There's an 85 xj6 about a 20 minute drive from me.
Original owner.
Has the original window sticker and all service receipts.

48,000 miles.
$3500

My wife just got a 2006 X-type and it's our first jag..... now I'm tempted to go possibly get another, but I know so little about them.....learning fast, but...

This sound worth the trip over?

 

It's worth looking at with the description you've given. With any car of that age, condition is everything. Low mileage sounds good, but could be a cause for concern as well. If it has low mileage because it's been sitting for 20 years that's quite a different proposition form something that's been meticulously cared for.

The XJ has had several generations which are divided between different sections of the forum. This should be moved to the correct section to get the best responses. XJ6 & XJ12 Series I, II & III - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

Hi yardbird,

I have moved your thread from the forum for the X350 to the forum for the Series I, II & III XJ cars. The '85 you are considering is a Series III XJ6. Here you will find knowledgeable owners of similar cars.

Cheers,

Don

 

The Series IIIs are fabulous cars. Built like tanks, drive like velvet.

Be prepared for quite a change, though. It's the last car from a different era; the most modern of all antique automobiles.

In one of the sticky threads at the top of this section there's a buyers guide that might help.

Be prepared for some work. Nowadays even the best examples are likely to need some TLC. Most mechanical repairs are straightforward.

Cosmetics can be hugely expensive.....paint, chrome, leather, wood. If that's important to you it's better to find (and pay for) a top notch car. You'll save money.

Watch for rust...the lower corners of the front and rear windshields are common spots. Poor design. It's hard to find a Series III that isn't rusted there...or hasn't been repaired in that area.

A fully functional climate control is a real plus. Repairs here can be aggravating.

The buyers guide has more info, and others will chime in.

Cheers
DD

 

don't buy it based on the speedometer mileage, the speedos are easily replaceable in these cars.

Let the car talk to you, inspect the exhaust system and the entire underside of the car, it will tell you the kind of life it has had.

look for rust around the front and rear glass, rust starts to bubble there. The Headliner fabric collapses after many years, check it out.

 

Don't expect it to drive like your x-type. It will be a slug in town in comparison, but the ride and drive is completely unique and intoxicating.

 

Indeed, the ride is like a magic carpet, and I should know, I had mine 14 years !

An '85 car is one of the last of the XK-engined straight sixes, and almost all the issues had been resolved by then. However one or two remained, like the windscreen corners as described by Doug. Do also bear in mind that the car is now 31 years old so if it has just been standing for years, you'll have to do quite a lot of recommissioning. However, don't worry too much about this, as I took over a low-mileage 1977 MG Midget that had been standing 14 years and it passed its UK roadworthiness test first time !

 

I'd echo what everyone above has said. I bought my '84 from another forum member who did much to modernize and stabilize running of the car (and, thankfully, he documented most of it on this site) but it still needs frequent care and near constant attention; because everything in it is 32 years old. Mine is an example that was cared for but not coddled. I use it as my daily driver and it's absolutely wonderful. I don't want to commute in anything else.

But it's not fast off the line, it takes awhile to stop and you have to really pay attention, not only to the road but to how the car is behaving. It doesn't have a suspension that can compensate if you take a corner too fast or don't have enough room to stop. It doesn't have a computer that logs events. It's less like a machine than like an animal. It sounds crazy but the older Jags have moods and personalities. Other forum members may not chime in on this point but they know what I'm talking about!

Moral of the story: buy an old XJ6 if you love them enough to spend 2x or even 4x the asking price for a really good one. If you love it enough, paying to fix all the little things that can, will and do fail eventually, will be worth the privilege of owning it. Do NOT buy one because it's cheap; because, after a few big repair bills, it won't be cheap any longer and then you'll hate it. Also? if you can buy from someone you know and trust, it will make for a much better experience.

 

+1!!
Nix is our first experience with Any Jaguar. Husband paid too much, but he said, "This is my all time Favorite Dream Car! If I had my way, THIS is the car I would buy!" and he did, only to discover he can't drive it because he doesn't fit behind the wheel even with the seat all the way back. So she's mine, I think just to keep someone else from getting her.

But I digress...

We thought we had a good one (she certainly Looked good), one the PO spent Thousands restoring/converting, but that was 30 years before, and almost Nothing you couldn't see had been cared for since that time.

So, although everything you Could see still looked pretty good, what you Couldn't see was falling apart, almost literally, to the point the car wasn't safe on the road! We spent almost a full year and the purchase price again making the most critical things right and a lot of other things acceptable for the time being. But we loved almost every minute of it, and can't imagine life without Nix on the open road in good weather!

If this isn't what you want in a car, if it won't be a labor of love for you, if you don't seriously Enjoy working on a car almost as much as you enjoy driving it, then maybe a Classic Jaguar isn't for you.
(';')

 

Thank you.
All of you.
If there's anything I've learned in 64 years, it's to listen when someone with experience is telling you something.

