Naso--Lituratus
I am going to call my local Jag dealer and try what you did. The Carfax for my 2005 XJR showed quite a few service records up to 99,000 miles. I have to believe that much more was done as the CATS suspension is rock solid and there is no mention of that on the Carfax report.
I went to replace the belts and they look new and no mention of that.
So far I have replaced the plugs (twice as Bosch irridium gave me worse mpg and I changed to the original for much better mpg). Installed a rear view camera connected to the NAV unit, a VACM module and a Bluetooth module. I also installed a trunk pedestal spoiler to differentiate my XJR.
Next will be a transmission oil flush and a DVD install switchable to the NAV unit.
This car is very much a wolf in sheeps clothing it is not flashy and it is in excellent condition in and out.

 

Also, I would suggest getting the "AutoCheck" on the car(s) in question. It ALWAYS has more on the car than Carfax. Being carfax gets as much promotion as it does, we automatically jump to that, along with the fact that most the time it's free.

But Autocheck is much more detailed with things you won't see on Carfax...

 

Thank you for the nice compliment's, I really appreciate them. Since the 07 came with BT phone Im very happy about that but I do want Sat. radio. That is important and a camera would be nice. Id actually like to put in a factory camera and either wire it in or have it work wirelessly, either way, I do not want it don't half way but correct. I am going to call today and see about buying a used 08-09 head unit and possibly the Sirus radio harness and unit. Not like the ones they offered from Jag. for the 04-07, where you lose the ashtray and they aren't part of the unit. Thank you for your help and Ill look at the Kivic unit your talking about. I just do not want to be fumbling with a changer via IR emitter hand held unit for the Sirus radio. I want to touch the screen like the rest of everything else. Again, Thank you for your suggestion, Ill look into it.

 

Check out this thread https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-radio-30043/


& then this 1 https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...n-plas-125507/


& here is the Kivic one in action

 

Thank you so much, I had seen those, that will help in removing the console but I don't want a "Ghetto" fix I want a real time factory fix. The back up camera could work, I would need a splicer or piggy back but the Sirus I would need a full integration for FULL HD sound quality. RCA jacks only give you Mono sound that is split not separate channels. I really appreciate your helping out. Also, try and do any of those functions while driving. I think you would get a few blocks and hit someone.

 

Hahaha (it can be done) :-D


The Kivic one allows you to stream Netflix, Xfinity Tv, Slingbox, etc. So once you get going, it's not much need to mess with it much...

 

BTW there aren't any real issues with the engine on these cars. I see you did mention timing chain tensioner. This was a problem on the previous 4 litre engine, not this one. However, the coolant header tank can get a crack where a small pipe connects onto it at the top. A new tank is the only cure. Your car sounds as if it has been well looked after, a major plus point !!

 

I just got off the phone with my old Jaguar service advisor and fortunately this car has been under warranty until 1 year ago. It was a CPO warranty car. The owner from what I was told at the one and only dealership that it was ever worked on said the owner brought it in every 6 months for full service. All work done to the car was under warranty and said do not touch the transmission. He did mention that the engine timing chain was an 01 back issue not this engine. The expansion tank was replaced 2,500 miles ago and the water pump was done about 1,500 mile ago. He said the only thing that the car would possibly need is the thermostat housing could possibly go on the intake manifold. To keep an eye out for the black turning brown, once that starts to happen the part would need to be replaced. The car has not been driven but 800 miles since it was in for its last service in late 2013. They car has always been maintained and the service advisor said the man was religious about keeping up on everything. So, I will rest knowing I have little to nothing to do to the car for quite a while. He said at 110K miles to change the plugs but unless, it starts acting up, not to worry. They did however replace the transmission lines and the fluid was at that point drawn out and refilled about 3,500 miles ago. Obviously it was a second car. I had a friend go and look at the car and they said all except for having the wheels rims polished out nothing needed attention visually.

 

Sounds like you're in very good shape then! Regarding the rims, I recently did this & absolutely love it. I may even try a different look being as easy as it is to do...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ti-dip-135608/

 

Yes, if I had the one piece wheels that would be what I would do but I have the two piece, 20" two piece wheels, so only the outer ring needs polishing. Great suggestion, thank you for that.

 

Oh yeah, that makes sense! & you're welcome!..

 

Just a point of reference, regardless of what your dealer tells you, the trans is NOT sealed for life (in reality), and you do indeed need to change the filter and pan (the filter lives in / is a part of the pan) and do a proper fluid change just as you would on any car before this "sealed for life" nonsense started. Based on your mileage, I would suggest doing so in the near future.

Congrats on the purchase.

Jeff

 

Buying a car with 90+k miles will require dollars for repairs. Just ask yourself 'why is the seller selling it'

I'm on my second Jag, an 06 XJ Super8. Bought it 9 mos ago with 33k miles and a extended 5 year warranty.

To really enjoy these cars to the extent of their build quality, its best to have all service and repairs performed by the Dealer. Its expensive but affordable with an extended warranty.

Major expensive items of concern at 90+ K miles:
Valve stem guides
Catalytic Converter
Suspension bushings
Air Struts

Other than the above, enjoy the cat.
You'll get lots of compliments.

 

It all depends on what you can afford and what your objective is as well as a really good understanding of used luxury cars.

I bought my 2005 XJR in August after studying used XJRs for almost a year and reading this forum as a non member.

I wanted a 2004 + XJR for the lighter weight and better agility than pre 2004 models. I had a tight budget. I wanted the performance without excessive fuel consumption and I also wanted a single owner car. I also aimed to do "most" repairs myself.

In my spare time I have rebuilt several high performance engines over the years. Most XJRs in my price range were listed more than 100 miles from where I live.

