It's taken me a few days to wrap my mind around all this and to write this post. My wife and I embarked on a little road trip last Sunday afternoon with intentions of returning home by late Tuesday. Automotive problems got in the way however, and we didn't finally make it home until Friday. We experienced our second catastrophic engine failure in less than two years. The last time warranty covered the repairs but they took more than a month. This time, we were away from home and, from what I was told, a hundred miles or more from a Jaguar dealership, not to mention no longer having warranty protection. In the final analysis, warranty or no warranty, I find this unacceptable in a 54,000 mile, dealer maintained luxury car. Repair would certainly have been less expensive than replacement, but then is the same thing going to happen in another year or so? At what point do you throw in the towel and accept defeat? Once stranded, we mulled it over in our motel room and "slept on it", so to speak. When the tow truck picked us up, I instructed him to take it to the closest new car dealership. I figured, if nothing else, they might possibly have better relations with repair shops in the area. It was towed to a Cadillac, Buick, GMC store. Once we had breakfast, we headed over there to talk to them and see whether they were even willing to take the car on trade in its current condition. They were. Of course I took a beating price-wise, but that was expected and understood. Armed with that information, I called my son to dig the title out of my filing cabinet and overnight it to me at the motel and extended our stay there for another night. My initial interest was in a CT6 but this was a small dealership and the only one they had in stock was a left-over 2017 base model. Ultimately ended up buying a new highly-optioned XTS instead, which cost more but is infinitely nicer. With its red passion tint coat paint and Kona Brown interior, it is a distinctive car. Not as distinctive as my gorgeous Jaguar, but I can live with it. Feature for feature, it matches the Jaguar pretty well, other than it does not have massaging seats. Not as roomy, but will still accommodate four adults comfortably. If we need more space, I still have my 2016 Lincoln Navigator as well. I'm sad to lose the exclusivity of the XJL but I'm excited to have a brand new car that has full warranty coverage and which can be serviced locally (my Jaguar dealer was close to 100 miles from home). I do think, based on my personal experiences, that if I ever return to Jaguar, I will lease instead of buy. My biggest objection to leasing is that I detest making monthly payments, but by doing so, I would never find myself in this type of situation again. My other regret is that this forum has become a large part of my daily computer time. Since Jaguar ownership technically isn't a requirement, I think I'll stick around for a while at least. Can't give up everything all at once! Thanks!

Dwayne

 

So sorry to hear that. I have no idea what happened but some get hundreds of thousands of miles out of the original engine. Some self destruct regularly it seems. I guess every car is susceptible to being a lemon. Hope the Caddy does better for you, personally I might have gone to the Lincoln dealer and got a new Continental. I thought several times about getting a Town Car before they quit making them. Anyway, Good Luck and don't be a stranger.

 

If that had happened at home, a new Continental would have been a strong contender. I currently have a Lincoln Navigator which is the fifteenth Lincoln I've owned. Two of those were last generation Town Cars; a 2004 and a 2008. Before that I had 1980, 1981, and 1990 Town Cars. Cadillac was what was available so that's what we bought. This XTS is the ninth Cadillac I've had so it's not uncharted territory. As you can see, I tend to trade cars rather regularly. My Jaguar was essentially identical to yours except a year older. I only wish it had been as reliable as it was beautiful.

 

Sorry to hear your plight and hope your new ride will fare better. I look forward to hearing what happened to the XJL. When you are up to it would like to know how the engine failed, as you said the XJL was dealer maintained.

 

You could just plan on selling the car before the warranty is up. For new Jags, it is 5 year 60k miles. What year was the XJL? Was there no warranty for the replacement engine?

I assume you did not get the V series XTS. A friend has one and it is like a rocket. I would have held out for a CT6. Enjoy the XTS though they are great cars! I can tell you from experience that Cadillac's service is a million times better than Jaguar.

 

My XJL was a 2011. The previous work was a repair, not a replacement. Both times, the culprit was the head gasket.

