This may be a tad long, so bear with me here. Skip to the bottom if it gets too excruciating

Background info:

I've got a lease ending in about a month, and I've been weighing my options for some time. Where I'm at now is that I kind of feel like buying a new car is pretty terrible. It just seems like an absurd amount of money for something that depreciates so much, so fast. Low financing is difficult at times, and leases aren't that great of a deal either. I've also decided that I don't really need to feel like I'm cool because I have a new car or something. Status isn't really important to me.

For years, the savvy move was to buy a slightly used car, avoid a lot of the initial depreciation, and get a solid newer car for much less money. These days, though, that's all anyone is doing, so the prices on those cars have skyrocketed. Used cars in general are booming, so prices are high, not to mention the fact that they drill you on financing. Seven year old Honda Accord's are going for like 12k. Financing 12 grand for an an 02 Accord just seems disgusting to me, but that's where things are right now.

So, now I feel like I'm in a spot where I think my best option is to just buy an old used car for a few grand cash and be done with it. I'm not traditionally a "car guy", but I suppose I could see myself getting into car maintenance a little more, if only for the sake of saving money. As I said, I don't really care that much about a car being new, so maybe buying an old car and babying it will be a smart move. What do I care about, though?

What I want:

If I go the older used car route, I'm thinking that I would want a big, comfortable car with some semi-luxurious amenities. I'm 6'4" and most cars are just not big enough for me. Even some mid sized sedans feel a little cramped. My current car has heated seats, remote start, etc. Living in an area with a pretty damn cold winter, I have grown pretty attached to the heated seats. Getting the remote start is near impossible on older used cars, but many have leather heated seats. I don't really care about fuel economy that much either, since my daily commute will be about 3 miles each way. Obviously, in buying an older used car, reliability is a major concern also, so I'd like a model that isn't known for blowing up constantly.

In my search for such a used car, I stumbled across cars like old Lexus LS400s, Chrysler 300s, Lincoln Town cars, and even some Jaguars that seemed pretty cheap. At first, I was noticing a lot of the XJ8s for far less than I would have imagined. After some digging (including a post on the XJ8 forum on this board), I decided that these seem to be too prone to issues for my liking. In the process, I've noticed that the X300s have a much better reputation. They're older, and probably harder to find in good shape, but they seem to fit what I'm looking for. While I don't really care much about looking cool or anything, I also have to admit that I do like the long and low looks of the XJs, and to me, the X300s look identical to the X308s, only they are much cheaper and potentially much more reliable.


The Bottom line:

I'm thinking about getting an X300. I'm not generally a luxury car kind of person, nor am I a big car buff, so I guess I would feel kind of silly, but at the same time, I do like the looks of the car, I like the luxurious, comfortable interiors, and I like that they can be had cheap. I'm a little concerned about reliability, though. There are two currently for sale in my area that I might take a look at (Silver 95 XJ6 w/ 70k, Green 96 VDP w/ 88k - don't like green, unfortunately ), so I wanted to find out a little more before I head to the dealers.



So, in general, what am I getting into here if I buy a X300?

Should I expect a lot of repairs, or are they much more solid and dependable than the typical jaguar reputation? Should I just avoid the X300s all together if I am not planning on doing most work myself?

Anything specific I should look for when checking one out at a local dealer? Any obvious problems or signs to look for?

What are the typical issues I would run into if I bought one of these with 70-90k miles on it?

Are these going to immediately rust to hell if they are exposed to a midwest winter?

Also, I think I've seen that they require premium fuel. Is that correct? What would happen if you didn't use premium?

How hard is it to replace the radio? Are the mounting kits expensive or hard to find? I would really prefer to have something that I could connect to my phone/ipod.

Anyone know how difficult/expensive is it to add a remote start kit?


Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

 

I had a X300 (1996 VDP) up until recently - had it for 6 years and put over 60k miles on it (final mileage when it got hit/totalled was 123k).

I will answer from my experience only -

I am 5'11" and was very comfortable in the car. Some 6'+ people find the headroom a little low, but if you are used to the more stretched out feeling in the Jag vs. a more straight up looking for headroom like a US car you would probably be happier in the current series XJ - to me they look like Towncars though.

In general the 4.0 straight six is known as a pretty bullet proof drivetrain, well balanced and smooth. I had no issue with my car in terms of any drivetrain failures so my experience bears this out.

Electricals are much better than almost any other Jag before or possibly since, but there are a lot of electronics and like any luxury car, this can bite you. Not known for it, but not immune.

