A friend gave me his 2001 VDP, 40 k miles all service work done. The car is Blue/white. I have it in storage and will drive it home in April to Seattle from So Cal.

 

Congratulations! Enjoy the car and the drive home. I’ve done the same thing three times (flying out and driving home) with two Series 3 VDP V12’s and the XJR.

 

Yes, and that would have to be some kind of friend!

 

Congrats , low mileage car
Don't let long time without starting it
Start it every now n then to avoid issues

 

That sounds a bargain haha
If all the service work includes the tensioners sounds like you've got a car for life there.

 

With a storage car never reinstall the car battery in backwards , positive post fwd

Never over tighten the battery positive post bolt as the special curved nut underneath can split

For a storage car consider rotating the key a couple of times as this is a 3 second fuel pump shot to charge the fuel lines ( this is different than priming the cylinders )

The normal start / fuel pump sequence is the 3 second fuel pump on by key rotation and then pump relaxes , when the CKPS sees engine rotation the fuel pump will come back on for the duration of your drive < safety design

With a storage car the piston cylinders can be put into a condition called bore wash ( this can also happen in very short engine runs )

This is raw fuel removing the oil film on the cylinder walls to result in low compression for failed engine starts

For a light bore wash condition hold the pedal fully to the floor and crank , this has the Engine ECM cut off fuel on purpose and reestablishes the oil film on cylinder walls

After establishing oil film fully relax fully on the pedal for normal start , no pumping or partial throttle

Consider taking the tools necessary to remove spark plugs to pour a bit of oil into cylinders in a heavy bore wash condition

It will smoke ( a lot ) as it burns off oil but is the smoke of victory

 

The car has a battery charger setup for storage. The car is stored inside clean with a cover. The people will start the car every week.
i want to thank this Forum to educate me on my car. When my friend got the car in 2017, he read this forum and did the correct service. I have all of the repair receipts sense new.This car has always been stored in a garage.
My friend lost his wife this summer, he owned two condos, and decided to sell the one in San Diego , it was parked in a two spot so no door hits.
He gave it to me because he knew I would take care of it. I put my self through collage with my detail shop. I have in the past owned many Brit cars, ( MG TD, TR3, Rover 2000) to name a few. No Jaguars. I currently have a 2010 New Beatle, 2013 Jeep GC, 2015 Winnebago View on the Sprinter, 2018 Ford Fiesta rv tow car.

 

It's good to know it will be well cared for. These ladies are getting
to a point where rubber is deteriorating and rust is finding passage.
Not to mention electronic connections that are corroding and causing
frustrations with some users. I am always reminded of an old adage
"That which is used develops, that which is not used wastes away."

 

Do I need to worry about corrosion on a car who spent its life only driven in good weather. No snow driving, it’s a PNW car and the owners have SUVs for the winter. From new to 2017 it was in a heated and cooled garage in Spokane then moved to Denver for a year and also in a heated cooled garage, A year in Tacoma garaged, then garaged in Coronado.
Do Jaguars have issues with rust because of stray current or metal to metal like Steel to Aluminum? With it care I think I am OK but reading the Forum I see sum rust issues on cars, probably caused by salt?

 

Not much rust in San Diego cars!! Now, Scotland or the Midlands, or upstate New York, yeah, a bit!!!

 

Thanks
This Forum is great. Merry / Happy Christmas

 

The main rust culprit beside outdoor conditions is the drain lines clogging from the 4 corners of the sunroof interior surround pan not draining fully to ground , 4 small rubber hoses you will see from under car

The car chassis / sheet metal is of galvanized coated steel ( Ford may have skipped on that as they bought and Fordized Jaguar )

this clogged drain lines causes rust in the hard to get at rear wheel arch area

 

Or those hoses just dislodged. When I pulled the CD changer out of mine last week I noticed the drain hose in that corner was draining into the car as the hose had come out of the hole in the floor.

 

Does water get in to a closed sunroof

 

those seals are not designed to keep all the water out. It drips into the sunroof cassette in the front and the rear interior sunroof panel to direct water to the drains.

 

Unless I am missing something that wasn't disclosed, this seems to be a rare instance of "There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Jaguar" being inaccurate. Only 40,000 miles on an XJ8? Sounds wonderful.