What to look for in an XJR
Discussion
OK, after months of ummming and arrring, trying to decide what the next stage of car ownership should be I have finally decided to upgrade the XJ40 to an X300 straight-six XJR 
I'm not sure whether these cars have a 4 or 5 speed 'box. Can anybody advise please?
Also, are there any specific problems which I should look out for?
I'm looking to spend between 6-9K and sell / trade-in the XJ40 for 2-3K... looking at Autotrader this would seem to get something with around 70000 miles on the clock which I don't think is too bad.
So, any advice or comments would be greatly received!
Cheers
I'm not sure whether these cars have a 4 or 5 speed 'box. Can anybody advise please?
Also, are there any specific problems which I should look out for?
I'm looking to spend between 6-9K and sell / trade-in the XJ40 for 2-3K... looking at Autotrader this would seem to get something with around 70000 miles on the clock which I don't think is too bad.
So, any advice or comments would be greatly received!
Cheers
groomi said:
OK, after months of ummming and arrring, trying to decide what the next stage of car ownership should be I have finally decided to upgrade the XJ40 to an X300 straight-six XJR
Having bought a one prev owner tvr 400se in march and having had superb driving and reliability, I foolishly sold it in favour of, I thought, pace with more grace, thinking that jaguar ownership may be a trade up. This has er, not been the case, as you may have noticed. But I should have spent the 7k or so on a sorted, later model car, perhaps. However, if you just have one other co pilot, you really should seek out a one owner cerbera or griff 5.0. For all round thrills without spills, and on a reasonable budget, get yourself a low mileage and well serviced Audi 4.2 A8 with one prev owner. We had one - superb driving car and one to keep, when you get a straight one.
and I really hope I get some arguments against cos this is a jaguar thread and people keep telling me I just got a bad one !?!
>> Edited by jim meehan on Friday 30th July 23:20
groomi said:
OK, after months of ummming and arrring, trying to decide what the next stage of car ownership should be I have finally decided to upgrade the XJ40 to an X300 straight-six XJR
I'm not sure whether these cars have a 4 or 5 speed 'box. Can anybody advise please?
Also, are there any specific problems which I should look out for?
I'm looking to spend between 6-9K and sell / trade-in the XJ40 for 2-3K... looking at Autotrader this would seem to get something with around 70000 miles on the clock which I don't think is too bad.
So, any advice or comments would be greatly received!
Cheers
The XJR has a Getrag 290 5 speed manual or a GM 4L80E 4 speed auto. Both are very strong.
I'd buy the manual. It feels so much livelier than the auto. I think it also has a monostrut at the rear and not the normal link arms.
GavinPearson said:
OK, after months of ummming and arrring, trying to decide what the next stage of car ownership should be I have finally decided to upgrade the XJ40 to an X300 straight-six XJR
I'm not sure whether these cars have a 4 or 5 speed 'box. Can anybody advise please?
Also, are there any specific problems which I should look out for?
I'm looking to spend between 6-9K and sell / trade-in the XJ40 for 2-3K... looking at Autotrader this would seem to get something with around 70000 miles on the clock which I don't think is too bad.
So, any advice or comments would be greatly received!
Cheers
The XJR has a Getrag 290 5 speed manual or a GM 4L80E 4 speed auto. Both are very strong.
I'd buy the manual. It feels so much livelier than the auto. I think it also has a monostrut at the rear and not the normal link arms.
WOW! I didn't know they did a manual on the X300. They must be as common as hens teeth. How much would I expect to pay for a manual in good nick then?
When I was looking for a straight six XJR at the end of 2002, two manuals were up for sale at a similar price to the auto ones. I do not know what the price difference would be today. Sorry.
I sold my 1995 XJR a few weeks ago for £6,000. It had done 65,200 miles with FSH and all MOT's to match service stamps. Leather was in very good condition. A few stone chips on the bonnet and front wings.
Aircon died before selling it. Had to have new condenser, dryer and pipework. Cost £618. I was told this is something that may occur on all cars of this age (not just this make and model).
Tyres cost about £160 each. Fuel was about 14 - 18mpg ave.
Car was way better than the K reg XJ40 I had before it.
I don't know if this helps as I have no techy knowledge about cars. I just drive them.
>> Edited by pzero64 on Monday 2nd August 17:40
I sold my 1995 XJR a few weeks ago for £6,000. It had done 65,200 miles with FSH and all MOT's to match service stamps. Leather was in very good condition. A few stone chips on the bonnet and front wings.
