Hello all,

I used to have a '98 XJ8 and it was the most incredible/disastrous car I've ever owned. I want to get into a newer XJ, and the earlier models ('10, '11, etc) are enticingly cheap. Is there a specific model year cutoff that I should be looking at, as far as reliability goes? Should I be looking at a certain model year that has more features than previous years?

 

There was a feature that was added in 2013 that seems to be a deal breaker for a lot of people. IT is called Start/Stop. In short, when you pull up to a stop light, the car will shut down on its own and then when yo ulet off of the brake pedal, the car will restart itself and let you drive off. Some people do not mind the feature, others hate it. If you are thinking htat you will permanently disable it, there are ways, but it also has legal implications. The one benefit of the 2013+ cars though is you can get the 3.0L engine with AWD. If you are after the 5.0L engine, then you can only get it in RWD. The 2010's have a slow radio screen, but this is an easy upgrade. What ever car you get, if it has the 5.0L engine, figure out when the water pump was last replaced. That is the weak link of the car.

 

One BIG improvement was the 2013+ got the 8 speed transmission. Helps gas mileage and power delivery a good bit!
Water pumps and plastic cooling system parts are known problem area's. But well documented so if you can DIY you will save thousands.
Be careful of the earlier models and read up on the roof popping or creaking. Know what to look for when buying.

I would try to get a 2014+ if possible as Jaguar made many running changes and improvements to things like the timing tensioners.

But if you are coming from a 1998 model these later XJ's are very reliable and durable. My 2014 has only needed a water pump (done under warranty) and one O2 sensor and I am at 45K miles.
It's my only car and a daily driver.
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The X308 was pretty dodgy in 1998, but by the later model years a lot of upgrades had been done. Now you want to buy an early model X351.... the same principle applies. Buy the latest one you can, after 2014 a lot of improvements happened, and the means a 2015 model year in the US.

BTW, I had a 2002 XJR and that was pretty reliable. No tensioner issues, and the Mercedes transmission.

 

2010, Supercharged V8. It's one of the most efficient cars I have ever owned.

It turns fossil fuels in CO2 and Carbon Monoxide with precision, speed and scale.

Very exciting to drive, unbelievable value for money. Don't look any further.

 

Can't argue with that!!
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The X308 was pretty dodgy in 1998, but by the later model years a lot of upgrades had been done. Now you want to buy an early model X351.... the same principle applies. Buy the latest one you can, after 2014 a lot of improvements happened, and the means a 2015 model year in the US.

BTW, I had a 2002 XJR and that was pretty reliable. No tensioner issues, and the Mercedes transmission.

First thing I did when I got my '98 was I changed the tensioners and water pump. The more I look into it, I think you're right in the fact that I should be looking at 2014 and on for model years, at least in terms of reliability. Thanks for the info.

 

There was a feature that was added in 2013 that seems to be a deal breaker for a lot of people. IT is called Start/Stop. In short, when you pull up to a stop light, the car will shut down on its own and then when yo ulet off of the brake pedal, the car will restart itself and let you drive off. Some people do not mind the feature, others hate it. If you are thinking htat you will permanently disable it, there are ways, but it also has legal implications. The one benefit of the 2013+ cars though is you can get the 3.0L engine with AWD. If you are after the 5.0L engine, then you can only get it in RWD. The 2010's have a slow radio screen, but this is an easy upgrade. What ever car you get, if it has the 5.0L engine, figure out when the water pump was last replaced. That is the weak link of the car.

That feature doe sound annoying but if it can be disabled then I'm not worried about it. Just out of curiosity, what would be the legal implications of disabling it? I'm guessing something along the lines of emissions testing or something.

 

CortComp, you are correct. The emissions testing/MPG ratings are based on having that feature enabled. It is one thing to manually turn it off using the button on the dash (but this button needs to be pressed every time the motor is started). IT is another to permanently disable it. For the 13-15 cars, you can simply disconnect the second battery and the car figures out that it has no source of power for turning the engine off and therefore, doesn't. The 16+ cars (as I understand things), they have a different power source that is not able to be bypassed, therefore ,you would have to go in and physically reprogram the car to disable this feature. By disabling the feature, the motor cannot be technically qualified for its emissions ratings. In a place like california, this could be a big issue if someone pulled the string. You live in Timbuktoo, probably something that they would not even realize is a feature of a modern day car, let alone care if the feature is active or not.

I am not a fan of that feature for the main reason of starting a motor is one of the hardest and worst things you can do to a motor (short of running an engine too hot). I am not sure how the longevity is affected, but that is not a risk that I am willing to take. I will pay the little extra in fuel to not have this feature kick in. I rode around in an XJ that had this feature in London. That was enough to convince me not to want this feature.

