Hi folks, I'm hoping for some advice as my beloved XJ approaches its 84 month service.

It's 8 years old and only has about 47,000 miles on the clock, and is in superb condition. I bought it Used Approved from Jaguar about 5 years ago and it has been serviced by Jaguar ever since. The only thing that's ever gone wrong with the car was that one of the headlamp washers failed

My problem is that, due to the car's age, it's now due for the 112,000 mile service, which has been estimated at just over £1,000 by Jaguar. That's the minimum price, assuming nothing else needs replacing or repairing.

With the low mileage, and in superb condition, I'm guessing the car is worth between £18K and £20K, so I'm beginning to think it's becoming too expensive to own.

But I love the car!

My totally newb question is: what alternatives do I have?

If I don't service it but try to sell it on the verge of this service, how much might that lower the value?

Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

Interesting question, similarly I have a 2011 XJ Portfolio that has just rolled over to 46k miles. Taggarts Jaguar were going to charge around £600 for a major service. I took mine to my local Jaguar independent and got it serviced for £340 (roughly). It did end up needing Air conditioning hoses (that was about £760 including labour). My suggestion would be an independent that is Jaguar certified.
I would say keep the car if you are enjoying it!
I don't know what else to suggest as the new XF isn't as premium feeling on the inside (as nice as that is). I don't know if you would want to drop £100k+ on a new Merc S class or Lexus LS?

 

GTxj, this is always a tough question to answer as there are so many variables. But, I think I may be able to give you a few key points to ponder that will make the decision pretty black and white.

Lets just start with desires. If you are one of those that needs the latest and greatest or the latest look, then selling the car is a no brainer. The question then comes, what to replace it with. Unfortunately, if you are looking for another sport saloon, your options are pretty limited right now as this style of car is going away, especially at the level that the Xj is. You have a BMW 7/8 series, the top of the line MB, and AUdi A7, and then some exotics that are probably more money than you are willing to spend. This is where just taking a weekend and bouncing from dealership to dealership is going to be time well spent to see what you like and what you are willing to spend.

Now, lets flip to the financial side of things. Right now, owning the XJ is costing you nothing more than really maintenance. Going with one of the cars above, how much more per year would ou be spending? 5 times, 10 times..... Yes, a newer car is always a desire of most people. But, when you look at the fact that your Xj can easily make it out to 300,000 miles (500,000 KM), you are only about 1/3rd of the way through the life of the car. If you are worried about a "sudden catastrophic cost", most people would tell you to set up a savings account or get a credit card that you maintain a zero balance on that has the room to handle most of the repairs you are looking at. Even if you are putting say 3K into this account, still less than the cost of the newer car that you still have to do some maintenance on. You ask me, a bit more on maintenance to have a ride I like is a no brainer, especially when I own the vehicle outright.

Getting back to buying a "newer" car. You know right now dealerships are going to try and lowball you on the car and think that their used car on the lot is made of gold. Atleast that is the general rule here in the US. The price of a used car is in some cases going above that of a newer, brand new car. (yes,, a 3 year old car is getting as much if not more than MSRP of a car that no one has ever owned because of the lack of stock). You want to wait say 3 years and contemplate this again, the dollars are going to be more in your favor.

Now, something you may want to consider is ditching the dealership. yes, they know the car inside and out, but so do a lot of independent (indy) repair places. Sometimes the indies are more knowledgeable because they have worked on the cars when they are not at 100%. They are going to normally be more "realistic" with a price for a repair. For example, I will take the water pump for my XJ. I paid $1600 to have an indy replace it. They bought the parts from a Jaguar dealership (so, same parts), but their charge per hour for labor was much less. Where, I have heard of people here having a dealership do the same job for around $2400. If it wasn't for the fact that I was on vacation, I would have replaced the water pump myself for around $400. This is where there can be a big price difference. Also see what you can do yourself. Something like air filters, I am sure you are more than capable of doing that yourself. It is a few screws, slide one out, push it back together, tighten the screws. Nothing complicated about it. Do that twice, done. The filters run you $25 each, $50 total, $60 if you have to by the T-bit screw drivers. The dealership is going to get you for around $40-50 for each filter and then nab you for an hour of labor ($125). So, the filters get you for $200ish. Depending on how much you trust some of your friends that are gearheads, I am sure a 12 pack of beer, a few hundred tossed their way, you can get quite a bit of work done.

