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New Member Area - Intro a MUSTNew to Jaguar Forums? Drop in and tell us about you, your ride and location. This is your chance to introduce yourself to the forum.
I'm in South Africa. About 29 years ago I had a British Racing Green XJ6 1979 for a while, but it was about 13 years old at the time and had many issues. (Last of the Series 2 I believe, it had "American Spec" rubber bits added to the chrome bumper). Never left me stranded, had a lot of fun in that car, but always something wrong somewhere. My love for the car was sparked by an army friend (we all did National Service after school or university back then) who's dad had an MGA, and he himself had an MG Magnette. So I spotted it near Hout Bay one day at a garage. Long story short I loved that car, spent a fortune on it and sold it at a loss some years later.
Ever since I've been pining for another. I knew my chances were growing slimmer as the last "true XJ" stopped in circa 2009, and life goes its course.
After an extensive search over many years (they are quite scarce here in South Africa) I found a white 2004 XJ8 in my home town just as I was beginning to feel "it's now or never". I knocked on the door, and as it happens the owner of 11 years said he was thinking about selling it that morning, since he just retired and don't drive as must as he used to. I was skeptical of the high mileage (257 000km / +- 160 000 miles), but when I felt how it drove and saw how it was looked after, I decided I can live with a white Jag in sand leather interior. Would have preferred a BRG or Jaguar Racing Green or Pacific Blue, but life never works out as planned. So I told my wife (who was a bit angry initially, but c'mon, we only met because of my first Jag), that one of 2 things will happen now: One day I will see a younger XJ in the right colour and "upgrade", or one day I'll grow tired of the Jaguar experience and sell it again, but I'll never get it out of my system until I've had one again.
The car itself has FSH, does not use a drop of oil or coolant water. A small air leak at the valve block is causing it to sag after standing for a day or so, but I plan on importing a valve block and then either work up the courage & knowledge to swop it myself, or take it to a Jag mechanic. Small things I've fixed, like the headlight pattern was wrong on one side, turned out the spring holding the bulb in place was not doing its job - I bent it a bit more and now it does hold the bulb correctly. Wind noise at the side mirrors - the masking tape proved where, so I will probably squeeze in some black silicone into strategic places. The sunroof has an annoying rattle that I must find & fix (and a lot of wind noise!) , the pedals tries to but does not want to move, CD changer didn't want to eject so I did the "white grease job", replaced the rubber membrane in the remote key, etc. Lot's of small things, many of which I find guidance right here on this forum!
On the more major front (read: wait for its next service due early next year) I have clunking at low speed over crappy roads (bushes?), there is some brake shudder even though the disks look quite new. I want the whole front end / steering checked and any worn part replaced. After that I'm ready for my honeymoon road trip.
11-16-2021, 12:54 AM
New X350 Owner!
