3rd time lucky

[Wessex]

Hi, my name is Peter from Dorset and I'm about to hopefully purchase my first Jaguar today following a booked test drive.

It's an XJ308 W registered and has covered 83,000 miles.

The surprising thing is that I initially bought insurance for another XJ308 which was a year younger but the car suddenly developed an engine management fault and was withdrawn from sale. The dealer was asked to phone me yesterday but failed to do so which I thought was a bit suspicious so I've looked elswhere. Anyway on contacting the ins broker I was told the extra premium on my ins was £35 not because I changed the registration details but because the car was one year older.

Oh well, at £275 including breakdown cover, legal protection & protected NCD is good value.

It's taken me some years to decide to buy one even just for a year to have the pleasure of driving one of these luxury cars. I'm looking forward to the experience and sharing them on the forum.

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the Club, Peter.

 

The Jaguar experience is a great one and that XJ model is a real looker.

 

There are several members with similar models who will assist with advice when requested.

 

My insurance [without breakdown cover] is £601 in the City of Birmingham!!

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Wessex]

Hello Peter and thanks for the welcome.

 

I arrived at the car trader's office and had a good look around the car. No Oil leaks and the underneath was sound. The body work was virtually blemish free but with a slight mark on the rear N/S bumper edge and a slight bubbling of paint just by the rear window seal. 

 

Took the car for a drive, first time driving a Jaguar. Engine starting from cold no rattles. Uncanny silence in the car as the engine ticked over. Selected D, eased off the handbrake and eased it down onto the road from the kerb edge. Drove up to a roundabout and turned left. A bit of uneven road coaxed a couple of little knocks from the front N/S. Out onto the dual carriage way and the gearbox changing seamlessly. Let go of the steering wheel and the car continued in a straight line. Gentle brake and no veering. Engine whisper quiet. Any thoughts of a 15 year old car being worn out quickly disappeared. There was certainly many years life left yet.

 

Got back and explained the knock. A mechanic took the car out and returned confirming the knocks. Agreed it could be anti roll bar bushes, track rod end or ball joint. Promise to fix it. Other issues, passenger seat belt lazy in retracting, radio not working, interior mirror looked faulty. A bit dull looking through it but an edge of clear at the top of the mirror.

 

No reverse sensors or cruise control which was a bit disappointing but nonetheless very pleased with my find. Under the bonnet it was clean and hadn't been cleaned/power sprayed for the sale. Engine Oil clean.

 

All of the service history documents were present and the car has been well looked after by an elderly gentleman who had also been a member of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club.

 

i'm under no illusion that things may well go wrong but I decided on buying the car and plan on keeping it for a year at present. More if I can persuade the wife who, by the way, was adamant she wanted nothing to do with it to saying she really like it and was looking forward to having a drive and planning trips out at weekends.

 

The colour is a pearlescent green but changes shade to a blue purple hue in sunlight. Roll on next Saturday when I collect her. This week is going to drag! 

[Old Peter]

Hi Peter,

 

Getting those bits sorted won't be a difficult job. The radio code can also be obtained without difficulty, if that is the problem.

 

I was talking to and old gentleman yesterday who had a similar model just 12 years which he has had from new and it looked really good in a metallic blue.  He had a chauffeurs peaked cap and a pair of white gloves on the rear parcel shelf which he told me often gets him into special events very easily!

 

It will be a drag through the week but well worth waiting for.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[KEN33Y]

Hi Peter and welcome to 'THE JAGUAR OWNERS CLUB' my insurance on the XKR is £268.00 430bhp.

As Peter have explained it would not cost a fortune to sort the problems reversing sensors are easy however, it would be well worth you requesting the dealer sort them out, they can only say no and if so then you have a bargaining tool to drop the price. Good luck, let us know how you get on

[Wessex]

Hello Kenny, thanks for the welcome.

 

The reversing sensors are not fitted. It is a pretty basic model really. I would have like a few more bits and pieces but the real essence is to experience luxury travel in a Jaguar. And the virtual rust free body.

I suppose there are less things to go wrong.

 

The non functioning radio I mentioned will not turn on. It's not just codes Peter. They have agreed to look into and fix the problems I mentioned so I'm happy with that. They also said they would replace the battery as, even though the car started alright, I'm led to believe that a weak battery could cause problems. OBC throwing out false codes?

 

Lastly, I have worked out that my engine is the NIKASIL version. Apparently it was the high sulphur content in the petrol pre 2000 that caused the problems with the lining especially on cold stop start journeys. But, since 01/01/2000 sulphur content was lowered and as my engine was built in April of that year then there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Mine started first turn of the key and there wasn't any hint of smoke when starting or accelerating after engine overrun. I'm a firm believer in that if the engine was going to go it would have done so by now. Also my glass is usually half full. Bearing that in  mind then what petrol suppliers should I avoid? Has there been problems using supermarket fuel as opposed to Esso, Shell or Texaco to name three?