As for not doing the service and just selling it, I don't see the price really being affected much. Right now, if people want a car, they are going to take it however it is. That is just what the market is doing. Not quite as common with these cars as those that can afford the cars are wanting new and those that are stretching, are trying to find every reason to knock the price down. Hence why these cars lose so much of their value in the first few years (and it isn't just jaguar, it is all the cars of this class).

Hopefully this gave you a bit to think about and maybe opened your eyes to a few things and closed a few doors to make the decision a little easier. Not trying to steer you to keeping the car, but for me, that seems the more logical answer at the moment based on the market.

 

Unfortunately what happens to almost all luxury cars is that as they approach that point where major service is needed, owners get scared and bail out. But then the cars are sold as-is on the used car market and the service is never done. The next owners buy them cheap, most really can't afford a luxury car, don't have a garage to keep it in or anything and shouldn't be buying one, but they're trying to make people think they are wealthier than they really are. Like buying 50 dollars worth of lottery tickets every week, they skip the service and just gamble big Some will make it another 50,000 miles relatively trouble-free and a few will lose big, blowing a whole engine or something. But either way, that's how these wonderful cars so often end, being abused and neglected by people who should have never had them in the first place.

When my old X308 got to the point of needing, well just about everything, I didn't have time to mess with it (it wasn't worth a fraction of the cost of service at shop rates) and so bought the XF to replace it (the new X351 had grown too large to fit in my home garage). I knew the fate of the X308 if I sold it, somebody would just keep driving it as-is, putting a quart of oil in it every couple of weeks and listening to it squeak and clunk over every bump in the road. But I couldn't bear the thought of seeing it bake in the parking lot of some nearby subsidized apartment complex (perhaps with a set of rented 22 inch wheels mounted on it). So I parked it in the back of the shop building (I restore much older cars as a hobby) and ignored it for a while. Eventually I pulled the motor and fixed the leaks. After another year I did all the suspension. I've been slowly DIY'ing everything it needs over the last five years. It still needs a few minor things, like new stereo speakers (all the foam surrounds have deteriorated and the music sounds terrible). But it still looks about as good as it did when it was four or five years old. I am determined that my X308 shall survive me.

At classic car shows, the most interesting cars are the ones displayed by their original owners (or at least as compared to the cars that were bought as toys after they were already a classic). I'm always jealous of those people who can bring an old car to the show and tell stories about their adventures, vacation trips, births, weddings, graduations, accidents, close calls, etc. when the car was relatively new and part of their family.

To call your X351 "beloved", you must feel an extraordinary attachment to it like I do my old x308. I know most people can't keep a car indefinitely but its so cool when they do. If you are not a DIY'er and can't commit to paying for every service it needs as it needs it, then please don't just trade it in and leave its fate to the odds. Try to find an enthusiast who will continue to park it indoors and maintain it properly despite the increasing frequency of repairs. Maybe try the local Jaguar club or ask your indy if they know a potential buyer with the means to keep it up. I just fear that the complexity of the X351s systems is going to mean way too few survivors on the classic car show fields.

 

Have to agree with Phil very much! If I did not do my own work I would never have been able to own a Jaguar.
DIY is the key if your without factory warranty.
.
.
.

 

Hey there @TomJag94 , @Thermo , @pdupler and @clubairth1 , thank you so much for taking the time to post, I really appreciate it

I'd never heard of independents being 'Jaguar-approved', thanks to you I've searched and found one with a very good reputation near(ish) me and have asked them to quote me for the service. Fingers crossed their quote will be affordable!

To be honest my main concern is the safety of my passengers (and their driver!) — if Jaguar say the car needs X, Y and Z to keep it safe then that's all I can rely on. I'll keep it as long as possible — it's worth far more to me than its (re)sale value.