Aircon died before selling it. Had to have new condenser, dryer and pipework. Cost £618. I was told this is something that may occur on all cars of this age (not just this make and model).
Tyres cost about £160 each. Fuel was about 14 - 18mpg ave.
Car was way better than the K reg XJ40 I had before it.
I don't know if this helps as I have no techy knowledge about cars. I just drive them.
>> Edited by pzero64 on Monday 2nd August 17:40
OK, after a bit of sensitive explanation to the missus about value and performance in relation to desirability.... and the fact that I reserve the righ to change my mind, the goalposts have now moved.
I'm now looking at '97 straight six XJRs against '98 V8 XJRs.
'97 '6'
+ Lower mileage for the money
+ Some 1 owner from new examples around, full dealer history etc.
+ More choice
- Not the ultimate incarnation
- A lot of money for something little different to a '95 model which could be picked up for half the money.
'98 '8'
+ 370 bhp
+ Newer model should maintain a premium over most '6's
+ Better interior and slightly better standard spec.
- Possible NICASIL probs
- Only high milers available in price range.
I have seen a few V8s around with replacement engines which appeal to me more than still having the original. Am I right in thinking that the replacement engines do not suffer from the same problems, or were they changed like for like?
Oh I hate being a Libra, I have to look at every possible outcome and eventuality before finally making a decision... somebody give me one of each to test drive to help me...
I'm now looking at '97 straight six XJRs against '98 V8 XJRs.
'97 '6'
+ Lower mileage for the money
+ Some 1 owner from new examples around, full dealer history etc.
+ More choice
- Not the ultimate incarnation
- A lot of money for something little different to a '95 model which could be picked up for half the money.
'98 '8'
+ 370 bhp
+ Newer model should maintain a premium over most '6's
+ Better interior and slightly better standard spec.
- Possible NICASIL probs
- Only high milers available in price range.
I have seen a few V8s around with replacement engines which appeal to me more than still having the original. Am I right in thinking that the replacement engines do not suffer from the same problems, or were they changed like for like?
Oh I hate being a Libra, I have to look at every possible outcome and eventuality before finally making a decision... somebody give me one of each to test drive to help me...
Hi Groomi!
Being a libra as well I know exactly how you feel.
Been there as well and had to decide between XJR6 and XJR8. Finally the decision was very much easier because the option for waiting for the newer 350 version broke away very soon as I really do not like the new shape XJ and would really do not hesitate to set a bet that its next soon to be facelift will bring it much closer to 300/308 modells.
Now deciding between the two left I would have prefered the XJR6 for the cleaner design and a 5speed manual.
The XJR8 finally made it for me because of the power increase and the completely new set up compared to the XJ6 which still is very much XJ40 under the skin.
In daily use it turned out to be very nice and powerful and a real wet road racer (sorry but I have to compare with the Griff). Accelaration is great of course but you wont feel it that much. It is a huge car what shows the wonderful design that you would never believe that its more than a foot longer as a Grand Voyager.
Only downside yet are the 18" penta wheels don´t suit the riding character of a Jaguar at all and looks a bit over the top.
I am not very fond of the original wheelchoice of the XJ8s at all, but would never use any aftermarket wheels also.
Pros for the XJR8 are the much better suspension, better loaded, nicer interior, More power, 5gear auto.
If you take this in acount the XJR8 is the cheaper option.
The decision is still yours,
good luck,
Martin
Being a libra as well I know exactly how you feel.
Been there as well and had to decide between XJR6 and XJR8. Finally the decision was very much easier because the option for waiting for the newer 350 version broke away very soon as I really do not like the new shape XJ and would really do not hesitate to set a bet that its next soon to be facelift will bring it much closer to 300/308 modells.
Now deciding between the two left I would have prefered the XJR6 for the cleaner design and a 5speed manual.
The XJR8 finally made it for me because of the power increase and the completely new set up compared to the XJ6 which still is very much XJ40 under the skin.
In daily use it turned out to be very nice and powerful and a real wet road racer (sorry but I have to compare with the Griff). Accelaration is great of course but you wont feel it that much. It is a huge car what shows the wonderful design that you would never believe that its more than a foot longer as a Grand Voyager.
