A wise man once told me never, NEVER, to buy the first one that you go to look at........

Erm, whoops.

I've been hankering after a XJ for quite some time now. I had considered a X300 / X308 XJR, but all the ones I saw advertised within my budget seemed to be dogs. There was a distinct lack of X350 4.2's in my budget, and even a lot of the V6 X350's looked well past their prime in the price range I was looking at, (£3000).

And then I found what appeared, from the advert, pictures and description at least, to be an absolute gem. I phoned the owner yesterday for a good 20 minute chat about the car, went to view it today, spent a couple of hours crawling all over it, before agreeing to a deal and leaving a deposit. I collect her tomorrow.


The good news.

It's clean. Really clean. When you open up the bonnet you could eat your dinner off of that engine.

It's in my favourite colour for a Jaguar, although the interior is a bit too dark for my liking.

There is plenty of main dealer service history, which, having phoned the two dealers who've looked after it, all checks out.

It has 11 months MOT on it, Pirelli P-Zero's all round with 6mm up front and 4mm on the rears, with an even distribution of wear on each axle. Even the (full size) spare seemed new.

Nice even shut lines on all panels, although the front bumper and NSF wing have been repainted at some point, (to an ok standard).

The brake discs all round are in good nick, with a decent amount of meat left on the pads.

Nice clean oil and coolant, right up to the level, although in my excitement, I forgot to check the PAS fluid.

The interior is spotless. No wear on any of the seats. In fact I doubt the rear has even been sat in, judging by the seats and how stiff the rear doors were.

The engine was whisper quiet, pulled strongly, with no notchyness from the gearbox.

No leaks, or sign of old leaks from any of the brake calipers.

No sign of damage or leaks to any of the airbags, (suspension)

The exhaust looks in very good condition.

The propshaft rubber donuts look pretty new.




The bad news
It looks to me like there are a few small trim pieces missing from around the rear screen, which may explain why.......

When you remove the spare wheel, there is noticeable rust on the boot floor along the low 'channels', which indicates to me that water has been getting in there and staying in there. The tools in the tool kit are also a bit rusty. No smell of damp or signs of mould or staining on the boot carpet though.

The front headlights could all benefit from an internal clean and a good polish.

The chrome trim around the rear edge of the rear doors doesn't look great. Not bad, just not nice and shiny.

There are swirl marks, some faint, some not, all over the body. A dam good T-Cut & mop should sort those out.

Two of the plastic underbody trays are damaged. The near-side one more so than the offside one.

There is some oxidisation, but only in two main spots, and that is on one of the doors on each side, (right down at the bottom edge).

The front subframe is a little scabby. Strangely it looks worse looking down from above, (bonnet open), than it does when you are underneath the car. Ideally it would benefit from being removed, shotblasted and powdercoated. I'll look into how long it should take me to remove the subframe on my driveway, although the turn-around time from the shotblasters and the powdercoaters may mean that I'll have to buy a second subframe and have that pre-done before swapping them over.

Some of the suspension components are well past their best. Namely the rear anti-roll bar, (which looks a right pain to do), some of the drop links and the front bottom, (snigger), ball joints. All are showing signs of significant rust, some have quite a bit of play in them, although even when driving along rough roads and purposely over potholes, there was no thumping to be heard. Ok, maybe they don't need changing RIGHT NOW, but they will need changing very soon. And whilst I'm doing that job, I might as well have a full geometry check done.

Even though the oil and the coolant looked nice and clean, for my own piece of mind, I'd like to change all fluids and filters, including the diff oil and the gearbox oil and filter, change the water pump, give it a full coolant flush, flush out the old brake fluid, change the auxiliary belt, replace the spark plugs, change the fuel filter, air filter and pollen filter, clear the drain holes, and maybe remove and clean the throttle body and the inlet manifold. Is there anything else, service wise that I may have missed?

All four alloys, five actually, including the spare, could all do with being refurb'd as they show damage from being curb'd.

Perhaps the most serious issue that I can see, especially from a safety point of view is that both fuel tank 'check' straps are totally rotten and need changing ASAP. they are both, how can I put this? Fubar'd? I can see one of the bolts that needs removing, but I haven't a clue where the second one is hidden.



Ok, I conceed that that might look like quite a long list of faults, but compared to many of the cars that I've owned over the years, it isn't really.

Pictures, if ever I can figure out how to post them, will be taken and posted tomorrow, after I have collected the car.

I know it sounds quite sad, but I'm actually looking forward to collecting the car tomorrow. My current 'daily' is an absolute wreck. I quite literally double the value of it by filling up the fuel tank, it's got maybe 40bhp tops, runs on three out of four cylinders, has been clocked back to only 152'000 miles and the only thing holding all of the rust together is the paint and gaffer tape. When I pick my daughter up from school in it, she's so embarrassed that she always looks around to check if any of her friends are near, and if they are, she refuses to get in. I can't wait to see her face tomorrow when I collect her in the XJ.

