Hello,

I recently stumbled across a one-owner 2004 Jaguar XJR with 61K miles on it. At first I was skeptical about it but eventually I decided to take it for a test drive. I looked all around the car and everything seemed to be in good working order. I started to become more excited about it because it was in my price range and the mileage on it wasn't too bad. But before I make a decision I might regret, I was wondering about how reliable this car might be. I looked into the CarFax and all seemed to be OK. I've also read some general reviews about the car from consumers and 9 times out of 10 they say that the car was great and there was no real issues apart from regular maintenance. Long story short, would this car be a good buy? (I know that it won't be as reliable as a Toyota or Honda, but I've always had a soft spot for Jags, especially "R" models). If needed I can provide more info.

 

Great dependable fast vehicle...Don't know if its a good buy until you tell us the price! That's great mileage for an 04...Plus 1 owner...win win

 

The used-car dealer listed it for $12K but he was willing to bring the price down a bit. I'm hoping on getting more info on Wednesday.

 

These cars are capable of getting to well over 200k miles, but you may have to spend some money on the way on things other than normal servicing. The car is air-sprung, so the compressor piston seal tends to fail, as do air springs very occasionally. There are a few other issues that are well known, but the car is usually very reliable in terms of not breaking down at the roadside. Some of the suspension bushes and joints are not long lived, but there is plenty of stuff now on the internet.
In terms of who does the maintenance work, you'd be better finding a Jaguar specialist locally if you can, as Jaguar main agents labour charges tend to be very high, and also they only supply parts at Jaguar main agent prices. Some of these can be double or even treble what you'd pay on the internet.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...tained-134763/

Have a look at the above thread.

For me my 2005 XJR is the best car I have ever owned. I am 65 and have "owned" a lot in my life and that includes my company cars as well as my wife's which were mostly performance cars. She had better company cars than I had.

There are some interesting threads on buying at a certain mileage range. i.e when do things go wrong. As an example if you buy say at 90K have many "issues" been taken care of? Whereas if you buy at 70k are you about to get into some issues?

 

Thanks for the info. I have heard of the air suspension issues and the costs related to that and I would only just be OK with repairs of that budget ($1000-$2000 I'm guessing, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Also, how easy is it replace stuff like suspension bushes and joints? I do have a Jag specialist nearby but would prefer to keep running costs at a minimum.

 

If you are a reasonably competent DIYer you can replace suspension components like wishbones and so on yourself, but swapping out bushes in a wishbone needs a press and accurate mandrels to do the pressing. If you can get these made and have the press then you can do these yourself. I would expect your local Jaguar specialist to recommend just swapping out complete wishbones, because the time taken to swap bushes means the cost gets close to a new wishbone. This assumes they source the parts off established internet suppliers and not the Jaguar main agents. Some bushes and balljoints are not available separately, for instance the ball joints on the top wishbones, even if the trunnion bushes can be obtained.

 

How much would whole wishbones cost?

 

I took another test drive of the 2004 XJR today and as I drove back to the dealer I noticed that there was an "Air Suspension Fault" message where the mileage reading usually was. This message was not there when I first test drove the car on Sunday, three days ago, so I'm guessing that this issue is new. Unfortunately, I did not mention this to the dealer (pretty stupid of me, I know). I have looked at the Air Suspension thread in this forum but since I do not own the car I cannot properly use the methods described to determine whether the message is just a glitch due to a low battery charge or if the issue is as serious as replacing an air compressor or some shocks, which, according to the thread, can cost upwards of $3000 (which is an insane price if the whole car is worth not much more than $10 or $11K). This honestly feels like a punch in the stomach because an "R" model Jaguar has always been a bit of a dream car for me. The dealer has offered different types of extended warranty and I am fine buying the car if this air suspension issue can be covered by it or if the fix is no more than $600 or $700 and can be prolonged by a couple months. I have looked into replacing the air suspension shocks with these coils (https://www.arnottindustries.com/par...36_gid694.html) but would like to avoid that if possible. Any suggestions on what to do?

 

I would not buy the car unless the fault is fixed properly.

Dont forget there are 4 "struts", 1 compressor and the air tank in the trunk. All of which have connections that can leak.

 

jackra_1, I recall you saying that you have a 2005 XJR yourself. How many miles does it have and have you had any issues with the air suspension?

 

I bought my 2005 XJR almost 2 years ago with 99,000 miles on it.

Now have 106,000 on it. The only suspension issue I have had was a slight leak from the rear right shock. It did not cause any error code and I solved the problem by very slightly tightening the air fitting on that shock.

It was a one owner car and I have to believe the shocks have been replaced at some time.

The only other issues I have had is with a blinker bulb going and the NAV CD player not reading the NAV disc. Cleaning a few times cured that.

I do all maintenance myself otherwise I could not afford the car.

 

After looking into air suspension maintenance and other stuff like that the option of fitting these Arnott coils (https://www.arnottindustries.com/par...36_gid694.html) is looking more and more attractive. Has anyone used these that can possibly leave some feedback as to how they change the ride and handling and if they are worth the $1500?