 

Five days to go!!!

[Old Peter]

Hi Peter,

 

My car is a diesel and I was recommended to use Premium fuel, and as the local petrol station is quite cheap and close I don't use supermarket fuel and put in usually a tankful of the expensive one every month or so - every other tankful.

 

Some users of supermarket fuel put in an additive, but that increases the cost, anyway.

 

On the battery issue, Jaguars do like a nice big battery and when it starts to fail the less important things switch themselves off to conserve power.  In my s type I have a Varta 95 amp hour, and I would expect the XJ to be no less.

 

A fairly basic model is quite open to retro fitting, and although I am no engineer, Raistlin [Paul] is very expert and will advise on the topic of retro fitting.

 

Let us know how the car goes on Saturday.

 

Peter.

[numkelfutumch]

Hello Peter and welcome to this club full of nice people. Just thought  i would mention that i use whichever fuel station is the cheapest which obviously means most of the time  i am filling my 3.0 petrol with supermarket fuel and have not experienced a single problem. I have noticed if  i use the higher octane petrol my car does seem a bit perkier but that is to be expected. I have been a test driver for 16 years now and before  i joined jaguar i was working for the proving ground so got to do a lot of different tests for a lot of different manufacturers, one of which was a fuel additive company whereupon i learned that even the cheap supermarket fuels come from the bigger names and have to adhere to certain standards.

[Wessex]

Thank you Numke (what a mouthful; I've shortened it. I hope you don't mind :) )

 

Well the day arrived and I picked up my X308 this morning. 2000 with 83,068 miles. I really got on well with the sales person (Bowerhill Trade Centre at Melksham, Wilts)  http://www.bowerhilltradecentre.co.uk/used/jaguar/v8-xj-series/xj8-3-2-auto/for-sale-in-melksham-wiltshire/aetv25991617/  and he went through the list of jobs I wanted doing. With a handshake I drove off in the car and realised that there was only enough fuel for about 15 miles according to the computer. i gingerly drove to the first garage I came to and filled it up. 69.9 litres.

 

Set off for my step daughters house just down the road at Westbury then a drive back to East Dorset through some pleasant countryside. The ride was both smooth and quiet. I had a cassette adapter and listened to Taylor Swift on my iPod. The car has the Alpine radio system in it with the sub woofer. Didn't play it loud; that's for later. There were no rattles, tapping or knocks. Just bliss.

 

That was until I got home and I tried out the climate control system. The fan would increase and decrease in speed as I increased and decreased the temperature control but it only blew cold air. Rang the garage and was assured if I brought it back it would be attended to.

 

The car came with 3 months warranty and I purchased an extra 9 months. Reading through the paperwork that came with the car it would appear that it had only been driven 1,600 miles per year over the last 4 years according to the MoTs. 10 Jag main dealer stamps. Last service 2011 . The engine Oil is still golden and clear but I will be getting it serviced before the onset of winter. My mistake, I should have got them to do it.

 

The chain tensioners were replaced in 2006 and about the same time it went in for a gearbox fault. Sluggish in reverse as though the brakes were on. A new gearbox at £3,500 was recommended. Not sure if it was fitted but it reverses just as freely as it drives forward.

 

I plan a trip up north in November so I hope the long run will blow away some of the cobwebs that probably gathered over the last sedate 4 years.

 

I know those reading this will all have had the experience of owning one of these beautiful cats but to me this is a new mind blowing experience. Thank you for letting me share it with you.

[Wessex]

Hello Peter and welcome to this club full of nice people. Just thought  i would mention that i use whichever fuel station is the cheapest which obviously means most of the time  i am filling my 3.0 petrol with supermarket fuel and have not experienced a single problem. I have noticed if  i use the higher octane petrol my car does seem a bit perkier but that is to be expected. I have been a test driver for 16 years now and before  i joined jaguar i was working for the proving ground so got to do a lot of different tests for a lot of different manufacturers, one of which was a fuel additive company whereupon i learned that even the cheap supermarket fuels come from the bigger names and have to adhere to certain standards.

 

Hello Numke. You hear such a lot of urban myths talked about supermarket fuels. My Peugeot 308 diesel EGC returns 54 mpg and I'm a driving instructor and it is used mainly to give lessons in. I fill up at my local Morrisons but even filling with Esso I still return the same mpg.

 

Envious of your job. :)

[Wessex]

With the paperwork were two keys and two remote fobs. These were very intermittent so I replaced the batteries. No improvement so I stripped the fobs down and found there were black deposits on the contacts from the rubber pushes. I cleaned the contacts and rubber contact faces with an alchohol based glass cleaner, reassembling them I found they worked each and every time - almost. Sometimes I have to wiggle the push slightly to get a positive result.

If others have rectified this problem, what solvent did you use?