Hi all! I'm living in Toronto (lots of salt in the winter and piping hot summers) and looking to buy a nice used Jag. I'm driving a 1992 BMW 535i but it I found out recently it has rust cancer and I'm beside myself. Whoever owned it prior to me didn't bother to rust-proof it (or a lot of other things) and I just learned an expensive lesson about rust .

While I love my BMW (very sound mechanically, nice ride, great styling) I have come across a few people in my journey who say some Jag's offer fantastic value and (of course) a beautiful ride. I want to apply my new found 'experience' while considering ownership of a beautiful icon.

Here's my questions: If you had no more than $3,000 to spend on a bullet-proof car with $1500 annual maintenance budget - what Jaguar would you buy? What would you look for when you bought it? What questions would you ask the owner?

Thanks for your help all and looking forward to owning a bullet-proof icon!

 

$3000 will get you into an decent/average condition "X300" (1995-1997 XJ6). They're pretty bulletproof in terms over overall ruggedness/longevity/durabilty.

Used Jags can be a great value, yes, but the price range you're shopping in is a bit risky no matter what model comes into consideration. You won't be getting the best available and there's nothing more expensive than an inexpensive Jag!

Your $1500 repair budget will go a long way if you're a DIY mechanic. If you have to pay labor for repairs....not so much. Especially when considering that a $3000 used Jag will almost certainly be needing some remedial work.

Maybe if you could clarify your expectations a bit.....

Cheers
DD

 

Welcome to the forum,

Good advice from Doug.

 

Welcome to the forum Piper, as always, well put from Doug, I would also have said X300 range.

Just an aside, I'm pretty sure that all BMWs are anti corrosion treated at the factory, but over time salt will destroy just about anything. Same with Jaguars.

 

Thank-you all. I am not a DIY mechanic either so duly noted. Thank you for your recommendations - especially about my expectations (part of the reason I've joined the forum!)
Interested in a decent check-list when buying an older used car of the general type described. I'm most interested in avoiding a big problem and finding fair value for both buyer and seller.

 

welcome aboard Piper, good to have you here as part of the forum

Some great advice from Doug as always......might be an idea to spend some time in that section and read the FAQ's / posts and get a feel for what you're getting into?

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

 

Welcome Piper. We would all like to find "bulletproof" cars in your price range.

 

All good. It's funny how I'm seeing all the Jags on the road with my increased awareness! I'll poke around the forum, perhaps try out some Toronto AREA drop-ins and get to know the community better. These forums seem like the best way of finding trusted partners in the used car arena - getting honest advice; unbiased opinions and great experience to back up my own decision making. I'm always interested in differing opinions to change my own mind! Cheers

 

By the way - I've found an interesting product to combat rust. I am going to apply it myself to my BMW (so the job will be pretty far from perfect) but my question is this: is there interest in the process and the results in this forum? Is there an appropriate way to post the journey? (Before and After photos; updates over time and I'm thinking about applying a second test product for side-by-side results) The test of time is the most critical factor but documenting the process in an unbiased way leads to good things; it's something I am doing to help the car through the next couple of winters and if the product is as good as the marketers say it is - - it will have a positive impact on the Three R's (Reduce - Reuse - Recycle) of the environmental equation behind buying used cars and helping them last longer. As disclosure: I don't have any financial interest in the product.

 

Piper - sounds like a great idea and one I'm sure more than a few here would be interested in.
A thorough posting showing before, during, application process, materials used and afters etc etc c/w pics would be awesome, and a good addition to the site I'm sure.

If you do go ahead it'd make interesting reading......please keep us posted.

Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Welcome to the forum Piper. I was in your shoes about this time last summer, albeit from a slightly different direction. I needed to replace my daily driver and decided the X300 was what I wanted. Started the search in the $3k - $3.5k range and looked at and drove several. In the very end, all the $3.5k cars needed at least another $3k investment (that figure factors in that I AM a DIY'er, btw) to get them to the condition I wanted my daily to be in. I finally found a sweet one from a member on the forum here for near $7k but it didn't need anything. With much diligence and a bit of luck, you'll find a $3k X300 in fine running order, but you'll have to accept some dings inside, outside or both - doubtful it will be both reliable AND beautiful in that range. Check out the X300 section and do a search, there are a couple of threads from about a year ago of guys searching for about what you are and asking Q's about then-current ads that will give you some tips on what to check. Also a couple of "common problems" threads that detail some of the problems most start to see by their 15th yr or so.

I suppose it's possible you may find some X308's (98-03 XJ) in that realm, which look nearly the same, but the ones at that end of the scale would be the 98-99's and the V-8's did have their issues in the early years. Still ok, make for good, reliable car, just make sure the cam tensioners and water pump have been done....er...what I mean is don't just jump at one b/c it is 2 yrs newer and in better cosmetic condition at the same price as the 3 X300's you just looked at...there could be reasons, read the X308 section thoroughly before putting a deposit on one, that's all.

Last not least, consider pulling a portion of your 1st yrs' maint fund forward to purchase date and spend it on travel or shipping to get a car that's spent its previous life in a warm, southern, salt-free clime, such as TX, SoCal, AZ or the S.E. US. Headliners are an easier fix than rust.....

 

Hey thanks guys!

A) I will document and post my rust-endevour with my BMW - I think it's a worthy cause. This is my first time EVER doing DIY so the results will match the experience. Bottom line for this is I've got a limited budget and a car that needs to have the rust stopped or slowed down. Function over form is the word of the day until I get the experience

B) I've strongly considered buying a warm-climate car but have wondered i) how do you perform due-diligence in buying a car without seeing it? and ii) importing to Canada sounds complex. Has anyone done it? What's involved? Is it worth the fees?

