looked at an XJ X350 today

[dieselnutjob]

I never did much of an update on this, which is unforgivable.

 

After this massive thread http://autoshite.com/topic/24727-typical-dealer-markup-solved/

 

where I showed my true colours as a tightarse

 

I bought this

 

 

then I bought these

 

 

then I did this

 

[dieselnutjob]

Then I hit a pothole, destroyed a tyre and got fed up with the hard ride and did this

[dieselnutjob]

and today it failed its MOT........

[purplebargeken]

That interior is lush!!!!

 

Was it a really horrible failure list or do'able.

 

Very much hope it's do'able fella.

[dieselnutjob]

Not too bad.

 

The "bushes" in one rear trailing arm/lower wishbone have gone.

 

These aren't rubber bushes but some kind of metal swivel thing.

 

Originally these were not available separately necessitating purchase of a whole new arm from Jaguar, which is a wallet emptying experience.

 

Fortunately a company called Racing Green has reproduced them for £60 a pair

 

 

I already ordered a set, along with a new gearbox sump/filter and some new ATF

[MarvinsMom]

ah that doesn't sound too bad. all told.

 

the jaguar will be a 2 ton car (if not a bit more....), so suspension components will take a battering.

[dieselnutjob]

kerb weight is 1659kg I think

 

with 204bhp it's a bit of a flying machine if you press "sport" and mash the pedal

[MarvinsMom]

didn't know that, the X300 i had had a kerb weight of 1850kg, which was the same a the Rover 820 coupe that it replaced.

 

going aluminium certainly did loose weight out of the car!

 

the XJ6 i had was a wonderful machine, if needy....

 

ok now it was a 20 year old jaguar, so some issues are to be expected, but towards the end of my ownership there was always something wrong with it, and each time it went to the garage, the bill would be 4 figures and it would be ok for a bot,, before going all squiffy again.

 

in the end it had to go before either it bankrupted me, or i burned it cos i was pig sick of spending on it.

 

a shame really, as i would like another.

 

at one point i did look at what X350's were for sale, they were either many pounds cash monies more than i wanted to spend (been a tightwad...) or cheap with god knows what wrong with them, and that was before hearing the horror stories of electrolytic rust, rusted out earths, gearbox woes and electronic wonky-ness etc....

 

hat is a beautiful looking car though, well bought sir!

[purplebargeken]

That really isn't horrendous. I imagine you will feel no real difference on the road. 

[dieselnutjob]

I have had it something like 2 months and done I think 4 or 5 thousand miles in it

This is what I think about it

 

Good

 

The air suspension is nice and soft, but only on 18" wheels.  The 20" wheels were bad on "sharp" bumps.  Big undulations were still great.

Also X350s are available with both "sport" and "comfort" suspension.  If you buy a Sovereign like mine you get comfort suspension.  If you buy a lesser model you might not...

 

The V6 diesel noise is lovely.  Okay it's no petrol V8 or V12 but compared with most other diesels....

 

With a six speed gearbox it is doing only 2000rpm at 80mph or something

 

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, loves this thing.  Men and women tell you what a lovely looking car it is. People let you out of side turnings.  Transit drivers don't play chicken with you.  Audi drivers don't object to being behind you in the fast lane.

 

Wood and leather.

 

Same economy as the 607.

 

Hugely enthusiastic and knowledgeable owners forum.

 

Bad

 

No ipod or aux input.  Â£400 from Dension/Jag just for the part (though I snaffled one on ebay for £220)

 

The drivers seat is not as comfortable as the 607

 

Also the seat doesn't quite go high enough for me

 

The rear leg room is less too, mostly because the rear passenger can't get their feet under the front seat, it's too close to the floor. Stupid design.

 

Boot smaller than the 607

 

It's a wide beast in the suburbian back roads.  There is a special parking space at work where the 607 went, and the Jag won't.

 

It's also stupidly long.  You need an entire London parking meter bay, and a bit of the neighhours to actually get in and out as well.

[purplebargeken]

Yeah but just look at the interior! Mmmmmmmmmm.

[dieselnutjob]

oh, and you do not ever go anywhere near an official Jaguar dealer.

 

They will cause you economic ruin. Guaranteed.

[dieselnutjob]

Yeah but just look at the interior! Mmmmmmmmmm.

and the back is the same

 

[dieselnutjob]

As Urko predicted it $h@t itself.

 

Anyway after about 14 hours under the car (on axle stands on my drive) and £400 on a recon left turbo it is working again.

