I noticed an absolutely pristine XJ6 for sale locally. looks like a real honey, 1997 (last MY I believe....) 32K miles, XJ6 Vanden Plas, Sky Blue (one of my fav. colors). Any ideas what is a reasonable offer? He is asking 9K which seems high, but I understand they are very desirable and with this many miles and condition should command a certain premium. Anything I need to lookout for in terms of failure points, or work that should have been done? I have owned an XJ6 but it was 10 years older, and all my other Jags are or have been based on the AJ8 or the Duratec V6.

Thanks

- Tim

 

The only question I can answer is that the price seems a bit high. $6,000 tops, and that's if it's in PRISTINE condition...no leaks, passes emissions, etc, etc. 302K miles? On a 12 year old car? How many times did that person drive coast to coast every year?

 

30k miles or 302k miles ????

When it comes to used Jags I firmly believe that finding finding the right car is more important the finding the right price. A premium car is usually worth the premium price.

I've bought so many used cars....including three Jags. I've found its usually a "pay now" or "Pay later" type of thing. Pony up for an extra nice car and enjoy it right away or settle (and pay) for less and dump a couple thousand into it right off the bat to fix up all the usual "used car stuff".

That said.....

I think $9k is too much even for a pristine example with 30k miles and clearly waaaaay over the top for a car with 302k miles.

My own experience is that rough examples are $2500-3000. Nice ones are $5000. If the one your considering REALLY IS that perfect, I might pay $7000....and it better not need anything except a tank of gas.

These things are always a tough call. Do what makes you happy :-)

RTLL

 

The thread says 30K miles and I think 302K written by mistake .
I would go for it as long as it does have those stuffs :
Power and heated rear seats which is quite rare
Black / Black and contrast piping seats
Full chrome polished 16" wheels (like my ride does have )
Full service history

 

The way I price cars, I go to KKB.com and look at the TRADE IN VALUE this will give you an idea of what is the lowest avg price. When you have an idea of what the lowest price is, that's your marker and your starting point when you start grinding down the price. Jags have a soft low sale price compared to other luxury cars. Do not drive the car before you make your deal if you do you will get an emotionally attachment to the car. Make your deal first, fall in love with the price then fall in love with the car. The car will drive the same before deal as after the deal. To get the seller emotionally attached to the money pull out you check book and write his name across the check and tell him I ready buy it right now. With check book in hand and he knows his name is on it, start negotiating and lowering the price. Your looking at his car and he's looking at your check book. Remember he wants your money as bad as you want his car. (This is an edit) I just noticed the car has 302K miles, for him to try and sell the car at 9k he's dreaming and if you buy it any where close to that price you're crazy. That car is only worth 2 grand.

 

Sorry all, the car has 32K miles on it. The joys of typing on a new netbook! I now have photos and they are looking good. 2 owners and I am going to look at it over the weekend.

Thanks

- Tim

 

If the car only has 30K miles you might have a winner, but still I would try to lower the price. Here's the problem, the mileage seems rather low for a 12 year old car. Before you purchase the car at any price have the speedometer checked. There’s one thing that increases or lowers the price of any car, it’s the miles. So what I’m saying, to increase the price of soft (low) priced car you lower the mileage. If you‘re going to pay over Kelly blue book for the car have the compression on the engine checked. An once of prevention is better than a pound of cure

 

I think you may have found a honey; but remember, cars don't like to sit. You are looking at less than 3k a year. Do you want to drive it or put it in a shadow box and show it? This is an important question. Remember, collectors pay far more than drivers. It still may be a honey; but in that light, the value goes down. (It definitely couldn't go up.)

 

i would jump on it if thats what you want cause that is a car that still is like new. And IMO 96-97 XJ6 are the best 90's models to own. Yes power sucks, but you cant beat their reliabilty. And yes buying 1 cheaper and of lesser quality you could easily spend more and have less. And Tim your in Austin, but I wonder if this is the same car I worked on earlier this year. I had 1 in for maintenance and it only had 30 some odd K for miles and was like new still. I paid 12k for a 98 with 33k miles on it I worked on it since new. And it was worth every penny till some girl on her cell phone plowed into it doing 60! When My ex was stopped exiting the freeway. Got 16k for it from the insurance after I pointed out the mileage and condition. They originally only wanted to give 10k

 

Hi I've been hovering a while before adding my two penn'orth. Something doesn't feel quite right. If the mileage is genuine then it has only averaged 6.5 miles per day over twelve years, and therefore almost never got up to normal operating temp. Not good for the engine, the cooling system, transmission and the braking system.

Does this vehicle have a full stamped service history, because not being used does not mean, don't have to bother with servicing. You want to see 10 stamps in there ie one oil change every 3000 miles. This will also help to confirm the miles.

Any less than this and you should be thinking about changing all the fluids straight away. Both the oil and brake fluid tend to be hygroscopic and will deteriorate badly, through moisture absorbtion. Then do another complete oil change in about 500 miles

You say 2 owners. Which one did not use the car at all? If it was the last owner and they have only had the car for a month or two, why are they moving it on so quickly. Could be something as simple as lack of cash, but I would ask the question quite bluntly and see what sort of an answer you get.

Could be that the first owner was Miss Daisy, but you need to find out.

What you need on this type of purchase is as much History as possible, and at the price you have quoted, No History = No Sale.

There is always another car round the corner.

If all is good and you do decide to purchase, then haggle on price.

I hope it works out for you.

 

We are a mixed bag of opinions!

 

This is a very good investigation and purchasing strategy. In some parts of the country you can buy two XJ6’s for 9 grand. What ever you do be cautions and don’t rush into the deal. At that price the car will be there.

 

OMG lol

Sorry, some of the posts in response to this person's inquiry were funny to read.

I got my 97 VDP in Aug 07 - it had 38,700 miles on the odo by the time I finished driving it from Chicago to northern VA. The original owner had it from new and drove it basically from home to the shopping mall, hair salon and to see their grandson.

The car needed $5K-worth of repairs when I bought it only because its owner was not a car enthusiast and didn't notice things that I do. I can tell you that sitting wasn't a problem - the previous owner was a leadfoot. I guarantee each time it was driven, it had the equivalent to an Italian Tuneup!

Maybe the reason this seller is asking (read: not firm price) $9K is because they took meticulous care of it for the last decade?

No, I wouldn't pay $9K for it and I would certainly take it to a Jaguar specialist to give it a once-over, but don't back away from it! My 97 VDP is extremely reliable.