Today we saw 100k come up on the milometer ! I have to say it looked a lot more interesting when it came up on a Mazda Xedos I once owned, as all the figures suddenly start to move round. With these modern displays it is all done in the blink of an eye, in fact I missed it and saw 100,004.

So how is the car going now ? Very well, and another trip to Germany was completed this summer which was a 2800 mile trip. Engine continues to run well and fuel consumption is good, although not as good as when the car was on 30k miles.

However this German trip started to show up wear in the front suspension bushes by the front tyres starting to wear on the inside, so on our return, new front lower trunnion bushes were fitted. However the suspension is now rather more harsh than I remember when I bought the car back in 2010. There is nothing that causes it to fail it's UK roadworthiness test, (the MOT), but a general feeling that the bushes are past their best. Too much road-based vibration and thumping noises comes into the car, especially from rough tarmac and from sharp ridges like dropped manhole covers. My daughter commented on this when she was in the back seat on a trip to a local restaurant for her birthday.

So what to do ? I am minded to have the suspension fully examined, plus the subframe bushes to establish what wear there is and to arrange a programme to replace the parts. If I do this, then I shall keep the car for a lot longer. The body is in excellent shape, all the "creeping lurgy" aluminium corrosion spots are dealt with, the interior is still absolutely immaculate. Do I need to do anything else at all ? I know these cars can get to 200k miles and more.

However, I have been looking at the more modern Jaguar saloons like the XF and the current XJ. There are now a lot of used XFs around now at very reasonable prices and low miles, my neighbour has just bought a 2013 2.2 litre diesel in a very nice maroon metallic. My local indie who does my servicing and repairs work says they are an excellent car, and are very rarely in for serious problems.

Then there is the current XJ, again quite a few around now at attractive prices, and totally aluminium like my own car. They only have air suspension on the rear wheels so much less cost to repair, and are reputed to be as reliable as my car if not more so.

However, apart from the avant garde styling that takes some getting used to, the one thing putting me off the current XJ is the roof-popping problem, because this issue seems to have never been "put to bed" properly by Jaguar. I looked at a 2010 car in a local Jaguar dealer the other day. It was absolutely immaculate, like a new car in fact, and on about 40k miles. However when I asked about this issue all the salesman would say was "we are aware of it". I would want a serious commitment to sort this problem out if I found it on a test drive. As far as I can tell, there was no recall of cars by Jaguar, they just waited for people to claim under warranty. And as we all know, some people never seem to get around to this, or they just sell the car on.

Anyway, sorry for boring everyone with my thoughts. Just what do people think they will do when the decide to change their XJ saloons with something else ?

 

I've thought about either upgrading to a X351 on several occasions, but the fact that I have no car payment has kept me in mine. I think i'll have it for until 2018 when it's 10 years of age and then trade it in.

 

I hear you Fraser

I just wrote in another post about maybe upgrading to the new shape as well

I didn’t like them at first but after seeing a few of them around I am liking them more they also still suffer from price depreciation like the other Jaguars there is a 2010 over here for sale 70 grand got 69 on the clock its also a diesel which I said would be my next Jaguar bit over the petrol although our petrol prices are better here in AU than the UK

As for the XF they have dropped and plenty of them for sale second hand as well over here
I am 6,3 tall and like big cars the seat doesn’t go far enough back in my X350 already and at its full back position no one but a small kid can sit behind me anyway
although looking at the new XJ I don’t think I'll fit in the back seat either with its swooping off-line at the rear

There are none for sale second hand up here where I live only in Sydney and Melbourne maybe next time I'm down on business and got some spare time Ill drop past see how they feel

 

Nice one Fraser, thanks for the update, that's a nice milestone and I'm sure more to come.
I'm approaching 90k myself so won't be too far behind you I guess


Like you I've looked at the newer XJ's and really like them, love the front, not so much the rear to be honest but that may grow on me.
I've around 18 months, a lot of time and quite a bit of money so far invested in mine with recent changes / mods / updates etc, so also plan to keep mine for another few years as it stands

 

I just recently started drooling over the XKR (around 07). I'm starting to read up on them and ask questions, but, I'm payment free and intend to stay that way.

My car is currently problem free and since buying the car two years ago, I've addressed the power steering squeak (fixed) and the tranny squawk (kit arrived yesterday), I replaced the tie rods, links and upper control arms. I just replaced the brake pads and anti rattle clips. I think I cleaned up door chrome trim too. I'll flush the coolant in spring when I wake the Kitty back up. The DIY factor is big and I have the tools to do the work myself.

It's hard to start over and every time I step into the garage, I'm thrilled at what I have. But then I look at an XKR and start drooling again.

Unless someone comes to me and wants to swap, I'll just keep grinning when I step into the garage, then drooling, then grinning.

It's dawning on me now that I have a genuine problem and I'm clearly not helping you Fraser.

 

Excellent, time for some preventative maintenance and on to the next 100K since you have finally broken it in! :-)

 

Thanks everybody for your comments.

The bottom line at the moment is that I can afford to keep the car on the road and if necessary, spend a couple of thousand a year on maintenance and repairs. I reckon I can do this for the foreseeable future. But if I swap to a newer car, I start off again with an unknown car needing whatever spending to fix it, and also I have to shell-out a lot of my hard-earned capital just buying it, as my own car will be nowhere near enough to pay for even a small part of the price. And I need to keep some capital by me as I have a daughter that may want to get married, and I want her to have a good send off to married life !

Of course if something major goes on the car, like an engine or gearbox, the car is not worth enough to spend a very large sum, so it would go for parting-out and scrapping. The aluminium shells of these cars are worth a significant amount, I understand, more than steel. If that happens I will get a newer Jaguar, and maybe depreciation will have done even more work thus making the replacement even more affordable.

Another car I like is the aluminium XK, but I still need a saloon at the moment. So I'm going to test the future by keeping the car for the time being.

 

I found this link to be interesting.

Buy or Keep Calculator

 

Thanks

Apparently I can save $60 a year if I buy another car 5 years old and finance it myself !

Of course there is a good fuel saving as it is highly likely I would have to buy a diesel car, (Jaguar), as so few petrol cars are now sold here, due to the completely barmy road tax system we have based on CO2 emissions which totally ignores NOx emissions !!

So we soldier on for the time being !

 

Buy a newer X350! That's what I did!

Congrats, btw!