Mountain bikes and electronics, computers and peripherals I can service and fix no problem, but my tools and skillset are no match for the XJ. I need to find a professional I can afford to look after it, and hopefully this independent specialist is it.

Once again, thanks folks!

 

GTxj, you don't say where you and the car reside, but I'm assuming UK based upon your use of £.

If you have been changing fluids based upon years and not mileage, I'd suggest you have no need for a full-blown 112k service. I recommend a thorough going-over by a competent mechanic. You don't even need a Jaguar mechanic at this point, just someone who will carefully inspect all rubber and plastic parts. Evaluate the car after this inspection. If you don't have a plethora of cracked hoses, belts or bushes, do a transmission service, as well as brake fluid and coolant change (if these two haven't been done recently), and go enjoy the car. If there are items needing replacement or repair, estimate these items and reconsider your options, this time from a position of knowledge, not guesswork.

If you can indeed fetch £18-20k for your car as-is, you have some other options regarding trades, but I don't know anything about the UK market. You would be massively upside-down if located in the US. Even trading your '14-15 on an '18-19 wouldn't get you much besides improved telemetrics and the option of a CPO ("Used Approved") car. Based upon your annual mileage, such a move might not make sense.

 

At 8 years old, it's time to call in the Jaguar specialists ! Their labour rates are lower, so the service cost of all listed items will be lower. Problem with all premium cars is the labour rates of the main agents who think any owner is a millionaire ! Also they are required as a dealership to only use parts supplied by Jaguar whereas an independent will likely fit OEM parts, or parts, (like brake pads), from reputable suppliers. All car makers use 3rd party suppliers, (OEM), and kiss the price "up the ***" by quite large amounts just for the part being in the maker's box. Jaguar are no exception to this.

My own XE is currently on a service plan, but when that expires, I will probably take the car to the local garage that maintains my other 3 cars, (MB SLK, VW New Beetle, and MG TF).

 

The answer to your question can simply be what is your alternative? IMHO, spending 2000 to enjoy another year of XJ ownership is well worth it. Unless you are bored of the car or want something else (and it is available); I will service it and enjoy it.

 

That's why I still have Wife #1. She's still worth it.

How much would it cost to find another car that you will enjoy as much as your 2014 XJ? Compare that to the cost of keeping your XJ. Don't forget the cost of insurance, which usually declines as a car gets older.

It's more than just numbers. It's your emotional attachment to your XJ, too.

 

Hi folks, big thanks again for taking the time to post. The XJ is now booked in for the service with the specialist I mentioned, at 30% of the cost a Jaguar dealership quoted me. Result!

 

Conclusion time! So, it turned out the car needed an 'A' service as it had had the 'B' service last year. So the job was even cheaper than the specialists quoted 👍

Talking to the owner, the reason the dealer quoted over £1,000 for this service was that they automatically include every possible repair/replacement for the car's age regardless of the mileage. The car is eight years old but only has 42,600 on the clock. So they would have included a timing belt change with the service, hence the astronomical quote. In reality the timing belt won't *need* changing for some time.

Once again, thanks for all your help and recommendations!

Just in case anyone is reading in North West UK, the specialists were Horner and Hudsons Ltd of Macclesfield. Highly recommended!

 

It doesn't have a timing belt. It has a timing chain.
A timing chain rarely, if ever, needs to be changed throughout the life of a car.

 

Thanks for that, I'm learning slowly 👍

I've only done a little bit of research, but most info I can find suggests that (broadly speaking) petrol variants have chains but diesel variants have a belt. My XJ is a 3.0D 202kW from 2014 which it seems should have the belt replaced at 112,500 miles or 10 years. (So in either case the dealer was premature in suggesting it needed changing.) Does this fit people's understanding?

 

Yes when we don't have all the car info you most likely will get incorrect advice.
.
.
.

 

Signature updated, thanks!

 

Also this forum is weak when it comes to Diesels as they were not sold in the US.
.
.
.

 

Be thankful , the brit forum is full of the Diesel version of the x351 and full of problems to , Particularly cars from 65 reg on