Only downside yet are the 18" penta wheels don´t suit the riding character of a Jaguar at all and looks a bit over the top.
I am not very fond of the original wheelchoice of the XJ8s at all, but would never use any aftermarket wheels also.
Pros for the XJR8 are the much better suspension, better loaded, nicer interior, More power, 5gear auto.
If you take this in acount the XJR8 is the cheaper option.
The decision is still yours,
good luck,
Martin
The missus has now owned up to preferring the V8... size really is everything you know 
Anyway... looking into the Nicasil problem some more as I cannot afford to get caught out.
I'll go to dealers at the weekend to get the official position regarding future replacements. But my question is, what are the symptoms of the Nicasil problem? If I test drive one, I need to be confident I know what I'm looking for.
Cheers
Anyway... looking into the Nicasil problem some more as I cannot afford to get caught out.
I'll go to dealers at the weekend to get the official position regarding future replacements. But my question is, what are the symptoms of the Nicasil problem? If I test drive one, I need to be confident I know what I'm looking for.
Cheers
Hey groomi,
Check out this forum: http://forums1.roadfly.org/jaguar/forums/xj8/
It's a mostly-US based community covering the XJ8 and XJR (98+) cars.
There is a lot of very in-depth technical info on there, including detailed descriptions of the Nikasil problem, plus another common fault in 98 + 99 cars, the 'timing chain tensioner failure', which can in same cases completely wreck the engine. The regular posters include several home mechanics, and two professional Jaguar mechanics, all of whom give advice freely.
Make sure you read through the forum quite thoroughly - just reading a few posts can give you the impression that the 98 + 99 cars are fraught with problems, but generally I think that's not the case
You just need to know about the big ones.
I am currently trying to make exactly the same decision as you are. My budget was 8k but I am now thinking of stretching to maybe 10k, hoping to get a 98 XJR. Hoping to buy in November.
I only started researching a couple of days ago, and have learnt loads from the Roadfly forum. Now I just found this one and have a feeling I'll be learning lots more!
Good luck with your purchase
Tom
Check out this forum: http://forums1.roadfly.org/jaguar/forums/xj8/
It's a mostly-US based community covering the XJ8 and XJR (98+) cars.
There is a lot of very in-depth technical info on there, including detailed descriptions of the Nikasil problem, plus another common fault in 98 + 99 cars, the 'timing chain tensioner failure', which can in same cases completely wreck the engine. The regular posters include several home mechanics, and two professional Jaguar mechanics, all of whom give advice freely.
Make sure you read through the forum quite thoroughly - just reading a few posts can give you the impression that the 98 + 99 cars are fraught with problems, but generally I think that's not the case
You just need to know about the big ones. I am currently trying to make exactly the same decision as you are. My budget was 8k but I am now thinking of stretching to maybe 10k, hoping to get a 98 XJR. Hoping to buy in November.
I only started researching a couple of days ago, and have learnt loads from the Roadfly forum. Now I just found this one and have a feeling I'll be learning lots more!
Good luck with your purchase
Tom
another thing occurred to me,please check the tyres i have the milan wheels which take a larger tyre,replacement cost is £200 + . you dont need to be an expert to check those so make sure they are new/ nearly new,if not use this as a bargaining position.
i might be stating the obvious but i would not like to face a bill of £800 +
i might be stating the obvious but i would not like to face a bill of £800 +
Have a 98 XJR, Anthracite on Ivory (THE best colour combination IMHO). Have complete strangers admire it at least once a week! The XJR-8 is a different leauge in every respect, please note design and quality of interior for example. Performancce is awesome, have loved BMW's for years but none can match the XJR (M5 - just about, but still looks like a 520 inside). Have had timing chain tensioners done, no Nikasil problems, may be looking to change towards the end of the year............
Cheers Guys,
I'm going to look at a '98 XJR-8 tomorrow.
Full dealer history, engine replaced @ 87,000 miles... car has done a total of 144,000 miles. I figure that the car is perfectly capable of covering 200,000 + miles if maintained properly, and I would feel more comfortable with a replacement engine.
Any thoughts before I see it?
I'm going to look at a '98 XJR-8 tomorrow.
Full dealer history, engine replaced @ 87,000 miles... car has done a total of 144,000 miles. I figure that the car is perfectly capable of covering 200,000 + miles if maintained properly, and I would feel more comfortable with a replacement engine.
Any thoughts before I see it?
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