Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum - 89 XJ6 - New to Jag, have many questions! HELP!

hello Madscotsman. I'll give you my opinion and others can give you theirs. Don't compare a domestic Dodge truck to a Jaguar. If you want simplicity and inmediate parts availability, I would say keep your Dodge. I am not a mechanic or technician, but I have 16 years of experience dealing with my XJ-6, and I will keep that Jaguar forever by the looks of it. I just love the car. It has outlasted my first marriage! that should tell you something. I can fix 95% of whatever goes bad in my Jags, except engine and transmission, since I've never had to rebuild one.

The Jaguar is a more complicated car due to all the bells-and-whistles. The '89 is the last "real" Jaguar made by Jaguar, why?? ...because Ford "bought" Jaguar in 1989, and from 1990-on, Jaguars have more influence from Ford's "better idea" of using PLASTIC and FOAM to save a penny here and there. Although I've heard that part of the deal was that Jaguar would keep their Independence from Ford's Do-It-Cheep Influence. I hope so. I also own a Ford and it is the biggest piece of garbage ever invented by civilized man, so I am not just being prejudiced, I am talking from experience. Fortunately, Ford has no monopoly on Jaguar parts as they do with Ford parts, where everyone has to charge the same exhorbitant price for a Ford part no matter who you buy from. No such monopoly in the Jaguar parts supply chain.

I own a pair of Jaguar sedans, (Saloons) but I like the older models, like the Series 3 XJ-6 made from 1980 to 1987. Mine is a 1984. A wonderful reliable car. That's the one I've owned for the last 16 years. But I have friends who owned the very beautiful 1989 XJ-40 (that's the factory model name for 1989) who had continued problems with the Digital Dash chip or "IC", which requires a lot of delicate handling of the Dash Pod and ground wrist-straps to replace the chip, and most mechanics don't know how to handle Integrated Circuits or "ICs". So you end up with a continuous chip malfunction which never seems to get resolved. The door handles are expensive, but I know of one guy who installed Series 3 XJ-6 door handles and permanently resolved the problem. so there's a solution. Jaguar used to build "continuity" in their cars.

If the Brake Warning Light comes on, has anybody checked the Brake Fluid? You know, I also own a 1965 Jaguar 'S' type, the great-great-grandfather of the XJ-6 and XJ-40, and yesterday I decided to drive it to exercise it. As soon as I drove away the Brake Warning Light came on; I pumped the brakes, fine, I operated the Emergency Brake, all fine. so I kept on driving around the neighborhood, I just was not ready to park the car, because once I get in it, it's very difficult to get me out of that car. Sure I was very careful while driving. About an hour later, I came back, opened the bonnet, checked the Brake fluid, it looked a little low on fluid, I added some fresh fluid, and the light went off. Now, I am talking about a 40-year old Brake Fluid Sensor in there, which still works as intended, the car was talking to me, it didn't lie, it told me "hello I need some brake fluid", so my point is: check the obvious first. Why would a Brake Warning Light come ON? -because the Brake Fluid is low, or there's a fluid leak, or something relating to Brake Fluid!-

Or take my friend's XJ-40 which his wife was driving one day and the engine just died; They called the dealer who sent a tow truck and took it to their shop to find out and repair ...The dealer checked the car, called him and left him a message to call back. But he didn't want to know what the problem was, ("denial") so he called me and asked me to call them, find out, and explain it to him. I called the dealer, and the Service Manager was laughing as he told me "the car was out of gasoline!". That'll be $95.00 thank you. Plus the tow truck charge plus the gasoline. So I've learned to check the obvious. another friend who has lots of experience always says: "the answer to any Jaguar problem lies in retracing your steps to the last time you messed with it".

Engines: those engines are not Hemis or Ramchargers, you might be dissapointed in their red light acceleration, their beauty is in their high-cruising speeds and cornering stability. An oil & filter change every 2 or 3 months is all they ask for. No different from any other engine. Yes, the XJ-40 has Oxygen Sensor, and Fuel Injectors, and Sensor this, and Sensor that, and Computer, and you name it Sensors. but so does a Mercedes or a Chrysler. So you get yourself a Service and Parts Manual in CD, for around $25. from any Jaguar dealer, and you deal with it, because everything is repairable, nothing is not. Parts Availability? Lots of Online Jaguar Parts Suppliers, if you don't find it in one, you find it in another. No need to buy from the Jaguar Dealer as with Ford or GM or Chrysler, so just forget about paying exhorbitant prices, competition is very good for Jaguar parts, you just go to google.com and type the part name or number you need (that's why the CD Manual is handy, because you at least have the Part NAME assuming you can pinpoint the bad part), and then you get about 100 different prices and sources for whatever part you need.

To get parts prices in advance before you even get the car, check one of those suppliers here:
http://www.jagbits.com also, once you go in their website, check their Tech Library to learn about your particular model/year. there's many other sites like that. Tech help is always available online.

for example, Jaguar forums for your model/year Jaguar like the following:

http://forums.motorcars-ltd.com/

http://www.kelsey-forums.co.uk/cgi-bin/jwm/YaBB.pl

also, check this Jaguar freak in Finland, he re-engineers his old Jags to modern standards:
http://jaguar.fiboy.com/

At the worst case, if you become unhappy, chances are you can sell the Jaguar for more dough than your Dodge.
good luck.
Jose