Well it was on ebay for silly money, the sort of price you would pay for a non-runner but it was drivable. Just for a laugh I placed a silly bid above what the other dabblers were prepared to offer and I won it. Next day I bought a train ticket and headed off to pay the man.

The car turned out to be in amazingly good condition for a 1997 and his photos had made it look bad. Yes the paint varnish is coming off in places and the headliner is falling down but the cream leather and walnut is in good condtion. Mechanically it's pretty sound too.

Driving it is wonderful, it goes like hell and is effortless to drive. I am amazed at the sporty driving position in a car designed for executives with a family, it reminds me of a Triumph I owned.

The car was a steal but the chap had just stolen a 2004 S-Type for about the same money. The Jag was the woman in his life and he felt he could not have two, so he kept the younger one.

I never realized 130mph could be so easily obtainable. Just a few seconds of peddle to the carpet
I am getting 20mpg on my first 140 mile run.

Right now I am looking at the Andy bracket and the Megasquirt. I love tinkering. Can anyone suggest what I should do about the pealing paint varnish?

 

Welcome.

Lots of answers in teh X300 section.

The "varnish" or clear coat, is a huge job, basically strip and redo is what we do down here.

Lots of suggestions, but a paint specialist would be the best guy to ask.

 

Thank you. I will go and start reading.

 

Welcome and nicely done. My "buy line" continues to be "if it calls you, buy it,"

 

It did call me. When I was looking at it online it just looked so familiar like I had owned it for years.

 

Some of the very best deals to be had are the result of serendipity. I think you won the prize of the day!

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome to the forum wayland,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

Follow this link XJ XJ6 / XJR6 ( X300 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the X300 forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for info on regular issues.

Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the UK & Eire Region forum by following this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/uk-eire-68/ to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome aboard .

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Loads of welcomes, thank you all.

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums wayland,

Good to have you with us.
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.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

Here's a thought; buy a bonnet and wings of the right colour with good paint and swap them. Cheap, easy and needs no painting. I wonder how well they will match?

 

Provided the three letter paint code on the donor vehicle match yours (see item 3 for the code label location) they should be very close.


(click on the image to enlarge it)

Finding a scrapper in the same colour when I've needed a panel has always been my problem.

Graham

 

OK, very close will be good enough. I know that paint can come out different on each batch and that it changes colour as it ages. Better close enough without pealing :-)

 

Here is what I am thinking about cars. I needed (who actually *needs*) a car with rear wheel drive, plenty of power and handling that looks good whilst I am driving it. I looked at a number of cars. BMW and Mercedes rule this territory but I did not want one of those, OK I sort of got tempted by an SLK. The other car I looked at but never drove is an RX-8. Fast on paper but people say under powered. The big problem is the engines wear out but they are as cheap as Jags to buy. I pulled up behind one in a car park yesterday and did a comparison. It's actually quite a big car, taller than my XJ. I think I would have been OK with one but I feel the Jag is a more sensible decision since it's stronger. Both cars have the uniqueness I seek without being exotic.

Now I have to work out my attitude to my Jaguar. At first because this car was so cheap I assumed it would be on it's last legs and I would run it into the ground. Before anyone has a go at me for this attitude may I point out there is an XJR X300 for sale for £900 on Autotrader which just needs some new injectors and the ECU sorting out. If you feel that strongly about saving Jags go and save that one.

However this car is far far better than I could have imagined. Yes it has a few annoying things I need to fix and the beginnings of some rust. I don't want to run this into the ground. On the other hand I am not one for keeping everything in concourse condition. If I wanna mod the car to make it faster and more fuel efficient then I will. I might do other things to adapt the car to my preferences.

Other people might spend £1000 on a new set of tyres, I got to my spare tyre replaced for £30.

The X300 and X308 is at a critical stage. They are being scrapped and losing value at an accelerating rate. There are some fine X308's on Autotrader that have been there for months at £5000. Will a drop in price shift them into a different market? This is what happened with my XJ Sport, it's what's happened to the Mazda RX-8. 80's cars are now classics and 90's cars are soon to be. I am not sure that I bought a good enough one for that to happen but we will see.

 

You're right there. These can be had for quite sensible money without being total scrapheaps. Its not a surprise, but it sure feels good doesn't it!

 

Over in California fairly clean, intact,good running examples are trading for less than 2,000 dollars with high mileages. Many with around 200,000 miles or more. There are better cars for more. This series, like the S type are rapidly depreciating. Many will be parted out or scrapped. It is a shame. But it is an opportunity to get a good deal, though you can't make any money "flipping them". I bought my '97 XJ6 last month and I love it. It was bought to be my daily but I'll keep it up and fix the little things to preserve it. Enjoy your find!

 

Thanks riv,

I am continuing to enjoy my great value Jag. I drove about 100 miles today and averaged over 25mpg (uk) up from 20mpg since I put the Redex in the tank.

It's turning out to have been a wise purchase. The car seems very simple compared to the equivalent Mercedes. With some very fine examples being scrapped I can fix the pealing paint work simply by buying a better bonnet and wings in the same colour.

Perhaps when they become rare they will be worth more but I suspect become expensive to fix again.

 

Hi and welcome aboard, its good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums

Any useful site information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos, using the
search facility etc, can be found here within the following link Using JF "How To"

There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
Regional - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Need a Manual, a TSB, or General Info' about your Jag? Check out our >> DOWNLOAD AREA <<