Hi everyone,
I am interested with this car XJ8 4.2 2003-2009.
I would like information about the reliability of this engine and the fiability of this car in general.
I have seen a car around 160.000 kms, 2006, 17.000€ with 1 year warranty.
Could you, please, give me feed-back ?
Thanks.
Best regards

 

Hi XJ8,

First off, great choice in vehicle. These cars are very durable and although hefty on the wallet when it’s time for some repairs, an independent Jaguar tech can make owning one a much needed delight in life.

The main thing is to always try your best to get any Jag with maintenance records. That will give you a good idea of previous ownership care and overall love for the car. I never trust anyone that says they’ve done “this and that” or “I got 4K worth of work on it recently” without proof. No exceptions.

Once you find the right one, take care of the most common “new owner” maintenance:

Oil/Filter
Cabin/Air Filter
Spark Plugs
Serpentine Belt
Transmission Filter and Fluid Service
Inspect Brakes
Inspect Cooling System and Hoses (esp T-Stat Housing)
Electrical (AC/Windows/Locks/Radio and all Lights)
Inspect Suspension Components (Sway Bar Bushings/Thrust Arms/Links/Air Compressor/Air Shocks)

The above is my list of things to do with just about any car I purchase. And I have not had any significant issues failures with my Jags following those steps without fail. The worst thing to have happened to my current XJ8L is Air Compressor failure which was cheap and easy replace. Was back on the road in 1.5 days. Air Suspension might the worst issue in these cars. The 4.2L V8 is perfect and durable. The Transmission is silky smooth and does the real hauling on the highway so you maintain great gas mileage for such a heavy car. Just make sure you keep it properly maintained at all times.
Youll be pleasantly surprised at how agile this car really is. It is in my humble and honest opinion:
The perfect Jaguar Saloon!

Lastly, I recommend that you go after the X358 version (2007-2009) over the X350 (2004-2006). Compare the two via Google and you’ll see what I mean. XJRs are great in any year so X358 & X350 are worth it for XJR versions. Happy Hunting!

 

If the air suspension it came with has been replaced with coilover struts, that is not necessarily a Bad Thing, and certainly not a dealbreaker. The air suspension is way past its design lifetime, and if not working properly can be very expensive to put right. I bought my XJ8 in December 2020, almost immediately had problems with the car dropping, warnings on the dash, and of course NONE of this happened on my rather lengthy test drive, which was after he owner brought the car several miles for me to see. I eventually gave up and ordered coilovers, and could not be happier. I don't have to wait for it to raise itself in the mornings, I can drive it for hours and hours without having to stop because the car is lowering itself after shutting off the air system, and it actually rides better than it did with the air troubles.
Another car I looked at had already had the swap done, and not knowing any better, I rejected that car, which I rather regret doing now. (Although that other car was not the long-wheelbase like I have, which I rather like!)

 

Hello Indyx358,
Thanks for this interesting and complete answer.
I am interested in the 4.2 model because I fear that the maintenance of the XJR will be substantial, even if this model is very attractive.
Thanks for the production dates of the successive versions X350 and X358.
I searched on Google the differences between these two versions. Only "exterior aesthetic differences" (sic) were reported.
Can you confirm this?
Thanks.
Best regards

 

The differences are not only on the aesthetic, and there I do not agree with Indyx358, I prefer the original styling and find that the changes made for the X358 make the car look too heavy. But that's personal taste, everyone to his own!

On the technical side, it's like this:
Jaguar made bigger changes for the 2006MY, like brakes, electronics, variable timing also for the supercharged engines, etc., without making huge changes to the aesthetics. Basically, for the 2006MY they only removed the side protections and therefore also redeisgned the side indicators. This interim version is sometimes called "X356" in the forum.

For the 2008MY, Jaguar made some further, smaller changes on the technical side, like introducing a radio with DAB, introducing ventilated seats, etc.

I have attached the description of the changes made by Jaguar for the 2006MY.

