Hello, long time no see. I used to own a beautiful 2004 XJ8 Zircon which l later traded in for a 2010 Dodge Ram R/T. Well, I really missed that car since day one and in these covid times I decided to find a replacement, cheap and with some problems to be fixed... plenty of time at home and bored as hell. I just bought a totaled 2006 XJ8 VDP Zircon from State Farm at Copart auction for $1,900 ($2,400 after taxes and tow). Damaged was just a bended front fender, broken headlight and a scratch on the bumper. The car runs and drives beautifully and the rest of the body was pristine. Floor mats and nav dvds were missing. A good body shop quoted $1,200 for the repairs and paint. I bought most of the damaged pieces in ebay: Headlight was $340, bumper trim $100, parking sensor $80. Also refreshed the 19" Custom wheels for $800 and bought a new set of Michelin Pilots at Costco for $1,050. Our mechanic changed the oil and revised the underpinnings, all good, even the struts are brand new Arnotts. Then all hell broke loose, the car fell from the mechanics lift ... three feet (1meter) down: Both fog lights broke, windshield cracked, driver side front door got a huge dent, both side skirts damaged, one of the recently painted wheels scratched... I couldn't believed it. Thanks God nobody got hurt but I really wanted to cry. Right now the car is at the body shop, the mechanic is paying of course. We will install a used front door, windshield was already replaced, wheel repainted, and a set of used side skirts are there. The car runs and drives as before, no frame damage. I don't know if I'm gonna keep it, it is not the same cat I bought, on the other hand there are not a lot 2006-07 Zircon VDP around. I don't like the X358 redesign and 04-05 looks to old for me. Will let you know what's next. Door will arrive this Monday. It all depends on the paint job now. Wish me luck.

 

Original damage.

 

Washed at home before armageddon. Bought a new set of green center caps.

 

At the wheel ship, one day before removing the window tint.

 

There was a slight corrosion on C pilar, I´ll fix it now.

 

Fell from the lift?!?! How does anyone even get where that can happen?

Really liking that color, so I hope the new paint job is good quality work! Also, it may be an illusion from the shadows, or maybe it's steered left a little bit, I can't tell, but that left front wheels looks well back in the fenderwell.

EDIT: More pics since I started typing, and that wheel still looks wrong!

 

The wheel is fine, the tire is not the correct size, it is a battered down 235/35/19 and the correct one should be 255/40/19. The rear one is a correct P Zero. I know this mechanic since 2007. It was an accident, first time ever, lucky me.

 

Maybe so, but I still see it back too far in the wheel well. If it were mine, I'd actually measure the wheelbase on each side, centercap to centercap.

 

Good on ya for starting to bring it back. The lift incident is unfortunate but at least the car still needed a lot of work at that point.

Kinda surprised that the damage you outlined was enough to total the car, but then again, certain parts like headlights are expensive. How many miles on it?

 

wfooshee, measures are right, anyhow I´ll recheck everything this Monday. The car drives straight forward, no noises etc.

 

kisnarch, it came with 118.945 miles, now it has 119.041. We change the oil and it came out really clean, we were supposed to change the spark plugs and transmission oil when the car fell from that very same lift in the pic. Now it all depends on the paint job. I´ll keep you posted, I really like the X350, they fit like a hand made glove for me.

 

wfooshee, there is got to be something down there (I'm stuck at home this Christmas guys, so I have plenty of time). Check the photo, there is something wrong in the tie rod adjuster sleeve (if that is the correct name) and the Arnott strut on the driver's side had two nuts broken. We already fixed that and the measures of the tires are even. Anyway I'll double check everything down there, something happened. The rims, which are BBS crap were ok too, so damage can't be bad. Will keep you guys posted.

 

Hoping you get things straightened out, & you get to enjoy the car.
This could come out in your favor when all is said,& done

 

[QUOTE=MBJAG;2478119]Then all hell broke loose, the car fell from the mechanics lift ... three feet (1meter) down: Both fog lights broke, windshield cracked, driver side front door got a huge dent, both side skirts damaged, one of the recently painted wheels scratched... I couldn't believed it.

You do need to be careful making sure the 4 arms of the hoist are located correctly. I also have a two post hoist in my garage at home and often have one of my 3 Jags up on it for oil changes and other work. I always just lift the car up a few mm then check the 4 location points to be sure before going higher.
Such a pity, that was a nice looking car. Hope it fixes up well.

 

I love the color combo on this car. This car you know what you have. I would give the shop the chance to fix the car and if you aren't happy, have them buy it off you and go try to find another one (easier said than done). Good luck, I would love to know what you do.

 

one side gets stuck on safety and they're not paying attention

 

"Fell from the lift?!?! How does anyone even get where that can happen?"
It happens mostly on 2 post lifts. people misjudge where the center of gravity is, or don't understand physics that well. Pretty hard to lose one off of a 4 post lift, but with enough talent, I'm sure it is possible. We have had people drop a wheel off a 4 post. Mounting or dismounting the lift, that is pretty minimal drop, maybe 6" and with a 6x6 wedge made out of lumber or whatever, you can drive it right back on

 

Did the windshield crack from being struck by something or maybe the frame got tweaked. I would check it on a frame machine before you spend much money on cosmetic repair. If that car is like my 2008, the frame is mostly aluminum and difficult/expensive to repair.

 

You should double or triple check... Just to make sure because even if externally the car just have what you mentioned, the car still could have some other not visible issues from this event and you would never know until you start to drive the car more aggressive.

The car is beautiful, I hope that everything turns out to be good at the end. Good luck.

 

J.A.G. I will do for sure. We drove the car after the event and all seemed fine. The car is at the body shop, they should finish it this Thursday. The mechanic is next door, worst case scenario he will pay what I already spent on it. If the paint job is ok and the car is mechanically fine I’ll keep it. I drive around 3k miles a year (in four different vehicles), so this cat can last forever under my protection. I hope it will be ok after this. There are not a lot 2006-07 Zircon VDP around.