Seeking advice on buying a Series III...
 

As an X300 owner I'm new to this section and would appreciate some guidance please. I have the opportunity to buy a 245,000km (152,000mi) Series III Sovereign 4.2 in what appears to be good unmolested condition. The usual rust bubbles (minor so far) are appearing beneath front & rear screens, otherwise she looks sound.

What I'd like to know from seasoned Series III owners are the top 6 (or so) "must look out for" items on inspection before committing myself. I'm experienced with all the standard checklist items when buying any used car, but with Series III's specifically, I'm in unfamiliar territory.

Thanks, any advice will be very welcome!

There's a buyer's guide in the "How To" sticky thread at the top of this section. That's a good place to start.

But a few quick remarks.....

- Climate control fully functional in all modes is a real bonus

- Rear brake calipers and rotors already been replaced is another 'plus' feature

- Most electrical faults are easy to fix so don't get too worried if a few things don't work. Cleaning connections fixes 80% of the electrical faults on these cars

- The rust around the front and rear screens can be minor....or it might be a lot deeper than you think. Sometimes hard to tell.

Cheers
DD

Just echoing what Doug said....
Top 6 are rust, rust, rust.......

But, at 152K miles, you need all the info you can get on the maintenance history of the car.
At that mileage, chances are a rebuild may be in order.... If the cylinder head gasket has never been done, it likely will need attention soon... It's a big job...

Your X300 is a totally different beast.... They seem to keep going, and going..
A series 3 is a great car, but they like to be tinkered with.... Some of the faults can be irritating, but minor...
But any history on the car is a plus... Any fuel smells in the cabin can be a pain to correct...Water ingress into the cabin on the front firewall, or at the rear windscreen, can be costly....

But as a project, these cars are totally a fun thing to work on... Everything is fairly straightforward... Not a whole lot of sensors talking back and forth to each other (compared to modern cars)....

Good luck!

David
( Everyday XJ )

Thanks Doug, very useful info. Also appreciate the reality check! Instinctively I know you're right about the Price vs. Quality approach. The car I'm looking at is at the lower end and one of very few on the market in my area. I had mentally allowed as much again as the purchase price as a budget to fix what may need fixing.

On the other hand, the best I've seen available is twice the asking price, sounds stunning, and has been a cherished car with comprehensive maintenance history. I suspect it would need little in the way of repairs. BUT it is located some 700km from me, so either patience or the inconvenience of an interstate trip may still pay dividends over the cheaper local option, I guess.

As others have noted, make sure you look for rust at the typical spots - you must get underneath the car and look for rust around where the radius arms attach to the frame, get the back seat off (2 screws) and look at where the seat belt attaches.

Open the doors and look up from underneath as well. Lift the carpets/mats and look at the floor pans.

^^^ Yeah exactly... My first Series 3 was an 87 that spent most of it's life in upstate New York... First time I put a jack under it, it nearly shot the radius arm through the rear seat... Lesson learned....

So, Tony, is this an addition to the fleet? or is the X300 going away?

Sounds good, we can have a real S3 in the group and then mine can be the feral relative that has never been quite the same since the operation :-)

Were will you have to go to get it? 700k sounds like Adelaide

Thanks for all the comments guys, feeling slightly nervous now(!) but will examine everything I can. I'm hoping to find that most examples will be reasonably sound underneath as we live in a pretty rust-free climate. Regardless, it seems that all series III's suffer from varying degrees of rust at the front / rear screens.

Funnily enough, another one has just hit the market in my area. Has lower mileage (174,000km i.e. 108,000mi), 2 owners from new and a 20 years service history with the second owner. This one is an '86 vs. '83. I've spoken to the Jag specialist who has looked after it for 20 years and based on what he's telling me I think this will be a better prospect to look at. The interstate option sold today, obviously wasn't meant for me!!

Failing the current options, I'll opt for patience until the right car comes up.

Hi Steve, It was in Sydney - I blinked and it was gone. Not entirely sure if I'll keep the X300, haven't had the necessary accumulation approval from a higher authority yet! She's a brilliant car but with little if anything left to do on it, so if I find the right S3 I may move the X300 on while it's in top nick and before it depreciates any further. I know I mentioned to you that I've always fancied the S3, so I'm looking. Whether I find one as good as yours (despite your feral powerplant!) remains to be seen...

Cheers,

Mine is a 83 with "feral" power. I like it a lot.


Wowee, I learned so much doing the conversion.


it has one teeny rust bubble in the front wing. Was there when I got it ion 2001, and has not progressed. Tis fairly dry around here.


My 79 IHC that I bought in 81 came with a rust patch. it was a Colorado car. It never progressed either. IHC's had worse rust preventives than Jaguars!!!


A bit later, I passed on a rather nice Bronco. Good price. Again, a Colorado car. Just too much visible. And, a we know, it's merely the tip of the ice berg!!!


A tight line to walk. Get the best car your budget will allow. Be careful, but don't snooze. Even f it isn't "bargain priced".


At times, an owner can get po'd over a car and the issue is minor. Good pricing there.


My son was given a md seventies Lincoln continental sedan. very decent. it's owner tired of it's huge appetite for gas, and when t refused to start, outta there.


Son and pal jumped the start relay, it fired. owner astonished, but lived up to the deal.


An issue with the start interrupt mechanism in the steering column. some fiddling fixed that. Sold for a nice profit. new owner delighted.


Another troublesome Tbird, an 83 came cheap. It became a race car. Tons of power from the 460 beat out the sbc's big time. Croed fgavorite, they thought it was a Continental!!


Carl

I bought my car after it had sat for a long time. One of the ultimate problems I had was a bent valve which was probably the result of sticking after sitting so long. That required new valves and seats. Other things I have done to my car that were not listed: replaced gas tanks due to sediment issues, front end suspension replaced and pulled the injectors for testing/cleaning with new o-rings.

These are great cars but unless you are a DIY'er they can be costly to own. A labor of love not an investment.