Best regards,

Thomas

 

And here's the description for the 2008MY. I cannot attach the whole file, so here's the screenshot of the summary:

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Hi XJ8 4.2,
There was an extensive revision done on the original X350 in 2006, which some people refer to as the X356, so for an X350, 2006 or later is better. In 2008, in addition to the cosmetic and bodywork changes, other extensive modifications were done. I have an X358 and think they are the best of the different iterations.
Here are some links to useful documents
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Elec...Y%20Update.pdf
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Elec...al%20Guide.pdf
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Auto...ch%20Guide.pdf
http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Elec...al%20Guide.pdf

Pete M

 

2006+ would be best, they fixed a lot of the issues with the early cars on the x356 from what I understand. I have owned my 2006 XJ8L for just about 2 years now and 22k miles. I have done a lot of maintenance on the car (which is very reasonable if done yourself), and it has not let me down yet. A pleasure to drive and after owning a few x308s in the past the X350+ platform is much superior in every way except for aesthetics which is purely subjective.

The only glaring issue I see with these cars is the suspension. I purchased mine at 41k miles and the first time I removed the wheels for brake service I was appalled at the condition of the suspension bushings & boots. I purchased all new suspension but have yet to install it. Oddly enough the car still drives perfectly and the original air suspension works great as well. Just be aware of this with a car at any mileage - it will need the suspension rebuilt at some point. This is not to mention the air suspension which will also fail at some point and other than OE replacements which are prohibitively expensive considering the value of the car there are not many viable options. My car will get converted to traditional springs/shocks when the air finally gives out.

With that said, I absolutely love the car and it may be my favorite all around use car that I've ever owned. It's also fantastic on long trips. I drive a lot and if I have a long trip to take its always the Jag that comes along, such a fantastic long distance cruiser.

 

That works. But.. it is a relatively LIGHT car and more affected than many by presence or absence of rear seat passengers and/or a load of luggage on a longish excursion.

Keeping the adaptive DAMPING is costly. But it doesn't actually DO much of value.

Keeping the adaptive leveling, OTOH, does have value. And a basic air strut, fixed-damping rate shock - is not enough more costly than dumb coilovers to matter.

 

I’ll accept Thomas’ response, the changes mentioned are true and like he said, to each his own.

But I still prefer the facelift version, it’s just more modern looking and it really stands out of the crowd when you live in a town full of Maybachs and Bentleys. One of the sexiest cars I’ve ever owned to be honest. I see the X350 on the road and it just doesn’t “pop” for me. Just my .02

 

Hi IndyX358,

Quote:
"I see the X350 on the road and it just doesn’t “pop” for me"
Unquote

See, that's where our tastes differ, for me this applies to the X358... ;-)

But in one thing we are the same: we both love our respective cars!

Best regards,

Thomas

 

Only if the rest of the system actually works... Failed compressor, rusted solenoid valves, leaky fittings, etc. Any water that's gotten into the system because the desiccant was never serviced is in the system forever, as there is no facility for removing it. Any shop's air tank from the compressor for air tools has a drain valve on it; the pressure tank in the Jag does not. Water in there will remain there, and continue to be pumped through the system, so even new valves will get wet, and eventually rust. The only water protection in the system (and indeed any air suspension system I've seen on cars) is the desiccant in the compressor, which is never specified as a service item, and is certainly not a DIY service for 90% of the owners. Not having a serviceable dryer is a serious design oversight in all air suspension systems. Not everyone lives in Arizona...

 

Per CARFAX, my one has spent its life mostly 'humid enough' Eastern USA, Midwest & Mid-Atlantic.

I had put in a NEW WABCO, as the OEM had pretty severe wear off the back of many years of that one strut leaking in progressively 'less cold' cold weather. I dumped the as-had beads for fresh ones as it had sat more than five years on the shelf since new. I have several rebuild kits, including new cylinder & con-rod, not just pistons & seals, will rebuild the OEM WABCO for next time.

- As happened, I replaced only one O ring, whole car, given they can easily be replaced if/as/when they offer to leak.

- control valve blocks are cheap enough. I should acquire a standby spare.

