So I just looked at a 2003 XJ Sport. It has a color combination I like, silver exterior and a black interior. It's in good condition. 87,000 miles and the owner is asking $10,000.

One thing I noticed, it felt like it had a slight shimmy in the steering. Not sure what's causing that, brake rotors? When I hit the brakes the car stopped straight and true.The car accelerated well and I think I could live with that level of power quite easily.

The seller stated that the car had recently had a check engine light and that it was due to a bad head gasket leaking oil into the spark plug areas causing a short. He said he paid $700 to have it fixed and that it took care of the problem. When I stopped the car and popped the hood in the middle of my test drive I noticed the smell of oil burning distinctly. What should I be thinking about this?

Another thing that bothered me slightly was that the walnut, I think it's walnut, the walnut panel in the door was broken, snapped clean through, I think it was about 4 inches from the left and both pieces are still there. Is this a difficult thing to repair or replace and is it expensive?

Should I consider buying this car? Really looking forward to your help with this. I'm going to leave out my feelings until I hear some of your responses first. Thanks again for all your great help here.

 

It's the cam/valve cover gaskets or spark plug seals that cause oil to leak into the spark plug wells and cause problems. This is not a big deal for a DIYer, althouogh it's hard to imagine paying $700 to have them replaced. I'm not sure if the wood veneer panels on the doors of the Sport are different from the XJ8 or VDP, but you can probably find a replacement on eBay, or if the wood and metal backing plate are okay and it's just the thick poly finish that's cracked through, it can be refinished by britishautowood or Madiera Concepts. The shimmy might be a bigger issue. These cars do need bushings and suspension freshening after a few years and this can get expensive. But it sounds pretty nice and not a bad deal if everything else is in good shape (leather, wood, carpets). I thought you were going to look at an XJR too ? You might want to check that out first and then compare. $10K ain't bad for a car like that, you might even be able to get it for less, or get something thown in for the shimmy. Best of luck, it's fun car shopping !

 

Was it a "Head Gasket" or a "Valve Cover Gasket" -- I am trying to understand the leaking oil and the spark-plug.

If the valve cover gasket was leaking -- this is a minor problem and you could have some oil on the block if the service was just completed. The "Head Gasket" is a whole other issue and would need to be fully looked into.

The front ends of Jaguars are touchy -- especially with the larger tires on the sport and the XJR. Mine will move a little for a couple of miles of driving after the car sits a week from flat spots on the tires. If the rims are bent or the tires are out of round you will feel it - also at 87K it may have some rubber parts starting to degrade.

The wood parts are fragile and the longevity depends on exposure to extreme temperatures and light. They can be refinished if just the finish is cracked - not if it is broken into sections.

I would not buy a used car unless I had it inspected and reviewed any history that I could uncover. About 6 months ago I saw an 01 XJR with about 60k on it for 13+ K -- So the 10K for an 03 sport sounds correct depending on what it needs.

 

Jimmy's bang on there about points raised. Seek lower miles.
Burning smell - I guess there's a leak on the cam cover, it drips oil onto the exhaust manifold, the work might have been out of spec' with torque settings. I'd walk away, if you do decide to go back, go in at 7,500, it'll make the salesman take a sharp breath, shock them, it's a buyers market for these cars. Try the R next, Jimmy's right - enjoy shopping.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, really great stuff.

Regarding the oil leak I recall him saying that they replaced the seals for the cam covers.

The little shimmy does make me nervous if there's something if it's something suspension related. When I was doing hard braking and braking in general I can't remember if the shimmy was still there or not. Maybe I should test drive it again?

So I will say this about the car. It is gorgeous. The lines of the XJ are just amazing from all angles. Front, back, sides, all the corners, that car looks stunning.

The interior is just amazing as well. So comfortable sitting in the car and driving. My commute is only 6 miles on surface streets to work and back but I can see how people like to take the car on long drives.

Not sure what my next move is regarding this car. Damn shame about the shimmy.

Hmmmmmm.

