RE: SOTW: Jaguar XJR
Discussion
Limpet said:
A mate had one of these until quite recently. It was ridiculously fast, superlatively comfortable, handled surprisingly well, and emptied his wallet alarmingly frequently, and at the slightest opportunity. It also drank fuel at the rate you would expect given its performance. He absolutely adored it.
Not a car for OCD sufferers, unless you have a deep pocket. There will always be something that needs attention. The trick to running one seems to be to ignore / live with the niggles, and keep on top of the critical bits. The mechanicals on my mate's car were pretty reliable.
Those AJ6 / AJ16 engines are bulletproof.Not a car for OCD sufferers, unless you have a deep pocket. There will always be something that needs attention. The trick to running one seems to be to ignore / live with the niggles, and keep on top of the critical bits. The mechanicals on my mate's car were pretty reliable.
The X300s tend to suffer alot from corrosion and some electrical niggles (the LCD clock has never worked on any of my old Jags, and the climate control units tend to weaken over time).
Generally (and if maintained properly), the engines / gearboxes have harldy any major issues.
You just need a petrol tanker constantly following you everywhere!
If I had my own oil well, or fuel paid for by some strange higher power, or fuel vouchers given to me every day, I'd have this so damn fast.
One of my favourite cars, ever. Always wanted one. This is no exception!
Definitely, without a doubt, the best SOTW ever.
What could possibly top this next week..?
One of my favourite cars, ever. Always wanted one. This is no exception!
Definitely, without a doubt, the best SOTW ever.
What could possibly top this next week..?
Harry H said:
Been lurking on Piston Heads for a while now but this weeks SOTW has made me join as back in 95 I had exactly the same car. Same colour scheme the lot.
Can honestly say it was the best motor I have ever owned. 6 Months old when I bought it. Swapped it for my 911 as at the time I had a small family and needed the space.
A limo that could play sports car when needed. On a particularly fine trip back from the Monaco GP across the Alps power sliding the rear end out of the hair pins was just heaven. A friend in a F355 on the same trip commented that as fast as he went "Every time I looked in my rear view mirror all I could see was you with a great big grin in that bloody great arm chair of yours".
It did like a drink but in those days it wasn't a case of fuel consumption but that it needed a bigger fuel tank.
Absolute top car
That sounds Epic mate!Can honestly say it was the best motor I have ever owned. 6 Months old when I bought it. Swapped it for my 911 as at the time I had a small family and needed the space.
A limo that could play sports car when needed. On a particularly fine trip back from the Monaco GP across the Alps power sliding the rear end out of the hair pins was just heaven. A friend in a F355 on the same trip commented that as fast as he went "Every time I looked in my rear view mirror all I could see was you with a great big grin in that bloody great arm chair of yours".
It did like a drink but in those days it wasn't a case of fuel consumption but that it needed a bigger fuel tank.
Absolute top car
pSyCoSiS said:
ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!
Top SOTW.
Top machine - my ideal shed.
Grace, pace, space and pure class.
These Jags still look good and command respect wherever they go.
XJR-6 definitely one fo the best engines they made, with less problems than the later (albeit, more powerful) V8 veriosn.
322 BHP for under a bag of sand? WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?
Ok, budget a bit of money for the MOT, but they are generally not too bad. Just the bodywork can corrode badly if not looked after.
And they LOVE a drink! It's the only car I have ever owned in which I saw the fuel guage dropping whilst sitting in traffic!
+ 1 to all of thatTop SOTW.
Top machine - my ideal shed.
Grace, pace, space and pure class.
These Jags still look good and command respect wherever they go.
XJR-6 definitely one fo the best engines they made, with less problems than the later (albeit, more powerful) V8 veriosn.
322 BHP for under a bag of sand? WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?
Ok, budget a bit of money for the MOT, but they are generally not too bad. Just the bodywork can corrode badly if not looked after.
And they LOVE a drink! It's the only car I have ever owned in which I saw the fuel guage dropping whilst sitting in traffic!
