I've had an XJR - the old straight 6 4.0 supercharged auto - for two years now. It's been a real love/hate relationship. There's no doubt that it's a beautiful car, never short of an admiring glance or compliment from passers by. Fantastic to drive too - I bought this after two Impreza Turbos (honestly!) - a straight turbo, and then a P1 - and it still kept me entertained. Nearly two tons of car will always have it's limititions, particularly when you try to drive at 10/10ths, but just a little slower than flat out, try to be smooth, and you won't believe how quick it is. Many a hot hatch was surprised by a hulking great Jag just sitting on their tails for mile after mile of the twisty black stuff, no matter how hard they tried to shake it off!
The downside? The cost! It's astronomical. I had repeated problems with the front suspension - bushes wearing rapidly, alignment problems etc etc. And at nearly £200 for a Pirelli P-Zero (I had 245/55's), loosing several sets of front tyres because of dodgy suspension was a killer. Main dealers hit you for £60-70/hour, and independ's around £30. Parts are a whack too. Couple this with depreciation which - like Harold the Clever Sheep - not so much soars as plummets, and you're looking at close on 5 grand a year to run one of these! The engine remained as sweet as ever though, even at 80000 miles - and I drive hard on little country roads everyday - I detest motorway traffic! It's a pity that that supension meant that the car was undergoing surgery every couple of months.
I could probably put up with all the foibles and the high costs if it wasn't for Jag dealers. Don't be fooled into thinking that because they're Jaguar, they're not out to con you! I had one dealership try to sell me a new set of rear brake disks (around £300 with fitting) when there was nothing wrong with the old set (and this was on top of a thousand pound's worth of other repairs, so it's not as if they needed some extra cash!), and another dealer who fleeced me for close on £1000 to sort the front suspension out, only for the problem to recur within three months... and then tried everything in the book to get out of sorting the problem out.
It was the final straw I'm afraid - I'm now Jag free, and I'd think long and hard before buying British again. Just too unreliable, and those dealers....
Owned for 2 years.
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