Hi. I'm looking at a 2002 XJR tomorrow - being sold by a local Mercedes dealer, who doesn't have records, but assures me they only put the best cars on their lots (color me a little skeptical).

This car has about 80k miles on it and carfax shows 2 local owners. I'm a Jaguar virgin, but have owned lots of European cars, so I know what I'm getting into.

What should I be looking for and how should I drive the car to identify potential problems? Thanks in advance.

 

I got my 2002 XJR from a volvo dealarship back a while ago from and it hasn't given me too much trouble. I would start the engine from a cold start with the hood open and listen for any strange noises. I would let the car warm up completely and then take it for a gentle test. Slow accelerations to make sure that the transmission is shifting properly. Once you are satisfied with the comfortable ride quality I would use the "J-gate" shifter to force the car into 2nd gear. I would then test the engine's full RPM range to the red line (you will need to do this on an area where you can go between 60-70 miles per hour) Doing this will allow you to make sure that there is no strange hesitancy in the engine due to some strange problem (dirty sensors, bad fuel pump (s). I would also do a braking test from something like 50 mph to 0 to see if there is any vibration due to improperly worn pads or a warped brake rotor.

I know this all sounds a little violent but it's what I would do if I was looking into buying another XJR.

good luck with your test drive

 

1. Besides the "usual supects" as fluids (levels, consistence and smell), brake pad and rotor wear, belts, drive-axle wear, dents, rust, leaking transmission, leaking rear axle diff, check EVERY electrical gadget the car has to offer!
Seat heaters (both!), CD-changer, wiper, AC, heater, cruise control, BOTH remote sender, seat adjustment and memory function, just to name a few.
Check for strange electrical behaviour (interiour lamps coming on, warning messages, etc. ...)
A faulty wiring or a bug somewhere in the electrical system is often hard to locate and therefore pretty expensive. That can be very nerve-racking!

Open the sunroof and close it again.
Any issues with the head-liner, especially the rear piece?
Tilt the sunroof and have a look from the outside.
Does the inner part of the head-liner open on both sides or is one side hanging down?
If so there is one of the lever arms inside the sunroof broken or missing. (Used sunroof parts are hard to find!)

Try to get service records and documents of major repairs (timing chain tensioners?).

2. Have FUN testdriving the XJR!

David

 

Got back from seeing this particular car - XJR 100, 83000 miles, paint was scratched up in several places.

Dealer gets in the drivers seat, closes the door and cannot get out. Door handle doesn't work. I let him out, he fiddles with the latch and gets it so the door cannot close - so no test drive. Headliner is sagging and when pushing on the sagging headliner, it feels like the cardboard or whatever is up there has also separated from the roof. Driver's door panel is separating from the door, so that when you shut it, it shakes.

After 10 minutes of fiddling with the door, he gets it to close. We go for a drive (my first time driving a Jaguar). Felt like a muscle car. It was definitely powerful, but it also felt a little "nervous." The car wouldn't track straight and I just didn't feel planted.

Getting on the highway, I did the 2nd gear thing and that was fun, driving it to redline. On the highway, ride quality was pretty rough - even the car salesman, who knew I wasn't a buyer, remarked how rough it was.

I think this car has seen better days and is a money pit waiting for a sucker. The salesman said it has been on their lot for a while and he thinks I am literally the first person to inquire about the car.

Onward - next up, a 2 owner 2003 XJR with 96000 miles and supposedly, full books and records.

 

Sounds like the latch cable had problems and some ape didn't know how to put the door panel back on (not that hard). Also, those 19" wheels are going to feel rough on the road. I'm betting a better cared-for standard XJR will be a much better experience. Good luck!

 

that's too bad about the car you test drove, unfortunately many of these are in poor shape at this point. Finding one that you can buy that is pretty much perfect however is well worth it. good luck with your search

 

damn shame to hear about it being an unloved 100, they're the pinnacle of development of the x308 XJR.
The car should feel as planted as a cat dropped from height. I wonder if bushes/tyres need updates. The wander at the front could be due to wrong (cheapo) tyres, worn bushes.

The great thing about these, and the 03 your looking at is the fact the engines are without any issues of earlier flavours, i.e. no nikasil, alloy tensioners, updated waterpump etc....so no concerns about this area.

Me, I would have beat him down to what I would want to pay listing the problems (small faults in my book) got her home and fixed the lot in a weekend, but I've just re-shelled a 100.
Door card, needed the clips re-fastening. easy.
Door latch, again adjustment on cable, grease etc, easy.
Roof lining, c pillars out, drop rear down, sprayglue, easy.
Front, new assym tyres, sway bar bushes, lower shock bushes, drop links, re-alignment, medium.
Paint, buff out and polish, easy.
If you aren't handy at fiddling with cars, it's a deal breaker, just sad to hear of a very rare version of this car being left like this....

