Hi guys/gals.
We are looking to add to our "fleet", and the Jag XJR got our attention.

I am from England, and have owned our current Range Rover for @6-7yrs, so know all about the "special" care they need at times.

With the Rangey, both myself and the boss (wife) feel it is more than worth the headaches at times.
A few more specific questions though....

Is there any diagnostic equipment available for the more hands on owner? I have a Faultmate for the Rangey that works excellent. Anything available for the XJR's of the @2005 model year?

Any "common" issues to look for with one that is approaching the 100k mile mark? Will try for the FSH obviously, but it isn't a perfect world is it? I know on our current vehicles, I do ALL the work myself, thus no history per say. But I know that they get better attention than they would at the dealer etc too... From rebuilt engines, to replacement EAS on the Rangey, it all gets done before failure occurs.

Are replacement parts readily available for the air ride (I know Arnott sells bags)? On the RR stuff, we have rebuild kits for the valve blocks etc, and I have a Viair compressor helping the weak RR one too.

Any and all suggestions welcome, as we are basically trying to decide between the XJR and an A6 Quattro of the same vintage.

All our vehicles are paid for, and it will stay that way, so can't go a whole lot newer than the '05's.

Many thanks in advance, and if we do take the plunge, I promise to be an asset to the forums!

Martin

 

Martin,

If you want to be really hands on with an XJR, the best DIY scan tool is AutoEnginuity with the Jaguar Expansion Pack. It's around $470.

Graham

 

Sounds like a bargain compared to the RR stuff from BBS mate!
I would guess it would pay for itself the very first time it saves a dealer visit.

Martin

 

Hey Martin, have you seen our HOW TO thread?

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...k-links-20085/

There's some great info there and probably a lot of the regular failings and or issues covered are in there, as well as some great DIY fixes

 

Checking it out now Jim,
Cheers!

Martin

 

Owning a Range Rover already, looks to be some similarities in the suspension (air).
Here is a pic of a little something I installed on the Rover.

It fully inflates the 3 gallon tank in under 2 minutes, compared to 7-9 minutes for a good OEM compressor. It is also on it's own pressure switch too, so the only thing it shares with the OEM setup is the air tank.
Quick connect for running an airline to manually inflate the bags (schrader valves and airline ran for each corner), and a schrader valve to air the tank up from a normal air supply.
Call me paranoid....
Maybe applicable to the Jag guys too? Gives a LOT of piece of mind, and takes the pressure (excuse the pun) off the OEM junk, oops I mean components

Martin

 

Well, finding a genuine and nice XJR locally may be easier said than done!
So, if we go for a "normal" xj, what is the best engine to go for?
Any particular model year that was plagued with more issues than other years?
Looking at the '03-'05 model years if that helps, but would consider earlier if a) the missus likes them, and b) they offer more benefits in reliability etc than the 03-05's.
I dont like the X or S series, look too much like other cars to me. And the XJ just has that style to it that I immediately link to Jaguar.
I have tried searching for buyers guides and so on, but not a lot coming up that I can find!
Any engine to stay away from reliability wise?
MPG isn't a big issue for us, so if the V8's are the most reliable, and easy enough to work on, thats good enough for me!
Cheers again fella's.

Martin
PS, Looks like the Audi idea has gone bye bye, so you may be stuck with me after we find the car we like.

 

Martin,
In the US for the X350 XJ series jag you can only get the 4.2L N/A or S/C V8 engine, model year 2003.5 to 2007. I feel the previous X308 series XJ is the best looking but the X350 with its aluminum construction and all is much more tec advanced.

 

Finding a good XJR or XJ is nearly impossible! I would of given up if it was not for Forum member George Androulakis he knows how to find the good ones. If you search my posts about buying a 2004 XJR or my STR posts you will find him and you could private message him.

 

Thanks guys, we will keep looking and see what pops up!

Martin

 

yah, the good ones get snatched up pretty quickly when the become available. I looked every other day on cars.com and autotrader.com, dealers like to use those sites, and they always come down on those 'advertised' prices anyhow. Remember though, any non-jaguar franchise dealer may not know the particular 'model', so an xjr may be in the XJ8 section, or a vanden plas in the XJ...so keeping your search broad using the model year limits and perhaps exterior colors you are looking for, you're browsing should still be rather short.

 

I'm late to the party but I'm here...

I'll find you the right car at the right price, it may take some time but I'll find it.

Let me know what you're looking for and we'll go from there.

Take care,

George

 

Thanks guys!
We went and looked at a Mk3 Range Rover this weekend, and bought it!
So it looks like my hopes of having anything that could reach 20MPG or better were dashed....
The missus also wants to keep our older Range Rover too, so the stable is full for the moment.
I would like to look into the XJ's again, but with 3 SUV's now, it will have to wait.
Many thanks again guys for the warm welcome and offers of help.

Martin

 

Congrats on the new car!

The mkIII is another one of my personal favorites, I have one in my personal fleet, and have bought and sold several.

What year range did you get? And you know what... If you drive it reasonably, you can actually get 17-18mpg out of a MkIII.

Take care,

George

 

Cheers George,
It's a late '03, with the cold weather package.
Main dealer SH, with a replaced tranny at @50k miles, right before they did the diff recall!
Lots of new high $$ parts by the previous owner, and it lived in California all it's life.

Martin