OK, first off a little background about me:

I'm a pretty good mechanic. I got an '85 XJ-S V12 for free, did all the work myself to get it running, steering and stopping (which was considerable), painted it, and actually sold it for a profit. I've done several frame-off restorations on older cars and have no problem working on newer ones either, even the computer-controlled bits. I have never, to this day, paid a mechanic to do anything other than change fluids (because let's be honest that's a pain in the *** and you don't save any money doing it yourself) and tire mounting.

With this in mind, assume that I will NOT be running to the Jaguar dealer every time my car throws a fault code. When I ask about "cost to fix" issue x I am only interested in the price of parts. Surfing around Rockauto, eBay, etc seems like most of your usual consumable parts (front end parts, switchgear, sensors, window motors, brakes except Brembos) seem to be right in line with most other cars.

So, we are going to be looking to replace my wife's '02 Grand Cherokee later this year. For right now, I am down to an XJR and a 535xi. Because I am a Brit car nut (especially a Jag guy) and a glutton for punishment, I am strongly leaning towards the XJR, though the lure of a stick and AWD is very strong from the BMW.

Right now I am only interested in X350s with the aluminum bodies.

After searching through here I have a few specific questions I was hoping you all could answer for me.

1. Air suspensions - seems like this is a VERY common and also VERY expensive problem at $500/corner to rectify (given my history spending $500 on anything other than a set of tires for me constitutes "very expensive"). Is it really that common of a problem and are there any el cheapo fixes for it? I understand the compressor is cheap and easy to rebuild, that's great. But the air shocks are another story. Can they be rebuilt or do you have to go straight to the aftermarket ones (starts with "A" can't recall name now). Any cheap workarounds? Was the air suspension an option or do all the X350s have it? If I were to bite the bullet and install coilovers (not something I really want to do), do you get any error codes or warning lights you can't clear because the ECU is looking for an air system that's not actually there?

2. The other two big issues that would break me financially are an engine or transmission replacement - both of which I could do myself, but I'm sure I'm not going to just walk into Pep Boys and get a Jag 4.2 V8 reman off the shelf for $700. Do the engines or transmissions have any common failure points? I am seeing a lot of these cars with well over 100,000 miles (try finding an XJ-S with more than 100-110,000) so that is actually a good omen. I've read up on X308s with the Nikasil liners and the chain tensioners, and as near as I can tell I won't be dealing with those issues on an X350. Any common failures, or conversely, anything that ignorant owners tend to do to end the life of their tranny or engine? Wrong oil/fluid? Blocked oil lines to supercharger, that sort of thing.

3. Other than the air suspensions and some HVAC stuff (not a big deal) are there any other common failure parts I'd be more than likely to be sinking time and money into? I've also read up on TPSs and having to replace the entire TB but that also doesn't sound like a big deal if you're doing it yourself.

I'm sure I'll think of a few more questions as soon as I click "post". Thank you very much!

Darel

 

OK, thought of one more. I never had a car with navigation. Does the navigation have to be continually upgraded? Is there a monthly subscription fee or any additional costs? Sorry these are silly questions but I've just never had this in a car.

 

The satnav runs off a DVD in the boot. Buy one and it lasts indefinitely, it just gets out of date. There are no online or monthly updates or charges. Denso have not issued a new disk since 2011.