Hi All -

Curious if anyone can pinpoint any specific differences between the 2001 and 2003 XJRs? Looking at two very nice, clean, low mileage cars as a replacement for my 2003 XJR that met its' untimely demise this last weekend. Long story short, hit a massive well-disguised pothole on the expressway - it launched the car from the right lane to the left shoulder, separated the inertia switch from the structure of the car as it tripped it, blew both new tires, cracked inner and outer lips on both wheels, and completely knackered the front suspension, plus whatever structural damage it did as it lifted the front corner of the hood 3/4". $13k+ in damage and that's just for the suspension, electrics and wheels... As such, time for a replacement.

I was under the impression that the XJRs all had the CATS suspension, and I know for a fact that my '03 had it as I'd replaced all of the suspension with genuine parts about 500 miles ago, and they did have the electric leads. The 2001 that I'm looking at has new shocks, but I did not see the leads or wires to the top of the shocks in the engine bay pictures. The 2003 that I'm looking at does have the CATS suspension. Are there any other things to consider with a 2001 vs 2003?

Best,

Jeff

 

03 has a morse chain and upgraded secondary tensioners from the factory. also has upgraded cupholders with metal hinges. that’s all i know

 

Very sorry that happened to your 03. Glad you are ok. Yeah, an 03 will have the pretty much bullet proof timing chain system. Not only are the secondary tensioners upgraded, but the primary are as well. If you are looking at an 01, see if that has been done. If not, definitely something you need to do.

 

Not all XJRs have the CATS suspension—I have a 2001 and it does not. You are correct, if the wires are not present, the car has standard (i.e., less expensive to replace) shocks. The upgraded chain tensioners are important and if you can find a 2003 at about the same money and in similar condition as a 2001, buy it. However, if the 2001 has very low miles (I bought mine in April 2019 with 51k), it’s worth considering. My car starts easily and with absolutely no unusual noises, so I’m not concerned right now about the tensioners—and I bought it at a price where I can afford to replace them. I’d stack it up against any X308 I’ve seen.

 

Good call out on the morse chains, I'd not considered that!

A couple things that make it a harder decision -

The 2001 has been serviced at a dealership its entire life (84k) and has $9k in receipts for very recent work - if tensioners were on there, I'd expect the dealer would replace with the updated morse chains as well - will have to verify once I can see the receipts.

The 2003 apparently has the undersize pulley, and chrome asteroid wheels, though it needs the sunroof track serviced. It also has the CATS suspension, similar miles (the cars are both within 500 miles and $500 of each other), and tastefully tinted windows.

Both are really sharp cars and I really like both color combos. I almost want to go see them both but they're about 1000 miles apart - not really much of an issue, but with the reduction of flights going on now, it's not as easy as hopping on a plane and just going...

 

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