I currently drive a 2003 XJ8 that has almost 90K on the odometer. I drive about 25-30K per year, so that means that this car will have well over 100K by next winter.

I found a couple nice 2004 XJ8s that have lower mileage -- one has 63K and the other has 53K, each of which gets me into 2015 before hitting the 100K mark!

Question -- what should I be wary of (if anything) when looking at the MY2004 XJ8? Are there any major issues that I should be aware of?

Thanks.

 

Air suspension compressor is a known short life component, but the two you are looking at may already have had a replacement. Air springs can blow, although this seems worse in the USA than here in England, why I don't know. If you get trouble with these you can buy aftermarket items at less than half the Jaguar price. (see Arnott Industries)

Suspension joints seem to wear out quickly and parts can be expensive, but again, aftermarket items are available. The suspension is basically the same as the S-type but with air springs. Rear lower wishbone is the most common joint failure location.

Gearboxes can suffer from slight "hunting" on warm-up but this disappears when the transmission fluid has warmed-up. This takes longer than the engine coolant, so about 5 miles from cold. YOu just have to live with this, or replace the torque converter. However, I don't believe in spending money unnecessarily, so I just tolerate it. Driving around in '4' mostly suppresses it anyway.

Unsightly but harmless corrosion can occur at crevices in the car due to salt/moisture but low oxygen levels. This is called "filiform" corrosion and you can read all about it on the internet. Common locations are: -

- leading edge of trunk lid - it creeps round from the underside, and is due to the lip on the screen seal wiping the underside of the trunk lid every time its opened, thus scraping grit that gathers there. Cure is to restore the paint and cut off the lip, it does nothing at all.
- above rear "Jaguar" trunk lid chrome-plated plinth, creeping out from the crevice. Most cars will have been repaired under warranty as this was due to poor assembly line practice.
- corners of door bottoms - I suspect this is also creep-round from the back but it's not present on my car
- creep-out from the lower rear screen seal by the D post - awkward one this as the screen needs taking out to repair properly.
- creep-out from wheel arch lip after very high mileages again due to crevice corrosion.

These cars can run the marathon for you, so your 25-30k miles will be no sweat.

Have a look around this forum to see what can happen, but remember Jaguar built 15,000 of these cars and other problems were not all that common apart from the above.

 

Thanks for that information -- I had read about the air suspension problem. Will have to find out if the cars I'm looking at have had that problem fixed or not. I would guess that the suspension joints, etc. issues are similar to the X308 issues and are somewhat DIY, or at least for the most part. Am I right about this (the DIY part) or is there something "special" about the 04 that would make it near impossible for a hand, but non-mechanic, guy to do?

The corrosion issues shouldn't be a problem for me, but I will check out the cars closely to see if they exhibit any of those issues -- thanks for the details on that, I will be looking with a "learned eye" because of your great explanation.

Mike

 

Just a thought , generally how good is your original car and what will the price to change be?
If you are generally very happy with your car then think about putting the amount equal to the price to change away and keep it as a fund to go towards any repairs.
My 2003 has done 186000 miles now and is running great , it was serviced and tested in January and all that was needed was a new main drive belt that was showing some wear.
I have kept the car as I know the history since I have had it so I know what I have spent on repairs, there is a small possibility that your own car may actually be in a better state of mechanical repair than one that is only a year newer.
Just my opinion but might be worth considering

 

From what I know about the problem you will not be affected that bad. Most of the suspension problems are experienced in the areas that suffer with colder climates. Florida not being included on that list.

The only parts of repairs that are really beyond the average owner as far as I know would be the electronic issues such as engine and transmission controls. Most everything else is left up to just using common since. However that tends to be a minor thing when you get to enjoy the much improvement in the performance, road holding and gas mileage you will enjoy with the later car.

Over the past year and a half since purchasing mine, I have enjoyed an average consumption of 33.1 MPG Imperial with mixed highway and city driving..

 

Yes, you may be correct about keeping my car, but I'm not one to want to drive a car with tons of miles on it (e.g. over 100k) -- this is my only daily driver and I take a number of long trips every year, so I just feel better with a car that has fewer miles.