 

The old turbo appeared to both be gummed up with carbon or something as it had partially seized and also the electronic vane controller box on the side of it was showing signs of distress as it had pulled the vane control arm hard up against its end stop, which according to the turbo specialist shouldn't happen.  I'm not 100% sure I believe that though.

 

The symptoms were slightly weird.  No error lights but gutless and the most horrendous jack hammer diesel knock if you attempted to push it anyway.  Limping home on a light throttle you wouldn't know that anything was wrong.  On the diagnostics we (me and a mechanic mate) noticed that the right airflow sensor was at 14 and the left at 1, and swapping them made no difference.

 

Although it's a twin turbo, with each side feeding its input through its own airflow meter, the outputs are Y'd together to go through a common intercooler, a common throttle flap and boost sensor, and then it splits again to go into the two inlet manifolds.

 

If one turbo seizes then the engine can simply pull all its air through the other side as they are Y'd together.

 

It's good to be back behind the wheel of it again after a week of driving the neighbour's E46 320 coupe rollerskate.

 

To be honest I think that any modern 110,000 diesel can lunch a turbo.  I'm not going to hold it against it.  There is still a slight hiss as the turbos wake up.  I need to see if there is a boost leak next.  The diagnostics are showing equal airflow left and right now.  I just hope its not an inlet manifold leaking.

[AMC Rebel]

oh, and you do not ever go anywhere near an official Jaguar dealer.

 

They will cause you economic ruin. Guaranteed.

Agreed - been there, done that, including the expensive version of those bushes (Racing Green weren't making them then either).

 

Sorry my prediction came true - but yours still isn't a patch on mine for unreliability.

 

Glad you're liking it.

 

I had those 19" wheels on mine too, changed 'em for some 17s from a very early car - don't look as agressive but rode nicer, and as the wheels weighed less and had narrower tyres, but kept the same rolling circumference, I got a slight improvement in fuel economy.

 

Here it is on the 17s

 

 

BL05 NOH was the reg - it's a very early diesel - the VIN isn't in the production range for Diesels and it has the 05 and a half updates - sound deadening glass, factory bluetooth, rubbing strip delete and side repeater update. 

 

 

[rainagain]

I just like to say that is a stunning car. AMC Rebel, yours looks lovely as well. Big jag is def in my bucket list

[BorniteIdentity]

I'm only here for the raffle, really.

 

Lovely car.  Properly would do one of these.

[AMC Rebel]

I just like to say that is a stunning car. AMC Rebel, yours looks lovely as well. Big jag is def in my bucket list

Mine's long gone - and not missed a bit - it was truly awful.  Lovely when it was working (not often) but a hideous money pit.  I did like the looks and the idea, but suspect my first Jag will be my last.

[Pete-M]

I'm only here for the raffle, really.

 

Lovely car. Properly would do one of these.

Numbers 7 and 12 for me.

[Isaac Hunt]

cracking car.  I had one for a few weeks, full on waft and that interior is sheer decadence, a great place to be, proper wood veneer and leather, ~Rolls and Bentley style, no knaff carbon fibre o brushed ally shite like modern stuff.

[Fat_Pirate]

Just for the record, my X300 has been behaving itself perfectly over the last 2 months/3000 miles.  Nobody has been happier about this than the guy who owns the petrol station on my route to work.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

My brother had the Super V8 version. It was a superb car; tremendously comfortable, smooth and fast. It was genuinely economical too - managing at least 23/24mpg, which is excellent for the type of car. Unfortunately some bastard stole it in about 2006, when it was less than two years old. They lost control of it on a bend not far from his house, driving it through a 6' English bond garden wall, demolishing it, then driving through the garden back on to the road before dumping it on an estate a few miles away after removing the interior. They're very strong cars. He replaced it with an E66 7 Series which he got a good deal on, but it was less than half the car the Jag was and he was never satisfied with it. It used loads more petrol than the Jag too.

[dieselnutjob]

Mine is currently averaging 35mpg, and at an indicated 80mph on cruise control on a level road it sits at about 49mpg.

A trip into central London will be about 30mpg.

 

The consensus on the web forum is that the 3 litre V6 petrol one is more reliable and cheaper to fix (it's a Ford engine) and not that far behind the diesel on economy.  I suspect that it this might need to be taken with a pinch of salt though. 

[alf892]

I reckon for MPG it has to be diesel.......but given the reported issues perhaps petrol is more economical?

 

Mind you I'm in the first week of commuting about 50 miles a day with a 3L S type.......and it likes a drink