Having dealt with many replacement issues on a 2004 i bought for $4000 at 147k miles. I had (and still have) some major issues to deal with.

However, now at 170k miles, i am truly blessed with a car that if it goes wrong, I can pretty much diagnose and repair myself (with some help from this forum typically!).

I have changed pretty much every oil, lube, filter , Trans pan and plug to set myself a baseline for the future.

knowing now what I know about these cars and the price of repairs and replacements I am in a much better position to decide myself if a car is in good condition to buy and if there are issues with it how much and difficult it is going to be to repair it. This could give me good bargaining power to reduce the overall price of the vehicle.

So would I buy as per your question.... for sure..

 

I don't know about buying one, but I've had one for 7 years or so and just took it in for it's 100,000 mile checkup. I took it in with 98K on it with the thought that I'd get it checked out and then sell it (with logical worries about 100k). They did the standard maintenance, then the knowledgeable maintenance coordinator came up to me and said "Here are the keys, the car is out front."

I said "Hey, you're supposed to tell me what is wrong and what I've got to do to get it in shape to sell (with a clear conscious)."

She shrugged her shoulders, smiled and said "The car is in perfect shape, you could get another 100,000 miles out of it if you want."

In the first 100,000 miles, I've needed a battery, one change of tires and a new water pump at 42,000 miles. I love these cars. I bought an XK too.

 

Old thread, but here goes; bought a 1984 XJS with 55k. First month replaced alternator. Next 6 months replaced coil(s). Now have a 2005 XJR. Bought it with 85K. It now has 90K and has had no issues. I will be starting to do all those fluid changes and work my way up to the plug change process. The car has a new shock system already, so I will just keep an eye on that. In the past, I have bought several cars with mileage up to and even over 100K as long as they were well documented and not owned by several different (more than 3) owners. I've had great success and hope it continues. To the point made earlier by many contributors; Jags are not for the faint hearted who don't want to turn an occaisional wrench or spend a lot for someone else to turn that wrench.

Enjoy,

Mark

 

From one that is not likely to do so!


Yes, if I like the car and the price is right. Color and interior are important. You either like or dislike them!


If you don't, stop there, if yes, go further.


Just lurking by accident.


Carl

 

My 2005XJR is one of the most enjoyable cars that I have owned and I have owned/had a lot over my life time including company cars that I had and also my ex wife's company cars. Its not the fastest I have had as I owned a modified Porche 911S but its a lot classier and I am still surprised at how I can push it on a very windy country road(with clear visibility across the bends).
When you do the plugs Mark dont forget the procedure required to access the right rear plug, when looking at the engine from the front.
I will be doing my transmission fluid change within the next couple of months using information that has been provided in this forum.

John

 

Thank you John.

QUOTE=jackra_1;1239561]My 2005XJR is one of the most enjoyable cars that I have owned and I have owned/had a lot over my life time including company cars that I had and also my ex wife's company cars. Its not the fastest I have had as I owned a modified Porche 911S but its a lot classier and I am still surprised at how I can push it on a very windy country road(with clear visibility across the bends).
When you do the plugs Mark dont forget the procedure required to access the right rear plug, when looking at the engine from the front.
I will be doing my transmission fluid change within the next couple of months using information that has been provided in this forum.

John[/QUOTE]

 

It's a roll of the dice with any complex luxury car with age and mileage. I bought my 2004 XJ8 a year ago with 122k miles. Other than the initial $1,500 I spent on a coil suspension conversion, I spent about $650 on a coolant leak fix which included new belts, two scheduled oil changes, and now a have a rear wheel bearing to change out.

Other than the initial suspension changeover which I planned on when I purchased the car, I figure if i spend $1000 a year on the Jag, it is still a lot cheaper than car payments, and I have the opportunity to drive a luxury car far nicer than I would have otherwise.

I still enjoy driving this car every day. Each time I get behind the steering wheel and look over the expanse of wood and leather, I get that same "special" feeling that Jaguar built into every XJ produced. It has never left me stranded. Sure, there are a dozen picky annoyances that come with a car this complex, but the "XJ experience" makes me overlook them.

Like I say, it's a gamble, but with only $5,500 initial outlay, it's a gamble I am willing to take.

I guess there are "safer" ways to spend $5,500, but the thought of driving a $5,500 Honda or Toyota every day just doesn't appeal to me.

 

Yes I would, but have it checked by a mechanic before buying. Jaguars re sold are from one owners. And they pretty much have been babied, and garage kept.

 

Hi


I bought my 2002 S-Type in 2007 when it had 115000km on the clock (1 owner - perfect history). I continued to have regular services up until last week when I sold it in going condition with 415,000 km on it. The only problem I had was the climate control module that I had to change. I have sold the car to a friend with every expectation that it will continue to give good service.


The replacement for the S-Type I picked up from the internet - XKR Coupe with 180,000km on it. I drove 2000km from the vendors location to my home - never missed a beat. My service man did the roadworthy for me and it passed with flying colours.


My advice, if you are not buying new, then buy on condition. If it drives like an honest car, the mileage is largely irrelevant. If you have any bad vibes, any doubts on the test drive - RUN AWAY with your money in your pocket


Hope that helps - Guy

 

Yes; without a doubt given proper maintenance and upkeep...

Dec 2015, I purchased a late build 08 super v8 with 101,500 on it. The car had the 10, 20, 30, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 k services done by jaguar.

