I would normally feel I can make my own decision on things I buy -BUT CASH is very tight for me right now (can I get an AMEN brother... ) and so I am considering the following purchase and the cars needs:

1996 JAGUAR XJ6, 76,363 MILES[/b], "MINT" Basic trim, no dings, scratches tears or excessive anything. Everything works and runs well except for:

1. Steering wheel adjustment - goes up an down - but no telescoping -cost to fix -is this a DIY repair for most of us??

2. A light sort of growling, grinding, whining noise coming from (what seems like) around rear of the car – under the back seat

The noise MAY be 50% - 100%?? - due to the owner putting VERY cheep tires on the car -so it would look nicer for a sale. The tread is VERY aggressive -almost looks like a snow tire! The car is in California! So it may be just tire noise. Thoughts???

But what if it is the rear diff? What’s that thing cost to rebuild/replace? Can a U-joint or anything else in that area make that sort of noise?

Other than the above - I'm crazy about her, Er, sorry, it. I am trading down (a man’s gotta eat) from my 2006 XJ8 - to a car like this -yeh no car payment! The lowest I can get the owner (second owner) to go is $4,900. Opinions on this purchase would be VERY welcome a grateful. Thanks you.

 

I would prefer X300 over X350 anyday . Sorry , I can't vouch for repair cost though . Change your tires to Michelin 225 /55/ 16 Privacy HP this is what I did on my Jaguar and very satisfied

 

#1 repair is DIY for most of us, probably you, too. There a motor and cable drive for in/out and another for tilt. One of them is very easy, the other quite a bit more involved but still DIY-able. I'm pretty sure its the "tilt" that is the easier one. I replaced the 'easy one" on mine and it took 30 minutes....but for the life of me I can't positivelt remember if it was "tilt" or "reach". In any case, no reason to avoid the car

#2 repair is hard to judge. Then tires certainly can playa part, a big part, on noise. A slight differential whine may not be serious. Change the oil on general principle but, truth is, it may well soldier on for years with a slight whine and never amount to much. A wheel/hub bearing, though, or a u-joint....well...I'd fix that sort of thing right away. A u-joint is DIY. Never done a hub bearing on an X300 so I can't comment on the difficulty. Wild guess, if you had to have it done at a shop, maybe $300.00 (???). Other will chime in on that.

$4900 for a mint X300 sounds good to me. You haven't described anything that should sour the deal, IMHO. I'd go for it, personally.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks for the reply - Cadillac -interesting and ironic name for a Jaguar forum moderator :-). The tires you recommended - thanks for that info - you are happy with them on dry roads (in OC, CA it rained on a Wednesday last year...), low road noise and are they good on rougher roads for short distance? Thanks again for your help.

John

 

Hey 1happy. You are getting into a Jaguar for under $5000 bucks. Sure it's 12 years old but if the mileage is low and it has been looked after, why not? Do you/can you have a reputable/knowledgeable mechanic check it out for you? Anything you buy for that price is usually going to come with future repair costs. The question is how deep your pockets are for later. Once you get her you will love her and be willing to spend a few extra dollars to keep her.

OC as in Orange County, CA? Heading down your way tomorrow morning. What's the forecast for the next few days?

 

Yiu're welcome , and if you look my avatar you see Rolls Royce as well lol . The tires are also good at wet conditions , they're actually 4 season tires and very low noise yet compromising less braking distance over its rivals