 

I have neither the skills nor the spare time to take on a project. So I would be paying a shop to do the work. Even if I could buy this car for, say, $7000 and spend another $7000 to bring it up to snuff, I think I would always be worried that this car wasn't maintained and treated well and more problems are down the road.

I'll drive some more (and I'll probably try to drive one or two 6 cylinders from the 96-97 range, if I can find decent ones) and move on.

I do think the 19" wheels and crappy tires were part of the problem for me. And I'm used to a firm ride - I drive a 1991 911 turbo everyday and have owned a 92 MB 500E, which is the standard against which I'll compare the XJRs I find.

One question - model year 2000 means I have to take into consideration tensioner updates and nikasil risk?

 

Just for comparison sake I paid $13500 for an 03 XJR with a set of winter wheels/tires 63k on the odo. It was a gorgeouly kept car with all the typical issues under warranty (i.e. fuel pumps replaced, coolant hoses replaced front suspension bushings done, etc.) not to mention a great service history. Only issue was the rear seat was used to take the winter tires to get put on and left the sidewall imprinted in the seat. Aside from that, a solid 9.25 out of 10 (10 being showroom floor condition). I do not think I got a steal but rather a decent deal.

The tensioner issue goes through 01 and possibly some 02s as there was no firm date of change over.

 

Look, 7 grand is a STEAL. My XJ Sport, with 40k miles had all those probelms (except the door panel, probably 80-170$) and was 9150. The headliner is a 300$ job.

I'll bet the reason it rides that way is same as mine, possibly: The tyres, (since the car has only had 200 miles in the last year), were all at different inflations (and I recently found out, that the vibration was bent rims, 100$/each) So if yours has the same problems as mine, 1000$ max. Negotiate it off, you've got a chance at a lovely machine. Just make them guarantee against computer defects, the supercharged one has fiddly electronic suspension.

As long as the car felt solid, like mine did. The headliner was rotten, and it had a bit of a spoiled ride, but after a small $ infusion it's tip top. And mine was even poorly maintained, sludgy enine and all, but it's still great (although it did develop an oil leak for a week, then it vanished, Mobil 1 synthetic's job) These X308 Jags aren't money-pits. As long as you know what you're getting into, don't let minor issues spoil things on first impressions.

My 2002 XJ Sport, after 3000 miles, starting in similar condition (albeit at half the orig. miles) has had no trouble, and a few small fixes and I was done-it seemed a bit dodgey at first, but it felt solid and I knew it was the right buy. Plus, there were only 3 XJ Sports within 400m, one with a Velour headliner. So I needed to find a good one, I know. Sorry for the book, but good luck- Don't rule out the first one!

 

Ian - thanks for your perspectives.

First, the $7000 number is strictly theoretical. It's on a BMW dealer lot with a $14k tag on it, so it's incredibly unlikely that they would sell for $7000. They would probably wholesale it out for more than that.

But even if they would, I wouldn't buy it. Unlike your experience where you knew your car was a good one with some bad things, I have the opposite impression. I know this is NOT the car for me. I don't feel any inherent goodness in this XJR 100. Sure, I could buy it, change the tires, straighten the wheels, fix the headliner, probably get new shocks, fix the loose parts in the interior, and maybe I would have a fine car. But I think it's more likely that I still have a tired car with the first set of things fixed and more to come.

I'm going to keep searching - I would rather pay way more and have the experience JaguarXJR02 had. I've just started and the first car was a dog. Maybe I'll have to look at 5-10 of these before one speaks to me.

 

At least you'll get to drive a few. It is nice to take your time and find the right one. Best of luck with your shopping.

 

Yes, hanfranc, you are right there. you should consider the sport, they are rarer, but to me just as desireable. You get better fuel economy, simpler suspension, and the same interior/looks. If you find one, consider it. Mine was a steal, it has only done about 5k per year. And yes, possibly one thing about mine is that a car can only be so messed up after 40k, but after 85k there is no limit . Try for a sport if you can find one as well, that extra 3-4mpg will help, as if mine were supercharged who knows how much below 13mpg I would be (the way I drive in the morining is miserable). Hopefully you can get what you want.

 

How much value do you guys value low miles? To the point above arguing "well, undermaintenance on a low mileage car is less risky." Here are two scenarios:

- 2 XJRs with incomplete service histories that look good, drive good, can pass a PPI without many issues, one has 50k and the other has 100k miles - my gut says the 50k car is worth $3000-5000 more than the 100k car
- 2 XJRs with complete service histories where things like transmission fluid changes and regular oil changes can be verified, same mileage scenario - probably similar value difference, right?

Also, I know this is the X308 board, but if a low miles, complete history 2004 X350 showed up at the high-end of my target budget, is it worth stretching? Sounds like they drive better, but have less character and the air suspension is a "down the road" issue.