I spent a good portion of my life working on cars and motorcycles. Built stock cars, tore cars apart and customized the hell out of them for fun. Built a drag bike with a small block Chevy v8 mounted sideways running alcohol. Got way farther into things than most backyard mechanics.

But the reality of it is that now I'm 64, settled into a smaller home as my wife just retired too, and would probably quickly become disenchanted with a car I have to work on as much as I drive. Not because of the car. Rather because of the reality that at 64 I just can't do all of the things I used to do. I can still enjoy looking though, I suppose.

Kinda like the 25 year old that jogs past the house sometimes. Beautiful. Would love to take her for a drive, but the reality is .... just not practical and would be FAR more trouble than I'm willing to bear.

So thanks.... Our 2006 x-type will be our toy for a while until the wife decides it's either costing too much or ... whatever.

They ARE machines to be appreciated though.

I'll pass on this and just enjoy looking...... until something happens and I can afford that new f-type in the showroom... (which my wife might buy when I die!...heheh)

 

AWWW, I'd love to be 64 again. I was going full bore in my own business. Retirement
would not come for another 11 years. Cars to play with. A shop that kept getting more and more tools.


I will confess that I did a lot of stuff but nothing to compare with straddling a V8 powered drag bike.


Caveat, as to the 25 year old jogger, look but no further, or wife will get that F type and you will be.....


Joking, of course.


Wet and stormy out yesterday. But, really cold this AM. Ugh. Haven't messed with the Jaguar in the garage.


Carl

 

You'd have to quantify "really cold"... it was 12 when I got up this morning.

And as regards the jogger..... naaahhh.... kidding... example only..
Same wife for 37 years. Gonna keep her. She may be a classic, but she's a darn good one.

 

I know!!!


Did not look at the thermometer in the breezeway at about 5:30 this AM, when "little"
rescue dog, Coco and I went out. Brrr. I'd guess upper 40's. Max today, something like upper 50's. Stormy rain yesterday, but, partly because of the cloud cover, mid 60's. Clear today = colder.


I do far better with heat than cold, always have...


Seems like your issue is her keeping you !!!


My dear departed and I shared 54 years here. Still here, in spirit, I talk, she responds, in other ways...


Our Jaguar was "her Jaguar". I, the mechanic and chaufer !!! Although, she was born and raised in Germany, things English appealed to her. Diana, magazines and newspapers, BBC sitcoms, etc.


Carl

 

Hi Yardbird

There is a modern (ish) Jaguar for you in the form of the X350 series of XJ cars. I rebuilt a Mark 2 then had an XJ6 for 14 years. In 1999 we got company cars, so the Jaguar had to go, but in 2010 I bought an XJ6 in the X350 series. The interior is absolutely a Jaguar, and the exterior is almost the same as the old XJ style of 1968. Good enough for me, anyway ! These cars ceased production in 2008, but there are plenty around. In the US you only get the V8 not the V6 that I have.

Actually I am now on my second X350, a later (X358 but almost the same) Sovereign. These cars will run mega-mileages if you want. Here are pics of my two. The green one was part-ex'd for the blue one. Note the slight restyle, but interior remained the same.

Worth a look maybe ?

 

Hey, at least you do have a hormone left or you wouldn't have thought about it! And yes, waaay more trouble than an old jag.
Holy crap ...an alcohol burning v8 drag bike! You prob used up all your adrenaline on that thing!

 

Wait though... 48k miles with receipts? Is it running and being driven? You should at least go drive it! And come back and tell us your thoughts. I'm glad it's not near me.

 

Oh, yes. Running. Driven by its original owner, but has been set aside this year as he got a new one. This is a one-owner car.
British racing green with biscuit interior.

LISTING

 

If it can be bought for just $3500 it might be irresistible, assuming no serious problems we don't know about. What else can you buy for that money?

I have to chuckle a bit, though, as those who list a car for sale and won't even given it a decent washing before taking the pics.

Cheers
DD

 

I had a look at the photos and blew one up on 'Paint', the one where the front windscreen can be fully seen.There is clear corrosion at the bottom corner of the RH side of the screen, and there will probably be the same on the other side. This means a screen-out job to cut out and cure the rust.I suspect water is already seeping through. Apart from that the car looks pretty clean and the engine bay is tidy. Interior looks immaculate and there appear to be service records available. Worth a look IMHO, but I would only buy if I saw and tested the car.

Only other thing is the potential for serious rusting, bearing in mind the car is near Niagara Falls, so a lot of salt will be put on the winter roads.

 

That's an excellent point, Fraser. This past summer I did an engine swap for a friend, and the donor vehicle came from "Upstate New York." While the body and engine were in great shape, everything else on the underside of the vehicle was coated in 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch of rust, and so many fasteners were seized that I finally resorted to cutting out parts of the front 4WD system so I could get the engine out. No fun at all.

Assuming the underside of this Jag is reasonably clean and as Doug says, it doesn't need an engine or transmission, $3,500 seems very fair on that car. If yardbird doesn't ****** it, I hope another forum member does. It looks like a car worth owning and preserving, and I've always loved that color combination on an XJ.

Cheers,

Don