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Howdy guys. I bought my first Jag yesterday! 2001 Vanden Plas Supercharged. A really amazing car. I’ve been reading the forum for a month or so and I really appreciate all the work many people put into it. It’s helped me find a really excellent car and I’m sure will help me much trying to keep this on the road in the future! I’m brand new to forums though so correct me if I breach the etiquette anytime.
Welcome to the club. Lot of helpful members on the forum. If you're doing your own work on the car, this is a great resource because most of us work on our own cars. Looks like it's been in a sunny place. Don't touch or even breathe on the third brake light!
CONGRATS on acquiring a rare car! Keep that sucker waxed at all times so it won’t fade. I highly recommend either a very high quality car cover like covercraft and/or getting two
WeatherTech TS0733 Tech Shade
It’s heavy duty, highly reflective and made for our cars. I put one in the back window to help protect the 3rd brake light and rear subwoofer.
How many miles on that car? Unless there’s a record of it, you need to check that the secondary timing chain tensioners have been done.
Congrats! A true Euro/Autobahn car that will embarrass the German competitors. Gorgeous looks in your pics too.
Totally agree with AddictedtoBoost above. I dropped $4K correcting a poor tensioner job, nearly toasted the motor. Costs are serious on a supercharged motor. Good on you with this purchase!
Dave in AZ
CONGRATS on acquiring a rare car! Keep that sucker waxed at all times so it won’t fade. I highly recommend either a very high quality car cover like covercraft and/or getting two
WeatherTech TS0733 Tech Shade
It’s heavy duty, highly reflective and made for our cars. I put one in the back window to help protect the 3rd brake light and rear subwoofer.
How many miles on that car? Unless there’s a record of it, you need to check that the secondary timing chain tensioners have been done.
128,000. Higher miles, but the owner had incredible service records for it. I haven’t checked for the tensioners, but I heard that any car made post Jan 2000 has metal tensioners
Welcome, Welcome!
Hope you are enjoying your Jag as much as I have.
All the Thumbs up and compliments to the car are fun receiving as well as the rubber necking as you drive down the street in a "Sweet Ride" !!!
Change the tensioners. Even tho my car is after the magic VIN & date, I had it done as preventative measure. Tensioners were full of crack lines, had not yet come apart, but a tensioner change while intact is much cheaper than having it grenade while @ 130mph.
Change trans fluid. I know the MB unit is bulletproof. I know it's guaranteed for life. Change the fluid.
Refresh brake fluid & power steering fluid. I know everything feels fine. Change it.
Get a good alignment, including rear alignment. If shop has never done Jag rear alignment, find one who has.
Refresh ANY suspension rubber that isn't new. Don't wait for it to visibly collapse. This stuff dries out long before it crumbles. When it dries out the loads on your suspension are cattywampus (technical term) and everything else degrades faster due to anomalies in suspension geometry & travel.
Change octopus hose if it hasn't been done in last 36 months. Yes, it's expensive. But much of new replacement parts for Old Stuff is...*****.
Change oil frequently. Yes, new synthetic oil lasts till the end of time. But you need to remove dirt suspended in the oil. At your mileage there will be at least some blow by, even if not excessive. Changing oil is cheaper than full engine overhaul.
Get a new battery, & battery tender. Even if battery is young. A lot of odd faults are eliminated via healthy battery.
Insure with a classic-friendly stated value insurer. Despite rarity of these things, regular insurance company knows they're only worth what the worst X300 in your neighborhood is worth. Try finding another in same condition as yours.
You may wonder why I prescribed all above. You may say "Coventrywood, I drive like the proverbial librarian, Why maintain to the 99th percentile if I'm just wafting about?"
Cause, bub, those days are over. Prepare to explore your dark side.
Beautifu car. First thing I did when I got my low mileage (30K) '03 VDP last year was change every fluid, lubed every lube point, upgraded the transmission pressure valve (you don't have that issue), and dealt with a few other age related issues. It gave me a bit extra mental insurance. I don't have a place to work on mine so I hire it out and have them give it a once-over twice a year with instructions to "let me know if you see any large parts missing or about to fall off ... or you need to make a boat/tuition/support payment."
Change the tensioners. Even tho my car is after the magic VIN & date, I had it done as preventative measure. Tensioners were full of crack lines, had not yet come apart, but a tensioner change while intact is much cheaper than having it grenade while @ 130mph.
Change trans fluid. I know the MB unit is bulletproof. I know it's guaranteed for life. Change the fluid.
Refresh brake fluid & power steering fluid. I know everything feels fine. Change it.
Get a good alignment, including rear alignment. If shop has never done Jag rear alignment, find one who has.
Refresh ANY suspension rubber that isn't new. Don't wait for it to visibly collapse. This stuff dries out long before it crumbles. When it dries out the loads on your suspension are cattywampus (technical term) and everything else degrades faster due to anomalies in suspension geometry & travel.
Change octopus hose if it hasn't been done in last 36 months. Yes, it's expensive. But much of new replacement parts for Old Stuff is...*****.
Change oil frequently. Yes, new synthetic oil lasts till the end of time. But you need to remove dirt suspended in the oil. At your mileage there will be at least some blow by, even if not excessive. Changing oil is cheaper than full engine overhaul.
Get a new battery, & battery tender. Even if battery is young. A lot of odd faults are eliminated via healthy battery.
Insure with a classic-friendly stated value insurer. Despite rarity of these things, regular insurance company knows they're only worth what the worst X300 in your neighborhood is worth. Try finding another in same condition as yours.
You may wonder why I prescribed all above. You may say "Coventrywood, I drive like the proverbial librarian, Why maintain to the 99th percentile if I'm just wafting about?"
Cause, bub, those days are over. Prepare to explore your dark side.
What is the octopus hose? Is it on the non supercharged x308 also?
Bought my first Jag!
Welcome to the Club...