Don't get hung up on making it mint - just keep on top of the mechanicals and save all your spare cash for fuel - wouldn't mind betting that it would return a fair chunk of the purchase price being broken for parts
A good friend had one of the later V8's it was very hard on suspension components as you'd expect for a big heavy barge with a deceptive performance
pSyCoSiS said:
(well, maybe not as good as the SOTW E30 325i I purchased last week!).
Ahhh nice to see that one found a home - keep us updated on how it goesjohnpeat said:
I do believe that Richard Porter aka Aquadrome aka Mr Sniff Petrol sometime Evo Journo and Top Gear Script Editor is currently in possession of one of these and I'm keen to discover just how quickly they can tear-up your credit rating because they are - let's not f
k about here - a simply awesome motor...
You have class, performance, bruiser AND cruiser in a car which was supposedly far better made and more reliable than the cars which came before it (although they did set new lows in those fields so it's hardly a positive thing!!)
Horror stories about parts costs and the 'great unknown' of more than half it's mileage would suggest this is a 'drive it until it stops' car - but a nice one at least!!
If you want the car perfect you could I suspect spend a fortune. But there's a really good used spares circle for Jag parts and they aren't that complex to work on. Great shed and I suspect if you go in eyes open cheap to run and maintain for a car of this performance and HP.k about here - a simply awesome motor...You have class, performance, bruiser AND cruiser in a car which was supposedly far better made and more reliable than the cars which came before it (although they did set new lows in those fields so it's hardly a positive thing!!)
Horror stories about parts costs and the 'great unknown' of more than half it's mileage would suggest this is a 'drive it until it stops' car - but a nice one at least!!
Edited by johnpeat on Friday 15th April 03:05
Harry H said:
A friend in a F355 on the same trip commented that as fast as he went "Every time I looked in my rear view mirror all I could see was you with a great big grin in that bloody great arm chair of yours".
Absolute top car
Quote of the week! Absolute top car
For a grand with MOT it's a bargain
300bhp/ton said:
f you want the car perfect you could I suspect spend a fortune. But there's a really good used spares circle for Jag parts and they aren't that complex to work on. Great shed and I suspect if you go in eyes open cheap to run and maintain for a car of this performance and HP.
They're not too bad to work on, but the suspension is an old design, and major suspension components can be costly, even from breakers.But - if you were to break this car, you would easily get your money back:
Engine = £750+
Interior = £300+
Alloys = £250+
Genuine wheels are fairly hard to source for these XJs, and a mint set, with decent tyres, still command a premium compared to a set of, for example, BMW alloy wheels.
On top of that, any decent panels, electrical parts, suspension components, and you could easily get over £1200 back on the car.
That is, if you have the capacity (space, time, etc.) to break it.
Who knows though, it might not even need that much to get it through an MOT?
pSyCoSiS said:
but the suspension is an old design,
It worked well though. Loads of feed back when pushed hard with little body roll but never intrusive when cruising. Maybe rose tinted glasses here but far more rewarding as a drivers car than my current Audi A8 (not that that would be difficult) and certainly no worse as a limo.
Just look at the lines of that body work with those wheels. Surely a classic in the making.
Would I buy another one ? No. I'm sure the memories are far greater than the reality but in it's day it was the Canines Genitalia.
Edited by Harry H on Friday 15th April 12:04
I run one of the manual XJR's almost daily (102 RHD models made not 103) - the box suites it even better than i had hoped, brilliant to drive. Pretty savage how they accelerate for a large car. Clarkson certainly enjoyed driving his one! There’s a video online of it somewhere - very similar car to mine.
I can say though unfortunately (if you hope to break it for a gain) the spares are somewhat cheaper than listed here. Complete engines with ancillaries will prob fetch £300-£400 max unless it was a real low miler. Interiors around £150 again unless its something special then around £250 . There’s just too many being broken up so the price falls.
If you see a reasonable one for sale under 3k grab it!!
