Need suggestions please
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Need suggestions please
Hi all,
New to the boards here. Here's the short of my situation...i have a 2006 Jeep Cherokee and it's been great to me....with the cost of gas going up, I find myself toying with the idea of selling it and getting a car to save a few $. If I were single without any kids, I would most definitely look for a coupe....however, having a 6 month old prohibits that option....
So last night I was watching a tv show in which an individual purchased a 1987 jag for $2,500 (sorry don't know make/model) and then dumped $3,500 in the form of new interior, wheels, engine tuning etc...the car looked spectacular when all was said and done...so total of $6k had them a very nicely rebuilt jag.
Not having much of any experience buying a fixer upper, I was wondering if any of you could give me some pointers for...
1) good sedan model (between 1980-1995) - preferably over 20 mpg
2) I will not be doing any work myself so finding a reputable shop to do work
3) my budget is $7k which I know depends on the car and what needs to be done but I've seen some xj6's that need work going for under $2k.
4) are jags as a whole costly to repair or get oil changes?
5) would it be better to buy a renovated jag vs getting the work done myself? If so, any suggestions for places to look in the south east?
Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks much
New to the boards here. Here's the short of my situation...i have a 2006 Jeep Cherokee and it's been great to me....with the cost of gas going up, I find myself toying with the idea of selling it and getting a car to save a few $. If I were single without any kids, I would most definitely look for a coupe....however, having a 6 month old prohibits that option....
So last night I was watching a tv show in which an individual purchased a 1987 jag for $2,500 (sorry don't know make/model) and then dumped $3,500 in the form of new interior, wheels, engine tuning etc...the car looked spectacular when all was said and done...so total of $6k had them a very nicely rebuilt jag.
Not having much of any experience buying a fixer upper, I was wondering if any of you could give me some pointers for...
1) good sedan model (between 1980-1995) - preferably over 20 mpg
2) I will not be doing any work myself so finding a reputable shop to do work
3) my budget is $7k which I know depends on the car and what needs to be done but I've seen some xj6's that need work going for under $2k.
4) are jags as a whole costly to repair or get oil changes?
5) would it be better to buy a renovated jag vs getting the work done myself? If so, any suggestions for places to look in the south east?
Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks much
If you're looking for a daily driver, go for the 95-97 XJ6 (we call'em the X300). You'll get over 20mpg on the highway if careful (4-spd automatic). Most '95s don't have a glovebox.
Buy the best car you can afford: even though most or all parts are available and don't seem too expensive one at a time, restoring the car will cost more than you can buy it for.
I put over 60K miles on mine in 3 years, even drove in snow three winters and it was a great car.
The previous XJ6 (XJ40) is also very good, start with the '94s and leave out the earliest (87, 88, 89 I'm guessing--google XJ40). I prefer steel springs to adjustable airbags cuz they don't leak.
I wouldn't wanna have to rely on a pre-87 XJ6 for every day use. They are better suited to the role of mistress rather than spouse.
Buy the best car you can afford: even though most or all parts are available and don't seem too expensive one at a time, restoring the car will cost more than you can buy it for.
I put over 60K miles on mine in 3 years, even drove in snow three winters and it was a great car.
The previous XJ6 (XJ40) is also very good, start with the '94s and leave out the earliest (87, 88, 89 I'm guessing--google XJ40). I prefer steel springs to adjustable airbags cuz they don't leak.
I wouldn't wanna have to rely on a pre-87 XJ6 for every day use. They are better suited to the role of mistress rather than spouse.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 9,542
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From: Crewe, England
When all is said and done, and whilst I love my own Jaguar, the fact is that Jaguars were never sold on economy, it is all about style and mostly performance on the road, not off it. Petrol consumption is not going to differ a lot from your Jeep, although clearly if you buy the right Jaguar, it will be better. Parts tend to be expensive in comparison to US cars, and this is caused by the very low production volumes compared to Ford, GM, Chrysler etc.
If you are looking at cars up to 1995, then stretch this to 1997 and look as suggested, for an XJ6 of the X300 model range, built here in the UK from 1994-1997. This was the car that finally put reliability back into Jaguar, the V8s that came after it were a whole lot of trouble as you can read on the forum for XJ8s 1998-2003. The X300 with the AJ16 aluminium straight six are considered almost bullet proof, although like any 16-18 year old car, there are going to be jobs to do. Only real PITA is the rear bumper which can actually fall off !! This is due to its mounts to the body which are, however, very cheap to replace, it is just the bother of doing the job. Apart from that, there are few serious faults, but others more knowledgeable will no doubt tell you what serious faults there are.
If you are looking at cars up to 1995, then stretch this to 1997 and look as suggested, for an XJ6 of the X300 model range, built here in the UK from 1994-1997. This was the car that finally put reliability back into Jaguar, the V8s that came after it were a whole lot of trouble as you can read on the forum for XJ8s 1998-2003. The X300 with the AJ16 aluminium straight six are considered almost bullet proof, although like any 16-18 year old car, there are going to be jobs to do. Only real PITA is the rear bumper which can actually fall off !! This is due to its mounts to the body which are, however, very cheap to replace, it is just the bother of doing the job. Apart from that, there are few serious faults, but others more knowledgeable will no doubt tell you what serious faults there are.
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,390
Likes: 1,116
From: Ellijay
A 15+ year Jaguar, or any car for that matter, is going to be a money pit if you have to have a professional do repairs. Use as a primary vehicle is very questionable. As hobby cars with owners doing all the work they are great fun.
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 14,803
Likes: 4,100
From: Great Mills, MD
GMoney, honestly, for the year car that you are going after, you will be much better off going with something slightly newer. Also, since you talk about having a young one, having a 4 door car is going to benefit you greatly. With this being said, I would tell you to start looking at say a 02-04 X-Type. This will be fairly good on gas mileage (up over 20 mpg on the highway, I average about 25 mpg), the parts for it are not that bad as it is based off of the Ford line (Mondeo) and a lot of things are simple enough that a back yard mechanic can do some of the things on the car. These are fairly plentiful and can be had for very cheap. Since they are going to be fairly new, the need for repairs is going to be minimal. The down side to this car is that if you want a sports car, it will be a very expensive car as the transfer case is the weak link and at $3000 a pop for a new one, you will go broke trying to keep up with the car.
The other car that I would recommend looking at is say a 200-2004 S-Type. While it is slightly more than the X-TYpe is, it is also a bigger vehicle, more niceties, and overall a better car all the way around (since it doesn't have the transfer case). Sure it has its oddities, but every vehicle has these.
If you need more info, let me know.
The other car that I would recommend looking at is say a 200-2004 S-Type. While it is slightly more than the X-TYpe is, it is also a bigger vehicle, more niceties, and overall a better car all the way around (since it doesn't have the transfer case). Sure it has its oddities, but every vehicle has these.
If you need more info, let me know.
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