I'm looking for a nice weekend convertible for fun driving. Most recently had a 2005 subaru sti raced it; off road and parking lot and occasionally on track. Now I'm just looking for something classic to enjoy for car meets and country drives. Have considered TR6 I love the looks, older MG's I'm 6' 2" so those are a little small for me. Came across a 1990 xjs convertible, i think one of the best looking cars ever made. Mileage is low. What do i need to be aware of when considering this car. Maintenance problems, price, value. It is in great shape.

 

also came across a 2009 Jaguar XKR PORTFOLIO in very good condition.

 

also a convertible

 

That low mileage gets you nice cosmetics and the potential for a huge expensive pita mechanically. These cars don't sit well and that is way too few miles for that many years.
If you enjoy spinning wrenches not so much a problem, if you want something that just works when you have spare time to drive it I'd want to see a lot of consistent service
history, not that it just sat there looking pretty all this time.

 

thanks

 

There is something to be said for buying old cars on cosmetics, as paint and interior can be horrendously expensive to renew and are specialized tasks with specialized equipment.
But, the whole spending most of it's life sitting around isn't good for any complex machine that's multiple decades old. Low mileage is not the silver bullet for the task of old car ownership
that a lot of people think it is. Sometimes you get luckier than others, it's worth pondering when pulling out your wallet. You see the big fancy car auctions and people collecting low
mileage cars and being cool and all that, they mostly don't drive them and pay people to fix them. Short of goofy exotics it's a damn shame to not drive and enjoy good cars imo.
If a car has to sit and not be used, let it be a crappy boring one lol....

 

Low mileage as a detriment? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

A 35 year old car with 35000 miles. So, how and when was that mileage accumulated?

'Tis dead storage that takes a heavy toll. Long periods of sitting absolutely unused.

OTOH, a car that is driven a few times a year shouldn't suffer any mechanical decay even if relatively few miles have accumulated. In this example, if the car was driven about 1000 miles per year, and well kept, I wouldn't expect any storage decay. After all, 1000 miles/year could be 20 outings at 50 miles each. That would be enough to keep the mechanisms exercised, prevent seals from shrinking, etc

Case by case is perhaps the best way to go.

Cheers
DD

 

Go to the sticky-thread section at the top of this forum. In the "How To" section is a buyers guide that'll give you some basics. From there we can give more specific answers to your questions.

As for TR6s and MGs, well, you couldn't possible go any further in the opposite direction from an XJS :-).

Cheers
DD

 

MG's and TR's are great fun to drive and pretty simple to wrench on, if I was just going to drive something on the weekend it'd be one of them. XJS is a wonderful car, but it's not "fun", least not out of the box.
Is a lot better daily driver though, or if it's cold, or hot, or raining, or you need to eat up a thousand miles in one sitting.
Little tedious around town but otherwise a good GT car.



OP, you should drive a decent XJS a bit before buying one. They feel big, are heavy and not fast. Long way from what you're likely used to.
Excellent driving cars and as pretty as you can get, but not particular sporty by most standards.

 

thanks wolf, and yes i need to drive all of the above and that may decide for me.
I am 67 and i have raced on and off road and parking lot, and i drive like a grandma on the road most of the time, because i know you cannot have even afraction of the fun on the road that you can on a track. that said, i do not plan on racing any of these, just leisurly drving, so xjs, which i love the looks of is in the running, as well as tr6 and the more i read about the xkr that could be the winner.
my wife and i both like a stick shift and fun weekend car is the goal; TR6 probably.
thanks for responses,

 

so i spent a saturday test driving
bmw 440
1 series w 6 cylinder
jaguar xk
bmw 335
then went to another place drove the 230 with M sport package shocks brakes etc… really liked it
went back to the other place test drove their 230 but without the M sport package
did some more research found a black on black ( metal flake) M240i same car better everything and 6 cylinder twin scroll turbo; bought it!!!
very happy with my choice and my wife loves it too and so does my grandson that was with me when test driving these!!
thanks

 

Probably lots of fun. I'd buy an extended warranty

 

thank.you.doug!!!!

 

Welcome back!
Have they opened the tomb and let you out JJJ?

 

Haha,,, HellO Greg!

I miss this group. The going back and forth, the learning, the rescuing and fixing of these car(s) - so so much, all...
Think about y'all all the time. Feel guilty or something!

The tomb!? Funny you say! This whole winter, I've been the cellar dweller.
Been building a large Sauna, Steam Shower and Central AC system in the basement over the winter months. In the basement (tomb) all the time!
Exterior - Massive prep work for a repaint of a 100yo house that has 2000 coats of old paint on it. Spring, Summer and Fall x 2yrs now. More to go.
Sad to say, I really have not been able to touch these cars for 2+ years in any real way.
Still,,, because of the guidance I got here, the XJS and all of the machines are still running and driving pretty much problem free!
Still, they all need some love.

I couldn't NOT thank Doug in this thread for adding some well needed balance to the convo about reviving an XJS...
DO IT... The XJS is so so so worth it.
Anywho...

I trust you are well and still on this page (often) walking us all through our questions and situations!?
You're the best, Man...
Ill be back for more lessons soon

ps - tell the Man from down under I say HellO!