Hi,

This week I've been searching Tulsa for a decent Jaguar for little money; I know. It's a mission impossible. But there is one car that I found that is tempting. Tell me if it would end up costing me a ton of money and, I'll walk away. Here's the details:

It's a 1995 Jaguar XJ6 and from what I can see, the body is in really good shape with no dents and no rust. The engine starts right up and idles smoothly. The fan belt is missing from the air conditioning compressor and although I can hear the air conditioning/heating fan blowing, nothing comes out of the dash vents, floor vents, or windshield vents.

The interior is rough, kind of. The leather seats are fair with just the driver's seat needing attention. The wood on the dash, console, and front doors is peeling and will need to be replaced. The rubber trim around the rear window on the interior has come off at the top and sides. The driver's side door panel is pulled away from the door and the door switch has been badly replaced with a generic switch. That's all I noticed. The dealer is asking $2400 for it, but I would offer a lot less and if he didn't want to accept my offer, I'm ready to walk away.

Any opinions?

 

I'll bet if you increase your budget to $3500....which is still small money as used cars go.... you can find a much better car. Probably be cheaper in the long run than a shabby-ish example for $2000

Cheers
DD

 

+1 with Doug. It could get pretty costly just fixing up the interior. look for one that was loved a bit better for not to much more money and you may be better off.

 

Robert, check this one out...
1995 XJ12 for 3700 obo
http://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/1685576104.html

This one may be worth a look
Needs front fenders(which I know from when I lived in OK, this this is ALL to common from hit & runners in parking lots)
1996 VDP for 3300..make an offer
http://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/1699290919.html

 

+3 above. It sounds as though it has been badly neglected, from all the stuff you can see, I would worry about what you can't see.

When in good nick the 95 XJ6 is a great car.

 

Robert,

There are Jags out there that have been kept and maintained by owners who address and correct every single fault straight away no matter what the cost of repair or age of the car.

Don't settle for a poorly maintained unloved example. If you can, expand your search out of Tulsa--say to Texas. There are a lot of Jags and Jag lovers there and it's reletively close by. You might also contact the closest Jag owners club. They often have inside info on nice Jags looking for a new home.

Take your time. The hunt is almost as as much fun as ownership.Good luck and keep on keeping on.

 

"There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Jag"

"A well maintained Jag is a purring kitten. A poorly maintained Jag is an unforgiving bitch."

Many years ago I went searching for my first Jag. I looked at and/or investigated 30 candidates. I ended up with an exceptional example at the very high end of the price range. I have no regrets. I was able to enjoy and be proud of the car right away and didn't have to battle a laundry list of repairs right off the bat. The sting of the higher price disappears very quickly when you can truly enjoy your purchase.

My second Jag was bought on impulse without the extensiving shopping around. Within a year I had spent as much on repairs as the purchase price of the car ($6000). I'm not complaining...I actually enjoyed the fixing up process...but I am certain that if I had been more selective I could've had a better car and spent less money overall.

I searched and waited for almost year before buying my third Jag. When the RIGHT one came along I snapped it up immediately. As with the first one it was a delight from day one and I put 3 years/45k miles on it before having to do any signifcant repairs. As used cars go, that's pretty good.

Anyhow, Jags are not rare. You have plenty to choose from. Do plenty of shopping around to get a feel for the cars. Soon enough you'll you just know when the "right one" comes along. And, within reason, finding the right CAR is more important than finding the right PRICE.

Cheers
DD

 

Thank you all for your opinions, and I apologize for not answering sooner. I've had to travel across country for a funeral. But since you all have experience that I do not have, I respect your opinions and will look elsewhere. I have seen others, but this one seems to have some mystical hold on me. As for the XJ12, I considered it, but it seems that I have read something in a Jaguar magazine that the 12 cylinders are unreliable. Any opinions?

 

Any car can be unreliable.
If it is in good shape & had regular maintenance, it is no more likely to break down than any other.
People just like to complain about them because the V12 moniker. Just because it is a JAGUAR on top of being a V12, it HAS to be unreliable. Yeah..its gas mileage is horrid..people do not buy them because of gas mileage.