One came up 40 miles from here with 99,000 miles on it.
Went to look at it and it was nearly immaculate inside and out. It drove extremely well.

Haggled over price and came to an agreement with the dealer agreeing to do some work on maintenance things like brakes and oil etc. so I bought it.

Have put 3,000 miles on it and am extremely pleased. It is NOT my daily driver although weather permitting I drive it whenever I can because it feels so good driving it.

I expect that I will have work to do on suspension components etc and am budgeting for that. I am also working thru maintenance jobs one at a time.

 

Thank you for that. The car just came out of CPO warranty and EVERYTHING that is a known issue has been replaced. ALL suspension except for the rear bags (no biggie). The cars owner, was a freak. He had it serviced every 6 months. All fluids changed as per the book (oil every 6 months) had an Jaguar go through it and they found NOTHING wrong at all. Everything was replaced that was a recall and everything that wasn't he had the selling dealership replace. If not for the age they said they would CPO it again. The ENTIRE front suspension has been done bushing and all. No leaks (valve covers, rear main seals etc.) expansion tank just replaced, water pump just replaced. No hard codes in the system. Transmission lines replaced and new fluid in transmission, brake flush every two years. I mean this owner was beyond a fanatic. As for Cats, in CA they NEVER go bad, unless the car either has a defective head gasket or intake gasket or blow by. It passes with almost nothing coming out of the tail pipe. The tips are clean with NO soot, the car is without flaw. So, if I spend on average 1K a year I'm fine. I don't even think that will happen. Ill drive the car at most 3K miles a year, so it will be years before something goes wrong. I talked with the tech and even the intake is aluminum not plastic so no worry about that breaking. AC unit has been replaced. I'm very good to go. Thank you for the warning. Not everyone sells a car because it has issues, sometimes people get tired of a car. Since I have all of the service records from day one. I feel very confident that I bought the best used one out there.

 

As I spoke with a tech at Jaguar. Even though my fluid had to be drawn out and exchanged when they replaced the lines. He said the theory is that since contaminates are not introduced into the system, synthetic fluid has no breakdown. Thus that is why they say, not to change the fluid. They find that most transmissions that need replacing are because they were in deed serviced. He has seen cars with over 200K miles and the transmission are sill going strong. The engines go out before the transmissions ever do. The clutches are made of carbon fiber instead of paper and the fluid is not acidic. He said if there was an introduction of other fluids into the system or a defective parts starts to deteriorate, then yes, replacement of the transmission is inevitable. Given that you have no outside contamination and all inward working parts are good then the theory is that you leave it alone., Synthetic fluids have changed the industry. They base the fact that all transmissions eventually break down over time. So, if you just leave the fluid alone until the transmission gives way to a broken part, the fluid itself is still not going to deteriorate. That is what the engineers have though out and why they are sealed. Most people have to replace their transmissions at about 125K- 150K so, the theory is the fluid will not degrade and the life of a XF transmission will last. Only parts that eventually break or wear out will cause the transmission to fail, not the breakdown of the fluid. The filter of the system is such that it will keep all contaminates from going back into the system and causing issues. Thus no need to replace the fluid.

 

Sorry Collector but this is not accurate info from your dealer, and is quite frankly scary that people still deliver the same.

ALL fluid breaks down due to one major common thread issue - heat. No synthetic fluid is impervious to degradation I'm afraid. Many of us have experienced rough shifting and other symptoms which were very much solved by doing a trans service. And some not of course. There is the old wives tale, which has held true for some (not Jag specific) that if you have a car (regardless of the trans manufacture) with XXX hundred thousand miles and the trans has never been opened up (fluid changed), then don't do it.

'Sealed for Life' was / is generally regarded as "code" for "Sealed for Warranty". I've personally put hundreds of thousands of miles on these trannies (both Jaguar and Rover) and have never had a trans failure / stick to a 60-70K schedule on trans services. My current XJR has been the only trans where rough (down) shifting (into first) caused me to do it (car was at 60K) versus being preventative. The end result of that service cured the issue with no issues since.

Regardless, enjoy your new car and do what you feel is best in the maintenance department, but I invite you to do a quick google search on sealed for life bits and read the info.

The interesting thing I've found with the Jaguar dealer info is their lack of follow-up non warranty work (as a whole) to provide a good experience to tenure and advise on. The grim reality is, we are driving $100K cars that lost $30K the moment they were driven off the lot and whole bunch more once the same came off of warranty. I'm one of those weird guys that use my preferred private wrench while ON warranty as I know the quality is there and I tend to hold cars for a decent mileage amount, so it prevents any learning curves or surprises that a dealer was limping through the process until a facotry or CPO dies out (BTDT - never again).

Cheers,

Jeff

 

+1

 

Well, I finally got the car and except for a few cosmetic things the car is actually 98% perfect. I looked for the plastic thermostat housing and it looks like Jaguar replaced it with an aluminum one when they did the other work (under warranty). This car has not issues. My only issue is with the dealer selling me a car with an empty electronic key. I had to go and buy one and have it programmed the day I got the car. 231.00 out the door but still. I think they should be responsible for paying for that. Can you believe they would sell a car knowing it only had one key and nothing inside the fob. They are trying to weasel out of paying but for me its the principle that they knew about it and tried to pass the car off with only one key and it wouldn't open or close the doors or window. Now wouldn't you guys know it was bad when the buttons just pushed all the way into the unit and had nothing behind it. How could they lock the car at night or unlock the car. ONLY by the key. It isn't the fact I had to spend the money because I am going to be spending a couple of grand of making it look like new but this was an expense I shouldn't have to eat, or am I wrong? For me its the principle of the matter not the money.

 

Collector1. I do not think you are wrong. The key was non functioning and they had to know that. The key has some pretty important functionality its not like a non functioning heated seat.