Hey all..

Im looking to buy a used Jag for a more adult car to drive to work when Im in office.. Ive heard terrioble terrible things about these cars and , well, i still want one... I just want to know what the commone issues are, years and models to avoid, and all that normal stuff.. Im sure Ill find the stickies and threads, but if you have some reccomendations that can get me going quicker, i welcome those.. PLEASE.

I am searching for a used S Type, perhaps an X type.. trying to keep it under 15k and 60k miles... in AZ and CA, thats pretty easy to do it appears.

Anyways, things to know..

Im a forum vet on my350z.com.. 4k post count etc.

I have a 2005 Nissan 350z Single turbo with a fully built forged internals block and a return fuel system.

The car has about 16k in the engine build and about double that in other amenities.
Connolly leather and suede seating, suede headliner and dash, lots of real carbon fiber, and a heavily modified wide-body.

It is also wrapped flat black..

The build is still being finished, but here are some photos in the meantime.
The first one is me ....so you know who yer talking to.. the rest are of the car of course. A few of the exterior, interior, and some shots of the custom work Ive done, mostly all myself.. Im not a pro. Im actually an audit underwriter for Wells Fargo loss mit. Also a shot of my last 300zx, all done by myself as well, albeit about 15 years ago.

I appreciate any help available.

-Brian









heers the first version of the car:









during the 2nd build:















Me n a buddy







big powerlab single turbo set up.




heavily modded headlights im working on now..










The old Z32..







anyways, its not a 350z forum, but now you know Im serious about cars.



Thanks for help pointing me in the right direction for a car that isnt going to fall apart on me.

 

Hey there Brian and welcome aboard the forum, great to have you with us here at JF

Looks like you're serious about cars and with that post count a forum veteran for sure.
Great intro, with loads of info about you, lots of pics, always good too.

My guess is the guys will point you to the STR.....There are quick FAQ link threads in both the X and S section crammed full of info too, worth a look!

There really are some amazing and friendly guys here....you're in really good company to discuss anything Jag related or have a few laughs!

A really great mix of information, camraderrie and fun

I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the site and all its features

All the best

 

Welcome to the forum,

I think jim is right about the R.
There's one for sale here - Used Luxury Cars | Mercedes Benz | Jaguar | Land Rover | Dallas, TX you can cast an eye over, but you can probably find something closer to home.

 

Hi Brian & welcome to the forum!

Wow that's quite an introduction, and one hell of a Zed you've got there.

Had to chuckle at your "more adult car" bit, for a couple of reasons.

My mother (in her 60's) has a 350Z, albeit a stocker. Quick enough for her though.

And now that the guys have suggested the STR, well there's a chap on the other side of the river from me, who's well into his 80's, & rocks around in a Silver 2007 STR. His wife needs a walking frame & he always parks in the disabled bays in town.

Funny that Jag's have that image of maturity.

I think the STR will be right up your alley. Or an XJR if you can find the right one.

We've all heard terrible things about Jags, mostly memories from the awful build quality in the late 70's & 80's. This changed when Ford took the reigns. Any car outside of it's warranty has the potential to drain your wallet, & all european manufacturers are in the same boat, hop on the MB, BMW or Audi forums & you'll find similar themes.

The later S-Types were quite good, a friend of mine has an 04 with >240'000 miles on it. The X-Type can be had cheaper but in my experience the upkeep on the X is probably higher than the S, especially if you need to do anything major to the driveline.

The old rule apply's, the last of any model is the best.

Sure I don't have to tell you, that most people come on forums when they have a problem, nobody posts about "hey everything is fine" so it'll always look worse than it is.

Cheers,
Cambo.

 

Yo, Brian. I'm also a 'newchum' (to the forum), but with a business partner who has a good deal of experience.

Yes, Ford did bring a much needed improvement in build quality, but also a 'corner cutting' approach to the budget. The early Ford V8's used Nikasil bores, which are fine if you always use top quality low sulphur fuels. Jaguar went back to cast iron bores after April 2000.
Lookup BMW M60 engines to get the full story. But keep in mind that any engines replaced under warranty after April 2000 may still be Nikasil's. The bean counters' didn't throw out the old blocks, they used them as 'warranty replacements'.

