Hey all,
First-time car buyer, medium-poor graduate student here. I'm considering buying a 1998 Jaguar XJ8 I found used on craigslist for $1,800 and I'm looking for any opinions or advice you guys might have.
The car is a XJ8 Vanden Plas with about 89k miles on it, most of which seem to be highway miles. According to the seller, the car has had only two previous owners -- the original purchaser was an elderly man who mostly used the vehicle to drive between his home in Colorado and his summer home in Florida, and the second owner (and current seller) was his grandson who put less than 10k miles on it. As well as I can put it together based on the vehicle history report, it seems like these details check out (it seems like the grandfather leased it for a while before buying it). The car has never been reported in any accidents and (according to the owner) has never had any major maintenance issues. As far as I can tell from the vehicle history report, this also checks out.
The interior seems to be in great condition, as does the exterior. From the sound of it, the owner has kept up with regular maintenance and fluid changes. The tires aren't new, but they certainly are in decent condition from what I can gather and probably have about half their life left in them. The vehicle currently needs is a side mirror glass replacement and a new turn signal bulb, but these seem like minor repairs that I'm not particularly concerned about doing them myself. The owner said that occasionally he has trouble with the driver's side window, but from the research I've done, this is a relatively common problem and can normally be resolved by disconnecting the battery for a few minutes and reconnecting it.
I know that this model occasionally has problems with the timing chain tensioners cracking, so I intend to check those out and see how they're holding up. It seems like replacing them is a bit of a project (and probably costs around $250, assuming I can borrow the tools from a friend). But, I'm relatively confident in my abilities and I imagine I could manage to do so myself over a weekend, should I be unlucky enough to have them deteriorate.
Is this a good buy? I live across the street from my uni and rarely drive -- I only need the car to occasionally drive to conferences and pick up groceries, so I imagine I'll put less than 5k miles on it per year.
If you do think its a good buy, is there anything else you guys think I should check for? I've read the sticky regarding vehicle inspection and intend to follow that entirely, so any vehicle-specific pointers or general tips and tricks of your own would be much appreciated.
Thanks for all the help!
Interior shot 1
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>Considering buying this 1998 Jaguar XJ8
>medium-poor graduate student here
stopped reading there, to buy a big Jag you need a lot of money to keep it running, sorry to shatter your dreams mate but thet is the reality, mileage is poor the parts are sparse and the reliability is below satisfactory, ignore the Top Gear shills and dont fall for this trap cause you simply cant afford it
Sweet car phone OP. I'm jelly
>>15308703
oh BTW
>I've read the sticky regarding vehicle inspection and intend to follow that entirely
this sticky is complete horseshit, whomever made it just put there the most common and obvious types of cars which doesnt mean that they are fun/ reliable/ cheap in a long run etc.
t; someone who actually have a degree in automotive mechanics and electronics
>>15308733
But for $1,800 (about the price of any other used beater car) and with the vehicle in reasonably good condition -- along with the fact that I drive 5k miles or less per year on average -- is that necessarily a particularly large concern? I'm not intending to drive this car for the next decade, I just need it to get to conferences here and there until I finish this PhD.
>>15308757
I meant this image in the sticky. Is this bad info? If so, thanks for letting me know! I'm new to all of this and I don't want to make any stupid mistakes.
>>15308782
yes, I'm almost positive its a bait
>>15308775
it's for 1800 for some reason
>and with the vehicle in reasonably good condition
are you 100% sure about that? in all old big luxury cars there are tonnes of gremlins just waiting to rape your wallet and if its for 1800 then there a bound to be some in there especially since Jags are known for shit electronics
>long with the fact that I drive 5k miles or less per year on average
Car brakes the most when it sits in a corner ironically
> I'm not intending to drive this car for the next decade
but you might when you will realize how much you sunk into it, and nobody is going to give you that money back when you will want to sell it eventually
>I just need it to get to conferences here and there until I finish this PhD.
just buy some simple car with a simple petrol engine
Reliable cars really, so long as the timing chain guides are replaced and service is kept up with.
The problem is that like all classic jags it has horrible mpg's and when something does eventually break you pay out the ass for parts both rarity and brand name markup
Professional mechanic and Jaguar enthusiast here.
If that thing runs and drives well and has no problems. Buy it now. For $1800 your practically stealing it. I worked for several years at a foreign car shop and those cars are pretty damn reliable except for those timing chains, and purple is not a common color.
As for doing the chains yourself, I wouldn't do it. I've done countless Jaguar V8 timing chains and can tell you that if you have the special tools to do it, it's easy and straightforward. If not, then you will have a tough time. There are no timing marks on the camshafts since there is a special tool that bolts on to the head that locks them at TDC. Same with the crank, there's a tool that locks that at TDC. They usually go at ~140k miles.
Pic related, tools needed to do the job.
>>15309445
Should be fine if you put paper under the cam caps before you pull the chain off, it's not going to lose time just sitting there
>>15309471
There is still spring reason from the valves on the cam, it will turn.
>>15309471
Other thing is that the gears on the end of the camshafts need to come off, so the cams need to be locked.