As it has been said, properly maintained cars can do well beyond the 100k mark.

I would recommend that if you are searching the ~100k mile range, look at as many cars as you can. This will build familiarity with the cars and you can 'trust your gut' as an earlier poster mentioned.

Failing confidence, you can always have the car checked out by a professional prior to the sale.

Good luck.

Thanks
Mag

 

Totally agree with those who are stating that condition is FAR more important than mileage. If you were able to determine that the miles were accumulated on long high speed travel so much the better. In other words a car used for commuting in 60 mph traffic with 100,000 miles is a much better buy than one which has accumulated 40,000 miles in short trips or stop and go commuter traffic. Looking at my history with three makes of cars (Chevy, Ford, BMW) the highest cost repairs occurred at 160k to 200k, and the lowest costs were 100k to 150k. Since the resale market (rightly or wrongly) values low miles, buying a 5 year old or newer car with 100k or more might be the lowest cost of ownership you can find.

 

im just wondering which xj8 and xjr he's referring to, the x308 or x350. It's a bit of a toss up. Both models have good and bad things about them. I've worked on these cars for the past 14 years, in my opinion I'd go with a x308 XJR, and I'm sure you can still find one around 100k or less on the clock. As stated before, a well documented service history preferably done by someone who knows what they're doing is always a plus. You also need to consider the environment it's been subjected to, this can cause different issues to arise as to what of the country its spent most of its life. Anything that is supercharged means more things to go wrong, and more expensive, with that being said, I've seen far fewer issues on a x308 xjr than on the na version, and both versions of the 350. Just my opinion, but just passing some of my own experiences and knowledge your way.

 

I bought my car at 90k mi. Now it has 120k and always garaged, well-maintained and detailed...and it's not for sale

 

I have changed the transmission fluid since my last update in this thread. I did a complete flush using the cooler lines.

I plan on changing the valley hose in a few months now and at the same time I
want to rebuild the supercharger.

Nothing wrong with it at the moment, as far as I know, but look at the pic of the supercharger I bought on Ebay. So much loose teflon coating from the rotors. The car it is from had 141,000 miles.

The oil in it had obviously been changed.

I have seen recommendations for rebuilding the M112 supercharger anywhere from 80k to 100k miles.

 

I have 300,000 km. on my 2000 vandenplas. Great car. When looking to buy one be sure the timing chains have new tensioners and the tranny has had a new "a" drum installed. Those are the 2 main issues. You should be able to change the timing chain tensioners yourself in an afternoon from the top side of the engine. If it has these two items taken care of buy and enjoy. If a good price buy it and pay for the repairs before you need them. I would buy another,

 

Just saw an older BMW M3 with only 35,000 miles on it. The paint and interior were beautiful. It was in at a local independent shop where they put it up on the rack. The new owner was horrified to see the corrosion underneath, clearly it had come from back east and was a victim of salt. Looks like only suitable for a parts car as the extent of damage makes it unsafe and uneconomical to repair. Point being, for any make of car, regardless of mileage, and appearance, and maintenance records, get it up on a rack and inspect the undercarriage !

 

I think this is such a great thing to do I actually have purchased 2 Jaguar XJs. One is a 2004 VDP at 142,000, which now has 166,000 and a 2004 XJR with 127,000 just a few months ago. Absolutely this is only a great deal if you can do your own work as parts and service from a dealer and even the independents can be very expensive on these cars as they have an incredible amount of features and electronic sensors. I find that these are easier cars to work on than my Audi A7 or my Ford Fusions which you think would be easier cars to work on. The engineering is very intuitive and I find my parts on eBay or Amazon and they are fairly reasonable, or as reasonable as parts on any car. These are beautiful cars which are a dream to drive. With additional modules readily available on eBay, I have added, Jaguar Voice, Bluetooth Telephone, and Rearview Cameras, all of which I could do myself mainly with parts in the Boot / Trunk. I exclusively buy very clean, one owner cars and never buy new cars (since the Excursion anyway!). Happy Motoring!




Who wouldn't want great cars like this in front of your house. I bought both of these for $6K each.

2013 Mercedes Benz C300 Luxury
2012 Audi A7 Prestige
2004 Jaguar XJR
2004 Jaguar VDP
2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
2006 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
2005 Ford Excursion 6.0L Turbo Diesel

 

all services done is not a well maintained car. suspension rebuilt, thermostat housing, coolant reservoir, hose under intake, maybe a couple new air springs, trans service, is a well maintained car. 100k with all this done is a good 100k more car. If not guess what you'll be doing. I have a 04XJ8 with 150k I bought with 97k and then did most all this. Great car love it and would not worry about going cross country in it either.

 

Just to mention that as a car approaches the 100k mark, many will be looking to sell. There are many services that will have to be done at this point. For example the car will probably still be running it's original plugs and tranny fluid. Also some will defer maintenance if they are planning to sell (dump ) it. A car with more mileage owned by a conscientious owner may have many repairs done and documented. The best advice was given, buy on condition.

 

You can follow the money----mine came with receipts for about $15,000 over the previous 5 years---including things like TB replacement, engine compartment power box, rear engine crank seal and transmission oil pump seal, 160k kms service including plugs, coolant etc , replacement coolant header tank and some hoses and so on. Also on the 160kkms invoice was the technicians observation that the transmission oil cooler lines were leaking.
I installed new transmission cooler lines for $200 US. (a hoist would have been a great help! )