Many thanks!

 

Importing into Canada isn't difficult. Go here:Registrar of Imported Vehicles for all the info you need. There are co's south of the border that will do pre-purchase inspections for you but after that cost, GST/HST and Duty (Jag's are not NA made vehicles and could be subject to additional Duty) it could add up. If you are looking in the same $ range you earlier stated, you'll have better luck in the US than Canada in getting what you are looking for. Just a simple case of more availability.

 

Just want to update my situation here as promised.

Iit has been a busy summer on the car front.

RUST: I applied a product called Rust Bullet. Cost: 1 Quart - about $70. ½ Quart was enough for me.

I will try to get pictures off my camera and edit the post later but for sake of getting the information out there, this has to wait.

There was fairly substantial rust along all doors (the bottom and on both sides.) The rust had expanded and lifted the paint an inch above the moulding. The rocker panel area front passenger side had sustained some kind of damage along the way where by the jack-point configuration was bent, the panel soft and you could see a whole (silver dollar sized) One cost estimate included major structural replacement: $7,000. There was rust 1/3 the way around the gas tank access and along the edges of both front wheels.

The process is wonderfully simple: wire brush all rusted areas to remove what you can. I used a paint scraper to get at the area where the rust had lifted the paint and then wire brushed that as best I could. I did NO SANDING as the product can be applied over existing rust because it’s a converter.
Conditions: no water can touch the paint so watch your forecasts until it cures (2-3 hours) and you aren’t supposed to drive until cured - the process works from the bottom out so drying the outside layer causes process failure. You have to apply two coats. The second coat needs to be applied within 72 hours or you have to give a quick sanding to rough it up.

Clean-up is easy in that I bought the cheap foam ones and threw the brush away. I lined a clean plastic food container with tinfoil, poured out only what I needed for the application (as per the product specifications) and reused the container with a fresh brush and tinfoil.

Priming is NOT REQUIRED to paint over it which saves time and money. Two coats were applied and visually – the whole problem disappeared. It was a beautiful sight.

Results:

Bad News first: the bottom of the doors are (very recently) showing signs of rusting (5%). I believe the reason this is so is because I did not apply the Rust Bullet to the inside of the door between the door structure. I don’t blame the product on this one. A body specialist advised me this may be the case and this information is bearing out. I haven’t heard how to go about getting the inside of the doors done though – so I don’t have a solution for it here.

Good news: 95% of the rust has been stopped in it’s tracks. All the surface rust seems to have been stopped with no signs yet of renewal (it’s only been 3 months but it’s a good start.) I will report over time and will update with some photo’s when more time allows.

The lessons: Depending upon the application – with surface rust – this stuff is easy to apply and it works. It has a nice smooth surface and takes paint beautifully. Doors require much more attention but can be replaced for $95-$115 plus $40 labour each. (I may well figure out how this works and do it myself when time allows.)
Due diligence and proper research ensure you get done only what needs to be done at a fair and respectful price.
Had the car been at an earlier stage of rust development when I acquired it I would state the Rust Bullet would be the final answer. Given the nature of the door assembly and advanced nature of the rust, Rust Bullet has been effective insofar as it has drastically slowed down the advanced problem and allowed me to at least paint over the problem (cosmetically important) which will give me time to deal with some mechanical issues.

P.S> I really want to thank everyone here for helping out a guy like me. With the encouragement of these forums I’ve since grown from being a complete newbie to the owner of a 3.5 ton jack and 4 jack stands, as well as I am changing my own oil and filter, differential fluid, transmission fluid and sparkplugs. I also assisted on the replacement of my front suspension. Most importantly, I know where to research to solutions to my problems and can talk with some degree of intelligence when facing problems I can’t do on my own, which saves me money and prevents needless work being done to my car. I considered this car ‘my learning car’ and now understand I enjoy the process so much it’s really ‘my FIRST learning car’ as I know the learning never really stops. So THANK YOU for your time and encouragement.

p.p.s> FCP Groton: I used these guys to solve a major problem for me (wheel shimmy upon braking at highway speeds). I don’t know if Jags suffer from this but it was very disconcerting. I learned about how to solve the problem through forums. BMW would charge me upwards of $800 for the parts; a dealer install would be 4 hours at $110/hr; alignment and then 13% tax. FCP sold me aftermarket parts for $275 and their phone service is very helpful. I also found a guy who will work for about $70/hr and lets me under the hoist with him.

 

The rust returned with avengence this spring. I decided to proceed with some major work - cut out the bottom of the doors, cut out the gas tank fascade, acid washed the car and gave her a full body paint. Then Krown Rust application and time again will tell.

The car is looking beautiful again, but at great expense. Hoping she'll grant me another 5 years without rust.

Now I'm the position of starting my search for a nice Jag - one that's been loved and cared for by someone who cares.

Thinking of the 1995 - 1997 XJR or XJ's - Do these transmissions and engines stand the test of time?

 

Wow Piper, this is a becoming a longer term search project!

Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ck-link-20088/ to the X300 FAQ's. Scroll down and you'll find a Buyers Guide.

Good luck in finding a well cared for example. They are out there and a vehicle's service history is one of the best indicators.

Graham

 

It's all in the journey; enjoyed in a beautiful automobile; in fine condition.

I love my 535i but I am still really looking forward to sitting in a nice Jag - there is something that sets these two apart somehow.

Thanks for you help and we'll have more to talk about later on.

 

Piper - goodto hear of your progress and yes of course we're interested.

Please note however, that this is the new member section and really only for intros.

Please feel free to start a specific post into the relevant section and continue your journey.

To that end I'm closing down this thread.

Thanks