Hello,
I stumbled across this Forum, looked at it and thought, this might be worth joining.

A friend of mine was in dire straits and needed some money (he lost his job). He sold me his 1993 Vanden Plas and I picked up the car (even tho I did not need one). I wanted to help him out.

The car was in good shape but a lot of original parts on it (He bought it from a dealer about 2 years prior and the car was a Florida car). I have been slowly getting it back into shape and surprised that no one sells 15" tires for it anymore

So if you have to get new tires, you also have to upgrade to 17" wheels. I read one suggestion here to go to 225/60/15s instead of the stock 225/65/15s. I might try that (although moving up to a 17" wheel has its advantages).

I did that with my 1989 Bentley and it was the right move.

I look forward to reading about all the issues with the Jaguar. It is a really nice car, but you read about how it always winds up in the shop and also most mechanics don't know how to work on them (I am a victim of that myself).

As for my driving the car, it has been great but an engine issue wound it up in the shop. I took it to my general mechanic but it was a waste of time (he had many excuses but no progress on the car). I now have it at another place and I am waiting for it to be fixed. I really like the car and for a large 6, it was getting about 23 MPG city/highway combined. Not bad for a fairly large car.

The interior is as nice as a Rolls-Royce.

 

Welcome to the forum Jag93,

Good to have you with us.
Nice intro and an intresting car collection.
For info and tips post up in the tech section XJ40 - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Welcome to the forum Jag93,

Great intro and fleet. Follow Norri's link to the XJ40 section for help and advice.

Please visit the Mid West US Region section Mid West US - IL IN IA MI MN MO OH WI - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum for members and events in your region.

Enjoy the forum.

Graham

 

Hi Jag93& welcome aboard, good to have you here with us Thanks for the kind words on the forum.....Good intro too, full of info, the only thing missing is a picture of your ride....

There's some great guys here and good solid info for you....all good

How to: Post pictures
How To Add Pictures In Your Messages

Also, why not drop in and visit the regional section for your area?
There are lots of members local to you with the same interests.
Regional - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

There's a really great mix of information, camraderrie and fun here.....


If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the whole site and all its features

Please Jump on in and enjoy the site.................

 

Thanks for your warm welcome. I have good news - my car will be ready Monday and I cannot wait. There were several issues on it. Fuel pump and contacts/relays mostly. A couple of new parts. The bottom line is that the mechanic got it fixed!

From another car club I belong to (The Rolls-Royce Owners Club) a member suggested I take it to Coventry Classics in Richmond, IL. I was desparate to take it to someone that could fix it right. This guy was the right guy (Factory trained and worked in the dealers in the 1990s).

He worked on my RROC friend's XKE and did a great job and so my friend suggested I take my VandenPlas there.

MY one advice to all who buy a Jaguar - take it to someone that REALLY knows them. In the long run it is cheaper but MORE IMPORTANTLY, you will get your car back quickly - and it will be fixed!

This guy at Coventry Classics (Dan Bent) looks like he really knows the V12s as well (he is working on several of them).

Can't wait to pick up my car and drive it because with all these exotic cars - Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar, etc - they were meant to be driven NOT garaged. Drive 'em!

 

Good to hear the VDP issues are sorted. Enjoy it!

Graham