www.jec.org.uk

I would love to update my X300 to an X350 but nearly all my driving is round town and short journeys so the MPG on a 4.2L would be prohibitive,as would the £475 road tax!
Obvious answer to both these problems is a diesel.......but that throws up the old DPF issue!
So that would have to be removed.
Has anyone had experience of the success or otherwise of having this done?
Any comments to help me decide would be very welcome....
Thanks Nick

to be contoversial here, for round town driving do not buy a tractor juice powered car, DPF causes all sorts of issues on short town journeys, and needs to regenerated on a regaular basis, or the bills will be BIG

there are guys on here who will explain it far better than I will ever be able to

if you want a 350 to replace your 300, then you cannot go wrong with a 3.0V6, pre 01/01/06 and the tax will be sensible too, some say the 3.5 V8 is the best of the bunch, I cannot comment as i have never owned or driven a 3.5

the V6 is a jewel of an engine, and in such a light car is fast and economical, our 53 plate had done 135k miles without issue, and returned 37 on a steady 70 run, and 25/27 "round the doors" mixed driving, this car was replaced with a 31/12/2005 XJR 350 so one day inside the tax break, but a 2006 MY car with all the upgrades, still gives 28/29 on a run and 22/23 round the doors. much the same as a 4.0 300

350 prices now are LOW, buy one now before the whole world realises what a great and hidden gem these cars are, early 2003 cars are now sub £3K, what stunning value

here's a couple I found on a quick look see

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/03-03-Jaguar- ... 337e1b3c04

and

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... ?logcode=p

not quite the sub £3K, but look hard and cars at this price are about

Good advice Rob,
OR you can buy a diesel and make sure you give it a blast once a month.
Depending on where you live there are exhaust companies that will remove the innards of a faulty DPF and replace with inert material. They then say they will re program your engine management system to allow the car to run without the DPF( essential) AND ( they say) pass any emissions test. I have had no reports from anyone that has had this done and to what success but it gives you another option.
The diesel also has the two catalytic converters like the petrol cars, which can have problems with a small flexible stainless steel pipe breaking which is non repairable ( Jaguar say!!)
Again some exhaust companies are offering a repair for the cat flexi tube, other wise it is new cats time which is again a bill you do not want.
Aren't modern cars wonderful and they all have the same sort of problems. Still at least my X-350 does not leak oil on my driveway like the old cars used to do.

Do all 350 diesels have the DPF.

Jeff

I understand all X350D do indeed have DPF fitted. It was only some of the early S-type d cars that were non DPF equipped and they are distinguishable in having downward pointing exhaust trims at the rear. DPF cars have normal straight out the back trims.

Recent legislation stopped people from having DPF units removed and then engines re-tuned. Sadly it would seem that removal IS now illegal. If it had one (or two) fitted at the factory, then they must be fitted and operable on the car.

Rob is in my opinion well informed about the V6 petrol and its typical reliability and lowish running costs. It can be serviced easily by a DIT guy as well as the vast majority of small garages without anything being difficult or overly complicated.

The diesel is a great car for high mileage work and that is where it really scores particularly on fuel economy. No one doubts that they are a terrific driving machine. Servicing is likely to be more expensive and more skill is needed to keep them running well. We know of the issues particularly on cars used for short journeys and the expensive solutions needed on exhaust and DPF when they have problems. It really is horses for courses. If you do high mileage, then the diesel can be really good but if you are doing commuter or shopping runs, then the petrol will score due to it not potentially having the DPF problems. Yes people say "Well mine is ok". But if it does eventually go wrong, costs can be eye watering. Ask Rob about that with his diesel model. Its ok if you don`t mind shelling out for repairs at specialists or can fix it yourself. In my opinion, I would rather pay out extra for fuel costs with a petrol car than have to keep a large wad in the bank in case a diesel needed heavy repair work in the future.

Mike

OR you can buy a diesel and make sure you give it a blast once a month.

There are many similar discussions in my Citroen forum, and other diesel ones I expect. The trouble is that you don't know when a re-gen is due, it could decide to start it after your blast as you pull back into your drive. Only regular full temperature running will ensure proper re-generation.

I assume the Jag engine also has an exhaust gas re-circulation system? these also clog up with short runs and also lead to many problems.