Hi,

I am looking at the above car tomorrow. The asking price is $6700.

What issues should I look for when examining the car?

Are there any hidden expensive issues that I should know about?
(I currently have an XKR convertible and I had not read up on the Hydraulic top issues - $2000 later...)

is this a reliable year and model?

What types of questions should I ask?

Thanks very much for you help!!!!!!!


Kip

 

The X300 platform was (is) a very great series of Jags. This was some years after Ford took the reigns and instilled quality control. The obvious thing would be to run a background (CarFax, etc) check on it.

Spend a lot of time examining every inch of the car, inside and out, the trunk, under the hood ... open every sort of compartment and look for misuse.

Check everything ... roll the windows up/down (do they hesitate?), check all the lights in the dash, gauges (and with the headlights turned on to check lighting in the dash) , wipers, sunroof, A/C, vent louvers, shifter (i.e. lockout mechanism), parking brake, all exterior lighting, paint quality, tires, electric locks .... do they have the key fobs and owner's manuals?

How about the rear-upper stop lamp - sagging? Tap each of the headlamps and be sure the lens(es) aren't loose. Check all emblems (inside and out) to be sure they're intact and nothing is missing.

Open the hood and listen to the engine running. Ask the owner to turn it off and then let it sit for a minute, then ask to start it up ... are there any odd noises upon startup ? Pull the dipstick out and pull some oil off the dipstick and rub between fingers ... feel any grittiness? Does the oil look black?

Check the fuse panels under the hood (left and right) - missing [supply] fuses? Check in the trunk, under the "battery and electrical" panel cover - does everything underneath look cared-for?

Take it for a drive in a quiet area. Roll all the windows up and turn everything off (radio, A/C to low) and listen for odd noises. Drive on bumpy roads ... turn the steering left and right while stopped - any odd noises? Do the same at low speeds in a parking lot ... any odd noises?

If you can, bring a scanner and see if any codes are set.

If you dont want to do any of this, find a reliable Jag shop and pay to have them do a look-over.

There are a number of niggles for the X300 platform - mostly annoyances ... i cant speak to the 'charger though - someone else will have to chime in and state whether the 'charged X300 has issues.

 

Go to the top of the X300 section. In the "Quick link" thread there's an X300 buyers guide with some pointers

Cheers
DD

 

You might find this thread useful:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...tu-97-a-57293/


Cheers
DD