Hello fellow Jag lovers,

My name is Mathijs de Vries and I live in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. About four years ago I felt it was time to change cars again. I owned approximately 26 different cars from my eighteenth birthday to now (I am currently 51) and my latest disappointment back then was my BMW 735 E65 from 2003. That was a nice car when it drove. It drove me nuts anyway!! It left me stranded in the north of Italy, 1600 kilometers (1000 miles) away from home with an oil-leak that would shame the Exxon Valdez. It would sometimes not start at my work, cost me a small fortune on overpriced parts, would never run completely without error codes, etc. etc.
And then I suddenly came across a listing for a 2003 XJ8 3.5 X350 with 212k km’s (132k mls) for a very competitive price... So competitive I should have been very cautious. But as they did not reject my E65 for trade-in I decided on the spot to seal the deal. 😜 And that turned out to be the best car decision I ever made!! 😃
Since then I have daily driven this car about three and a half years without any major problems. I did however spent quite some effort and money on preventative maintenance and detailing. But it showed. The car ever performed flawlessly and even when a malfunction occurred, it would mostly announce itself so I had a chance to prevent it from happening.
And then there’s the effect these cars have on the audience. The amount of spontaneous compliments I receive on my XJ’s is staggering. People apparently find Jaguars of this era still very attractive and react to them quite pleasantly. Also in traffic I’ve rarely encountered hostile reactions, which would happen to me frequently in -for example- my BMW.
In other words; the XJ made me a very happy man!
But because during my life I had gotten used to changing cars every other year, the XJ8 had overstayed it’s time by almost two years! What can you do...

Well..,
Last summer I bought a 2005 Super V8 LWB! 😆✊🏻 Purchased from the second, private, long-time owner. With even more experience (309k km’s, or 193k mls) than my former XJ8 (which I sold shortly after btw).
The Super V8 was in an abysmal state of repair, but since I had educated myself through reading and experience, I now consider myself quite knowledgeable on these cars and determined that the base was very good. So first came the chores such as cosmetic repairs (bubbling etc.), a lot of cleaning, new tires, cleaning, all new filters, cleaning, new oil, and did I already mention cleaning? After all of those were done and I now happily go from one preventative maintenance item to another. First up will probably be the -prone to leaking- coolant hose directly under the supercharger...
Apart from small technical challenges, this car makes me even happier than the XJ8! It looks the part and 400HP is just too much fun not to use now and then... 👊🏻 Typically I just cruise lazily, especially with the misses on board 😇, but there aren’t very many cars around (excluding Tesla’s) -in our country at least- that can easily keep up. And that’s fun. 😅

So that’s my story for you regarding my Jaguars and my reason for being here. I also wrote that I am now quite knowledgeable on these particular models, which is largely because of forums like yours. Of course I use different sources, such as a Jaguar specialist nearby. And there’s also the Jaguar / Daimler Club Holland, which I joined just after I bought the Super V8.
I like to do as much as possible by myself and it gives me at least great pleasure to determine the cause of problems. Then finding the best and/or cheapest possible solution is a challenge I never get bored of.

Thank you for reading and maybe we’ll meet again in some forum thread.
Cheers,
Mathijs

 

Welcome to the forums Mathijs,

Your post was automatically locked for moderation. I can't see any problem with the content and have unlocked it.

Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-x350-x358-28/ to the X350 forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues. You can also use the Europe Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/europe-42/ to find other members in your region.

Please add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

Welcome to the Forums.

 

Thanks Graham,

I will! ☺️👍🏻

 

Welcome aboard Mathijs.

 

Mathijs,

This second post of yours was also automatically locked for moderation. I think it must be the multiple smileys causing this. If you try another post without inserting any, we'll know.

Graham

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Mathijs,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!!

 

Hello, Mathijs,
Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Good story there, Mathijs!. I'm into the previous model (X308) myself, and bought the one I now drive almost daily in Malden, outside Nijmegen, and drove it home to Oslo, Norway. It is a Daimler Super V8, almost as much power as yours, and I learnt the hard way that it's easy to get a speeding ticket in the Netherlands :-)
Have had it for a few years now, and I have spent a not insignificant amount of money to keep up appearances, but apart from that, it's been a very reliable car!

Happy driving from Christian :-)

 

Hi Christian,

Thank you and good luck with your beautiful car! Nothing good enough for your mistress...

Keep safe,
Mathijs