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A quick hello and a long ramble from me.

As per the title, I am currently looking for a X350. The story goes something like this.

Until recently I have been a real Mercedes enthusiast having owned around 10 different models over the last ten years, and previous to that it was BMW's. The reason for the change from BMW to Mercedes initially was because of two poor experiences with two of the "best" BMW's of the time, but having looked at numerous different Merc's over the last year or so for various reasons, I don't find myself gelling with them in the same way anymore.

I do still own a BMW, but it is a much lower value one to the two disappointments mentioned above, and well renowned as being the last of the greats, an E39 528i. Bought on a whim after 2 weeks and 2,500 miles of driving all over the UK looking at broken promises, and now owned and adored for nearly 3 years, and staying put!

So, we have just spent the last 3 months in Spain which has been lovely, however, as a huge car enthusiast, a dangerous scenario...... lots of down time plus the internet.

Looking back over my quarter of a century driving career the thing that stands out is my love of "value". Big expensive new cars that have depreciated to a level that are just criminal not to take advantage of.

So, whilst on our Spanish adventure I stumbled across a 2004 XJ6 on the internet, 1 owner, 100k, FSH. As we were only around half way through our 3 months at the time, it was obvious it would be sold by the time we returned.

It wasn't, so off I went to view. I'd been told of a couple of faults, occasional suspension fault light, and rear parking sensors that occasionally beeped continuously, usually when it rained.

When I got there, there were some other things that needed to be done ( 2 tyres, a repair to the driver's door trim, screen washer's not working, and the paint needed a full detail, although there were no dents at all and no scuffs anywhere). All these were pointed out to the owner, with a costing.

In my heart I wanted the car, i could see the potential with a bit of time and effort, so I drove it after agreeing there was only a point in me doing so if it drove as I assumed it would, and that the price could be discussed regarding the additional work.

Wow. Genuinely felt different to anything else I have had or driven. I could imagine wafting around in it whenever I needed to de-stress. Back at the owner's home, negotiations open and abruptly close....... that's the price, take it or leave it...... leave it thanks!

So now the process of finding the right car begins, I need one in my life, it's becoming an obsession, I've told myself the XJ6 is all I need, I've done the massive power things so many times it boring, I definitely don't want, need or intend looking at any XJR's, but there is this one XJ8, I love V8's, Jaguar has a history with V8's, but also 6's.

Where will it end?

Any help will be gratefully received. Ramble over.

Although my second post will be in the general section now, as I have a question about that XJ8!

Welcome aboard.

The X350 is a wonderful car. Try taking mine away from me!

Thought by many who own one of these models, to be just about the most bulletproof car Jaguar ever made. I agree without any reservation.

I`ve owned my 350R for nearly two years now. How I wish I`d made the break from my old S-type years earlier. At the bottom of this post you will see what I`ve done to mine.....and thats just part of it. I`d suggest you trawl through the various sections on this Model Forum and get a feel for how these cars operate on an everyday basis. I`ve posted many threads about this model in predominently engine, transmission and suspension sections. If you study those, you will become a very strong buyer and be able to know what to look for when you seriously go on the hunt.

I`d further suggest you register on the Trovit Cars site. The site harvests the majority of ebay, Gumtree, Auto Trader and dealer listings etc and puts it all in one place. That will save you hours of internet searching. Trovit will ping three or for daily mails to your email and you can see what is being offered for sale. You can unsubscribe at any time. Trovit is probably your greatest search tool.

We have amassed a huge amount of knowledge about the X350 here and without fear of contradiction would be bold enough to say we probably have the biggest X350 knowledge base anywhere. It is yours to make use of. In addition, you can ask questions of the many of us that use this site and will be assured a very rapid response. we are happy to help.

All the best,

Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the welcome, and I have indeed spent many hours researching already, and a lot of that research centres around your posts, in particular the research you've done into the air suspension parts and pump as these are the costs I'm most fearful of.

I have had three previous cars with air suspension and had problems with all of them. Each time, I swear I'll never do it again, but, here we are for the fourth time!!

Sadly, so many of the vehicles I'm drawn to have it, so I either deny myself the car, or find a way to get on with it.

Change the compressor ring each 80k and you will keep that under control.

Air bag units are fairly reliable. You get the odd valve block issue. Otherwise the system works well enough in the UK. In the USA, they seem to have huge issues with the syste, Very odd.

