.

 

Thanks for taking the time to give all the info in that post. I will bookmark that link, it's very helpful.

The car sold in like 3 days and I feel totally defeated. It's basically going to be impossible to find the same car with all that ****, low miles, 2016 with that good of price which was like the limit of my budget. It was matching everything I'm trying to find. It's hard enough to find just black/black option alone and the piano black interior is almost non existent.

Still a couple more questions I've been having. I have seen various models with the black grill but get confused which year/trim this was an option or if people do it aftermarket. The link you gave shows the chrome grill as optional on the 2016 XJL supercharged, so the black grill was standard? I see more chrome than black.

The other question is what is the deal with these rectangular emblems on the grill like this one?
https://www.carmax.com/car/23750540

 

def, the black grill is part of what is known as a "black package". Ie, all the trim on the car is blacked (atleast the grille, surround, grille under the bumper and the wheels). so, if that is what you are after, keep an eye out. Not many came with that. Granted, you can get parts through Jaguar and recreate it. Granted, not going to be cheap though either.

As for finding another car, take a look at Autotrader.com (assuming you are in the US). You put the range out to like 100 miles, I am sure you can find a lot of cars that will fit what you are after. I just bought mine (2016 XJL Portfolio) and there was like 25 cars in my area (DC) that were advertised there. You may want to also talk with your insurance company and/or your bank and see what they can do for you. I know both my insurance company and bank had "their" site (aka, it was a link into one of the car online buying sites). Granted, buying that way, you could either a decent price and/or a lump sum off. So, you may want to look at that.

Do not give up. Some members have looked over the whole united States and flown to where the car was just to get what they wanted. It really depends on how bad you want certain things in a car.

Now, one thing that i will tell you is that because you are looking for the 5.0L motor, that is going to really narrow things down. If you can forgo the 5.0L, it is going to open up the options. I had the naturally aspirated 5.0L in my first XJ and now have the 3.0L supercharged engine. I will admit, I miss the low end grunt of the 5.0L motor as the 3.0L seems to be a little shift happy if you ask me. The 5.0L just kept a gear and would accelerate unless you put your foot into it. The 3.0L seems to want to downshift when accelerating. Granted, this can also be the difference between a 6 speed and 8 speed tranny.. The 3.0L is no slouch. But, I can understand the desire for the added power.

 

I'm also assuming you are looking for a US automobile. Features (and even engines) varied among destination countries.

The black rectangle in your attached photo is the collision-avoidance/adaptive cruise radar, standard on US models for the 2016 MY. It resides behind the grille badge, and is either very noticable or not at all, depending on viewing angle and lighting conditions.

Six or seven-year-old luxury car purchases should undergo great scrutiny. New owners are almost always 3-5 year executive leases that include maintenance. It's the next owner you must pay attention to. They got a "bargain"; a $100k car for the price of a new Toyota. Except that the first maintenance or repair bill, no longer free, causes nausea and palpitations. You want a car that has been looked after by this owner, who may not have anticipated these substantial expenditures. A PPI, performed by someone who knows these cars, is a must. Clues of misuse or neglect are "minor" items that aren't fixed. The odometer is the least-important metric in your situation.

Carfax only lists items that are reported to them. A more detailed and accurate report can be obtained at any JLR service department by entering the VIN number. It may cost you a lunch or a bottle, but this report will list all completed and outstanding warranty, JLR service, JLR repair and recall info. You are probably going to require at least a working relationship to your local JLR service advisor anyway; this is a good starting point.

Like Chris says, you must be patient, but at the same time be able to jump for the right car. Just make sure you perform due diligence. I had money down and airplane tickets spent on two duds before finding the right one.

 

@Thermo Thanks for the info about the black package. It was hard to tell if it was just an option on the newest models and XJR or what.

Also I have been looking nationwide on Autotrader and everywhere else because I am certainly not going to find the car in my state (majority of them that are here would be AWD anyway). I was planning on flying out to get the car this weekend and it's gone in a flash. But yea, I am pretty set on the V8 because as soon as I settle on a V6 someone is gonna throw the perfect V8 up for sale and then I'm just gonna hold contempt towards my car.

@Baltobernie Wow thanks so much for explaining that to me. I had no clue that's what that was. I just thought it was an ugly design change.

Yes, I am looking in the US. Also I completely agree and am already planning a PPI for exactly those reasons but thanks for the tip about talking to the JLR service department too as I had not considered the information available and obtainable there.

I guess this was a learning experience and next time I just need to act immediately before it's sold within 3 days again.