I can say though unfortunately (if you hope to break it for a gain) the spares are somewhat cheaper than listed here. Complete engines with ancillaries will prob fetch £300-£400 max unless it was a real low miler. Interiors around £150 again unless its something special then around £250 . There’s just too many being broken up so the price falls.
If you see a reasonable one for sale under 3k grab it!!
pSyCoSiS said:
They're not too bad to work on, but the suspension is an old design, and major suspension components can be costly, even from breakers.
But - if you were to break this car, you would easily get your money back:
Engine = £750+
Interior = £300+
Alloys = £250+
Genuine wheels are fairly hard to source for these XJs, and a mint set, with decent tyres, still command a premium compared to a set of, for example, BMW alloy wheels.
On top of that, any decent panels, electrical parts, suspension components, and you could easily get over £1200 back on the car.
That is, if you have the capacity (space, time, etc.) to break it.
Who knows though, it might not even need that much to get it through an MOT?
Do you mean front of rear suspension? The Jag IRS is fab IMO and was still in use on the x358. Don't know about the current XJ though. But - if you were to break this car, you would easily get your money back:
Engine = £750+
Interior = £300+
Alloys = £250+
Genuine wheels are fairly hard to source for these XJs, and a mint set, with decent tyres, still command a premium compared to a set of, for example, BMW alloy wheels.
On top of that, any decent panels, electrical parts, suspension components, and you could easily get over £1200 back on the car.
That is, if you have the capacity (space, time, etc.) to break it.
Who knows though, it might not even need that much to get it through an MOT?
But how often do you need to replace major suspension components? Shocks and springs are cheap enough as are bushes.
littleandy0410 said:
Limpet said:
Not a car for OCD sufferers, unless you have a deep pocket. There will always be something that needs attention. The trick to running one seems to be to ignore / live with the niggles, and keep on top of the critical bits.
Well said! This is a £1000 car, and should be treated as such. Yeah, ok, it's also a Jaguar, but anyone who wants to own one as a future classic, should be looking at spending 4x this amount potentially, to find a mint example in the first place.I'd love to buy this, but as I do 20k a year, and already have a second car, I suspect the divorce would cost me as much as the potential running costs!
Would make a great Le Mans car though, and as previously mentioned, should be worth close to the asking price in spares! (Would the 'charger fit anything else?)
The truth is I think, this car is for spares or somebody that has the skill,time and funds to bring it back to it's best. Failing that it's a car for dreamers feeling lucky. For a grand you could always say you owned a S/C Jag!
300bhp/ton said:
Do you mean front of rear suspension? The Jag IRS is fab IMO and was still in use on the x358. Don't know about the current XJ though.
But how often do you need to replace major suspension components? Shocks and springs are cheap enough as are bushes.
That is true. They are a superb ride, no doubt.But how often do you need to replace major suspension components? Shocks and springs are cheap enough as are bushes.
Well, I was talking in relation to my Dad's old X308 3.2 V8. It was a nightmare to change the front suspension arms on it.
I am no mechanic, but the guy doing it was a BMW / Mercedes Specialist, and he was cursing the design of the car when he was working on it.
Is the suspension an old design on these then? He just said it was awkward to work on? Like I said, I was taking his word for it, as I am not that clued up mechanically!
littleandy0410 said:
I'd love to buy this, but as I do 20k a year, and already have a second car, I suspect the divorce would cost me as much as the potential running costs!
Would make a great Le Mans car though, and as previously mentioned, should be worth close to the asking price in spares! (Would the 'charger fit anything else?)
Absolutely agree on both points.Would make a great Le Mans car though, and as previously mentioned, should be worth close to the asking price in spares! (Would the 'charger fit anything else?)
This is a real shed and fits perfectly with SOTW - just makes me want to pick up the phone and buy it, spend the money on fuel and repairs rather than depreciation. Almost talking myself into it, must stop now!!
JohnnyRims said:
Fairly pointless SOTW if you ask me. If this thing keeps running for the two months until the MOT expires I'll be amazed. If it does it will never pass the test at which point you weigh it in for maybe £300. £350 a month in depreciation makes a new one look cheap...
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