1998 Jaguar XJ8 review from North America

The majority of problems encountered have been cosmetic and covered under the Select Edition Warranty. The head liner began to sag and was replaced, the CD player, the seals around the sunroof and two pieces of wood veneer all had to be replaced (free of charge).

The only mechanical difficulty was with something called a trumble bearing (unsure of spelling) in the rear wheel area. The dealer had difficulty reproducing the problem. Once they did, it was promptly fixed at no charge.

I love this car. I wish I had purchased the long version for more legroom in the back seat. Other than that, I have never owned a more comfortable car to drive for long distances. The front seating area is very comfortable. Acceleration, braking, handling are all excellent in this driver's opinion. I do wish they had relocated the interior trunk release button. At 6'1" I sometimes hit the trunk release with my knee at inconvenient times.

The Select Edition used car warranty from the dealer is wonderful. It's better than any new car warranty I've ever had. Whatever I complained about, the dealer either fixed or replaced.

There is some slight cracking in the front leather seats. Had I caught this in time (before the cosmetic portion of the warranty expired) the dealer would have even replaced the leather.

Once the Select Edition Warranty runs out in August 2004, I may or may not start shopping for another vehicle. Chances are I'll keep it until my first really big repair bill.