 

What color is it? What color interior? What size wheels?

Edit: To upload pictures, you can take a picture using your phone, then plug your phone into your computer. When you make a post in a thread, there is a button that looks like a picture frame on the top bar (to the right of bold, italics, etc) that you press. It will ask you to choose what picture you want to upload. Just choose the picture you took with your phone.

 

I had a fuel tank strap fail on my previous X350, fortunately fairly close to home, and my local mechanic. They are not expensive at about £15. If I had to do the job again, I'd get the new straps galvanised, (zinc-plated), and then painted, before fitting them. What I don't know is how they are held at the front, as the strap disappears up between the fuel tank and the rear seat pressing. They do pivot there so it may be fairly easy, but I didn't do the job myself so can't say, but fitting labour was low, so it can't have been too bad.

 

All will be revealed tomorrow. The car is still advertised, even though I've left a deposit on it. So I'm a little paranoid that someone else might swoop in and gazump me.

Once I've paid in full for the car and got it home I'll answer your questions and post up pictures.

 

Thanks for that Fraser.

Where did you get them from and where seems to be the best place to get Jag bits from? As far as engine service items are concerned, (oil filters etc), do Ford bits fit and are they up to spec?

Any parts that I was going to replace underneath the car, I was going to give them a coat of zinc rich etching primer followed by a coat or two of Hammorite, but Zinc plated, especially for the fuel tank straps may be the better option.

Many thanks, Frazer.

 

Don't bother with modern hammerite it's utter rubbish now and it isn't fuel/oil resistant. Get something called Origiplate it is what they use from the factory and is etch. It isn't cheap at about £28 per liter but a mate that does bike restorations swears by it, unlike Hammerite that he swears at. This is the stuff 1 Litre Origiplate Satin Black Etch ? Car Restoration Paints they can also help with the proper old style nitromorse not the modern stuff that hardly works. They are in Doveholes so not a million miles from Sheffield but call them if you want to collect.

Oh and we need pics!
I spent a while looking for my car. At first I was just after a big engine so I was looking at merc s600. Loads of toys but if they go wrong it will bankrupt you mega quick. Don't get me wrong the Jag can give you a real wallet kicking every now and again but the Merc is really eye watering. For instance the coil packs come as a bank of 6 at about £1100 per side and they can break just getting them off! Oh and a 50p gasket can cause great expense as it causes the oil cooler to pee oil on the exhaust, the gasket is free but the oil cooler it is attached to costs £400 lol but then there is the 24 hours labour to fit it as you have to remove both cylinder heads to fit the oil cooler! Makes the Jag valley hose a walk in the park really, So that put me off the Merc so I started to look at Jags I've no Idea why it took me so long to go D'oh a Jag as I have always wanted one. I looked at a few X308 but rust was the main concern with them and the good ones were not out of my price range but out of the allowed budget as I an doing up an old series 3 Landy so funds were split. There was one x308 xjr in Oldham and it was a bit rough and when I went to look it had dropped from 8K to6K and tbh it was 3500 max due to damp in the boot, needed a full service, headlining was full of drawing pins bits of missing trim and the paint needed fully correcting and tyres past their prime etc. It was still for sale at the same place almost a year later for 8 grand again. I found my X350 XJR on ebay went to look, with the wife my 3 year old son and one month old daughter in tow, and made a cheeky offer and got it for a shade over £4k. I've had the XJR just over a year now and the only real problem is the THIRST must be careful with that right hand pedal. When I reset the trip counters after the last fill I was sat at the lights watching the mpg drop slightly too quickly for my liking from 13 down to 11 in 1\10 mpg increments.

 

Nice one. Thanks Joe.

 

Jaguar main agent will sell you the straps, as the £15 is the main dealer price, or was when I bought mine. Not all parts cost a King's Ransom, y'know. Parts like this are rarely supplied from the aftermarket as demand is not large enough. Obviously you don't want used ones !

 

Lots of the online jag places seem to get their parts from Jaguar and quite often the online price is the same as the main dealer price. I would suggest looking online and then go to your local main dealer and check with them as it could save on postage, My nearest main dealer is 16 miles away so I tend to get stuff posted unless I can manage to get near the dealer for another reason .

 

In the UK if you're a member of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club some Jag dealers will give you a discount on parts, you just need to produce a current JEC membership card. Guy Salmon in Bristol do.

Not worth joining JEC just to get the discount, but if you're a member already ...

 

When you really fancy her you have got to go or her. (cars and women!)

If the tank straps fail it will put your mpg up.

I suspect it will be prohibitive to remove front sub frame. Mine wasn't too bad

and I just painted it carefully from underneath.

