Hi,

I have been looking for an 86 or 87 XJ6 Vanden Plas, low-ish mileage and very good interior/exterior cosmetic shape that I'll use as a (mostly) daily driver. Not a show car, but very nice and no major issues, mechanical or cosmetic. After all, might as well try to get the best condition example one can

I would like a car that isn't a museum piece though as I plan to drive it regularly, so am probably looking for one well under 100k miles, shooting for the 50-80k range. But I'd probably avoid a car with only 30-50k miles as I don't want to pile 20k miles in a year or two onto a car that went so long with so few miles. Plus a car with such very low mileage is probably too costly for what I want to spend (under $5k).

So I've run across an 87 VP in Tampa, FL that looks like it might fit the bill.

1987 jag vanden plas


It is a black/tan 1987 VP, with about 52k miles.

I have called the current owner, who is an elderly man that believes he is the second owner. He is a dealer, and drives this car as his daily driver. He bought it at auction, and the car was from Massachusetts.

Being from up north, I quizzed him about rust, but he believes the car must have been garaged as he says there is effectively none on the frame or body. He said all the options work, and the car is in excellent shape, although it has been re-painted at some point. The only issue he could recall is that the windshield wiper motor only runs on low and the wipers won't return, and a little bit of rust under the front bumper.

The photos in the CL ad look very promising, but they aren't high resolution enough to tell for sure. And I of course can't tell anything about how well the car runs, drives and general condition from an ad.

So here's my challenge: I am up in the Raleigh, NC area, and don't really have a way to check out the car without a long trip. I'd hate to go all the way down there to find that the car isn't what I'm looking for.

The owner is elderly and isn't really computer savvy and said he appreciates my need for more photos and info, but he's really not that comfortable with computers and was just being honest that he can't put the effort into figuring out how to send me high resolution photos in email, etc. Something about teaching an old dog new tricks He says if he doesn't sell it, he'll just keep driving it.


So two general requests to the forum members in this region:

1) What can you tell about this car from the ad that I might need to be aware of? What are your general impressions?

2) Here is the personal request. If there are any members in the Tampa area that would be willing to contact the owner, drop by to check the car out, and take a bunch of photos you could send me, I'd be very appreciative. For your time offer to buy your and your family dinner for the afternoon or something

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and if someone is available to check the car out for me.

BTW, this car has the chrome fender lips I see on some older XJ6's and even has a chrome rocker strip. Was this a factor or dealer option, or just aftermarket?

Al

al_roethlisberger@yahoo.com

 

Yeah, you need more pictures, and of much better quality, to ascertain anything beyond 'looks like a decent example'.

The wheel arch and rocker panel trim is all aftermarket. Very popular years and years ago although I personally dislike it. Too glitzy. And, besides that, it might be hiding rust....quite possibly unbeknowst to the seller

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks Doug. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the chrome either, but ...maybe it can come off. Or maybe I'd just live with it. Good point about the issue of hiding rust. Another issue would be with the repaint, if they really did a good job or not. It doesn't have to be perfection, but am picky on this point, and am not interested if they oversprayed onto the rubber and other parts or just didn't mask or match well.

I suspect that if I like the car enough, this wouldn't be my last S3 XJ, but if this example is in good enough shape might be a nice first example to try out for not a lot of money.

If anyone is in the area that could work with me to check it out first hand, that would be great. If not, there is no great urgency as they seem to be plentiful, even low mileage examples.

Much appreciated.

Al

 

It has been pointed out that the CL ad is expired.

I just spoke with the owner and the car is still available, and he actually said he hasn't received many calls about it.

He is going to get his daughter to take some higher-res photos and send them my way sometime this week. So hopefully that will help. He doesn't seem to be in an hurry, and neither am I. So that's good news for all parties.

He is also very receptive to anyone in the area coming by on my behalf to take photos and provide me some feedback. So if there is anyone in the Tampa area that wouldn't mind taking the time to check the car out, please let me know and I'll give you the owner's contact information.

He also gave me a little more info about the car:

Good:

- He replaced the A/C compressor and dryer last year.
- He redid (not sure to what extent) the brakes last year.
- Replaced the fuel pump, tank switch, etc for the twin tanks.
- He says the underside is still "black" with sound undercoating, and not rusty.

So-So:

- He says the front seats show a little wear and slight discoloration from use. I can see in the CL ad photos that it appears the armrest is noticably worn. But he says the rear is essentially mint.
- Paint is a respray, but in "very good" shape with some reasonable (his description) scratches and wear. I assume dings too, but he didn't say so.


Bad:

- There is rust in the panel up under the front bumper, that is the lower shroud for the radiator. He said that should probably be replaced.
- There is one rust bubble under the paint on one of the body panels, but he forgets where at the moment. Other than that, he says no rust he can recall.
- The fuel gauge does not register, even with the replaced fuel tank parts. He just didn't worry about it, so not sure why.
- Wood grain on dash has some cracks, and the finish around the shifter was pretty bad so he temporarly covered the shifter area with black vinyl that matches the tray on top of the console shelf.
- Small oil weep at front of oil pan. He says it leaves a quarter sized drop on the pavement after sitting for a couple days.


It is a daily driver for him, which he drives every two days or so. He says he would feel comfortable driving it up to Raleigh based on how it has driven for him over the last year.

Al