While I absolutely love my car, I am terrified of it breaking down. I must admit I got caught up in the prestige of owning the car and it really is a sweet car, plus I got it for wholesale. I will not be able to afford the ridiculous prices the dealer charges for parts and attorney level rates for service. What a joke. It is running fine and is as smooth as silk, but I am a poor man driving a rich mans car. I am mechanical and can do a lot of things myself, but this is a highly complex car that requires many specialty tools to repair. When it breaks down, you can almost bet, I won't be able to diagnose and or repair. Every time I drive this thing I pray that it won't break. Now that the novelty has worn off and reality has set in, I think I am going to sell it. Just not for me from that aspect. I will get something simpler and japanese.

 

sorry to hear that, but if you're going to worry every trip out...definitely not for you. The 04 XJs are very twitchy. How about an 02 XJR... they're solid.

 

Wow! Your heart really has to go out to the guy. A "poor" man driving one of these cars with limited mechanical knowledge or interest is in a fix. As reliable as the car is or isn't is not the issue. It will malfunction at some point and that will be a life changing event for Cliff. Sell the car to me at deep discount.

The other alternative is to find a buddy who is knowledgable and experienced in these matters who is willing to talk you through to the hard parts and exalt with you the good parts. As good and usefull as these forums are they can not do that. So sad.

 

I hope you find a car that you feel comfortable with, There are cars out there that are less expensive to operate than Jaguars. When you drive an exclusive car, the cost seems comensurate with the exclusivity. I am commuting 60 miles a day in my XJ8 06 but its excellent mileage, safety and comfort are worth the cost to me. I will say that the XJ8 has been a trouble free car except for the suspension compressor I replaced after four years of use. The cars are well designed and built, better than most ,but its' true that the dealers kill the customers on parts prices. If you can find an independent repair shop, you could be better off.

 

Here in Old England we have a cricketing simile called the 2nd Eleven, being that team of Jaguar specialists that are not Jaguar Main Agents, (the 1st Eleven), but mainly do maintenance work at far less than main dealer rates. These chaps tend to get to know the cars far better than the main agents, especially when the cars have put on a few years. They also know the cheaper fixes too.

There must be service shops like that in the US as so many Jaguars are sold and used there. Clifsmith just has to find one not too far away.

(11 - a cricket team total).

 

Talk to JagMac in Dallas, perhaps they know someone in San Antonio. Leverage the knowledge on this board for things you may be able to do yourself. That said, running costs do not depreciate.

 

There is a reason why you can pick one of these between 20k and 30k. They really stink. What ever happen to reliabile XJs from 98-03. These new Air-Ride Jags are terrible.
From water filtrating to the trunk wiping out the Power distribution Fuse box. To the fiber optic cables for the radio causing no sound problems, to air ride suspension problem, compressor changes like an oil change, tires and wheels that cost an unborn child to replace. To heater cores that get plugged with casting flash/sand from the engine and radiator. Abs sensors that cost $250 a pop. And air ride sensor that wipe out at the sight of a pothole.

These cars are IMO the worse Jag next to the S-Types. I am currently trying to get rid of ours, we paid 22k for ours and now cannot get anything better then 17k trade for it. It only has 43k on the meter. Ive driven it 5k and its spent most of its life in the garage. I can do things myself Ive built cars from and I know a thing or two about cars but this car needs a 22k scanner to even start to diagnose.
The Independed Jaguar mechanic that I take my car to has the almighty scanner and he keeps telling me how these car are the biggest POS car ever to come in to the shop. Stupid problems that cost a fortune to fix.

OP sell the car when you can. You will see trouble. Car is nice but not worth the worry of having to slap a 2k repair on the CC at every oil change interval. I had high hopes for jaguar after our 95 XJ, and 00 XJ, But after Fords ownership and now Tata motors the car is going thru its worse years since the 80s.

 

Sorry to hear about your sitatuation...it's sad when you really love a car but feel that you have to part with it. I know you said that you are a "poor man" but is there any way you could swing an aftermarket warranty?

