Howdy all! I'm looking at a 1984 XJ6 today, ad came from Craigslist. I have been surfing the posts here for a couple of days and they've been really helpful, but I have a couple of questions:

1) Owner said the car was purchased originally in Mexico, is that relevant?
2) Owner said she couldn't start the car these past couple of days when the temp. hit 5 degrees heck at night it was in the neg. numbers. The car has been sitting for 2 months without being driven, before that it was a daily driver so is there anything in particular I need to look for?
3) From pictures the car looks perfect no rust, dings or other imperfections. She is asking $3k for it...is that reasonable? I was thinking that if she couldn't get it started when I go over today to try and talk her to selling it for $2k.

 

Forgot to mention that the interior looks like it just rolled off the factory floor, mint!

And part of the deal is that the owner must drive it 30 miles back to my house before payment is made, just to ensure that it runs.

 

Sounds like a good plan to me.
For rust you should check around the lower corners of both front and rear screens. Few other places would be around the lower trailing arms supports, the under rear valance and the lower rear part of front fenders. If these don’t line up perfectly with the rest of the body and instead stand proud, there is rust forming behind them forcing them out of alignment.
Remember, mechanical work is so much cheaper to do than either body or interior work.

 

go see it in person, pictures lie. sellers misrepresent. Ask to see the Title, ask for Seller's ID and compare to Title before laying your money down.

Check the Engine Oil, does it have coolant mixed in? (dipstick is on the driver's side, the one with a Round Ring)

Check the Coolant Cap, does it have oil mixed in ? (there is a brown plastic tank with a radiator cap on the driver's side, remove the cap and look inside if engine is cold).

Bring a large Beach towel, lay on the ground, look underneath everywhere, anything leaking massively? exhaust system rusted?

use your common sense, if it doesn't look right, it never is. $3,000. is about the cost of an entire interior. Look at the interior Headliner, is it good?

otherwise, if it is mint, $3,000. is not bad. Maybe $2,500.

 

Thanks guys, leaving right now to check it out in person. I had her take the car to a local garage so I can get it on a lift and have it checked out. I'll take pics

 

Got a good look at it and it looks nice, the owner put $7k just this year in repairs. I saw absolutely no rust and drove it around, felt like I was on a cruise ship. I'm going to offer $2,500 and see if they accept.

 

The owner accepted $2,750 I'm the new owner of a 1984 Jaguar XJ6! You guys should see me here around a little bit more often now.

 

very decent price assuming it is in the condition you say. don't expect perfection, surely you'll have to fix some things. Where's the pics? 1984 was one of the best years for quality cars from Jaguar, Sir John Egan took over quality control and started firing everybody who did not deliver quality parts and components. Then came Aston Martin and "stole" Egan from Jaguar. I've owned my '84 for over 22 years now, very reliable car.
Congratulations.

 

Congratulations on a good purchase.

 

Thanks guys, the car was dirty and needed a good wash so I wanted to wait until that was done before I took some pics. Picking up the car on Friday and it goes straight to a custom shop for a detailing to fix some minor annoyances. Here was the Craigslist ad that has some pics 1984 Jaguar XJ6

 

it has the "Pepperpot" Jaguar wheels, and looks like it might be a Vanden Plas model. so the car is now running?

 

Hey, it looks great.

You may not realize it but you have a non-USA model....probably a Jaguar "Soveriegn". Must be grey market import.

The smaller bumpers are the first clue. The there's the clock instead of a trip computer, the XJ6-type seats together with the VanDenPlas type door panels, and then the Pepperpot wheels. It might well have the higher compression engine as well.

Looks like you "done good" :-)

Cheers
DD

 

No Jose the Vanden Plas had different seats. However this has already had some upgrades added. The reading lights in the rear seat area for one. I would definately add a third brake light and would get rid of those Black sunvisors and replace them with doe skin coloured ones. There is also a few other upgrades that could be done but other than that, looks like a really nice car.

 

darn, it is a Sovereign, didn't notice the clock in the center panel. that is a rare XJ-6. Whether is non-USA, I wouldn't know.

 

If it IS what it appears to be, it's non-USA. Or it had been treated to a whole slew of owner modifications.

Jaguar simply didn't build 'em that way for the USA market.

Cool car :-)


Cheers
DD

 

I don't think it could be a Sovereign unless it has a Vin number higher than 370502. My money is on it being a non USA XJ6 that has had some parts added.

 

well the car came from Mexico, so it must be a Mexico-spec XJ, it might not have all the US emmissions gizmos.

 

How can you tell? (Asking, not arguing!)

Cheers
DD

 

Duh. Stupid Doug. I just read the first post!


Cheers
DD

 

The owner said that it was purchased in Mexico but the rear emblem has Sovereign badge..well part of the badge as it's mostly gone. It's also a 4.2L if that means anything. It's running now and I drove it a few miles yesterday, ran great and the engine bay is really really clean! And I really love the "pepperpot" rims. I forgot to write down the VIN but I pick it up tomorrow, I'll get it then.

Some of the minor annoyances I'm getting fixed tomorrow:

1) Touch up paint, lots of tiny scratches that you can't see until you're close. No dents or dings and 0 rust.
2) Driver seat needs minor repair, has two slight rips that I want fixed before the rips get bigger.
3) Sun visors, don't match the interior. Going to replace with tan ones.
4) Windows slow to respond in opening and closing, think there's a disconnect with some wires because the windows do go up and down but you have to push the buttons multiple times.
5) Door plastic seals are getting old and saggy, going to replace them.
6) Thinking about removing the side trim, think it would look better without it as the rubber in the chrome shrank over the years and don't run the full length of the chrome trim. Either remove it or replace the rubber part.

Oh, do any of you know where I can buy the Sovereign badge for the rear? Most of it broke off and all that's left is "eign" which is annoying.

Thankfully most of my fixes are minor and wont cost much. Once I have a few thousand miles put on this car I'll start making it look nicer with some aftermarket stuff.