I found a nice 1995 Jag XJ6 here in south-central Missouri, on a used car lot. Black with tan interior, basic XJ6, 118,XXX miles on it. Dealer wants $6500. Seems really high as I see a lot of these cars on the internet for about $3500-4500. This isn't an exceptional car, looks about average. Some wear and tear, body has a ding or two, although not bad for this area (no hail dents!). But... it didn't start. In fact the key never pushed over the return spring to the start position. The key-warning dinger sounded while I had the door open, and they said they'd just recharged the battery and had been driving it.... Hmmm. Also the antenna was extended.. don't they come standard with power antennas? Anyway, I really like the look, but the price seemed high. How is reliability and how expensive are parts? I do most of my own minor mechanical work (tune-ups, replacing stuff like water pumps, alternators, starters, etc.). Thanks.
Keith

 

A decent DIY guy can run one of these cars fairly inexpensively.

Parts prices are generally reasonable for most mechanical items. Some of the electronics stuff gets expensive but good used parts are coming on the market.

The model you're considering is known to be one of the best, most reliable offerings from Jaguar. However, as good as they are, they're old enough now that age and mileage will start taking a toll. You can expect some problems to crop up. Adding to this is the fact that historically low Jaguar resale value means that many examples haven't received much TLC in recent years. Owners stop repairing the small stuff and start shrugging off routine servicing.

So....unless you seek out and pay for an exceptional example be prepared to tackle some repairs right off the bat and play catch-up on all routine servicing items.

The engines and transmissions very seldom give trouble. Differentials are not quite so rugged. Listen for a telltale whine. Cooling systems are good.

Climate control, power windows/locks, and cruise control are usually trouble-free but the radios are unreliable and the "memory" function of the power seats, when fitted, gives trouble. Ignition coils are a known bugaboo.

Rear wheel bearings can growl even on fairly low mileage cars and suspension bushings and shocks often start making noise at 100k-120k miles...listen for clunks.

Others will chime in with more, or browse postings in this section....lots of similar discussions.

I agree with you on price. $6500 should buy a very nice example, not a fair/average example.

Cheers
DD

 

Hey there welcome aboard JF, good to have you here as part of the forum

Great advice as always there from Doug......if I were you I'd take it on board. Sounds like you may need to shop around some more?
Good luck

Loads going on, plenty of very friendly and helpful members as well as some excellent tech advice......all good!

In the meantime I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the site

 

Thanks for the replies. I really love the XJ style. Epitome of the luxury car. Hard to find good examples here in the boonies though. Nearest "big" town in Springfield, MO and a search through Craigslist produced nothing. I've heard that the '95-96 years are pretty good examples, but not much luck there, locally.
Keith

 

Welcome to the forum,

Maybe you could try some tough haggling on the price?

 

Welcome to the forum Keith, owch $6500, I was browsing the UK Autotrader this am. Same year for half that amount, after conversion.

Heck I would have thought that at $6500 you were well into used S Type territory.

 

I too am new to this forum (picking up an XJR as I type), but I have owned an 1995 XJ6 VDP for several years and have had no significant troubles.

The asking price is kinda high and you should look around for something more in line with the going price. I currently have mine listed (not suggesting you buy mine!!) on various net sources at about 2/3 that price with fewer miles, so I am sure you could find a better deal. If you do a little more research, I'm sure it would pay off in the end!

 

Hello Keith and welcome to jaguarforums.com.

One other thing you need to put your car details in your signature. I am speaking of the Year, Make & Model. Without it you may not get the input you are looking for.

Please take a moment and read the information provided to you explaining the rules. Be patient and enjoy the site.

Also, should you have questions related to your vehicle please post it in the section for your model year (MY) car. This way you will reach all the members that are familiar with your MY car.

 

Mine came from a Chevrolet dealers lot. It had a sticker price of $6000, but they had it so long, they dropped it to $2500 and I snapped it up. The moral is, most people are leery of buying a used Jag, and the dealer may be willing to cut the price just to get rid of it.

Keep looking around, and if they still have it after a while offer them half price and see what happens.

 

Welcome to the forum Keith. I also have a 95 XJ6 VDP. Mine had 94K and it was for sale on the car lot where my wife works. I have had it for almost a year and a half and the biggest things I have done is replace the heater blower motor and a valve cover gasket. I love mine. What worries me about yours, is that it is not running. I would at least have it checked out by a knowledgeable mechanic. Good luck and smooth riding.

Terry

 

I had a 1995 XJ6 4.0 and it was a great car.

This is a good read for what to look for when purchasing. Page 11 is a photo of the leaper on my 1995 called Gus Glikas pride and joy.

http://books.google.com/books?id=mHq...page&q&f=false