In my case my credit union provided me with a well respected warranty plan at a very reasonable price that will keep me covered up to 100k. As others have said, these cars are simply going to break...but if you really love it see if you can find extended coverage that will keep you from being surprised with big repair bills. The car will cost you $$ to own but extended warranty coverage would ultimately be cheaper, more predictable, and infinitely less stressful.

Good Luck!

 

Such an interesting thread.

I've preferred Jaguars for the last 20 years because of their special uniqueness, they're hardly ever seen on the roads. Unless you fit into that category of first owner protected by factory warranty and can afford the entry price, these cars are nearly impossible to own for the average 2nd, 3rd owner. Even if someone gave the car to you free, the maintenance costs, once they start getting a little older can be unjustifiable.

One of the two very reasons I run a small independent repair business is to mitigate some of the impact of the costs to operate these beautiful machines for a few local owners. The other reason is so that I can drive one too knowing I can repair anything that comes along for next to nothing. That, and I have enough other cars to park any Jag I have if it financially puts me in a holding pattern.

I don't think it is properly framed to think of one's self as a "poor man" unable to afford to drive this car, rather as an economical analysis, why would anyone submit to maintenance that exceed the original investment, or double, or triple it, which is not out of the realm of possibilities.

Isn't it interesting what a fine line there is between "a piece of junk" and an "engineering marvel", both of which are accurate phrases describing this car based on what side of a repair bill you find yourself.

 

Interesting points. Sorry to use the phrase "poor man", it is just that most people you see driving (in our area) these cars are doctors, lawyers, etc and I am definitely not one of those. When I first got the car (which I paid $12,900 for with 83k miles for a 2004 xj8 with Nav), people at work were saying "wow you must be making the big bucks now" or "how could you afford that". What I love about the car is that you just don't see that many of them, I get looks all the time, plenty of power and fuel economy! It is a very nice car. I was lucky enough to get a one owner car that was religiously taken to the dealer for maintenance during its life. I have the records to prove. It also already had the transmission recall fluid change thing done at 50k. I did the oil and filter changes myself recently. The only thing that happened after 9 months of ownership is that the plastic thermostat housing cracked which I had to replace. I did the job myself and $110 for a new housing. But I was lucky. When one of these Air suspension things starts happening, I will be kicking myself for hanging on. Anybody want to buy it?

 

The air suspension thing is $1000 a side (or something like that) if you budget a little money each month to a repair fund, you should be fine.

The total cost of ownership isn't that much higher than a new car when you buy used. Think about the people who buy a new Toyota Camry, two years later they may not have spent any money on repairs thanks to the warranty but they have had $10K or more in depreciation. Plus they have been driving the most boring appliance of a vehicle made for two years where you have had a Jag to drive and enjoy.

 

I even feel bad for the folks that bought this vehicle brand new. They what spent $70k on average to drive this car for 3-4 years to have it depreciate $50k upon return, mainly because of known problems and bad reviews. They paid for it one way or another. Mind you the first owner probably just took a small hit on their portfolio, they will likely not return as a customer if they had problems warranty or not. The brand will have to go thru another cycle to regain market share.

There is more to making tech marvels and jewls on wheels, specially when they are other choices out there. It also makes you look very foolish when friends and nighbors and co-workers ask you where is you beautiful car, and you reply its at the shop again. Makes you look like an idiot that did not do his or her homework.

The depreciation value the car makes it attractive for a 2nd 3rd owner especially when one had good luck with prior models. But a bad model is a bad model no matter how you slice it. Everyone wants to justify their purchases, and no doubt this vehicle is gorgeous and runs nice, but hiding from the problems will get you in trouble when your time is up.

 

These cars don't depreciate because of known problems. They depreciate because they are high end luxury sedans--the BMW 7-series, Mercedes S-Class and Audi A8 all depreciate the same way and they also have their own set of issues. People who buy them new buy them because they have the means or credit to do so and want to have the newest and latest. Their suffering is our gain, used luxury vehicles are the best deal out there if you can afford the running costs.

According to the quality data that I have seen, the XJ8 is one of the most reliable vehicles in its class. My real gripe has been the predatory dealer that I used to deal with and that the after sales experience has not been a "luxury experience" as it has been with Cadillac and Porsche.