I probably would have pursued a CT6 if they'd had one in stock that I liked. I'm sure they could probably have located one for me also, but I was 300+ miles from home with my handicapped wife and having to take unscheduled time off from work until I could make some sort of arrangement to get home.
The XTS we bought was so much better equipped than their one CT6, it was almost laughable. No, it's not a V, but that's okay - I don't need that kind of power. I remember when someone was asking about comparisons on the XJL engines a while back, I told them that I'd never driven my Supercharged in a way that would justify having it. I would have been just as happy with a six-cylinder but, coming out of a Rolls-Royce at the time, I definitely wanted the picnic tables in the back and I bought the only one on the lot that had them!

This XTS is my ninth Cadillac so I too know from personal experience how much better Cadillac service is! I'm looking forward to a few years of reliability and great service for a change!

 

Why not Lexus LS? I had a 2007 and it was bullet proof.

 

My late cousin bought a V-12 E-type to play with when they were new, but kept Cadillacs to drive the family around in. Around 2005 he showed up for a visit in a Chrysler 300. I asked him what happened with the Cadillac and he told me he looked them over and the quality wasn't much different from a Buick so he went with the Chrysler. I looked at it a little closer and said "well, come on in, want a cup of coffee?"

He always kept full size conversion vans as well. Always GM. The only one he didn't like was an early eighties, all he could get in it was a 305. When he blew it up he had a 350 put in it. He wanted 300 HP minimum in everything he drove. He once told me his wife's car needed some engine work so he got a lumpy cam and solid lifter kit for a Camaro and put in it. She was a school teacher and stayed late grading tests so he got home before her on those days. He said he could hear her coming a mile away. She made him take it out and put it back to stock.

 

The XJ is such a beautiful car and I love mine, I bought it with a disclosed basically blown motor and spent about 6 months getting it all sorted. I feel so bad for the previous owner as it was kept in absolute mint condition and dealer serviced and the timing system still went anyway with low miles. and due to the crazy cost of a new motor, they decided to take the loss and trade it in and then the dealer just sent it to auction. It's such a shame the build quality wasn't better. Since getting mine running with a new 2016 motor, the rear sunroof, driver window, and stereo have all had to have work. Oh and now the passenger seat air bolsters don't work, and I'm getting odd transmission shifting every once in a While before it's warmed up. I'm seriously thinking of trading mine in. Even though it looks awesome And I absolutely love it, just hate worrying about what will break next. I'll also be upside down a getting out of it. Even with getting it so cheap, due to the cost of the motor swap, wheels, spoiler, exhaust and all other little repairs I'm into it almost 30k. :-(

 

It isn't a bad car but it is a different league than Jag and Caddy. Jag and Caddy owners want exclusivity. You really won't get that with a Lexus. I doubt you could pick it out of a lineup. I think most people that own the Jag would probably not even consider a Lexus. I say that because that is how I think but I could be wrong. Lexus for the most part is for the younger crowd. Anyone from my generation just considers it an overpriced Toyota.

 

In the past I had looked at the Lexus LS and felt it is too "vanilla". While it does everything well it just lacked personality IMHO.

 

A friend of mine who had a Jaguar beck in the early nineties, traded it for a Lexus in the mid 2000's and then upgraded to a new Lexus again a couple of years ago. He told me not long ago that he'd never buy another one but did not explain why. As for me, I simply think the styling is atrocious. I can live with stepping down to a Cadillac - I do not believe I'd ever learn to live with the ugly snout they put on the new Lexus. As JagGate mentioned, I'm of a generation that really doesn't see the Lexus as anything more than an overpriced Toyota. Will probably never own one and have no regrets about that.

 

I'm supposed to get my XJ back from having a new long block fitted this week. The OP's experience is adding to the thought that I should dump it ASAP. I bought my car for the same reason as the OP, for use as a comfortable long distance cruiser. If I no longer have faith in its reliability, I cannot use it as intended. So I carry on paying a mountain of insurance and registration for a car I cannot take outside the city limits? No. Just no.

The problem of replacement is huge. Let me break it down a little.

