Hi all, new user here and hopefully doing everything right.

I'm looking at a used 2008 XF (3l V6, no supercharger) here in the UK.

It's low mileage (about 35,000) and only one owner, seems to drive well and is in good condition except for some cosmetics (the chrome is slightly foggy in places, the windscreen is delaminating, and the wheel caps need replacing).

I've run through all the electronics and everything seems to work. No weird noises when it's driving or stationary and all the controls also seem functional. I've checked the oil dipstick and it seems clear, and it has a FSH and passed every MOT.

Despite all this I want to make sure I'm going in with my eyes open.

Is there anything else I should look out for?

 

There's a lot of things related to the 5.0L engines but I'm not familiar with the v6 that you are looking at. I expect that the issue of the leather dash pads shrinking and coming unglued is common to all trims levels tho. Inspect the leather of the dash very carefully because unless its been garaged during the sunlit hours since new, its likely going to be suffering. That's a very expensive repair too. More minor, check all the switchgear for the "sticky button" syndrome. The soft-touch coating on the buttons deteriorates over time. Very expensive to replace affected switchgear but the coating can be safely removed with women's make-up remover, just that's a very tedious DIY project, a whole weekend to do them all. When its really hot or really cold, the map lights may have a mind of their own. Jaguar issued a service bulletin and offered a kit of parts to fix it. The wiring harness between the body and rear boot lid is another common failure point. That's about all I can think of.

But if you are really serious, then its probably worth an hour or two labor to pay an independent mechanic for a thorough PPI. For instance, I recently spent nearly $5,000 on front suspension refresh at around 60K miles. I was pressed for time with the other broken Jaguar and six other vehicles so I just sucked it up and paid an indy to do everything. All those rubber bushings and little boots and bellows deteriorate more over time than miles. The car can often still drive fine, but once the rubber is dried out, then the metal parts are no longer protected, lubrication can no longer be retained and it won't be long before its knocking. Jaguar doesn't sell all the inexpensive little rubber pieces separately unfortunately, rather you have to buy entire components so suspension work can get real expensive real fast. Would you know to look for all that and would you be comfortable putting the seller's car up on jacks and crawling under it yourself? Somebody on here once posted in regards to pre-purchase inspections, and I wish I could remember to be able to give proper credit, but said something like "The best money I ever spent on a car was the money I spent on the one I did not buy."

 

The main thing is can you DIY the repairs?
These are luxury cars and they get no cheaper to repair the older they get!

This forum is my best tool and with the age of your car all the problems have long been discovered and solved. So use the forum and search away!
Have you had a luxury car before? They do tend to have more upkeep/expense than lower level cars. Just they way it is.
.
.
.