Dear all,

I'm a young guy (31 this year) that live in London and want to buy a classic car for week-end travels to discover England with my Fiancée and our cute dog.

The ideal car should have these requirements:

-Champagne colour
-White/Beige leather interior
-4 Doors
-Good condition
-Automatic gearbox
-Road tax and insurance as Classic car


What are the things to be careful about and what to check when buying a Daimler from the mid 70'?

Do you have any advise?

Thank you very much in advance

 

The biggest issue with mid 1970's Jaguars/Daimlers in the UK is rust due to the atrocious build quality and the combined effects of our wet climate and road salt. I had two Series I's and one Series 2 which all had serious rust before they were five years old.

Almost every XJ6/XJ12 and Daimler Sovereign equivalents from that era is likely to have had extensive bodywork restoration which needs to be thoroughly checked.

The majority were purchased with automatic transmission and finding one with a manual gearbox would be rare.

Check the FAQ's in XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum for regular issues.

Graham

 

Very useful GGG,

a part from rust, what's the situation with repairs and maintenance?

Is it easy to find spare parts and specialist mechanics?

So according to your experience is a strong or it breaks often./

As I mentioned the idea is to use it for weekend ride and I don't wont find myself in the middle of country with a broken engine..... :-(

There is also some model that you'd suggest? I'm wondering to series II and III because they're cheaper that series I but still have the round front light.

Thx

 

I owned the XJ6/12 Series I and II when they were current models. I did have a history for destroying engines but that was probably because I spent more time at full throttle in my twenties!

You should take fuel consumption into account. I used to get around 15 mpg in 4.2 litre Series I/II and a terrifying 8 mpg in a Series I XJ12. The early XJ's will also go through front tyres in 10 to 12k miles.

Spares availability (apart from trim) and independent specialist mechanical expertise is good.

With any used Jaguar/Daimler, condition and history are critical. A 70's car should ideally be accompanied by a huge history file. Restoration costs will always exceed the value of the vehicle.

Graham