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I can appreciate that.
My 98 was neglected for years by PO.
But now that most issues are resolved and the stupid little things are fixed, I can't believe I only paid $1300 for it..
The guy I met with this morning described his car as being in excellent condition and meticulously maintained. He claimed to be a "Jaguar" guy and said he knew how to take care of these cars. He said the tensioners were new. etc. etc. etc. (when I asked for documentation he said the lady that he bought it from said the tensioners were done; good enough for him).
The car was filthy and smelled bad. The engine oil was over a quart low. The coolant lines were connected to the reservoir backwards. The power steering fluid was way over-filled and filthy. The MAF was caked up and filthy. The hoses and belts looked original. It was OUT of gas. I went for a test drive and it said "7 miles to empty". I stopped and put gas in his freaking car! The wheels were terribly scuffed. The tires were all different brands, with very little tread. The power seats didn't work. The wood was badly cracked. The battery looked very old (trac warning at start-up). I could go on. He seemed in disbelief that I didn't love the car. He was "gracious" enough to lower his asking price from $9,500 to $7,900 for this sun damaged, neglected 126,000 mile unwanted stepchild car of his.
The other one I looked at, believe it or not, was worse. And likewise, the guy described it as "perfect", "well maintained". It shifted rough and rode bumpy; it was a beater.
No for that price-range you should be expecting a gem. I've found a lot of people are so enamored with the name & lore of Jaguar, they overvalue them monetarily.
I went to see one in Myrtle Beach SC, the lady went on & on about her "immaculate machine". I arrived after a 3 hour drive to find a 2001 XJ8 w/ tensioners/chains clacking,smoking from the rear(oil),ASC/Trac lights on,heavy coolant leak,a hand print on the ceiling from what I can only assume was strawberry syrup(let's hope so lol). The car handled like a go-kart & so forth.
The price she was asking, I would have issues paying half for it.
She was like a cartoon caricature sauntering about in a dress,heels,huge sunglasses & smoking on a long cigarette holder lol it was like a reality SNL sketch.
Well, you kept your cool, buyer remorse afterwards is worse then a little unsatisfactory.
It is good to be reminded that what we have is precious, one way or an other...
I just told them the car wasn't for me. I didn't give him a laundry list of reasons I felt deceived, I just said "thanks for showing me the car, you seem like a nice guy but I don't think this is the car I am looking for". He pressed me for a reason and his friend tried to bully me a little, but that kind of pressure usually only strengthens my resolve. I politely excused myself, got into the rental car with my wife, and drove away.
After driving 1,500 miles in two days I find a new listing less than 2 hours from my house. I may be a glutton for punishment, but I'm planning to go see the car after work tomorrow.
It's always a choice between the devil you know and the devil you don't know. If you already have a good car, that you purchased with maintenance documentation, or one that you have personally fixed up yourself you are way ahead of a pig in a poke. Not to say that there are not good cars out there, but a good car should have the history. Receipts that show the tensioners changed, the transmission rebuild, the regular services and repairs, etc. If I was you I would take a step back, and only follow up on local cars with documented history. If you wait I'm sure that the right car will show up. You aren't looking for a restoration project so take your time and be very picky. Good Luck.
My XJ experience is with ZF transmissions, so I have a question about the mercedes transmission in the XJR. If it has 114,000 miles on it with no evidence it has ever been serviced, but it still shifts great, is there any cause for concern? I would of course service the transmission as soon as I buy the car.
Convincor, I have in fact found a black XJR that I may be interested in. I think they are beautiful, but I used to drive a black Tahoe that was impossible to keep clean, that was my only reservation.
I am test driving it tonight, I will post my results.
Thanks for this outlet during the car shopping process. You guys are not only being helpful, but making the process more fun.
Well, I actually LIKE the car I saw tonight! I drove 11 hours to see a car that disappointed me, and found a beauty only 90 miles away from home. Go figure.
It is a black 2003 XJR with oatmeal interior. I saw it at night but the paint looked very beautiful. The interior also was in extremely good condition. There is a short list of necessary maintenance items but I think I may buy this car.
It needs:
Valve cover gaskets- both are leaking. Engine is amazingly clean so the leaks seem to have started recently.
One piece of the sunroof cover is missing. The covering is loose and doesn't fully cover when it's closed. Also, the button has to be held to open and close the sunroof, whereas on my car it's one-touch to open and to close. Hopefully this is a setting or something that I can fix.
Tires are brand new Continental Extremecontacts, But the brakes only have about 20% life left...so that's a project for very soon.