Some other, higher-priority stuff on my plate but I also have valves, plumbing, tubing, other common air-system dryer & purge goods to cut-in when I get back to it. Improved drying, better purge control, etc. won't be expensive.

The ONLY part seriously expensive is OEM Bilstein struts.

And the Artificial Idiot control module.

- I've already side-stepped the overly costly struts.

- if the silly AI controller goes pear-shaped, I can upgrade it to less 'ambitious' but far saner 1950's load leveling control tech. Rocket Science it was never on luxury, limo, and cargo trucks.

Even so "belt & braces" so I have a set of four MaxPee DingRods adjustable coil-overs put by 'just in case'.

 

I agree. Would like to keep the air, but aftermarket replacements have not proven to be reliable and the OE cost just isn't worth it for me. If there was a suitable aftermarket replacement sir setup I would go that route. I rebuilt the compressor already and the system has worked perfectly so far, but its only a matter of time before it needs to be replaced. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

The coilovers I put by as emergency fallback cost just under $300 for a set for all four corners - skosh OVER $300 with tax & shipping.

The 'grey market' (plain box, no label) Chicom air struts I THINK are "Suncore" made were just under $400 a pair each end. - sub $800 total.

Bilsteins were around $1800 per-each corner?

Call it a $500 premium over coils to retain air with some risk of shorter life than OEM,

or .

I could call it a $6400 savings vs OEM struts?

All I need to justify that - my circumstances - is a two-year or better service life.

Given JLR/Tata's largest market is PRC, and their Joint Venture manufacturing enterprise IN PRC probably uses more LOCAL parts than German imports?

Present-day risk is lower than it once was, so I'll probably get that. Or more.

 

That's my point, $7200 for OE struts just doesn't make sense for this car. I would consider the other OE replacements (Suncore, China, Arnott) options at all, way too many documented failures and headaches. In my mind its either OE Bilstein or a conversion. Or BC Coilovers which are fully adjustable, I may go that route. A lot of members have converted to them and with the ability to set both damping and ride height they can either ride similar to OE or more sporty depending on your needs. Only issue with BCs for my car is that its an 06+ and they do not come with a module. Unfortunately the modules are not available separately from Arnott so I'd have to figure out where to get one.

 

We hear of the failures. Often several times, same instance as each becomes an "urban legend'..

We seldom hear about the successes.

Statistically, I'm fair-certain the ratio is actually more favorable to Suncore even than Arnott.

While I don't expect Suncores to last as long as Bilsteins (who use Goodyear air cells?) they do not HAVE to do to still be a good value for money.
"Try it and see" could be attractive @ ~ $180 for ONE air strut vs $1800 for ONE Bilstein?

"Break even", goods not labour, is what? Six pairs of Suncore per-one pair of Bilsteins?

Page Two:

I'm a fan of changing-out in pairs.
Even so, nothing prevents running one side air strut, its mate a coilover, nor does anything prevent coming back and swapping the two, left-right for further trials.

 

It's tempting for sure, and I do agree that we hear much more about the failures than the successes. Since I take the car on long trips I would just hate to be stuck a couple hundred miles from home in the case of a failure. My main use for the car is long trips and I think getting rid of the air at some point would ease my mind a bit. Lot's of factors go into the decision, hopefully I don't have to make it for a while...

 

"Stuck" to be avoided would be a costly flat-bed trip back to 'starbase Alpha' for DIY repairs.

Solo, I'd find space for one each front and rear of the spare coilovers I stash, spare compressor 'maybe', insure I had the tools and the second of two jacks needed to make a swap [1], and hit the road. I keep handy "push-on" ball valves that can isolate a failed portion of the air strut tubing system.

With the family, we always RENT for such trips, from one of the 'major' players, and chosen for the needs of that particular trip and topography.

ANYTHING goes pear-shaped, the rental agency sorts it, replacement vehicle head of the list.

[1] At home, I use a scissors jack and two floor 'trolley' jacks. On the road, the OEM tire-change scissor jack and a very compact and capable Italian-made bottle jack that was once furnished OEM with older Land Rovers, can now be found on eBay, used.

 

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