Drove a 2005 XJR today - drove really nice, looks like it was really well maintained, trade-in at the original selling dealer, they have the history. 75k miles. Close to pristine.

Will drive a 2004 XJR with about 38k miles tomorrow, private party, single owner. Expect this one to be very nice.

If they cost roughly the same (2005 will likely be $1000-2000 higher), were there significant improvements in the 2005 that warrant paying more for a higher miles car?

 

I've only been here a short while, but it seems like most of the problems posted on this website are about 2004 models. However, the rest of them (aside from air suspension problems) are from higher mileage (>60k miles) cars. If it were me, I'd go for low miles. But then again I would never buy a first model year of a problematic car like an XJ. 70k miles is just too many to be worth it. You can expect to have to replace all kinds of suspension bushings, etc.

 

I would go for the low-miler. Do be aware that some issues/things seem to be years based rather than mileage. I have just had to have a service exchange compressor on my 38k car, (a 2003 registered UK car). Other one is paint defects, this is definitely age-based, and some cars are OK, some not. Jaguar will deal with these under the warranty, but not after, (as in my case).

My car drives lovely and I love it, but only time will tell how reliable it is. Certainly I have done over 8k miles since purchase in May this year without any problems until the compressor problem.

I take the car to a Jaguar main agent near here as they give a special service and parts deal for cars over 4 years old. So I can maintain the factory service history without toooo much money. verybody has commented on how beautiful my car looks, the last of the Sir William Lyons style of Jaguar. If you didn't know, this dates from 1968 when the XJ6 Series 1 was announced. Apart from the XJ40 "squared-off" style all the XJ saloons have been similar in style since that year.

 

OK - drove the 05 with 75k+ miles yesterday. Cosmetically, the car is extremely nice. Not perfect, but pretty damn close. Drove for 10-15 minutes - did not have it in sport mode. Car was smooth, fast, stable, confidence-inspiring. The only issue I noticed was a strong pulsing when applying brakes. Car salesman, who seemed like a good and knowledgeable guy, believes it is rust build-up on the rotors. This car has been on the lot for a couple of months.

Car was serviced no less than every 10k miles at the dealer. There doesn't appear to have been any major issues since new. Color - british racing green - was not my favorite. Car has navigation.

Second car - 2004 private party car with under 40k miles, 1 owner since new, car is an early 2004 model (I think the build date was March 2003). This is owner's 3rd XJR - think he said he had a 97 and an 01 before. Car is not prepped like the dealer car was - needs a wash, etc. Car drove much the same as the first one - maybe slightly smoother. I couldn't really tell much difference. The brakes were fine on this one.

The only thing I noticed was that when I was stopped at a light, I heard a very faint clunking sound coming from the engine area - when I released the brake, it would go away. It didn't sound like anything major.

Owner says he has taken it in every 6 months. I like the color better on this car. Has very few options, no nav.

If I can swing it, the 2nd car seems like a good one to me. The first one is also good, but the miles have me a little spooked. At 5-6k miles per year, it will take us 5-6 years to get up to 75k miles. Seems like that's the better choice.

 

Most of the 04 issue can be solved my new parts. The only one that I haven't heard of solving is the supension warning in cold weather. Some say that a new compressor fixed the issue. I have the light and it doesn't change the driving of the car. The suspension air bag are going to fail on all cars eventually, it's part of the maintenance. The corrision is on early cars and should have been fixed by Jag by now. Other 04 issues are throttle bodys that should have faulted by now and water in the trunk. The only concern I would have with the 04 would be the torque converter. Make sure you drive the car from cold until full warm up. Search the the forum on surging. Rusty rotors should make noise or groan and clean up after a couple miles and some aggressive braking. Pulsing.....makes me think rotors and so does 75k miles. Factory brakes are not cheap on a XJR. Next, how long will you drive the car? I ask this because of resale. These cars over 100K drop in valve, no Nav is harder to sell on a high end car, etc. Ten years from now options will only mean a couple $100 bucks for resale. A year or two... $500-1000. I prefer private, more history on the car and in IL a lot less sales tax.