The other major weakness in the Ford engines, particularly the V8's, is the timimg chains & tensioners. Ford pushed Jag back to a single link Reynolds chain (made in Taiwan) together with a nylon tensioner block mechanism that ain't great.When that chain fails (usually due to snapping, or the tensioner failing completely), the engine usually becomes 'kaput' economically, to repair. A developing rattle in the front of the engine is the indicator.

The old Jaguar in line 6 had a double Reynolds chain, without the extra chains present in the Ford engines, and a woderful tensioner that simply lasted forever. The single link chain reduced the engine by 12mm in length, but sacrificed reliabilty & longevity.

Keep in mind that the X-Type was built to compete with the BMW 3 Series, so it was built down to a price.
Two other things to watch out for:- leaking thermostat housing down in the valley (hard to spot, but can result in catastrophic failure of the engine, particularly if you are not a big 'guage watcher'), and gearbox servicing. They have a 'sealed' gearbox, which means that there is no dipstick to check the fluid level. The old 'out of sight, out of mind' rule applies.
But if the fluid hasn't been changed, then somewhere around 80,00 to 100,00 klms, failure is common. Auto Trans fluid isn't just 'oil'. It is a specialised fluid designed with certain qualities that vary from vehicle to vehicle & gearbox to gearbox.

It doesn't just 'lubricate', and if it isn't replaced on a scheduled basis, it can cause the gearbox to fail - nastily.
And go for an AWD in preference to a FWD, if you can (X-Type). Once you have driven one, you will understand why. Between X's & S's, drive one of each, and decide for yourself. I live in a big country (Western Australia is five times bigger than Texas) with bloody awful roads, and bigger is defintely more comfortable. US market trucks fail here because they just cannot hack the road conditions.

And keep up the leather dressing.

Cheers,

Languid

 

hey thanks everyone.. this is the type of stiff im looking for.

I can tell a newb looking for a 350z exactly what year to buy , why, and what to expect to repair in the first year, and what to expect to repair immediately upon buying the car..

thats kind of what im looking at on this forum..

I like the looks of the S Type more than the X, and Im hella tall too.. 6-4.
While the X looks more affordable and the interior looks a bit nicer i think.. it reminds me more of a girls car.. its small.
I had an STS before this last Z.. so i like the larger cars.

AWD i assume only on the X? i can imagine that being nice to have.. any nasties on failures on that awd system to know about?

Btw guys.. i dont want to be the guy who has you rewrite a ton of info that i can search for myself on here..

if anyone has common Jag thread and search and problem.solution terms that i can search and read about, id appreciate knowing them.. it will fast track my learning curve..or links to useful sticky threads or common issues threads.. id like to become a pro by tomorrow.. haha.. i get to go in to the office and make 2.5 wage tomorrow..and it will be little to no work unfortunately, so I will be doing alot of reading on here i assume.. id love to make it productive.

Merry Christmas btw.

 

Welcome to the forum.

Great looking cars you have/had there.

(only X Type has 4wd and the transfer case is a known discussion point) especially if you are into 'spirited' driving.

 

Hi there,
as far as either the X type or S type, or any other model are concerned, there are quick FAQ link threads available in each section.

These highlight pretty much every piece of useful information in post form for any issue on these cars. There are usually choices of fixes available to remedy each situation as well.

I'd suggest pretty much required reading for what you want.

If you're looking for perhaps a little more detail, please try posting into the relevant section, outlining any questions you want answered.....I'm sure you'll get quick, useful replies

Good luck

 

You might car to have a look at the X350 series of XJ saloons from 2004-2009. These cars have aluminium bodies, (in fact almost everything body and mechanical is aluminium) and the engines are pretty good. There are a few issues, but there were less than previous models and nothing as terminal as the Nikasil or cam chain tensioner issues. Suspension is the same as the S-Type (and also the current XF too). You might think it is a bit too "old" for you, but you did say "a more adult car"

Cheap to buy too.