Mike

The X 350, in any petrol form is a wonderful, reliable car. Ours has long been relegated to being the daily hack, yet is still a pleasure to drive, and draws many comments of admiration when in the supermarket car park. Aside from a suspension compressor, a ride height sensor, and an ABS sensor, nothing has gone wrong with it in thirteen years and rather a lot of miles. Super V8s and Rs are hard to find at reasonable prices (I keep looking), 4.2s. 3.5s and 3.0s are around in perfectly usable condition from £2,000 upwards, £5,000 should buy the best one on the planet.

You get a lot of quality car for the money.

I watched a very nice 3.5 sell at just £1500. Nigel T did over 230k miles with his before it got written of in a minor accident. It is now back on the road again in other hands.

The V8 in any form is a nice car in any form. The 3.5 has longer legs than the 3.0 which I found rather busy for long distance work.

An NA 4.2 is quite sublime. See the article PTJS 1 and I wrote recently comparing his 4.2NA with my tweeked R. Performance difference was marked but we both rated each car equally good but for quite different reasons. The R is punchy but with a standard pulley needs a heavy right foot to bring the charger into play. Paul would get around 37mpg with his car on the motorway. Before I reworked my R it used to give about 28mpg. With the mods as listed below, the figure can now be as high as 32mpg and that is currenty being achieved even though I have a rear Bank 2 oxygen sensor which is flat lining. Due for change very soon.

Gearboix oil changes need to be at each 60k interval. The same with charger oil. I badly disagree that diff oil changes should be at each 90k interval. I`d suggest this should be changed at 50k. The oil gets a real pounding.

OE suspension bush life is not good. Wear begins around 50-80k dependent on use and age. Replace with Powerflex options as an almost permanent solution. Use Racing Green RG109 replacement OE grade bushes in lower rear arms only.

Other than those items, the car takes the miles very well. There are some great cars to be had. Bad ones are not very common. Best advice is to buy cars that have a stack of repair invoices in addition to normal service book stamps.Watch out for suspension or gearbox maladies and you won`t go far wrong.

Mike

Well, one of the one's I'm most interested in has recently had most the front bushes replaced and the radiator and thermostat/housing. It's also had the gearbox service done at around 60k as per recommendations.

I think if i do end up with it, i will get the compressor repair kit and get that done as a matter of course as at 70 odd thousand miles, it's a worthwhile precaution.

Time will tell.

If you do the compressor re-ring before it fails, then that will save the bore wear and the unit will go on to give further good service. My ring was on the limit at 80k. I would do the job sooner rather than later. Details in the suspension section on this site or in my recent magazine article. Expect the bolts to shear so have a drill, file and taps to hand when you pull the unit to pieces. A couple of hours work or less if the two bolts come out easily.

Mike

Does the bumper have to come off to get at the compressor, or can it be done with the bumper on?

Because of the potential snapping of the bolts, if it is a 2 hour or so job, it may just be as cost effective for me to buy a new compressor as by the time i buy the kit and pay at least a couple of hours labour for the fitting etc, i don't think there will be a huge difference in price (possibly only £100 or so).

I have had a brief look through your report on it Mike, and while i could probably attempt it myself, i have never reground threads etc before, so would have to buy a kit as well, adding more cost to a rebuild, not to mention the stress!

The compressor is accessable either by removing the bumper cover which isn`t that difficult or the other method via the NS wheel arch liner. I prefer the later method.

The Bagpiping Andy kit is intended for DIY use where spending a couple of hours reworking the compressor is not important to the owner. Andy supplies a thread tap in his basic £25 kit which is used after drilling out a broken bolt to the appropriate thread minor diameter. Drilling and re-tapping is not that difficult. You can always read up on it first. A thread tap holder to hold the tap will be easily sourced via ebay. My article shows the stage proceedure. A bench vice is useful for holding the compressor for any remedial thread work.

If the bolts remove without snapping, then you remove the cylinder head, inspect the bore to ensure it is smooth and in good condition. If it is, then a quick one minute ring change takes place after removing corrosion from the case of the commpressor and the base of the cylinder head. Two new bolts and a flange seal is fitted to restore air tight sealing. If the head is damaged, then you have the option of fitting Andy`s size perfect replacement part.

Most garages would prefer to fit a new compressor due to warrenty considerations and protection of their own reputation. If that is the way you wish to go, then you might as well wear out the old compressor until it reaches failure point then have a complete new unit fitted at that point in time. Save the old one for me if the motor still works!

Mike