 

75k miles is really starting to push it in a Jaguar without expecting a lot of repair costs. It's not a Lexus!

The '04 sounds like a better deal, except you mentioned a clunking sound from the front. Suspension issues are common on luxury cars (probably because of all the extra bushing and such), and are often expensive to repair. However, the big daddy of them all is the air suspension components. Hopefully those are still good!

 

Drew - I expect to drive this car 5000-6000 miles per year. So even after 5 years, the car will probably still be under 70k miles with the low miles one. Whereas the 2005 with higher miles will be over 100k. Resale-wise, the 2004 seems to be much stronger.

 

I got a 04 with 69.5K miles and have put 12k mile on her in 1 year!! The car is fun to drive, but I plan on keeping her for many years. I love the color and features plus the price for my 04 compared to a 05 was about 5K difference. Buy one of them and enjoy.

 

The NAV is a must have in the XJ8 in my opinion. It really does wonders for the interior and makes it modern and useful as the year move forward.

The torque converter will cost just shy of 3K, so be aware of that potential. I would not be scared of the higher miles since it is an '05 and good service history. If the condition is beautiful and you don't drive much, it could be a wash.

Comes down to which car you like looking at better. Color and eye appeal are important.

You could expand your search nationally now that you have seen a few and are familiar with the car. I bought mine sight unseen and was exactly as anticipated.

 

I would NEVER buy an XJ without the NAV. It completely changes the climate control/audio layout, and the interior looks really really outdated with out it. (Heck, it reminds me of a 1980s digital watch!)

Also agree that color and eye appeal is very important with a car like this. A Jag is not a car to skimp on when it comes to getting the color combo you want!

 

I'm probably going to go against the crowd here and buy the 2004 even though it has no nav. The car just passed the PPI with flying colors, it is a much more appealing color combo and the previous owner did everything right. I can buy with 100% confidence.

And I don't care about having a nav system, since my phone does the job fine. I will have to deal with the interior aesthetics.

Is it easy to swap out the factory head unit for an aftermarket one to get AUX in capability? I probably don't care much if I lose the CD changer functionality.

 

Hanfranc. For what its worth I thbnk you have made the right decision on the lower miles car, assuming the seller has all the service history and bills and so on. Unlike purchase from a dealer, you meet the guy who actually ran the car before you, and can get a good idea as to whether he/she looked after the car properly. On the other hand, no warranty or other consumer protection, at least that is the case in the UK, it is "Buyer Beware".

As regards the NAV, I have it on my car and almost never use it. It only becomes useful if you get lost, then it will tell you where you are and what road you're on. The maps have no useful objects on them like churches rivers etc, although rail lines are there. As regards setting a route, I can't stand the voice coming on all the time; it interrupts the music too much !

 

3K for the torque converter...I'm guessing thats a dealership price? I have found a couple of shops on line that will rebuild yours from $500-800 and then the labor to remove and replace. I think a good indy shop should be able to complete the job for about $1,000-1,200. Should be about 4 hrs of labor. Now will a rebuilt hold up.....it should.

 

It is a done deal. I'm now the proud owner of a 2004 Slate/Dove XJR with 37k miles. Car presents like it's new - previous owner took it into the dealer twice a year without fail and got service, whether the miles were there or not. Brakes at 50% (never been done because the car has had an easy life - most miles were on 100+ mile drives - car wasn't really driven much around town).

Next, I get it detailed and post pics.

Thanks for the help and advice to everyone.

 

Good luck having a non-dealer replace it. My 3rd party Jaguar shop couldn't do the job.

 

Cocgrats Hanfrac,

I know the car will will bring you a lot of pleasure and pride. I know mine has. There's something special about a well cared for machine.

KBO mate.

 

Congratulations! Yes! Post pics!

 

Hanfrac - Enjoy your new car !!

I find I always look back at it when I park it up. It gets to you like that. Mind you, I did this with my previous car, a Rover 75, another exceptionally beautiful saloon, (and very reliable it was, too).

Never bothered with the Mazda Xedos, though !!

 

Congrats!! Mine is Slate/Dove too. It wasn't my first choice of colors, but man has it grown on me.