Ignorance is all it is.
I would be all over a V12 if I could find on here. Even though we have some of the worst traffic in the world(1/2hour to 40 min to get 1 mile).

I did find a XJ-S but they wanted 5 figures, WITH NO maintenance records. It was damn beautiful & in traffic was a dream.. not to mention looks.
But $14000....not for me.

 

My V12 never gave me any trouble in terms of the engine itself....although it was certainly more complicated and difficult to work on than a 6-cylinder Jag. I wouldn't recommend one unless it was in perfect shape and/or you had deep pockets....or were a fairly accomplished DIY mechanic.

Cheers
DD

 

Well, all that advice to keep looking may pay off. I found a 1993 Jaguar (no model given and the owner's son didn't know) with 68,000 miles and in supposedly good condition for $3800. The owner is in a retirement home and the son who is selling it lives in Florida. He won't be in Oklahoma to show me the car for a week or so, but from his description, it sounds really good. Time will tell.

 

Although I am new to this forum, I am not currently a Jaguar owner. There is a Jaguar XJ6 that is calling my name, but I'm nervous about following through with the purchase. The reason for my trepidation is that I came across a Jaguar bashing website that has me worried that I will buy this beauty, and end up paying out the nose (which I can't afford to do) to maintain her. The majority of the comments seemed to be about how unreliable Jaguars are up to about 1994. There were numerous statements about spending up to $1000/month to keep them on the road. Now this car that I am interested in has been owned by the same person since 1995, and it only has 68,000 miles on the odometer. The reason it is up for sale is because the owner is in an assisted living facility and no longer has need of the car. Surely someone on this Jaguar forum can say whether my fears are well founded. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

You didn't actually mention the year of the one you fell in love with !!

I wanted a Jag for years but was too chicken. I believed all the horror stories. I finally took the leap and have never looked back. I'm on my third Jag now.....13 years on. I've been on the back of a tow truck once in that time....and it was my fault, not the car's. My only regret is not buying one years earlier.

Make no mistake about it, though, a neglected Jag can cost a fortune to sort out and these are not drive-it-and-forget-it cars like a Honda or Toyota. I don't know of any high end luxury cars that are, to be honest.

The Jaguar bashing helps keep the prices low, so that's good for us ! If word got out about how great they are I probably couldn't afford one. The down side is that low resale value means many Jags are neglected fairly early in thier lives....thus part of the ill reputation.

If you won't be doing your own repairs then I strongly urge you to avoid a low-market example that hasn't been well cared for. Seek out a premium example. With Jags, finding the right car is more important than finding the right price...within reason, of course. Have it checked by a Jag specialist. He'll know what to look for.

Cheers
DD

 

Robert, please avoid double posting about the same subject. The guys give their time and excellent advice freely and don't generally appreciate giving the same answer twice.

I'm merging this with your OP (this time).

 

Jaguar BASHING. Why look for a car & then go onto a website you know is BASHING the same Make of the car you are wanting to buy & come to a Jag forum & complain about it?

We have given you advise. You want it...good. If not then oh well. If you were even to remotely believe a car was $1000/moth to maintain, then...well... I do not know what to say.

 

Interesting response. The reason I was in that particular website is that I was searching for information concerning a particular year of Jaguar. There was nothing in the web address to indicate that it was a Jaguar-bashing forum, but once I started reading, I realized what it was. Should I have just stuck my head in the sand and pretended that those opinions didn't exist? I think not. They caused me concern because of the history of poor reliability and costly repairs that Jaguars have. I thought that this forum would offer me the opportunity to get the truth about their reliability from people with a passion for the cars and experience with them. Was I wrong? Up until now, the members of this forum have provided a Jaguar novice with good, friendly advice and honest opinions.

 

I did a search prior to buying my car as well. I consider it wise to find both the good AND the bad before buying, so you will know at least some of what to expect.
However, I will say I tend to ignore the "bashing" posts simply because those posters usually exaggerate the problems stated and even little things become inflated.

 

Hello Robert:

Before I begin I will say that I have read this entire post.
Including the moderator’s admonishment.

