It's time to send my 2000 XJ8 out to pasture, it's had a good long life at 145,000 miles but there are some strange noises coming from the front of the engine. It *could* be the primary tensioners, but knowing my better half and the fact that it was really, really low on oil I think she's toast.

This means it's time for a replacement and I have found two XJs that I just can't seem to decide between. There's a gorgeous 2005 XJR with ~65,000 miles on it or a 2006 VDP with ~73,000 miles on it.

Is there anything I should know before I try and decide? Since both are about 300 miles from me I would be able to travel and see both in person before I decide. Both are CA cars, the VDP is a 1 owner trade in and the XJR was a lease return 2 owner car.

 

A very difficult decision, and really, you need to see and drive both cars before deciding. Having bought a one-owner car which still needed some expensive work doing, I am a bit sceptical about "one-owner" cars, because it all depends what that person is like. Is he(she) tidy and fastidous etc, or a slapdash, careless, san-fairy-ann type of person ? You will never know. In my book, a proven and complete service record is a good indication of a good car for purchase, backed up by a test drive. Even so, in my case, although the car was really beautiful, I still had one or two issues shortly after purchase which I was happy to fix as the sale price was so good. Having said that, I would probably be biased to the one-owner VDP, as likely the owner is a "mature" person, so is less likely to have abused the car. I am "mature" BTW !!

Really, the cars are basically the same apart from the supercharging, so any issues apart from engine apply to both. You will see what they are on this forum. Do be aware that the XJR will have the 'Sport' suspension, and probably big wheels and low profile tyres. Now if you like a hard ride, OK, but me, I soon swapped out my 20" Sepangs for 18" wheels. Most of the time you will be wanting comfort, (95% of the time, I'd say). Check what work has been done if you can, but if you can't find out, budget for an air suspension compressor as a minimum, and probably some suspension bushes.

Is there a decent Jaguar shop near you ? Jaguar dealers will use parts at Jaguar prices and some of these are an outrageous price, although some others are entirely reasonable. I have yet to work it out !!

 

I think I may have found the solution, there is a fairly mint Super V8 for sale nearby. It looks in excellent condition aside from a fairly tacky bluetooth add-on that thankfully is double-stick taped to the dash, it looks like it will come off without an issue. They are replacing a cracked valve cover on it today and I can take it for a drive tomorrow. Any major things I should look for? My only major concern is that the previous owner (who supposedly traded it in for a 750iL) added aftermarket amps to the factory sound system so so knows how good their wiring job was.

 

I was going to suggest the Super V8 for you. The only problem I have with the one in question is that guys who go for high power audio amps often have a screw or two loose. I'm just saying------. Let the games begin.

 

Or a bit deaf

 

1+ on the super as well!

 

Though I completely enjoy my XJR I must admit I yearn for the right Super.
Handling, performance of the XJR coupled with the fitting of the Vanden Plas; Hmmm, what's not to like.

So, how did it turn out for you?

 

The deal is done. I think it turned out to be an excellent deal all around. The car has only 58,000 miles on it, BRG with brown/ivory interior, and essentially every option available except for the voice command, bluetooth and iPod interfaces. We have to address a few faults but I think it should be a fairly easy task.

The audio modifications thankfully look easy to undo. They put a huge subwoofer in the trunk, bypassed the factory amp, disconnected the dash speakers and adjusted the bass and treble to heights hitherto unimagined. As is, the system is totally unsuitable for any normal listening preferences. Thankfully they didn't remove or abuse the factory amp so it should be simple to put right.

The brake rotors are fairly worn but workable for a while.

The body is in excellent condition, the interior has some flaws but can be corrected. There's a damaged window switch, a broken speaker grille and the headliner needs to be replaced (it has the beginnings of "sag" and a water spot by the sunroof).

Despite these little errors the car was serviced at San Jose British Motors every 5,000 miles with a detailed service record. Out the door with tax and license for $19,995.

As an aside, I would not really qualify the Super V8 as an XJR style ride, the suspension seems to be tuned slightly softer than the XJRs I have driven. However the lower profile tyres do create a ride that is less than a VDP but I'm still torn about whether that is a problem for me or not.

 

Super V8 is the way to go --- best of both worlds!! Congrats! The ride on the Super is a VDP, not XJR, which is way better. Plus the LWB.

You would love the car!

What year??

 

2005. I was hoping for a 2006, but the deal was too good to pass up.

 

Sounds like a good deal. Iam a bit supreised that they let you out the door with worn rotors. Do you not have a state inspection to comply with?

 

Well done. Despite being an XJR owner I would prefer the Super V8. The XJR seats are a bit too sporty, the suspension a bit too sporty, apart from that the cars are identical, nice one mate.

 

The rotors are within MFG spec and CA does not have a vehicle inspection programme like some states do. While I'm sure they are "safe" the pads are about 3/4 worn and the rotors are fairly nicely ground down to what I would assume would be around the minimum thickness.

Funny you mention the XJR seats, I think I prefer the XJR's bolstering.

Now I just need to get around to pulling my old XJ8's engine apart to see if the primary timing chain is the culprit or if the engine is just toast.

 

Try driving from London to Zürich overnight...the Super is a better place to be i'm sure...

 

Well. I'm sure that's true, but last year I did Bacarach (in the Rheintal, near Bingen-am-Rhein) to Crewe, NW England, in a day, and my car is a Sport. I think the seats are the same as the XJR. No comfort problems at all. Mind you we did have a rest for a couple of hours at Dunkerque waiting for the Dover ferry.

 

As an auto journalist I drive all sorts and trust me, nothing Jag makes (even the XKR-S which is fairly firm) is anywhere near the level of a MINI JCW Coupé for a long car trip.

 

Thanks for the information on the Super suspension. Clearly I was mistaken.
As I prefer the handling of the XJR, this gives me some thoughts to consider. Perhaps my tech can re-progam the suspension handling...

 

I spent yesterday afternoon fiddling with the aftermarket audio mods the former owner had made to my Super V8. Thankfully they left the dash speakers, factory subs and factory amp alone (they just disconnected them). The balance was absolutely atrocious with the mods they did so after trying to make some sense out of it I just ripped everything out, the two 4-channel ARC amps, crazy-big subwoofer box in the trunk, all manner of crossovers, equalisers and more cabling than you can imagine. I also had to remove all four door panels to re-connect the tweeters in the doors. By the end of the night the system was back to factory spec and sounds much, much better.

 

Well done, now put it all on ebay & get some money back

 

Alpine makes a great balanced system.. Well done!