You don't say what the mileage is but first plug change is 100k miles and they are NGK

Iridium. Best to stick with NGK to avoid possible problems with others.

Check that the drain is clear under the cabin filter and there is one near the master

cylinder too but not so important.

There is a seam rear of wheel well (on the straight section) about one inch up from the

floor of the wheel well and runs left to right which may be leaking or has leaked in the past.

The exhaust is stainless so should be no worries there.

Your daughter will still be embarrassed but for a different reason!

Good luck you will love it.

 

Well, today has been a jolly nice day, and not just the weather, as I picked up the XJ6 today. Without further ado, here's some pictures.



So, what's it like to drive? Well, my three hour long drive back home through the outstandingly beautiful Peak District this fine and sunny afternoon will rate as one of the most enjoyable drives of my life.

Wow! Just wow. I'm verging on gobsmacked. A 1700kg luxury waftmobile should not have such a wonderful balance of ride and handling. I honestly do not know how Jaguar have managed to do it. The vehicle wafts along in almost complete silence, as if it's riding on a magic carpet made of fluffy little clouds. Even the large 19" alloys do little to detract from the sublime, cossetting, magic carpet ride.

And then you put your foot down.....

It may only be a 3.0 V6. It may only have 240bhp, but the engine spins up freely, revs nicely, pulls cleanly to the red line and makes a not unpleasant, but slightly muted howl. Triple figures speeds come around with surprising ease.

As for the handling? Blimey. It honestly, really does handle very, very nicely. OK, so the steering is a little numb around the straight ahead, but tilt it into a corner with a-gusto and it is just remarkable. It corners so flatly, the steering comes alive, grip levels are communicated, ever so slight understeer creeps in, but a slight lift of the throttle, or if needed, a breath of brake with the left foot and the thing comes back to heel. After an afternoon spent hooning around the Peaks, I had a smile on my face a mile wide. Driving many modern vehicles is like driving under the effects of anaesthesia, but the X350, when pressed, is an absolute delight. I don't know how those chassis engineers at Jaguar did it, but my God, they created a masterpiece.

Any bad points? Yes, a couple more have reared their head. The air-con only blows warm, the rear blind doesn't work, (although I can hear the motor running), the brakes have got quite spongy after a prolonged bout of spirited driving, and earlier on this evening it developed a slight hesitation on partial throttle openings. Not a missfire as such, more a lumpyness or a hesitation. Hopefully plugs and a fuel filter will sort that out? I'll be going down to my local library in the morning to take out a copy of their Hilliers so I've got all the relevant technical specifications, so at least then I'll know what fluids and plugs to buy. Never-the-less, none of this detracts from my happiness with the car. Despite a few niggly faults, I'm very, very pleased with this purchase.


So, how much did this bundle of joy cost me? If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me. In fact, I can barely believe it myself. Jaguar X350, used luxury saloon bargain of the decade? Quite probably so.

 

I'm envious of that British Racing Green color. Glad you are enjoying it. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

 

That's the plan.

I'm aiming to have the XJ in tip-top, or as near as dammit before the end of the month, then I won't have to pay two months road tax on two different vehicles. But.... you know what they say about best laid plans don't you?

 

Ok we will tell you the secret.........................It's a Ford really!

 

Yep, I know. Well, the running gear and I'm assuming the ECUs is?

I suppose the only question left to ask now, what with you being an Aussie is..... Are you in the Dick Johnson camp or the Peter Brock camp?

 

A real beauty, and for the budget you mentioned in the first post close to being a present.

Congratulations, also to the color. This car just has to be green to be the real thing
And good luck in eliminating all the little problems. Keeps me busy too, so I know how that feels.

 

My Rear sun blind was stuck when i got mine, Like you I could hear the motor, but the blind just twitched, got someone to press the switch while I pulled lightly on the blind and it started to work, think it's just lack of use, as It did it again recently.

The A/C was same, just warm air, checked around the system, condensor and pipes etc, for obvious damage, found none, had it regassed, almost a year ago and its still blowing cold.

If the battery drops even a couple of volts, the car throws as a wobbly, and all hell breaks loose, Engine management light pops on, loads of warnings, and even loss of power steering, if it happens or it throws codes, check the battery voltage first, try an overnight charge, and it "normally" fixes it.

 

Re "Bought the first one I went to look at. Whoops".

I did exactly the same thing.

I had been researching and looking for a 2004 Jaguar XJR for over a year.

A 2005 XJR came up within 40 miles. Went to look at it with my wife telling her "I am only going to look at it".

The rest is history.

 

I was checking prices for a year or so. My daily driver was rusting and starting to give me mechanical problems, so I finally went to look at and test drive a 2004 XJ8. First one I looked at I purchased.