Lexus LS or S-Class: uninspired choices, and they are everywhere.
M-B CLS: not exactly spacious in the back, and the styling is VERY color sensitive.
Porsche Panamera: huge service bills and road noisy, so I'm told.
Cadillac CT6: lots of complaints online about the transmission being clunky.
BMW of any type: runflats and no spare= no sale in the desert SW.
Cadillac XTS: FWD? No thanks
Maserati Quattroporte: huge costs and unknown reliability
Audi A6 or A8: fantastic cars with limited soul.
Lincoln Continental: another FWD based car that is getting bad press.
Infiniti Q70: another runflat car IIRC and the drive by wire steering gives me the *******.
Acura RLX: yeah, I like my Accords supersized. Acura's have crazy telematics, too.

Bluntly, unless I win the lottery or an excellent A6 or A8 falls in my lap, I may not bother with another large luxury car. Most are clearly built with a limited lifespan and/or for the livery market. Maybe it's just how the NWO keep the prols like me from having nice things.

 

^ Well, I agree with the descriptions and the new Lexus LS designs are horrible. And no more V8 LS is a no-no for me.

In a different price range there are Continental GTs, Flying Spurs and also the mean V12 S65 AMG Coupe (2015-onwards).

 

In my experience, if your car is primarily used as a long-distance cruiser, the difference between FWD and RWD is negligible. Having owned 64 vehicles over the years, I've owned plenty of both platforms, along with some AWD and 4WD's. Straight down the Interstate in good weather, I can't see where any one has the advantage over the others. If you're looking for sporty handling or good winter weather traction, then you'll see plenty of difference.

 

Dwayne,

Sorry to hear about your second engine failure. The circumstances of being away from home can only have added to what was an already miserable experience.

I can understand your decision neither to repair again or to go with another Jaguar. I took a similar decision in the 1970's after a disastrous XJ6 Series II. I wouldn't have a Series III and didn't return to Jaguar until the XJ40 came out.

Ownership is definitely NOT a requirement for membership and I hope you will stick around.

Graham

 

Thanks, Graham. I do truly enjoy this forum and, even with the current events, no one here has criticized my actions. It is SO different from my experience with the RROC before coming here. When I mentioned that I was thinking of selling my Rolls-Royce, I received messages saying, "You are probably not Rolls-Royce material anyway" and "Maybe it will go to someone who will cherish it... you obviously don't!" In that case, a major part of the reason I wanted to sell the car was because the forum members were so obnoxious. I briefly flirted with the idea of selling or trading the XJL after the first head gasket blew but, after being repaired, it ran so perfectly that I decided to take a chance on it. The second incident however, was more than I was willing to deal with. I'm not saying I'll never own another Jaguar, but I don't think it will be in the near future. Thanks again for your kind understanding.

Dwayne

 

Dwayne, I can certainly understand your decision. Now that you should have the situation stabilized, you might consider something like finding a nice mid eighties XJS and drop a Chevy 400 into it. It costs about the same as a Jaguar motor but should be a lot more reliable. It can at least be rebuilt.

Blueprint Crate Engines SBC 400ci / 460HP / 470TQ | JEGS

I'm thinking with an injection kit and installation it would only be about $10,000. Interfacing it would be pretty easy, I'm not sure about the 2011 though, that would be more difficult trying to get the computers to play nice with each other.

 

Not a bad idea except that I simply don't have time for a project. I still work full-time, I hold a part-time position as a church organist, and my wife requires quite a bit of care and has since her stroke eleven years ago. I have parted with all my old car projects over the past several years with the exception of my two Ford Pintos. They are amazingly trouble-free and don't take up much of my time! I would be more likely to consider replacing my 2015 Ford Mustang convertible with a late model Jag convertible, but at the moment the idea of another Jaguar leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'll eventually get past that, but it's going to take awhile!

Dwayne

 

Replace that late model Mustang with an older Jag convertible! Lots out there and would be cheaper than you could get for the Mustang in many cases.