Hi Everyone,

I'm considering purchasing a Jaguar Sovereign. The build year is 1995 but from what I can tell it will be a 1996 given that outside the US the X300 seems to have been released in 1994. Seems that most models of car take a year to become DOT compliment.

I currently drive a 1993 300SEL for those who don't know what that is I've attached a picture of mine below.



I love the car and W140's (chassis code) in general but I feel that I might purchase a new car. I'm narrowing it down to either:

Another W140
X300
Lexus LS400
Honda Legend

I am not considering the E38 BMW 7 Series.

My only experience with Jag was when a family member owned a Series III Daimler and well it was less than reliable. However I understand the X300 has a real reputation for reliability.

I've attached the ad for the car I'm currently looking at:

http://www.ksmjaguar.co.nz/index.php...icle_no=726925

I intend to go and inspect it this weekend. My main questions further to searching this forum relate to reliability:

Do you think this car will be significantly more or less reliable than my current S Class? Has anyone here owned both?

Are there any weaknesses in the drivetrain for these cars? (The diff seems to be a weak spot)

How do the extra systems such as electrics and AC hold up?

When I test the car are there any little tips that you can give me to allow me to do a better job?

How can I expect the car to feel when I drive? - this is really important to me. I don't want a particularly sporty drive like a BMW but I don't want a water bed drive like say a Caddi.

How is the head room in the X300? - one of the attractions to my Mercedes is that it has so much room in the cabin being just over 6ft I find some cars very close.

Thanks in advance.

 

I just got an X300, first "modern" Jag since 1968, and honestly, I should have done it years ago. It repalced an E32 740iL, and I was GLAD to see the rear bumper of that car. Some "midlife" thing had me wander to BMW from Jag, what a blunder that was.

The X300 is reliable, given.
The previous ownership/care will govern your decision, as it will/should with ANY car.
The hood lining does still fall down, thats life.
The AJ16 suffers from a timing chain rattle, many post about that, and the fix, a search will reveal all.
The A/C is Nippon Denso, and is COLD, reliable, even in Kiwi land.
The bushes for the radiator mounts, and condensor mounts are probably getting tiired, and will/should be replaced, as should the top front shocker bushes, all made from that "foamy stuff" that crumbles with age. The rear can fail also, but seem to be longer lasting than the fronts.
Being a Sov, it should be a LWB, and should have sufficient room for you, but "bum in seat" is the only way you will ever know.
It will drive like a Jag, and that is also a given. The others, will be your decision of course.
The electric fans may work whenever the ignition is switched ON, and A/C is OFF, this is apparently "normal", due to a rework by Jaguar, and can be altered to thermo operation very easily, but will remain ON whenever the A/C is ON.
Best of all, drive it, if it feels right, buy it, you will not regret it.

Hope this "helps" a bit.

 

Adding to Grant's comments:

Based on a comparison when my brother had a '92 S class and I had a '96 X300 here are my observations:

1. The Jaguar will handle somewhat better but ride somewhat firmer. The Jaguar will also corner flatter as well.

2. The Jaguar will have less headroom although sufficient for both myself and my brother. I am 5'10 and he is 6'. You will notice that the Jaguar is some 4 to 6 inches lower.

3. Seats in the S class are somewhat more upright and a bit softer.

4. The Jaguar engine and transmissions are pretty well bullet-proof and are fairly easy to work on. Some of the Jaguar accessories tend to be a bit fussy though. The same might be true of the S class however.

Good luck

Mike

 

You all quite summed up very well
May I add my a cup of cheesecake opposes I mean tea lol
You will have to forget vacuum doors if you get rid of Merc but it's a big deal if you like them

 

Oh the good old closing assist - it's a great system when it works. Only problem is even then most people are not used to a car with soft close and just slam the doors anyway.

 

Also another question - what extras do I get with a Sovereign over a normal XJ? Seems the engine is 4L rather than the 3.2 or is it 3.6?

I guess there must be additional trim upgrades in the cabin?

 

2.9 liters were replaced by 3.2 liter
3.6 liters were replaced by 4.0 liter and all these were available from 1990 .
In Sovereign models you get more accessories and a different wood trim than standard XJ6 . XJ6s were entry models for X300s as well .

 

I went and viewed the car today,

To be honest I don't think the X300 is the car for me - Sitting in the front I liked the way I was warped or cocooned within the car - it felt very exciting like being in a cockpit of a small plane where as by contrast my S Class is more like sitting at my desk in my office chair (a very plush office chair).

I was also surprised that headroom was more than ample I expected the car to be quite lacking in that respect but it was about the same as the S Class. I'm also suprised that there does not appear to be a glove box...

My main problems were with the interior room - with my driving position the person sitting behind me provided they had legs would be crippled. I also found the car quite hard to get in and out of. I'm about 6'2 and 80-85kg's so I'm not fat - I felt that I was having to thread myself into the car most likely because it sits lower than my S Class.

I did find the ride excellent and being the 4.0 the extra torque made speed feel more effortless with less downshifting for example.

Also I was not impressed with how the interior has held up - this is more than likely a factor of ownership rather than the car itself but the interior was not in a condition that I would consider passable. The leather was relatively soft but there were a number of cracks even the steering wheel had cracks. My car has about 250,000km's and there are no dash or leather cracks - I do have creases.

Overall it's a really nice car, I found the controls easy to use and get to and I love the styling but just a few little things would stop me buying it sadly. I think I will have a crack at driving another X300 just in case.

 

Sounds like you came across a SWB (short wheel base), which my "base" model is, and I am 6ft 1", and the rear passengers do have an issue, if there were any. The Sov were mainly LWB, but there are a surprising amount of the SWB out there. Our S2 V12 was a LWB, and there was a surprising amount of rear leg room, which I had not even considered until I got the X300.

The interior condition will be due to lack of ownership pride, and you will find a lot of it. The car has probably been "outside parked" most of its short life, probably at work, shopping centres etc.

The VERY early X300 lost the glove/cubby box, to accomodate the LH airbag, and it was available as a retro, at some stupid price, but it appeared as a standard fit for the '96MY. Mine is a 12/95 build and has the LH glove box, so a later years car will have that feature. It aint big, but it is another place to store stuff.

When you look at other cars, watch out for the cup holder is the centre console lid, they break, from rough/stupid use, and cost a fortune to repair. My mate just got a repair kit for his '96 XJR cup holder, and it was 130British Pound, nothing available in OZ according to him??.

Enjoy the hunt.

 

Thanks for the extra info - the dealer had a LWB XJ6 it did have a glove box - I really should have looked at that also. It's a bit more than I wanted to pay but it only has about 70,000km's on it. Although it didn't have things like the chrome window surrounds on the inside it did seem to be just as well spec'd as the Sovereign.

Here is a link: http://www.ksmjaguar.co.nz/index.php...icle_no=808787

I'm not really too keen on the colour either. What is also complicating things is that my girlfriend is not really into these XJ's and prefers my S Class so I'm looking more and more at those also.

 

Yeah, that color is rather bland, isn't it?

RTLL

 

Agree with Doug.

BUT, if the little lady dont like it, it aint going to happen, "trust us".

I must be blessed, haha, mine LOVES the Jags, and misses the MK10 shopping car we once had. She is barely 5ft tall, and when taking it shopping, NEVER parked it properly, she could barely see out of it. Whenever she found room for it she just abandoned it, who was going to argue.

Enjoy the hunt and the Benz, the Jag will come in your life eventually.