The driver inside door handle doesn't open the door. It's like the cable inside is snapped or stretched?
Belts look a little tired, and one of the pulleys (on the tensioner I think) squeaked when I first started the car. The squeak went away after a short drive.
The car shifts smoothly, but during the drive a "gearbox fault" message appeared. There was also a traction not available light for the first few seconds after startup. The only pending code was p0705, which I think is an electrical sensor telling the computer what gear the transmission is in. The battery in the car was very weak. In fact it had to be jump started a few days ago. No one is really driving the car right now. I think a new battery could likely get rid of ALL of those code issues. The check engine light was not on. The seller said he had planned to put a new battery in the car and should have done so by now. He said the correct battery for that car was close to $175, but he would be glad to provide that.
The seller has no idea if the transmission has ever been serviced. It had a full 90,000 mile service at a major Jaguar dealer (which is reflected in the carfax) but I doubt the dealer would actually service the transmission. The car has 114,000 now.
The fuel trims showed a very high positive LTFT. The long term fuel trims were in the positive mid teens. Short term trims were right around zero. The high trims could be attributed to the very leaky valve covers I guess? Obviously I could use my new smoke test machine for a better diagnosis.
I could not check the coolant since the car was already hot when I got there.
It was noticeably faster than either of the two XJRs I drove in Florida.
For about $1,000.00 in supplies I could spend a few evenings and a couple of weekends making this a really sweet car! It is very well preserved, it just needs a little love. At least that's my first impressions. If anyone has feedback about the list of needs, please chime in.
I've been out of town but wanted to post some parts and how tos:
Supercharger Oil Change
Originally Posted by scardini1
Here is the eBay listing. The part number on the bottles crossed checked with some research NAPA did for me, so I'm fairly confident it's the exact spec oil we need.
Shipping and delivery were FAST! My oil was changed less than a week after placing the order, and that included a day's delay on my end.
Originally Posted by 80sRule
I just did this last night on my car and it's super simple.
First I put the hood into service mode; then I tied back my intercooler hoses, moved some wires out of the way; do all this gently! I also moved one hose behind the dipstick to just keep it clear. This all took maybe a minute. I left the hard line going from tstat housing to overflow tank, its only a year old, but last time i touched it a year ago...
Then I had access with the 3/16" allen wrench. I just used a small one; no ball end, just one that was short and it was easy as can be, then I used the syringe that came with the kit, but I added a WD40 straw as other posters suggested. I taped the straw in, and put a zip tie around it just to be sure it would stay and not have a vacuum leak. I used this setup on the sucking out part:
It was nasty!
When I got it all out, I removed the WD40 Straw from the setup to just be the syringe and black hose. I filled the syringe with fresh SC Oil, which is a very nice clear oil; and kept using the syringe to fill the SC; it took a few times until finally oil started coming out the fill hole. Then I put the plug back in and I was good to go! Then I removed zip ties and routed everything back where it was. Then reconnected the hood struts to the hood and was done.
All in, this took maybe a half hour. The kit was $30 shipped, but you can get a pair of these bottles for $16 on amazon (just bought to do my XJR) and get a syringe setup much cheaper; but honestly they aren't making a fortune off you selling the kit. Plus less time spent shopping around. I'm reusing this syringe setup though, worked perfectly.
Transmission Fluid + Filter + Pan Gasket + Connector Change
Originally Posted by 80sRule
NOTE - The dipstick does not just fit in the hole and stay there. You leave the cap in to seal, but the stick is universal and won't sit there like a conventional dipstick and is just used during measuring.
$129 to change the fluid. You can reuse the dipstick tool and lock on future jobs. Really reasonable. You likely don't have a torque converter drain plug (early cars only, see pelican parts link), but that kit is so cheap for the good stuff, I'd buy it.
Originally Posted by 80sRule
Last night was perfect weather and I did a bunch of stuff on my XKR. This was one of those jobs.
What tools:
-1/4 and 3/8 Drive Ratchets
--5mm Allen socket/key/whatever
--5mm Torx socket/key/whatever
-IR Thermometer (borrowed a Fluke 62 MAX IR Thermometer)
This is a very easy job. This is so much easier than the ZF units I've worked on. The pan gasket is quite clever too; this is a very straightforward job.
The sunroof panel is probably just disconnect and pushed back into the roof.
As for the button having to being held, maybe the module? I may have an extra, along with the door handle cable.
As for trans fluid.. My 98 has a little over 129,000. Don't think it's been touched. Although I did just get the fluid and filter to do it ASAP.
03-30-2016, 10:04 AM
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