On the other hand, my 2003 XJ8 is starting to exhibit some problematic symptoms - I fear that the transmission will not be with me much longer (won't go into the details here, but I've had a lot of transmissions go south on me, so I can kind of "feel" when one is starting to go bad), it has a slow coolant leak (I know, not a big deal but more of an annoyance), it burns oil (don't really know why, and can't really say that it's abnormal or not), the interior has seen it's better days (i.e. I'm not happy with the way the driver's seat has worn and I don't feel like fixing or replacing it), I get intermittent ABS warnings, etc. that could be nothing more than a dirty sensor, but it's a concern not to be totally ignored. I don't mean to "dump" on my 03, I truly love this car and if it was not my only car I'd not hesitate to keep it. In fact, one of my options is to get a different car and not replace the 03 but drive it less often. However, I have limited parking at my house (single car garage) and I like to park my Jaguar in the garage, so whatever I get would be outside unless I replace the Jag.

Long story, I know, but it's not an easy decision. The bottom line is that I don't feel married to my 03 and would very much like to have a car with fewer miles and a nicer interior and, hopefully, fewer issues (however minor mine actually are).

My biggest concern was that going to the 04 would result in getting an inferior vehicle. My research (online) has indicated to me that the reliability of the 04 is not really an issue (i.e. people love them and rate the reliability very high).

 

The X350 is definitely not an inferior vehicle to the X308, but it is different; it's larger all round for one. However being made of aluminium, it is lighter than the previous car, and uses less petrol on most owners usage. I think you will be more than happy owning one, but do make sure the one you buy has been correctly serviced. I find with mine that it feels like a much smaller car when bend-swinging in it, and the quality of construction is superb.

 

Thanks!

As I mentioned above, I have (had) my eye on two --- unfortunately for me, one of them has been sold! I'm still contemplating the other one. I need to find out the repair history first, though.

 

I take your point about listing several factors that you are less than happy with, taking that into cosideration and hearing the larger story, I can see why you would want to upgrade to a newer model, sometimes we find that the time has actually come where we do not want to throw any more money at a car and to trade it in and start afresh.

 

So true!

It's funny how I feel like I've had my 03 forever but it's only been 11 months!

Whether I get rid of it or not, it'll always be remembered as a great car. I've never had a car that I get more compliments on and have more fun driving.

That last statement is the only reason I have ANY reservations about getting rid of it.

 

An excellent summary Fraser-maybe it should be a sticky!

 

An excellent summary Fraser -maybe it should be a sticky

 

Skip the 04, go 05 or newer. First year has more new model 'bugs'...

 

Sure would love to have that 05 Super V8!!! But $$$ is an issue, so I have to look for the best buy and one that fits my budget. I have located several newer ones and will be giving them a look-see as well.

 

I have a question -- I've noticed that some of the 04's and up have body colored trim around the grill and the trunk piece. Can anyone tell me why? What does that indicate? Was it that way only on certain models (e.g. "base" model) or just certain colors? I've looked online and can't find an answer to this question.

Thanks!

Mike

 

Old Mike-

I believe the body color pieces you are referring to are found on the XJR models. As far as I remember, the X350 XJ8, VDP, SuperV8 all have the chrome grill surround and trunk finisher.

The XJRs have the body-colored grill surround and trunk finisher.

Thanks-
mag

 

I was wondering about that, but the VIN decodes to an XJ8 - nothing said about being supercharged. Possibly the previous owner changed those parts.

 

Oh yes, I believe you are correct in that this was an owner's choice 'customization' and not from factory. Usually, when the grill surround is body color, it is usually a mesh grille and not the grill veins... I wouldnt have considered that without your pic-thanks.

It seems that the previous de-chromed the car on the bumpers, too.

thanks-
mag

 

I'm torn -- do I like it like this or not? It also was debadged -- no XJ8 badge on the rear. I like the chrome, but this look is nice, too.

 

I am not sure if you like (or want) a more aggressive styling, but if so I would suggest a wheel upgrade (04s have 17 inch, I believe) and the mesh grille is a nice touch.

Easy and relatively inexpensive to do...

Thanks
Mag