Repairs can be expensive and like any car you will run into things like wheel bearings, suspension, steering, brakes, etc. and if you buy new parts from the dealer you will be amazed at how much they cost (unless you have ever maintained a Porsche or a sailboat, then you will be used to it). Jaguar never had the volume to support very much aftermarket support so Jaguar brand is the only source for 95% of parts. The good news is that there is an abundance of quite serviceable used parts available for X300s, mainly because if you get in even a minor accident your insurance company will total the car. Body and paint work on these cars is very expensive and values are dirt cheap.

Rust - no idea, I live in Southern California and I rarely see any cars with rust.

I would follow recommendations for fuel and run premium, even though you say mpg is not a concern, I used to get 17-19mpg in mine which I thought was pretty decent for the car. Why skimp here??

Nobody makes a good in-dash option for these, but most have both cassette and the in trunk 6 disc CD and the radios are pretty decent - were made by Alpine and if the head fails there is a Alpine facility in PA (I think) that will service them. Oddball shape so if you replace it it will either look kludgy or you will spend big $$s to a pro for lots of custom fabrication and it still wont look "right" IMHO. Pick up a cassette adapter for $17 at Target - works great and plugs into any MP3 including iPod and maintains the very nice stock look.

No idea on remote starter issue, again - its a southern california thing.

Also, keep in mind if you look around you can find some really low mileage examples, when I was looking recently there were more than a couple with under 50k miles on them that looked like new cars and still asking prices were under $7k - never mind what you could actually negotiate one for if you had cash in hand. Incredible value in a car I believe.

I would look for one that looks new (or near new) especially the wood, headliners, body and paint. They are definitely out there. Complete and regular service with records are of course preferred. Make sure all electrical systems are functioning. I could never get the seat/mirror memory to work properly but that did not bother me since I was pretty much the only driver. Not unusual for seats to show wear in color but rarely actually split and I had mine professionally re-dyed. It was the two tone oatmeal and for $250, a company called Dr. Vinyl made both seats, the door armrests and the center console lid look like brand new with a perfect match.

I would have bought another one after mine was totalled but decided to take the plunge on a 1999 XK8 instead. Less room, little more money, but mucho sportier... But I did love the Vanden Plas. The back seat legroom, those tray tables in rear (impractical as all get out, but never failed to impress and amaze people), the two tone leather, gorgeous woodwork... hmmm, kinda talking myself into looking for another one here.

 

Wow... thanks a ton for the thorough response!

Anyone else have any insight here?

 

I had an X300 too . It was '95 Daimler aka VDP swb . The car was feeling awesome but I had starting issues many times but I think that was only in my X300 (the car was involved in crash so I was told that starting engine issues was down to that incident )
Engine ? Brilliant ,not the most powerful Jaguar engine ever built that time but more than adequate in regards to performance wise .
Tranny : Almost perfect
That was my 2nd Jaguar the very 1st one was '88 XJ40 . When you compare X300 to XJ40 ('95 vs '88 ) the gap is even wider than between Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard

 

Have a 97 VDP and will drive it until it drops. Reliable, beautiful, and the most comfortable car I've ever driven. I'm 5'5" and my BF is 6'4" and we both fit. He loves the car too.

Upkeep is expensive and you have to rely on your local jag dealership for just about everything but mine is competent so no complaints except for the prices!

 

I have a 97 xj6l with 140,000 miles. I've had the car 3 years and still love it. Im 6' 2" and have no problem with headroom. The main things too check on the car are the mirror controls, the clock, and the tilt on the steering wheel. These are usually the things that go out after ten years or so. You will love a jaguar, they are great, beautiful cars.

 

You height could potentially be a main issue. Like someone mentioned, you'll be fine if you have a laid back driving style. One thing I read with simple online reviews are a lack of headroom. I'm assuming those are people who like to drive like they are sitting in a chair at a 90 degree angle.

I'd check for vertical play in the rear wheels (diff bearings), tilt/reach on steering wheel, seat memory and functions, the clock on earlier models, having a glove box on really early models, changes of vital fluids. Try, try, try to get a full service history of the car, or at least the past few years if the car has higher miles.

My 1997 Xj6l is my second Jag. The first was a 1989 Xj40 which had loads of problems but I still love/d it. So far, I've had two cars, two Jags, and I don't think I'll veer off course. I may supplement the list, but I can only hope that I will always have a Jaguar.

 

Most here seemed to sum up the X300 pretty well. As reliable as any MB or BMW of the era and with looks to die for! Too bad you're not privy to a green car, my '96 VdP may be on the market because we just got an '07 Range Rover.