loking at a 98 vanden plas w/ 130k miles - general ownership feedback?
 

ive been reading furiously about this year and what to look for. owner says the timing tensioners were upgraded to metal ones 3500 miles ago. here is what he stated thus far..

"Hi, no leaks, the timing chain was changed to the metal one 3500 miles ago, the car is in top condition. Everything works on the interior, just the cup holders don't stay retracked. You can buy a new one on ebay for 60. Just unscrew the present one and replace. NEW TIRES (Contenintal) even a new spare, new battery, new brakes, new hoses, new wires, everything has been done. Service records are available from my mechanic, Marrota Motors in the HAWTHORNE, NEW JERSEY, ask for Mario. This was his car, car fax is on ebay, no accidents and garage kept. I am in New Paltz but I work in North Jersey and show the car down there any week day. Looking to sell it, I bought another car and it is in. Hope to hear from you, Bill"

i will ask him about thethrottle body, waterpump and t-stat housing... other than that, it is amythist metal flake (purple) and looks clean. asking price is $5200 , bu i will offer $4300. also he says he replaced the headliner.
does this sound like it could be positive? i was reading all the remarks about 98 xj8's on carsurvey.org and one would think they were the scourge of the automotive community!!

With everything mentioned in the dealers message I think buying the car is a good deal. But always have in mind - don't trust everything the seller is telling you :) Always check twice specially when someone is saying that the only problem is the cupholder :) For a 13 years car it's almost impossible...

Have a look at the coolant fluid - what color is it... Check how it starts on cold and how the engine sounds in idle. Also - I don't see anything about the tranny! At 130k miles on odo the transmission oil must be changed! Make a test run and check how smooth does it switch gears... try this even on kickdown. Any strange behavior is a sign of problems and bag support of the tranny which is kind of expensive repair...

My suggestion is - if the dealer agrees on price below 5000$ - go for it :)

Good luck!

I just bought a 98 vdp weeks ago. My first Jag. The fact that the guy says "the timing chain was changed to the metal one" is another reason to take Estilian's advice. You will have to verify the chains and tensioners are in good shape. I bought a kit to change all the tensioners, chains and guides. One could change one chain and tensioner to quiet the noise down enough to sell the car. That leaves others in need of attention. Like mine. I only changed one to get the car running. I'm on borrowed time on the rest with 152k miles on the odo.

In SoCal I see 98's at very low prices on craigslist. Beware.

Joe

You need to have any car looked at -- but the cars before 2000 are going to have more problems -- not only because they are earlier versions but because they are now getting quite old. The 98's are the first year of the V8's and the x308's -- they had more poblems

You can still find 02's and 03's owned by the original owners - especially in the NJ, NY, CT and PA areas -- but the older ones are going to have been switched out by now ...... they just had more problems ....... I know a lot of people like me that bought in 02/03 to get one of the last ones to keep for a while.

The next group is the second owners and these cars are more numerous and with the certified programs almost as nice to find -- normally everything is good .... but these older cars with third and sometimes six and seven owners need to be really looked over ........ most of the times the owners did not have the money to properly take care of any expensive fixes and they are passes on.


Also -- getting a car that was once owned by a mechanic is not by any stretch a good thing. The cheapest Jaguar is the best 02/ 03 you can find.

But you know automotive pain with the 88 Jaguar and the 89 SAAB -- I still have a 16v ignition pack from my 91 CD Turbo hanging on the wall of my shop. Knowing the failure rate I took it off my totaled almost new 91 when I purchased my 92 Griffin - I loved my SABB's back in the day.

well , i just spoke with the owner.. we are meeting in about an hour. unfortunately i wont be able to get a cold start because he is coming down from upstate and im in north nj. i did speak for a while over the phone about some more details and he offered up the following.

