Winter smoker...wafty

[theironduke]

Looking at waving goodby to my TVR but want a shed to use over the winter. Ideally no more than 1k to spend on something comfy.

Front runner so far is X300 (i think?) 1996/7/8 ish Jag XJ, looking at a 3.2 for insurance reasons, what do I need to look for?

[George7]

The X300 is a very nice car and I fancy one myself, but how about an S Type? They can be picked up rather cheap now, and there's plenty of 'smaller' engines to choose from for insurance reasons.

[Dominicc01]

theironduke said:

Looking at waving goodby to my TVR but want a shed to use over the winter. Ideally no more than 1k to spend on something comfy.

Front runner so far is X300 (i think?) 1996/7/8 ish Jag XJ, looking at a 3.2 for insurance reasons, what do I need to look for?

Fantastic cars, very solid with ultra-reliable straight six engines. They aren't very sophisticated, so there isn't much to go wrong. In seven years of ownership (sold my 1995 3.2 in April), I didn't have any "signficant" problems - the air conditioning compressor gave up the ghost, a brake caliper seized ......... and that was about it.

Rust happens, but is rarely as bad as previous models. Electrics tend to be fairly solid. Suspension is totally uncomplicated. Find a looked after one, and you'll be happy.


As for S-types, there is a good reason why they became very cheap. They had the early V8s and V6s which tended to have far more problems than the XJ. Electrics can also generally be a bit dodgy. However, they are very good to drive, and cheaper to run than an XJ.

[theironduke]

Dominicc01 said:

theironduke said:

Looking at waving goodby to my TVR but want a shed to use over the winter. Ideally no more than 1k to spend on something comfy.

Front runner so far is X300 (i think?) 1996/7/8 ish Jag XJ, looking at a 3.2 for insurance reasons, what do I need to look for?

Fantastic cars, very solid with ultra-reliable straight six engines. They aren't very sophisticated, so there isn't much to go wrong. In seven years of ownership (sold my 1995 3.2 in April), I didn't have any "signficant" problems - the air conditioning compressor gave up the ghost, a brake caliper seized ......... and that was about it.

Rust happens, but is rarely as bad as previous models. Electrics tend to be fairly solid. Suspension is totally uncomplicated. Find a looked after one, and you'll be happy.


As for S-types, there is a good reason why they became very cheap. They had the early V8s and V6s which tended to have far more problems than the XJ. Electrics can also generally be a bit dodgy. However, they are very good to drive, and cheaper to run than an XJ.

Yeah really not excited by S types. Would love a 3.2 XJ in black with ivory leather...in an ideal world! To be fair I haven't seen a bad colour combo really, BRG with cream is also nice!

On the practical front i've owned an XJS and an XJ40 so am reasonably spanner handy with old jags!

[ajb85]

E32 BMW 7 series will do nicely

[anonymous-user]

theironduke said:

...something comfy...

Saab 9-5 auto. Comfy as hell and heated seats all round. Swedish so built for the winter.

(biased)

[George7]

Volvo S80 would also be a good one to take a look at. Cheap, very comfortable and an excellent sound system. The T6 with the 2.9 twin turbo I6 is quite rapid too.

[Willhook]

Bit grandaddish but a skoda octavia 4 wheel drive!
it has the 1800 turbo out of the golf.

someone at work has one and its a really nice car.