I wouldn't say you're nuts at all. These cars, as was the previous model are very reliable, but suspension components like bushes are unfortunately not very long lived, so you'll have to have some work done at some point. I've got an 11 year old X358 bought on 54k miles, now on 79k miles, and have taken it to Germany twice now with nearly 3000 miles driven on each trip. My previous car was an X350 and I also drove that to Germany six times with similar mileages, so I wouldn't worry on that score. What you need to find out is if "noises-off" from the sunshine roof were sorted out under warranty. Cars up to about 2012 suffered from popping/cracking noises from the roof area. There is a TSB and it involves putting in some extra parts to prevent the noise; the integrity of the bodyshell is not affected by this fault. This fault alone put a lot of people off the car. The suspension is only part air, (the rear) unlike the previous model that was all-air, so you have no worries about front air springs, as they're steel coils. I've driven one and they are a lovely car, but very large. If thas suits you then go ahead.

 

AL NZ, I have had my 2012 for the last 3 years and put 50K miles on it. Get the car. Your big worries are going to be a slow nav screen (can be upgraded if you find it annoying by getting a 2012 screen and replacing), the sun roof noises (can probably get the dealership to fix that before you buy it) and the biggie being that the car has a newer water pump. The water pump upgrade is easy to spot. What you need to do is open the hood/bonnet and look to the right of the oil filter. You will see the throttlebody there. On the right side of the throttlebody, you should see a small black coolant line (about the size of a pencil in diameter) running down and right next to the throttle body should be a Y-shaped fitting there. If you have a coolant line coming off of that at a 45 degree angle, you have the original water pump still on the car. Not to say that it is a ticking time bomb, but these are known to fail and if you cause the engine to overheat, it can be a very expensive repair bill ($15K USD just for a new engine plus costs for labor to remove/install). If you see where the 45 degree spur has nothing coming off of it (yes, it looks goofey), then you have an upgraded water pump.

I have been happy with my XJ. I almost bought a supersport as there was one for sale near me. But, someone had driven the wheels off of it as they had racked up over 90K miles in under 3 years. I was after something with a bit fewer miles on it.

 

I wouldn't think a car that can do 90k miles in three years is unreliable. Doing 30k miles a year must mean you're living in it, (or almost !)

 

Fraser, I am planning on owning my jag for about 15 years. I know I do about 18-20K miles a year. So, I didn't want to start with the first five years of miles already gone through. A lot of people here in DC will drive 60 miles each way to/from work. They can get the same house they would in downtown DC, but have 3 times the living space and many acres and also spend about the same amount of time driving to work. So, to them, going through a car every few years is no big deal.

 

 

 

AL NZ, not to question the dealership that you are getting the car from, but I think he may be mistaken about the car that is getting traded in. It is my understanding that starting in 2013, there were only 3 engines that were offered in the XJ (only 2 in the US). those engines would be a 3.0L diesel (non-US), a 3.0L supercharged V6 and a 5.0L supercharged V8. The 3.0L supercharged engine was to replace the 5.0L N/A engine. So, you might be in luck or they made the assumption because the car was advertised as making 360 hp, that it was the N/A 5.0L engine. I would keep your eyes out, but don't be surprised if what you are told and what you actually see are different.