Hi,

I need advice on how to sell this car.

My wife and I have owned a champagne-colored 1998 XJ8 for about 9 years. It had a new clear coat when we purchased it in a private deal. It has about 140K miles. About 15K miles ago, the transmission failed and we had it rebuilt by the best Jag tranny shop in Charlotte.

Most of the hoses have been replaced because of age. I also put in a new thermostat. We put on new tires about a year ago.

The heat no longer works (I can’t hear or feel the relevant pump running, so I think that’s the problem), and there is some leaking of oil at the valve covers. This spring, the car was running fine, but stopped charging the battery. It runs fine on street and highway with a freshly-charged battery. The interior is in nice shape, and the exterior needs a good wash.

So it is sitting there. I am reluctant to put any more money into it, and where we live, I cannot put in a new alternator myself (which I suspect is the charging issue). How do I sell it, and for how much? We don't want to give it up, but we don’t need two cars and need to pay a few bills off. I hope the rebuilt transmission is a plus. It is still a nice car and needs an owner who can give it the attention it deserves.

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Brian
Charlotte, NC

 

Have you tried flushing the heater core? I did that about 10 years ago when I lived in DC and my heater stopped working. Haven't had a problem with it since!

 

I will look into that -it hadn’t occurred to me to try it! Thanks so much. The car will be easier to sell with heat!

Brian

 

What are you looking to get out of it? Pics? Interior, exterior, engine bay. You know the drill. Can't sell anything without pics!

 

I haven’t sold a car this way in decades. Of course you are right.

I was just trying to get a sense of whether the rebuilt transmission, e.g., solving a fault of this model year, made this car more desirable. I probably just need to get everything together and properly post it for sale.

Thanks.

 

Jaguar issued a TSB for this issue years ago.

I have done this procedure when I worked at the dealer during the yellow/orange coolant switch around this time.
Your car originally came with yellow Jaguar D542 coolant.
Later cars were filled with Extended Life Coolant (XLC) (colored orange)

• Never top up vehicles filled with “XLC” with earlier-type coolants such as D542 or D985.
• Contamination of “XLC” with D542 or D985 coolant will seriously reduce the long-life
properties and will have an adverse effect on the corrosion protection properties of the
coolant.
• Similarly, vehicles originally filled with D542 or D985 coolant should never be topped up
with “XLC”.
• The various coolant products should always be kept separate and never mixed.

 

I've been trying to figure out what was put in mine when it flushed last year by the previous owner. It says use only extended life...blah blah blah. In the tank it appears green but when I suck some out I think it's orange but hard to tell for sure. Could be yellow too. This is on an 03 and I'm pretty sure ELC such as DexCool is what I need.
Or is there a green that works too?

 

wow. Interesting! Thanks for such specific information.

Yes, what about GREEN coolant?

I will check this out, about coolant. i really don’t know what was init when I get it, and I have added coolant since.

Perhaps I should do a flush? What type of coolant would I fill it with -preferably something available at Autozone, etc.?

 

If you're doing a flush you can use whatever you want. You won't be mixing 2 different types. You would be best using an extended life. Altho GM had an issue with Dex Cool not being compatible with the plastic they used for intake gaskets and other fittings. It ate away and deteriorated it. Ive been leary to use it in systems with plastic parts ever since but...
I've always preferred to use regular old green antifreeze.

 

Many thanks, 60Gunner! Excellent details, and I have wondered about the Dex Cool plastic issue aswell.

 

You're welcome. Just be sure to do a thorough flush and you'll be fine. I would use either an IAT or OAT. I believe the older Jags used an HOAT.
IAT is the typical green (Inorganic Additive Technology)stuff and needs to be changed more frequently than the OAT (Organic Acid Technology) or the HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology).

 

Thanks again for the details. As a chemist, I like to understand what I am using.