Hello all,

I am in the process of looking around and would like to ask for advice from the enthusiasts who are knowledgeable about the changes that were made in each model year, as well as the packages and features I should be aware of and looking for when deciding on a purchase or expensive maintenance items I should be aware of. I want a V8 RWD and my maximum budget is $40,000 and what I have determined so far is that I should be aiming for the 2016 models or newer if possible. However, I have seen 2014 XJL R's at my budget. So it's basically 2014 XJL R vs 2016 XJL.

If I go with a 2014, I want to do the 2016 headlight upgrade asap. I am having a hard time seeing what the difference is in the 2016 tail lights though. Can someone show/explain the difference? Also my last car was lowered on coilovers and I wanted to do the same, but read into it and am aware of the rear suspension and saw people have made lowering springs for the front so that is the other thing I would like to do as well with 22" or 24" wheels.

I dont have any pics but if you Google " XJ rear lights " and click on images you will see the earlier cars have a " cats claw" type look whereas the newer lights have a kind of " J blade " appearance.

When you are searching for the cars , you mentioned upgrading the headlights, do be aware this is a very large and expensive thing to do properly.

Thank you, that helps but I still need to find a video of them both at night.

Why do you say the headlights are so expensive? I don't know the best place to buy them other than ebay, there is an older thread here about a seller people were going through but idk if they are still available.. but it looks like they cost under $3k for both sides and I could sell my old lights for at least half.

I had seen various lights on ebay but personally I though that ( in the UK ) £2000 a pair was a pretty hefty cost, especially when a "normal " 2014 XJL can be priced from maybe £14000 depending on mileage. So as a percentage of the whole price of the car it just seemed quite a bit.
I guess as you had mentioned if you can get half back that is not so bad if you sell your original ones.

Just be aware that changing the headlights from the original HID to the newer LEDs is not a simpl plug and play procedure. There are threads here that went through the painfull updating.

That's a good point that should be emphasized! There are 2 ways to add the later model LED factory headlights. Several people have modified the light internally so it IS a plug and play operation. These can be found on EBay in the US and the UK from time to time. Be aware that you need to watch out for and get the correct LHD or RHD headlights. Also there is the issue of AFS if your car is equipped or not with this option.

The original way that I did it required a custom made wire harness with some added relays. So more complication and there are a few people who did not get ALL the functions of AFS stuff back working as stock. I did and have had it for several years and think it's a good mod. One suggestion that cut the cost a huge amount was after the conversion I sold my old HID headlights fro $1600/pair. I paid about $2800 for the LED ones. So still a significant cost. Now that time has gone by and many more cars have been wrecked I expect it would be a lot cheaper modification to do today? I don't really know as I have not looked for LED head lights in a long time!
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Well to give you a better idea, I had $10k in aftermarket in my last car so if I go with the '14 XJL R, the headlights are a must. But thanks for the info, I need to be prepared to know what I'm looking at.

Thanks for the reply, this AFS feature was the other thing I was concerned about. Looks like XJsss said that AFS was standard on all North American XJ's in this thread- https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...16-xjl-259409/
(I am NA) So, is it also standard on all the 2016 LED headlights? I had also planned to get the clear corner headlights, but you said I need to get LHD lights? Aren't all the clear corner lights European and this RHD?

Well yes and no? You can and people have modified the NA lights and changed out the corner lens to clear. Some question about if that's legal in the US but I don't think you will get stopped just for that?

There are a lot of variations and all the XJ's I have worked on did have AFS so I think it is standard. Be sure and check!
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Ok, so it seems I should just make sure the car has AFS.. there's nothing I should be weary about considering a 2014 model? It seems the water pump is an issue, but it is not that expensive apparently?

Well can you DIY any of the repairs?
It will be an expensive ownership experience if you need to use the dealer for anything.

I would just keep an eye on fluid levels. My 2014 now has 53K miles and still only 2 repairs so far?
Water pump with the front plastic pipes replaced under warranty. Then one O2 sensor on my dime.

As I said I "think" all NA cars got AFS. Just not 100% sure?
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Nope,

My 2012 N/A does not have AFS. My 2018 575 has all sorts of headlight gizmos.

Again, the 2012 has headlights, that's it. Please check before you post uneducated junk.

wombat

In 2012 only the Supercharged V8 and the Supersport came with AFS