XJ8 Sovereign 4L LWB

[RichardSEL]

Just when you thought you'd never go for the modern vulgarity of an X308, two come along at the same time.

It has to happen to us all I s'pose, selling our car coz we're just too old to drive the darn thing.
I wonder how Sir Sterling adjusts to not having his own set of wheels nowadays? Well I imagine. As he's only got to whistle and any of us would come a runnin' to take him wherever he wants...

After traveling, chatting, traveling, chatting, and traveling, chatting again. I finally do the deal with the old codger for this rather nice XJ8 Sovereign 4L LWB 77k miles and three owners fully loaded less a sun roof for sub-two thousand sovs.
Only to have him 'phone a few days later to call the deal off.

Grrrrr! In a fit of pique I shell out nearly £3,000 for another rather nice XJ8 3.2L but no toys.
And yes, sad codger 'phones again to say deal's on again as he knows I'd look after it.

At that mileage wouldn't be paranoid in driving it fearing gearbox failure due to ATF and filter not being changed. Nor it suddenly sounding like a bag of spanners on the outside lane of the M27 as timing chain tensioner splits apart.

So it's really a no brainer. Just sell the first. Except I've already spent a grand on a new water pump and fresh coolant and new battery and Road "Fund" License, and permit for parking outside my own house, not to mention insurance...

But what a car! I just put a SIM into the Jaguar 'phone and that fired up right away. Although not enamored with the so-called extra fidelity of the sound system -- the setup with the sub on the parcel shelf -- whatever it's called thingie. All the tools, spares' pack, and books are there too.

Have had the MOT's advisories attended to at a little olde workshop run by a chap who seems to know more about Jaguar than I knew existed. Couple of floor pan rust spots stopped from developing further, rear rubber replaced, near side rear wheel bearing, and near side anti-roll bar bushes all for £700 inc. Plus touching up front bumper nearside and small dents repaired off-side corners. Oh, and another MOT to give a clean one to October '17.

Why, oh why are these cars so cheap? OK, the consumption's not going to do my wallet any favours in town. But was only getting 26-ish in town from my tuned VW Passat 2.0L tFSI anyway (but 40-42mpg long run light foot). It's already showing a trip average of 21mpg. Was getting that out of the 3.2L too.

Shouldn't every home have one? Insead of shelling out four times as much for a Nissan Micra (snigger). Or five times as much for a Citroen Picasso (retch)

[ptjs1]

Richard,

Even with 77k on the 4.0 Sov, you will still have to do the gearbox and tensioners (if not already done) as they can both definitely let go at that mileage! That's part of the reason why there are no truly cheap x308s. They either cost more to buy initially or you spend another 2k once you've bought them.

Good luck with your choice.

Paul

[J44EAG]

The reality of it is that any X308 or X300 is now an old car. Being steel bodied, most will have the possibility of a fair amount of corrosion present. There are exceptions, but they will be few and far between. Before buying one of these models or indeed X-type, S-type or steel XK8, it is essential to examine the underside before being taken in by the external topside body condition. At one time I owned a superb looking X308R which would have taken pride of place outside Downing Street. Going underneath revealed quite a different story. A-frame, sills, floor pan, suspension turrets and longitudinal front chassis legs were a crumbling mess and those points alone made the car a totally uneconomic repair proposition. One has to be very hard headed when buying and know exactly what to look for when buying cars of this age.

The same goes for the mechanical aspects. Tensioners, water pumps, thermostats, thermostat towers, temp sensors, MAF, MAP, Lambda, cats, etc, etc. When looking at this type of car, it is sensible to take a hand held diagnostic unit with you. You can then interrogate the car as part of the examination process and see in real time just what electronic issues may be present. Mark One eye ball also plays a part. Looking at the water pump detail for instance will show whether a part with the two extra bolts has been fitted. If not, then the car still has an old plastic bladed impeller.

It is essential to look at service history. That means not only examining the stamped service book but also going through any invoices present. If invoices for work done are not present, then just walk away. How else can you tell what work may or may not be present? Buying without documentation is a high risk situation and only a paltry figure should be offered for a car which is devoid of paper documentation. Buying a car with faults is a total "no-no". Unless you know how to fix those issues yourself, then buying will cost you thousands in the long run. Cars are for sale for a reason. The secret when buying is to find out exactly the reason for the car being for sale and to avoid buying dogs however good they look on the surface. You don`t need to buy someone elses clapped out old cast offs.

Buying a cheap and history-less car is not to be recommended. You will be driving a money pit home. Conversely, buying a more expensive car from an enthusiastic and KNOWLEDGEABLE seller who knows his car backwards and can demonstrate that all the weak points have been addressed is a much sounder proposition. Only buy a car that is well presented, devoid of faults and has a long MOT.

