Hey forum friends. Found a 2003 xj8 a few hours away from where I live.
It also has a few code errors.
I am going to be test driving it soon but dont want to drive all that way just to kick some tires. Hoping you all can help me and let me know if there are things I should be concerned about and things to look for. or should i hold off?

Car description.

2003 xj8.
extremely low miles
clean car fax
asking price 6,000
car was auctioned off and purchased by a transmission shop which was then sold to 2nd owner.

It does have error codes that owner said he was going to take in to be serviced, all transmission related.

Error codes:
P0721 output speed sensor malfunction
P1797 can transmission control module to engine control module malfunction
U2500 e500 can bus error
D261 U1261 scp (j1850) (-) circuit failures.

Everyone has been great on here. All info is much appreciated.

 

Sounds like most of those are networking faults (two CAN, one SCP) which could point to wiring issues or shorts/open circuits in modules. If the owner is going to take it in to get it fixed, then great; I wouldn't spend any time considering that until it is actually fixed.

 

With such unresolved error codes, its much closer to a $600 parts car than a $6,000 car. I wouldn't drive 3 hours to go look at it. The more energy you put into it, the harder it will be to walk away. Also, if it is cosmetically pristine, then it will be even harder for you to walk away and right now its a huge risk. If in a month, you see it posted for sale again and everything has been fixed, then maybe, but at that point have an experienced Jaguar mechanic check it out before making a deal to make sure no shortcuts were taken in the repairs. There's a good chance that a better example will come along before they get this one fixed.

 

+1 to above. Extremely low mileage cars can often be a problem since maintenance items like coolant change and oil change and brake fluid flush may be neglected and very short drive times do not allow sufficient operating temperatures to eliminate condensation in the drive train.

Cooling system hoses will still age and may need replacing, the heater pump may freeze and the fuel pump could suffer early failure.

 

For starters, you need a new ECU for the gearbox and then you can see what is actually wrong could be nothing or could be everything.

Price it at what it is worth to you needing a transmission replacement/rebuilding.

Or...buy a ECU and take it with you. You can swap out ECUs in like 5 minutes. Then you will know. It really hurts your bargaining position when you fix the car for the seller.

You can get an ECU on eBay for like $50.

 

So far I've found these cars are fairly reliable. That being said I agree with the others. How much is your time worth and how much are you willing to spend on diagnostics? Personally, unless this car had a flawless body/interior I wouldn't value it at anymore than $4-4500

 

When you're paying for a car that is supposed to be good to go; it shouldn't have any stories or excuses. A car with excuses goes to a lower price range; PERIOD. I buy a lot of cheap cars with stories and lots of problems; I have no qualms buying a messed up car, but I don't pay squat because I have to hope for the best, and buy like it's a total loss. That way if I buy it and fix everything, the worst case is that it was an ok deal and I basically had a wash after a lot of elbow grease.

Find something else is what I'd do; or pay very little.

 

Everyone's response is so damn helpful . Especially the last one! ☝🏽

So here is the update , this is a direct quote from the seller "Looks like the battery was just low from sitting for two months. After I jumped it, the errors went away. I had battery tested and they said the battery is fine, but low so I just need to drive it around for a while to recharge it. Drove all over the city and had no problems. Bunch of the forums I read online had similar battery caused error messages."

I told him I would take it to a jag mechanic when I came down on the weekend , he said he'd do it for me since it was closed on Saturday and told me which jag mechanic.

Does this sounds sketchy, do the dissapearance of error codes sound familiar ? Is this guy being a good seller ? First time purchasing a car not through a family member and farther away from my home . My time and effort is precious to me , but I I guess I'm excited to get a 2003 black jag but not willing to come upon any surprises .

 

Low voltage is a common cause of multiple error codes like this. If it checks out through the mechanic I wouldn't be worried

 

Harvey, that's a clever nombre de usuario!

 

I would make sure to follow up yourself with that mechanic, and not just take the seller's word that "oh he said it's fine". You might even be able to try to call him ahead of time, and ask nicely if he could give the whole thing a look over instead of just a battery issue, so that he can give you his opinion afterwards. It might not work, but then again, maybe he can give you more insight as to something the seller might have forgotten to mention.

 

I see a car like this one:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sf...125701104.html

and would be more interested. Good price, good miles, silver's a nice color (although I understand if you really want black), and seems like there's room that if there's issues, you get down even more. I'd offer $3k and pay up to $3300; it needs a front bumper due to the crack and installed in SoCal isn't that awful much.

Batteries legitimately can cause these issues, but a seller worth anything does this in prep so that the sale goes smoothly. I always recommend going with the gut; if it feels wrong, walk away. If after you talk the mechanic you feel good, go for it, if not, walk away.

There are not rare cars; and you're in a market with a lot of cars in general available. So you have a buyer's advantage.

 

Here is an update from my seller

"I took it to the jag shop and he said it looks good. Didn't do a full inspection since he didn't have a lift available. Said the only thing he would look at would be the timing chain which would require opening up the valve covers to see if the 60k replacement had been done, but the new bolts on the valve cover show that it has been opened previously, so it is possible that it was already done. About $100 to check and $1000 to do the replacement if it hasn't been done. I'm not going to have him open it up. "

 

60k replacement? No lift? New bolts on VC?

Lots of BS in there. The bolts are torque to yield or anything, they're cam cover bolts. He may mean that they look worn like they've been removed before. No lift available? Supposedly this was on a weekend, why were all the lifts unavailable?

There's too many good sellers to deal with Mr. Shady.

 

Shady indeed.

It is always easy to shove arguments aside if you really want to buy a Jag, but this adds nothing from the sellers pov.
Should make wonder a bit more, at the very least.

 

He said he took it in on a Friday . I made an offer and he made a counter offer that was lower than what I offered.

 

That's what I just mentioned, those cars are like naked girls ... the blood goes to other places preventing you from straight thinking ...

 

What ever you decide please let us know. Hope if you do buy it all is well. Yes a low battery can cause all kinds of codes, lights and a wierd running car.

 

Hahah Eric Jansen. Your so damn right . I'll keep you filled in

 

Naked girls? Straight thinking? Clearly you're unfamiliar with Harvey Milk, lol...