 

Everyting depreciates, But not at the rate these are depreciating. Try to do the same comparison to a S-class or a BMW 7 series of the same year similar mileage and similar options you will see that BMW will be atop on average and Merc second Then Audi then JAG...........And the gap will be thousands between BMW and Jag. Trust me I can look up stuff just like you can. But the numbers dont lie. If Jaguar had been making superb cars like the 95-03 XJ for another decade it will catch on resale values averages would have been going up. But problem cars and transfer of ownership = BAD.
The people buying cars in this price range, new, are not all geeks wanting the latest technology. They want Safe, Reliable, Goodlooking and performing cars. They are pretty smart individuals that do their work, these cars seem exclusive and rare but not because they are unique, but because they did not sell very well. Same happens in the used car market they are cheap because they sit in lots or dont bid well in auctions driving the depreciation numbers lower then the competition.
Truth hurts for sure, and again we try to justify our purchases to make us feel like we got a good deal. So justify repair expeditures vs initial cost and you might just come out similar to the other brands, buy maybe they did not have to go thru the embarrasment of the car being in the shop and feel confident that although they paid more upfront they dont have to worry about failures all the time.
Obviously the original poster saw somthing that scarred him about owning his car, it did not come from nothing.

 

That was the exact competitive set that I looked at when buying this car--the other cars are a bit more expensive used but their original sticker prices were higher as well.

The S-Class has been a nightmare (my mother's 2006 S600 went back under the lemon law after spending fully half of its tenure with my parents in the shop)

The 7-Series BMW has too many issues to list from the IDrive to transmission failures to electronic gremlins that would make your hair curl.

The Audi A8 has a history of electronic mayhem as well including their MMI system.

If your primary criteria is that you want a reliable luxury car, don't buy European--get a Lexus, Cadillac or Lincoln.

 

OK....YOU HAVE TO F'N KIDDING ME!!!!. I swear on a stack of bibles I am not making this up. 2 hours after I made my last post this afternoon, I got in my car on the way home from work and guess what? Are you ready for this? I got a "Airbag Suspension Failure" warning. I have never had a warning for any probs in my entire 9 months of ownership. I posted today about my fears of problems and even mentioned air suspension fears and then 2 hours later I get the airbag failure warning. I jinxed myself. Ok then here is a test of value and hopefully someone from this forum can help me get started without getting raped by a repair shop. Here are the symptoms:

1) started car this afternoon after work and hear unusual noise, like a loud compressor noise (i had never heard before) that did not sound like it was shutting off.
2) drove off about 2 miles down the road and the "Airbag Suspension Warning" light and it did not shut off.
3) car rode like a tank.
4) pulled in garage and turned off engine.
5) restarted, got the same loud noise, but this time louder. remained running in neutral
6) The front end started rising then the compressor noise quite. No failure light.
7) I sat for 5 minutes with it running and noticed the front end was slowly lowering. The failure light never came back on.

Any ideas? what is a common failure with the above symptoms? What can I do?

 

Your air compressor is likely going out. And taking too long to fill and raise car. Throwing a code. It will get worse and fail. Replacement compressors are $500-$1000 it is located behind the bumper and can be reached from the inner fender.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB you just got your cherry popped.

 

Now the car is fine. I just took it for a test spin. No codes good ride. No noise. It must have been that snow dusting we got in central Texas today. I am still selling it. VERY nice car. Just cant hang with the potential costs looming and just costs of ownership. Not for me. My last car I had for 4 years (toyota matrix) and I did not have one single problem with it. ZERO. Looks like I am going back to toyota. Still great vehicles even with all the publicity with them right now.

 

Running the Jag is not that bad and the grass isn't greener if you buy an Axis car.

 

I agree completely. I always have had nice luxury rides. Currently an X-Type, Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 (better looking MB SLK AMG with Karmann body) and a Land Rover Discovery II. Will probably swap out the Disco for an LR4 and the X for an XF in the next couple of years. The cost of maintenance is certainly less than the payment on a new one. A little budgeting and knowledge from this forum and there isnt much you cant figure out yourself. I buy the parts, provide the service manuals 'JTIS' fix what I can and a local mechanic does the rest at a reasonable cost.