Technology jumped a couple of levels when Jaguar introduced the X350 as a replacement for the X308. It is better built than the X308, does not crumble, has decent timing gear, steel lined engine, improved cooling system parts, has a better gearbox and engine (in petrol form), is more economical, is faster and lighter than an X308. It is also newer and there are plenty around at very good prices, in excellent order, with history and without the string of potential issues that a 308 is saddled with as a second hand proposition. Those posting on this site know these X308 and X350 models well and in most cases have owned both models.

As a buyer you are in a strong position and can call the shots, if and only if, you have a stiff nerve and a high level of knowledge. You need to have a firm view of what you are looking for, the reasons why you are looking at a particular model and what issues may be present. Never offer or buy at a sellers price and always leave 25% of the value of the car in your own pocket to deal with future issues. If you don`t know what you are looking for or at, go to a good trade dealer and pay a small premium for using his knowledge and skill and buy a decent car with perhaps a short warranty.

Anyone can buy a car. Buying a good one takes knowledge and skill.

Mike

[RichardSEL]

Richard, Even with 77k on the 4.0 Sov, you will still have to do the gearbox and tensioners (if not already done) as they can both definitely let go at that mileage! That's part of the reason why there are no truly cheap x308s. They either cost more to buy initially or you spend another 2k once you've bought them. Good luck with your choice. Paul

At least I'm not paranoid about them going straight away like on the 121k 3.2L
I can now relax and enjoy the 4L burble -- knowing that the cat failure's tens of thousands of miles away, ditto with the ATF & filter. Water pump, I didn't even know about the bolts' difference between old and new.

On previous MOT there were two advisories on the floor pan which was one of the reasons why I went with getting the repairs done out there and then re-MOT. Oh, and all round tracking done too. That said, Ray's going to have a look underneath next week for me.

I can get down there to look myself when on ramps, it's the getting up again that proves interesting

@Mike -- Sensible advice in your post. If only everyone had the skill / knowledge set to perform all those functions you recommend.
In an oblique way I think I've done the checks that were possible to do given the buying situation. Were it a wreck like those that are undoubtedly around in the late classic car world (drove a 60's Zepher at a meet this year, but I wouldn't own one) that would've shown up in the exams and re-MOT just done.

That said, I do want to enjoy myself too
So thinking everything's going to fall apart in a heap of Ferrous Oxide just outside Tiverton <FX: hub cap rolling away down the road> <RAC person standing there just sniggering>
is not my idea of fun.

Remember, I come from buying two one year old full main dealer warranty (and all that tut) VW Passats. Were I to regale you of those experiences from those damn liars (what goes around, comes around) you'd never buy a recent manufacture car, even from a manufacturer of "repute", again

[ptjs1]

Richard,

Good luck with the car, they are lovely vehicles. I had a 4.0 LWB Sov myself a few years ago.

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record (and I won't mention it again after this!) at 77k the failure of tensioners, water pump and gearbox is not 10's of thousands of miles away. The tensioners were known to fail at only 30k when the cars were new. And if yours are original, you now have 15-year old hardened plastic ready to fail without warning. Ditto the gearbox, ZF changed their "filled for life" statement and now say "life" is 60k miles on that ZF box. You've paid good money for the car. If either of the expected failures happen, sadly your car will be worth just scrap value. It seems a huge risk to take unless you can afford to just write off the car.

I would just pay the money, get them fixed and then enjoy the car.

Cheers

Paul

[RichardSEL]

"Sell off the 3.2L first" says her indoors. "Whatever possessed you to buy two cars anyway I don't know. My mother warned me about you... She said..." <I slam door>

Now look what you've gone and done. You and your doom laden prophesies

Course, would've bought a X350 had I been told I could've afforded one <mutter, mutter>

[RichardSEL]

No, it's not an X350. But wotta machine! Chores in Saturday SE London traffic, then A2, M25, M23 --->Worthing. Then A27, M27 ---> Soton at 70'ish "cruising." Then M3 and via Wandsworth ---> Blackheath.

Returned 23MPG -- and that on Asda's soup. (Care! They're back to not displaying the RON on their pumps -- just the "this complies with BS<bla><bla>" BS sticker. Few years ago now they were caught out flogging 91RON by this method and had to change their pump stickers back to what complies with the consumer law)

Parking it isn't easy but you can't have everything. Especially with non-operating rear parking sensors. Where's the paint code situated?

Very slight pull to the NS but had fronts re-balanced by tyre shop I trust. OS was well out so hoing that doesn't indicate rim warp?
Fitter there said there's some sign of track out on the NSF tyre -- wear to outside. Have had front NS wheel bearing changed and four wheel track done on purchase. So dunno whether that's down to previous owner not noticing or just got used to it
Front tyres themselves are asymmetric but standard treads on the rear. Guess there's no problem with this arrangement?

She loves it. And that's all that matters. Isn't it