 

Hi the best thing to do is have it fault code read then go from there it may only need a piston seal in the compressor also if the battery is low you will get every fault code known to man .The other one on the xjr is the valley pipe not a five minute job I think most on here will change them at 100.000 miles or ten years but even with there faults great cars

 

Owning these pre owned jags is a love hate relation due to the hi cost of repairs. Luxury cars are expensive to maintain. Jag suspension bushings at the most last 10 years before degradation of the ride. The degradation starts out very slight and most owners don't notice it, but it's there. Replacing the upper and lower contol arms front and rear along with the connecting links, makes the ride as new. At the dealer these costs are in the ball park of $5K. Some folks own these cars just to own and never fully maintain them resulting in lots of deferred maintenance.
Budget between $1-2K for ea year of ownership. There is a reason why these cars are other high end cars depreciate rapidly and may appear affordable. Do not fall for this allure. The cheap price for these cars become very expensive to keep them in top condition after the factory warranty expires.
Good Luck.

 

I just bought a 2005 XJR.

Here is what I would do when I buy my next Jag.

Check all the cooling hoses, are they thin, flimsy and soft. If so they need replacing.
Check for brown foamy in the cooling hoses, check cap
Check for white in the oil, check cap
Remove the wheels check the brakes and suspension
Drive the car to decent speed slam on the brakes, what happens?
Run all electric switches to make sure they all work
Start the car when cold, see what happens
Run the car to hot, drive when hot, see what happens
Drive the car slowly over bumps, what do you hear
Check how old the battery is
Have any filters been replaced?
Check visors up, down, move around do they need attention
Get the car up on a lift look at the underside, what do you see?
Check where the cat is parked, drips? Don't confuse AC condensation puddle with other fluids
Check head liner
Bounce each corner, what do you hear, what happens?
Griff

 

ignore double post

 

+1 on Griff79's suggestions.

When I test drove my 2005 XJR hard braking made it clear the brakes needed replacing.

The dealer agreed to do that as well as some trim issues around the center console he agreed to fix.

However his mechanic screwed up the wheel lugs in a big way. Spent half a day plus at a garage where they ground off two lugs and replaced all with Toyota lug nuts I provided. Dealer paid for all except Toyota lug nuts.

The car had the original metal capped lug nuts which are easily over tightened when someone uses those air tools.

 

When you're considering buying and checking out the future purchase always bring along your OBD II code reader to pull any DTCs.

 

I bought my 04 Xjr with 68k miles several years ago. Yes its a beauty and fast, but just like women the prettier and faster they are the more trouble youll get lol.
First, the car has air suspension which WILL FAIL at each wheel eventually. Each one is going to cost you atleast $500 (if you install yourself) also the compressors ar known to fail. Just keep your fingers crossed they give out while parked in your driveway or youll be calling a tow truck. Why jag didnt Recall this model for its garbage airsuspension is a mystery.
Second, electronic sensors. This car is absolutely infested with sensors of all kinds. My car went through a period of beleiving the wheel speed sensors were bad. I paid over $200 a peice to replace them (installing myself) only to have the car reject them a week later. This causes a full range of consequences as the wheel speed sensors give data to the Trac Control, Steering, Transmission, Speedometer. It makes thencar damn near undriveable. Only after disconnecting the battery to reset the computer multiple times and scrubbing the sensor rings with a toothbush the problem went away on its own (for now).
Third, the transmisson is apparently supposed to be flushed around 70k miles, the problem is, it is a "sealed system" which Jag used as a marketing ploy to give the impression it would function "for life" without service. Unfortunately for the owner, they really mean the "lifetime" of the cars warranty. It is a sealed unit that jas no Trans dipstick so you can change the fluid like a normal car. You have to take it to a dealer and pay upwards of $2,000 so theyncan used a machine that flushes and fills it and runs the car theough gears as the level is determined by temperature. THAT IS, if you can convince the dealership that this can even be done. My local jag dealership refuses to even acknowledge that the fluod can be changed. Total insanity
FOURTH, bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints front and rear are junk. At 75k mine were completely destroyed. My bmw 750li with 105k still look like new. If you know howntonchange these out youncan use some ford parts that are interchangeable and save some money. Otherwise ive been quoted over $3,000 by local shops.
My personal verdict is this:
If you love the way the car looks, buy a poster of one and hang it in your garage. Yea shes a beauty but trust me its only Aluminum Skin Deep. JAGUAR should have been sued for the substandard crap they used on this car. It WILL leave you stuck on the side of the road at some point
You WILL spend thousands of dollars keeping it road worthy. And you WILL wish you were never born quite frequently. I promise you its Not worth it. Buy a Bmw or Merc or Audi. I cant get rid of mine because its NADA value is crap less than $8,000. And the warning lights never go OFF long enough to con someone into buying it.

If you still dare to do it, buy alot of tools and get familar with them and Ebay and this Forum..you will need them ALL.