Hi all,

I've seen two XJRs but I'm not sure which one to pick.

Car A - 1997, black on beige, only extra are memory seats, full-service history, well pampered. The last two owners have over 12 years, 10 years for the last, and 2 years for the current. 11 total owners.128k miles. MOT July, 23. Asking price is £5500

Work done:

• Poly front suspension bushes
• 25-30mm lowered & uprated springs with bottom wishbone suspension mounting position changed to bring camber back into spec (2013)
• Front-wheel bearings replaced (2020)
• Rear driveshaft’s rebuilt with new UJs & new Rear wheel bearings (2021)
• Geometry Lazer adjusted 2019 when 4 new tyres fitted
• EBC Grooved brake discs and green stuff pads, Brake fluid flush (2019)
• Recon Prop shaft (2021)
• Oils changed in the Diff and Gearbox
• Autonomous Super charger cooling system with high capacity Bosch 010 charge cooler pump and 35% Larger surface area Pre charge cooler radiator
• 14% rpm increase bottom supercharger pulley (boosting low down power)
• Super charger rebuilt with SOLID coupling, Valley pipes done at the same time (2020)
• Bespoke fabricated Magna flow 200 2.5" cats pipework reducing to standard exhaust middle section
• Both fuel pumps and fuel filters replaced (2019)
• Cam box gaskets replaced when check carried out to ensure Metal tensioner upgrade has been carried out prior to increasing the power output
• Real Gauge coolant module fitted
• A few panels were repainted to give it life
• New headliner
• Undersealed
• BUT RUST ON THE REAR PASSENGER SILL COULD COST A BIT

Car B - 1999, black on black, HK sound system, cruise control. Last owner since 2006, 3 previous owners. 91k miles. The asking price is unknown (the auction goes live tomorrow)

• Maintained by classic car specialists.
• No visible corrosion
• One very small scratch on the ns/r wing and some very small marks and stone chips but nothing of note
• Partial service history
• Three good Pirelli P-Zero tyres and one new budget tyre
• Undersealed
• No MOT but will be done upon sale.
• Unsure of the metal timing chain tensioner upgrade. I've messaged the vendor about this,

Car A has been on my agenda for some time and when comparing the both, it's obvious I should go for Car A with the mods, but Car B recently popped up for auction. The 3 owners and the color combination + extras make it appealing, but A has a LOT of mechanical work done to it.
My plan always was to retrofit the cruise control and upgrade the stock sound system, but that rust is slowly putting me off. This is all assuming Car B has no rust.

What do you all suggest?

 

Car A sounds enticing but the solid coupler in the S/C will sound like a rattle trap at idle and I can’t stand that noise. Ask me how I know. 😁 The rust is definitely a caution sign for me but, get it inspected before buying. It would be worth it for the cost.

I’d keep an eye out on car B and the auction. If it goes out of your price range, you know car A is it. I’d want to look at the subframes on a lift before handing over payment though.

 

I’m an amateur with car mechanics. What is that part, and why would one get it replaced?

Car B - the owner isn’t sure if the tensioners have been replaced..which I find odd given the condition the car is in..like surely you’d know.

I believe all XJRs will have rust so I can’t be too picky in that regard. The owner decided to change their mind and keep it for a bit longer so when the time comes to potentially purchase it, I’ll request more pictures of the sill so I can obtain quotes.

 

No, all XJR’s will not have rust. Don’t use that as an excuse to buy something you shouldn’t instead of searching out something better. In the short and long run it will save you money.

 

In the UK market, that point stands correct. No matter how big or small, rust will exist. It’s then a matter of finding one with minimal rust.

 

Not really, mine's rust free, but with one caveat - it got a new shell. Does it need to be an R? The 4.0 Sport?

The chassis has it's suspension in a package called a subframe front and rear, you need advice on how both of these look on both cars.
Rust will show around the upper shock mounts inside the engine bay, windscreens, front and rear wing edges and the sills.
Underneath, the rear subframe A plate rusts badly, these need a look.
Drive Tribe on youtube are finding these things on Richard Hammonds repurchased black XJR, maybe contact them as they sell them once done.

 

interesting, has yours been garaged for most of its life?

I’ve owned two XJ8s so I know where to look for rust, but I’ve never seen rust like I have on Car A. What’s awkward is you can’t get a complete quote without the workshop viewing the car.

I did message them a while back and they didn’t get back to me. Judging from their show, I don’t think management is up to scratch regarding responding to emails.

 

Car B would be my choice, however sometimes the bids on these cars go too high.
You just have to watch and see if there is a ringer bidding up the car. One could be
tempted to believe that bidder really wants the car, but so many times I have seen it
where the constant bidder bows out at a certain point when a certain price point is
reached. That's what he wants for the car, anything beyond that is gravy.

I tend to shy away from auctions because the cars almost always go for more than
they are worth. notice, I said...almost. I once bought a Porsche at an auction and
paid several hundred below its value.

 

I'm happy enough to stand corrected about your market and will leave it to others in that market to comment further. I will however stand by my sentiments about searching for the best car available (that you can afford of course) and not falling back on "it doesn't matter because they all rust" which I assume is what you also mean when you say "finding one with minimal rust". Good luck with your search if neither of these turn out to fit the bill.

As for comparing these two, with most cars it's easier and cheaper to add the upgrades that are important to you starting with a sound car than it is to take a car with upgrades - not all of which will be important to you - and turn it into a sound car.

 

Go car A you will not regretted

 

car a will need a head gasket soon, so will car b but a will go sooner.

 

All I'll say on UK rust is check carefully how bad it is. I thought I had when I got my XJR, then nine or so months later the strut top plates peeled off the innerwings on both sides. It had to be welded all along the split seam where the inner wing meets the outer wing (I know they bolt but the horizontal bit came away from the vertical under those bolts) and right down to the floor as the corners had gone where XJs have gone since the S1. That was about £1400 of welding as the subframe had to be dropped for access etc etc. Took me ages to find a place that'd do the work as well.

 

Car A sounds like so much fun.