 

I own a 2010 s/c XJL, with 100,000 miles on the odometer. I would agree with the comments suggesting you get the newest model you can afford or be prepared to do a fair amount of work to bring the car back to good form.

At 80,000 miles I needed new pads/rotors, transmission and engine mounts, new control arms and suspension bushings, replacement of coolant tubing, supercharger coupler/ snout, all fluid replacement. My driveshaft coupler is also ready to be replaced. That was just the wear and tear items.

I also had the coolant reservoir float sink, water pump fail, noises from the sunroof, non-functional lock on rear door, sunshade broken, broken headlight stalk, and a few other miscellaneous issues.

Finally, I changed out the timing chains and tensioners as I could hear them clacking. They did not fail or skip, so it could be argued it would have held on if I didn’t change them.

My suggestion is to either buy a well sorted 2010-2012 (meaning lots of the above maintenance stuff done) or buy a much newer one. It is not good enough for a seller to say they always took it to the dealer for maintenance (ie oil changes and a part or two). There are too many wear and tear parts that need active maintenance. Even if a used car drives well now, those parts will be due soon IMHO.

Look forward to your joining the group.

 

I am interested in this thread because I am looking for either an XF or XJ in the 2013-2015 range with AWD. I see water pumps mentioned, does that affect the 3.0 or just the 5.0? Are there any weak spots in the AWD, like the way the transfer case was on the X Type?

 

2014 build got an improved water pump, which means 2015 MY in the US. You can tell by looking at it - bad ones say FoMoCo on them.

Also avoid 2013 V6s as they seem to suffer massive engine failures with the big end bearings.

 

Just to add to the water pump info above. Jaguar updated the part number 5 or 6 times. Some had JLR some FOMOCO some say made in Italy too but look for part number AJ813909.
This should be the latest and best version.
I have a 2014 XJR and replaced the water pump with this part number at about 42K miles.

Don't forget to also replace the plastic cooling pipes at the front of the engine while your in there.
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Also I haven't heard much about the transfer box being weak. I think there was someone here who had it changed under warranty because it was noisy. This powertrain is now fitted to the F-Pace, XE, XF, XJ, and F-type, so it's widely used.

The transfer box needs fluid changes every 50K miles.

Based on my experience last weekend, I'd say the XJ AWD is a great choice for Calgary. It has the same AWD system as the F-pace, which is well regarded, just not the ground clearance.

Put some real snow tires on and it'll be unstoppable.

Personally, I'd stretch the budget to a 2016 with CPO warranty.

 

The transfer case should handle the power without too much trouble. When I was in London, I was talking with some of the engineers and they were looking at putting the transfer case behind the supercharged V8 engine. To make this happen, they were going to have to derate the V8 engine some down to 458 hp so they didn't hurt the transfer case. So, you have some margin in a V6 car for any potential limitations as it is related to the transfer case. Thought this might be of interest to some.

 

I currently have an X Type as my winter car and it's great, the newer car would be a replacement for my partners Saab 9-5. That has been an excellent winter car, with winter tires it doesn't need AWD to get around. It's 22 years old now with 270,000 km, so getting tired. Previously I've had a V12 Series III and an X300, the V12 wasn't bad, the X300 was hopeless in winter.

We are debating between an XJ and XF, simply because XJ prices have fallen to be close to XF's. We don't really need the space of an XJ, and with the same engine as an XF the choice may come to what car is available at what price. A CPO 2016 is about $10K over our budget, and if it's an XF I'd be looking at a 2013-15 simply for styling, I'm not as wild about the 16 refresh.

 

2013 and up, for 2 important reasons: (1) 8-speed transmission and (2) Meridian Surround Sound system. The supercharged 5.0L with 470HP and up is overkill, but it's so much fun to drive. Drive one before you decide.

The XJ and XF are in two different leagues. The XJ unique design, quality of materials and workmanship, comfort, and prestige aren't available in the XF. My 2013:

 

The interiors of the XJ are beautiful. I have driven XF's as rental cars in the UK, but I've not driven an XJ of this model. I've had Series III V12 and X300 before though. 2013 and up would be the only one I'd consider, as AWD is a must for winter. That lets out the V8, due to no AWD.

 

Also the whole bodyshell, doors, etc is aluminium in the XJ. The previous model XF is all-steel, while the later model is "aluminium intensive" and has some steel panels, incl the doors. I have driven a new XJ, (it was a courtesy car !!), and it is a lovely saloon, but a bit difficult to park here in the UK with our sometimes rather too tiny car parks. When I took it to Chester, I parked down by the river in the open-air car park rather than any of the multi-storey parks that can have very tight curves on the connections. Manchester airport is a bit similar. Perfectly OK in the US, of course, where all the cars seem to be giants !!

 

Great info, so our 2014 XJL should have many improvements, but sounds like 2015 had more improvements vs 2014?