I have the 04 XJ. I love the car. Mine has its issues. All the major issues I am dealing with right now are suspension issues. The air struts are costly. Normal regular maintenance is affordable. My Jeep Grand Cherokee costs me more to maintain than my Jag. My thought thought on your question is, to me, it just depends on what kind of a deal you get for the car. I gave 10500 for mine. I have $2200 in keeping it going in just one year, but I did replace my entire suspension setup.

 

It has been a good buy for me as I paid less than 1/4 of the new price for my 2003 XJ6 (X350 model) with 30k miles on it. Having said that it has not been cost free. These cars can suffer trouble with the air suspension system, but funnily enough this seems worse in the US, there is hardly a mention on the UK site I post on.

The suspension component that fails most often, (virtually every car), is the air suspension compressor. I had to replace mine in 2010 at 7 years old and 35k miles, and most cars never get beyond 75k miles without it being replaced. I now accept that it is a short-life "consumable" item like tyres and brake pads/discs. Cost is around £300 plus about 35 minutes to fit it.

The suspension joints are prone to wear out prematurely, both front and rear, but the worst are the lower rear wishbone joints. I am fairly certain that use of large wheels and very low profile tyres is what causes this, as my car had 20" on purchase, which I swapped to 18" to improve the ride quality. Essentially, the joints had started to wear out at the time I bought the car, so I caught the price for sorting this out.

Other thing that is an issue is corrosion of the aluminium body in certain places, see previous posts on this forum. This is not a car-threatening issue, just a bit of a nuisance, and some cars do not suffer it. Cars used in locations where a lot of road salt is applied in winter and by the seaside are mainly affected.
Again, corrosion can affect the earth points, (US=grounds), behind the headlamps that are exposed to water/salt spray. Many odd electrical faults have been traced to corroded earths here. I keep mine sprayed with WD40

I have had a couple of other "niggles" (non-serious but bothersome issues), like the bonnet latch cable seizing. Cheap to replace. Driver door latch failure, not cheap, and a bit of a nuisance.

Maintenance is every 10,000 miles or each year, and is not very costly.

Purchase prices for these cars secondhand are low, so if you can afford the upkeep they are a good buy, as there is very little to match them in driving pleasure and comfort.

 

Yes, the x350's can be a very good buy. As for my '06 XJ8, it has given my almost no problems that took it off the road, except for breakage of the overflow coolant nipple on the resevoir. Other than that, it has only needed replacement of the serpentine belt tensioner under warranty.
The most important issue when buying one of these cars is proof of consistent, timely maintenance. A good price on a car with no history is not a good deal, walk away. Many buy a x350 but find out that repairs and maintenance are not a direct variable to the purchase price, and service gets done at Sears or not at all. My car was a Select warranty car and had been gone over by the dealership with a fine toothed comb. If you find a Jag for sale by a conscientious owner, that would be safe, too.
I am at crossroads with my car right now, not because I have fallen out of love with it, but because I want a truck and don't need three cars, so it may be for sale soon. I think I could drive this car to 150,000 miles without having issues since it is so solid at 80,000.

 

I have found the XJ8 to be about average for most high end vehicles. From the date I purchased my 2004 in April of 2005, the total cost of service and maintenance has been $7,618.00. This includes two sets of tires and over 70,000 miles. During the four year warranty the compressor for the air suspension was replaced and is not included in the cost total. But even if I figured $3,000 for that I would have averaged about $2,000.00 per year. Not cheap but an amount I am willing to pay for the pleasure of driving the Jag.

 

Does anyone else smell a spambot?

 

My car is as relliable as any luxury car on the market, FWIW. Engine reliability is Jaguars best feature. Engines are very reliable, as is HVAC. Transmission is the same as on few cars and the air suspension is the most suspect part. I have around 80K on my car the air suspension does act a little weird at times, but is still going.

 

I am a used car dealer, so I have access to pretty much everything under the sun at wholesale. Sure I have and go through a lot of cars, but let me tell you. Modern Jaguars are some of the best values in the used car market you can find. They have a reputation that they just can't seem to shake that they are somehow unreliable or problematic, even in the dealer community. At the auction you hear people poke fun or be like oh no, not a jaguar no way. Then there are a select few in the know that pick these cars up and trade in them. I love these cars and I regularly buy and sell them. Albeit I know more than the average person about them, so I don't have the fear.

You can own an X350 for the price of the same year / miles BMW 3 series. the 3 series will cost you just as much to maintain / operate as the x350 will, but they are worlds apart.

Every car has common faults, and they are well known. Any car that is neglected / not serviced / maintained will cost $$$$ to recondition. They key here is buying properly maintained examples. That's the flip side to used Jaguar affordability. A LOT of people buy these cars (and any car) with pretty much all of their money, especially used. Think about it, would you have a 12k-15k jaguar or a 12-15k toyonissubishi? The problem is then they start to have non critical problems, and they go neglected. Because the owners dont want or cant afford to have the car properly maintained. You can do that with an japanese car, and they will still run and drive. You can't do that with a European car... It will literally turn into a money pit.

I would recommend an x300, x350 or S-Type to ANYONE, and be proud to sell it. I would NOT recommend the X-Type though. The drivetrain and trans has just proven too problematic.

Take care,

George