I took this quote from you to respond to:

I have seen others, but this one seems to have some mystical hold on me. As for the XJ12, I considered it, but it seems that I have read something in a Jaguar magazine that the 12 cylinders are unreliable. Any opinions?[/quote]


I feel like I need to write a book about this instead of a post.
First is logic, when these cars were new they cost more than a basic house. Can it be possible that a car company can build inferior cars and get stratospheric prices for them if they are not good?

The first NEW XJ12 I bought was in 1988 and it was about $75000 or so.
In Toronto at the time that kind of money could still get you into a townhouse in a suburb. My experience with rich people is they tend not to be really stupid, especially when it comes to spending money. New Jaguars are generally purchased by people with good income.
Now granted there was a time in the early to mid '70's when British Leyland nearly ruined Jaguar, but this is ancient history. Any cars from this era still on the road have been fettled long ago.
We don't need to look far back to remember Audi and their troubles and many car companies run into “lemon” trouble.
The trouble with Jaguar is that it is one of the truly special car companies in the world and has always created a car that is so beautiful that I for one never get tired of looking at them. There is no automobile in the world that is so prone to sour grapes than the Jaguar. The silly boys who make fun of them are the ones who can never afford them or are too stupid or unwilling to understand them. I am convinced that total ignorance is the author of most of the lumps created in the world. Thinking that getting rid of the Jaguar engine solves all the problems, when the only thing it solves is the need to actually learn something about that wonderful XK engine, and appreciate it simplicity, longevity and reliability.

(A “lump” is the Jaguar people’s term for a car converted to Chevy or Ford engine)

I for one do not wish everyone loved or lusted after a Jag, but I do take umbrage to all the cat calls and ignorance displayed by the negative statements.

Having said that, the Jaguar is a high end automobile, and this is and always was a very stiff and competitive market. The six cylinder Jag engines are infinitely reliable and certainly less expensive to run than the V12. The truth is for a complete tune up on the V12 engine the cost can exceed the value of the car in some places. It is fortunate that full tune ups are not often recommended for old 12's and so even if you pay a mechanic you should still be able to manage.

There is no reason to buy a 12 over a 6 all things being equal. In the newer cars (mid 1990's) the AJ-6 and AJ-16 engines were as quick and fast as the 12, cheaper to run in every area. If you want the prestige of a 12 or if you simply love the silent smoothness of that great engine that is the only justification (??? Justification???) for preferring the V12.

If you simply look for the best jag your money can get you then don't make the engine size a first concern.

I am being pestered to get off the computer so I will cut this short if you find a car with a good V12 don't be afraid of it.
I have driven V12 engined cars into the most remote areas of this continent without fear or concern, even when the nearest repair facility has been "Elmer's crow bar and ball peen garage". A good V12 will run reliable for 300,000 miles and more.

One of my cars that I have not bothered to list here is an XJ-12
with very near that mileage and it happens to be most reliable.

Good luck with your decisions and stay away from the naysayers, they will do you no end of harm in your life.

I sincerely wish you the best in your search. I also hope that your ultimate decision is one that results in happiness and fulfillment whichever engine you happen to end up with.

Take note of my moniker and I do hope I appear balanced in my views even if ALL of my Jag's are V-12'.


All the best; JustV12.

 

One more quick post concerning the finacial cost of a Jag.
I went through a period of severe and life threatening illness about ten years ago. My treatment lasted 2 and a half years. I realized looking back that had I not been driving an XJ-6 (series III) I may not have been able to stay on the road.
All problems were able to be fixed very cheaply. Had I been in any other car I may have had to park it. My series three XJ-6 was also severely high mileage, well over 300.000 Miles (not KM) at the time.
Do not believe nonsense about running costs.

JustV12 (Again)

 

Interesting read JustV12. I have to agree, what is the point of "Bashing" something, unless of course the subject is hammers.

In the 70's & 80's all the kit car boys were using Jaguar running gear in their 'new rides'. Says something.

Couldn't afford to put fuel in a V12 over here, we are at approx 9$/gal.

Looking forward to the pics of your potential ride Robert.