he said the history of the car was , the first owner was an elderly gentlemen in north nj who used the car mostly to drive down to florida, when the time came to do the timing work, the mechanic (mentioned in the previous remarks) said $3800. at this time the gentleman said he would preffer to sell and get another. the mechanic bought the vehicle on the spot from him due to its condition, and proceeded to do the work himself as mentioned. he then drove it for a bit and decided to buy another different car and sold it to his good friend (the current owner). the current owner says he and his wife both commute considerably far and she doesnt like to drive it in winter conditions, so he already has another vehicle and wants to sell. i asked about the trans , he says to his knowledge it hasnt been replaced, and as it is, doesnt indicate there is a need. i will test drive of course , but he says it operates smoothly as it should. i know "mechanic owned" is not necessarily a good thing. i joke with my wife because i do %98 my own work , i say as much as i like to work on them , if i had to do it everyday all day, i would not want to touch my own car!!.... but still you never know. i plan on having a chat with the fellow as well.
one more thing... i just asked about the waterpump , he said a little while ago he had a failure and the vehicle started to get hot. he was smart enough to stop and get it towed by his friend. pump and all subsequent hoses were replaced at that time. i will have a blowdown and compression test performed by the local jaguar dealer as a result. is there any other tests related to an overtemp condition i should request? while im there shall i have a trans service done?

wish me luck lads!! i will report later on

followup on test drive
 

well, it went pretty well. the car drives very smooth. the trans shifts flawlessly and there is no drivetrain noise. all interior electrics work. the engine runs smooth as glass, it was warm already, but stil there were no questionable sounds from the engine bay. no noise from the steering and it felt as it should. headliner was indeed new, leather looked very good for its age and could probably use just a light cleaning, but no cracks tears etc. exterior trim is in good nick. the door panel wood veneer has the vertical cracks in a few places as ive seen on many of these. the cupholder needs attention, but the armrest leather is in good shape. car smells like a jag should, wiper / climat contr, boot release all good. the body exterior had some dings here and there , most of which can be taken car of with PDR, however, there are a couple of bigger chips that are showing very light rust that need to be taken care of. i had a chance to visit the mechanic who took care of it and happens to own his own jaguar specialty shop with a good reputation. he had nothing bad to say.
one thing i noticed was what sounded like bearing noise from the left rear when above 50 mph. this may also be causing a slight vibration upon deceleration that is felt through seat of the pants. car feels good over bumps. the trunk courtesy lights arent working - maybe a switch or bulbs. pretty much all the issues are exterior cosmetic. i will have the car looked at by the mechanic monday to determine if that noise and slight vibe is indeed bearing which would be a relief. we agreed on $5000 , which i felt comfortable with.

Sounds very good indeed. Maybe you can discuss a little bit more the price, but even for 5000$ after all you describe - it's a good deal. If you decide to buy it - welcome to the XJ family :)

That sqealing sound... Probably not what you think it is. I had (what seemed to be) one at 70-90 mph, and it turned out to be wind noise from the windscreen rubber trim. I recommend a "duct tape" test of all the seals, sunroof, windscreen, etc... so you can see if it is a wind noise. I also assumed, upon buying, that lumpiness in a wheel was thrown weights. It actually turned out to be bent wheels.

Also, try and look at interior trim lights all work. It is impossible to tell during the day. Idk if you care about that sort of thing, but it is difficult to replace them, especially J-gate lights. I was lucky enough to buy a car that didn't have any lights out upon purchase.

its not so much a squeal.. if youve ever ridden in a 4X4 with meaty tires, its almost like tire howl, but in a throbbing manner... only becomes loud from that side at those speeds. all tires are recent and new , so im ruling out bad tread..

update
 

took a ride with a jag specialist today and basically we will have to get it up on a lift to determine exactly if there is a wheel bearing issue or possibly differential , however, he doesnt seem to be leaning towards diff. the owner agreed to reduce price to $4500 to offset this work. i think it will end up working out ok and hopefully should be mune by middle next week!