Seriously considering joining the Jaguar Club. Joined the site for research purposes. Intending to purchase a 1995 X300.

 

Over my car purchasing lifetime, I have evolved or deteriorated, whichever way you look at it, from purchasing new vehicles, to purchasing 3 year old somewhat depreciated cars, to buying older, one owner luxury cars with exceptionally lower mileage. My first new car was a 1967 Volvo, 123GT. Loved the car and owned it for 8 years, giving it to my brother, who drove it for a few more. The winter salt finally ate its body away.

After that I owned a succession of American vehicles, followed by Japanese Toyotas and Subarus. Returned to the Volvo fold for 20 years. As I aged and retired, I thought that I would like to try a German-built sedan. Bought the one owner BMW 528i Touring when it was 9 years old with 110K km. It is a joy to drive and has been very dependable. But the fact that Canadian winter salt has finally wormed its way into the tailgate, one rear quarter panel and a few other issues make it uneconomical to continue repairing it. It only let me down once. We were about to take a weekend trip and the air suspension rubber shock blew dropping the backend onto the rear wheels.

In preparation for eventual breakdowns, I purchased another 1 owner BMW, the little 325 sedan with 84K two years ago. It retired a 22 year old Mazda pickup. Have only put 10K on the 325 in the two years of ownership, not driving it in the winter.

So, I've been looking for a replacement BMW Series 5 in the 1997-2003 era for the Touring. Cannot find a decent one owner, dealer serviced, no accidents, E39, in my area. Searching the cars for sale, a dealer has a low mileage, 2006 CXL for sale. That prompted a read of the Jaguar reviews and the 1995-7 X300 series gets raving reviews. I found a 1995 VDP with 84K, looks to be in mint shape, same owner for 17 years. So that is why I joined the forum. I have not yet seen the car. It does not come outside in the winter for obvious reasons.

My wife and my indy mechanic will once again think that I have lost my marbles, purchasing ever older vehicles. The vehicles that I have bought have all served me well. The BMWs have been higher maintenance than the Volvos. Entire cooling systems on the BMWs have to be done every 60-90K. If the car loses cooling on the freeway, the motor overheats before you make it to the shoulder of the road because of the centre-weighted temp guage. Similarly the steering-suspension has to be renewed at 120K-shocks, control arms, etc. The 528 cost me about $1000 a year for preventative maintenance items, air shocks, tires, and oil changes. The total purchase price of the 528 was $8000. I think that is acceptable or even remarkable, when you take into account that it takes $6000-$7200 per annum to lease a new vehicle.

If I am able to purchase the 1995 VDP, I'll keep it for the longer drives, only when it is fair weather, and let the 325 take the winter beating.

Anyways, that is my plan.

 

Welcome.

Good plan.

Ya gotta have a plan, and beer.

The X300 would still be my pick, if only access was easier for me, I would still have mine.

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Well, being about -6C here today, some of those Aussie wines hit the spot, Maclaren's being a favourite of mine.

Yes, I hope to buy the 1995 VDP.

Thanks for the welcome. Cheers, Fred

 

Hello, Fred,
One thing about an older luxury car, they almost Never really go out of style. If they were well done in the beginning, they'll still look top shelf 20 or 30 (in the case of my car, 40) years later. (Nix *Never* goes out in the rain!)

Older cars have that indescribable/indefinable quality of "Soul," for lack of a better word. Newish tin cans with acres colored plastic surrounding occupant and driver alike are often just plain unfriendly.

There!! I've said it!

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums buckaroo,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

ElinorB,

Thanks for the welcome and comment. I could not agree more. There are so many unnecessary computers and sensors to go wrong on the new cars, that I am annoyed when they disable the vehicle. I lost my A/C on a 30C humid day on a long drive, because the outside temperature sensor was faulty on my 528. Older cars did not need a sensor the adjust the cabin comfort, the occupants set the desired heat/cooling themselves without any computer involvement.

About the aesthetics, I agree completely.

Cheers, Fred

 

It looks like I have the first opportunity to purchase the X300. I see this weekend.

I have never driven, or for that matter, even sat in a Jag. I am very pumped.

 

Welcome to the forum Fred,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums. Great post about your car owning history.

Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj6-xjr6-x300-26/ to the X300 forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

I hope the X300 checks out OK this weekend ....... and you find you like it.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

t

Thanks for the welcome Graham. I appreciate the contributions and efforts that everyone makes to these forums. The link you gave above had been my reading for the last 4 days. Great information. I had false impressions of unreliability for Jaguars. I have a new respect.

Just 3 hours away.

Fred

 

Fred,

The 'unreliable' tag has stuck with Jaguar even though build quality (which was atrocious in the 1970's) and reliability both improved under Ford ownership. The big advantage of this for the used car buyer is values are always low. You get a lot of vehicle for the money.

Graham

 

Couldn't drive it because of the snow on the road but we have a sales agreement.

Fred

 

Hi and welcome aboard, its good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums

Any useful site information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos, using the
search facility etc, can be found here within the following link Using JF "How To"

There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
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