 

You def found a good year. You can do better on the price with those miles. And if you can afford a little more, you can get a better tranny and more power with the XJR. For example, five months ago I found an 03 XJR w/ 60,000 miles for $11K. It needed a brake job badly, had some small dents, needed a headliner, an ext mirror, but that was pretty much all that was really wrong. The private seller was motivated and recently divorced, so that worked in my favor. What I'm saying is that if you are patient, you can get a suh-weet deal!
Now dealing with 16 mpg is another issue...

 

if you like the XJ sport once you drive an XJR you will be hooked, the extra power is really worth it, and the better transmission in the XJR is good too. $10,000 is quite high for 87,000 miles in my opinion

whatever you decide to do, good luck

 

Well the valve covers are nothing to worry about and could have easily cost $700.00 if done at a dealer. And the shimmy could also be a very simple fix.

As others have indicated you need to inspect a few different models and decide what you want. The great thing about these cars is that extremely nice examples are able to be found. Spending an extra thousand or two to get a perfect garage kept example will ultimately be the least expensive way to go --- plus you get instant gratification!

 

Agree with all the advice given. Definitely drive more than one car. Ideally you can drive 2 or 3 of each, ie XJ8, XJ Sport, XJR then see which model you like best. If you are not used to Jags its easy to be impressed with the first one you drive, only to find out its actually quite a bad example which you can only start to judge once you've driven a few.

The wood paneling thing would worry me. Not that it's difficult to source or replace it (although you may be challenged to get exactly the correct shade of wood as it does age over the years. If the panel on the door is a little different, it's not going to be as noticeable as it would be if you got one of the three dash panels wrong. It's more a thought about what kind of Jaguar owner would snap this door panel off and leave it like that ??

On the model selection itself, thats purely down to your own taste, but for me the Sport always seemed like too much of a compromise, ie it gets the R suspension and wheels, which makes it less of a comfortable ride than, say, a vanden plas but you don't get the power of the R to make up for the slightly less comfortable ride. Just my $0.02 (You also don't get the more reliable tranny)

You can of course have your cake and eat it with a Super V8 (which is basically a LWB vanden plas with the supercharged engine) but they are rarer and tend to be more expensive.

Just keep looking..... there are almost perfect, unmolested examples out there

 

IMHO, I would keep looking. The 2003 is a great year to be looking at as it deals with all historical issues, but this particular vechicle has pretty high mileage and the stated issues would send me walking or at least negotiating the price down more to deal with the up coming maintenance.

As SARC has stated, drive at least two preferably three minimum, to be sure you know the difference between a good one and a great one. Also, as others have stated, you may find that the XJR is by far the best model once you factor in the much better transmission. I usually drive models that are what I am looking for but out of my price range just to be able to drive ones that may be closer to perfect so that I know how to compare the ones that may be available in my price range. But given that statement, I am never afraid to do some hard negotiating on those high priced models to see if I can get the price down to my desired price. I have on some occasions been able to negotiate $5,500 off a $15,000 price at a dealer and walk out with the one I really wanted rather than having to settle for a vehicle that was already in my price range.

 

Lets first say that with modern cars, 87,000 miles is not a great deal. Some years ago when I was a lot younger a car with miles like that would have been close to scrap, but no longer, (thank goodness !!) Jaguar made gigantic strides in quality and longevity from 1994 onwards; it cost the owners, poor old Ford Motor Company Inc, a fortune. So cars like the one you are looking at can now go to Mars and back fairly easily. However, be aware that parts prices reflect the new price, not the price you are paying, so they may seem expensive. However, there is always the after-market with cheaper spares, of course.

This is brake rotors if it only occurs when you brake. If it is continous, it sounds like a slight wheel imbalance, not uncommon on cars with big and wide wheels. What is the wheel size ?

Others here have dealt with the oil leak problem, and this seems fixed, although from you mentioning an oil burning smell, clearly there is still some oil still around to be cleaned up !

As regards the walnut this will be difficult to get repaired at reasonable cost, so best to try finding a secondhand replacement. It is only a cosmetic fault, after all. Like most things of this nature, the replacement may not fully match the existing wood trim, due to sunlight fading and being from a different batch.