Hi everyone,
I am new here (today) and recently I have been given a to good to be true deal to buy a 2003 XJ8 at a local "Mom and Pop" dealer. I am being told that there is a lower engine knock. I have talked to the nearest Jag dealer and the service adviser seamed friendly enough until I said that I wasn't the most financially secure person. Then the only reply was "forget it", about the car not the advice. Any who, as I said the offer alone is great if all I ever wanted to do is sit in it. The body and interior are impeccable. The car fax came back clean and was as current as 2 years ago. Any way. the question I have is what could be the issues, both good and bad, and how much would anyone estimate the costs. Also, the possible cost to maybe even swap out the engine.

 

You will normally have $2000 to $3000 minimum in an engine swap. Parts are not cheap for these cars either, especially engine parts. And there is continuing maintenance. I am not an elitist, but I strongly recommend you wait till you have your feet on the ground before buying a project.
My $.02

 

IF the engine is bad you are looking at a big project and or a lot of expense.
There are plenty of cheap Jags out there with other major problems, maybe a good engine donor for you. After all is said and done you'll still have a car with little re-sale value unless it is otherwise extraordinary.


Having said this I will tell you about my own car which currently has a very disturbing sound coming from the nether regions of the engine compartment. My noise is merely the "brick" inside the right catalyst which has broken free and rattles, especially when cold and at idle. I have been fixing cars a very long time and it scared me when I first heard it, it sounds eerily like a rod knock but "behaves" a bit differently.
Maybe, just maybe yours is same and your engine is fine. I'll have my fingers crossed for you that perhaps after all there really is a cheap Jag worth having. Good luck, sir.

 

Yeah kind of hoping thus is my .25 yard sale $10000 masterpiece. Not that I want to but based on blue book value of car and the asking price I could essentially dump about $5000 and still come out on top. I have just met a local Jag guy who as we speak is rebuilding a classic for someone so I am hoping that "luck" shines on me either way. My thoughts are worse case he could help me swap out the engine and best case he could walk me through stuff. Now by brick what do you mean? What should I listen for?

 

I thought you guys in the States could pick up decent cars for $5k?
If you're not in the position to pay cash, I'd walk away. Even with the best of intentions these can get very costly very fast, even for cars with no issues.

IMHO, keep saving for another 6 months, and keep looking around. They're only going to come down in price, and if you're fussy enough eventually the perfect one will turn up

 

The "brick" is the actual catalytic material inside the converter. It's a ceramic material incorporating the precious metal catalysts in a honeycomb type of structure. Mine's attachment to the metal case has failed so it is free to bang about inside the shell.
Mine can be heard with a mechanic's stethoscope. My noise is clearly inside the catalytic converter. Given the cat's close proximity to the engine on these cars standing beside the car it is not so clear. The sound itself, as I said before, is very much like the noise a loose rod bearing makes and will get the attention of anyone who's ever heard a rod knock before.
Since it does not behave like a rod knock(I've heard plenty of those before) I investigated further and was relieved to find the bad cat.
I am reasonably sure this is a rare failure mode so don't get excited about "your" car. If a dealer is saying it has engine trouble it almost certainly does, they don't often concede an opportunity to minimize a problem.
If you don't have the funds to buy and install another engine, then also address the OTHER issues I promise this car will have then run for cover.

 

To all thank you for advice.. Still torn about it though... Let me try to ask this of you guys. This vehicle body and interior is in excellent shape. It has been serviced religiously (according to car fax) and the dealer only wants $800 as is for it. Worst case scenario I get it and the engine goes and it is just way to much to fix. Can I make my money back parting it out? I look at it like this, Blue Book value is around $5000 so if I dump around that much to get it running I still come out of it with a better than usual used car than what I can get for $5000. Also I keep hearing the phase it is nothing more than a Ford, so are the replacement parts compatible?

 

Not at all. Almost everything is unique to X308. Even parts from the X300 and XJ40 hardly ever fit, even though they're basically the same chassis.
How capable are you of doing work on it yourself? eg if the engine does need replacing, would you be in a position to buy another one for say $2k and fit it yourself?

If there's one thing I've learnt in my 10 years of Jag ownership, across 4 cars, it's that there's no such thing as a cheap Jaguar!
You're always running a risk buying a used car, but with cars like these, I would do everything I could to minimise that risk by buying the best you can afford.

Of course, you could always get a second opinion on the knock, who knows, it might be something easy to fix after all...

To be fair, for $800 you'll get your money back pretty easily if you part it out, as long as you have the time and space to store the car for 6-12 months as you try to sell off the bits nobody wants

 

Well my hope is that I have found a diamond in the rough. As I said I have met a local Jaguar expert that is in the process of restoring a classic Jag ( wish I had the knowledge and the memory to give you spec's) I feel comfortable that he or someone he knows can help fix most issues for much less than a dealer. All modern cars seam to be expensive to fix. I mean when you essentially have to remove the tires, the driver seat, perform an Indian war chant, and sacrifice two goats to change a spark plug how bad can it be.

 

Again, the parts are twice as expensive for a Jag, there are not as many used parts available, and they are limited production European sports sedans. Even an oil change costs about twice hat a Jap car does- twice a much oil and a filter that is X2 the price! Your friend will probably be willing to offer advice, as will all of us, but I doubt he will want to come twist wenches on a regular basis.
On the other hand, if you have a place to work on it, and you have the time, are willing to buy the tools, and you want to learn about cars, then go for it.

 

Well first I'll remind you that you are dealing with a fellow who's job it is to know a car's value, who practices a trade with a dubious reputation for, .. ahem, honesty and also claims a car with a bad engine has been serviced religiously*.
I'd speak with your expert. get a worst case scenario price to replace the engine, add 10% to that and another grand or so for other stuff a used car of any type might need. Then re-evaluate.
Even though Ford owned at the time and engineering was shared you'll find very few blue ovals on this Jag.
Show us some pictures of this car and evidence of the maintenance and maybe you'll find a believer.
* About 25 years ago I was shopping hard for a second hand XJS. The owners all proudly pointed to their "maintenance records". Perusing them revealed repair receipts, lots of them and little actual maintenance. A thick file ain't always good, Carfax is near worthless.

 

Uh, why not ask your friend to evaluate the engine knock/noise: maybe something simple!

 

Also, just because someone knows how to restore an old Jag, doesn't mean they will know anything about this specific model. They changed a hell of a lot from the late 80's onwards, with all sorts of electronic wizardry. It's not as simple as bolts and clearances any more

 

Well I guess you guys have talked me out of it. I have been dealing with a serious case of " Man-o-pause" and just wanted something nice for myself instead of yet another Ho hum type of vehicle. I attached pics, not sure if they will show. But as I said earlier, thanks for all the advice.

 

Hopefully we haven't put you off forever!
Save up and get yourself a well maintained R. You'll never look back