Hello, this is my first post on the forum so I apologize for any mistakes. I graduated college about two years ago, and I finally landed a decent job making decent money (60k a year). For as long as I've been driving, I've had a cheap beater just to get me from A to B, which means that I've got some experience doing routine mechanical things.

Long story short: I've been tempted by an 05 VDP on facebook marketplace. Its got 75k miles, no body damage, and no mechanical issues mentioned, all for $8500. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me some tips on what I should know before I get serious about this car. Thanks for your time.

 

There's a good sticky for this topic already: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...d-know-112913/

What I can think of to look for at a glance off the top of my head:

• Engine: Check for signs of a subtle misfire at idle or signs of oil leakage at the valve covers or on the VVT seals. If possible, pull one of the ignition coils and see if there's oil on it. If so, the valve cover gaskets and spark plug o-rings will need replaced. These AJ-V8 motors are stout and reliable, no real gotchas to look out for mechanically.
• Transmission: Look under the car and check for any signs of seepage or transmission fluid leaks. The transmission pan is black with long ribs and can be found just behind the catalytic converters. If you see leaks around this area, the transmission pan and mechatronics unit seals will likely need replaced. Also check if the fluid has ever been changed, 75k miles is right in the questionable zone where if there's no record of fluid service, you'll want to have that done immediately after you buy it. These ZF transmissions are reliable, but lack of fluid changes is usually what kills them.
• Air suspension: A decently reliable system, but can lead to a cascade of problems if early warning symptoms are ignored. If the car doesn't sit level, or you hear the compressor (located in the left-hand wheel well) run for a long time, there is likely either a leak in one of the struts or the compressor will need rebuilt soon.
• Maintenance: This car is honestly decently easy to work on for European luxury standards as many components aren't blocked by random things (looking at you Land Rover LR3). For example, a lot of the stuff on the top end of the engine is decently easy to get to and because of the placement of the transmission, there's plenty of room to maneuver your hands and tools to drop the mechatronics unit to replace the seals.

You'll find more info in the stickied thread, but those are the issues that can be easily checked off the top of my head currently.

 

Wyatt,

I agree with everything VR6 said (Except 2005 cars don't have VVT so don't worry about that seal)

BUT... Unless you are a good mechanic you should get a simpler car that doesn't require the upkeep inherent in an aging luxury car. I have had my X-350 (that's what we call these Jags) for 6 years and it has cost me about $2000 per year to keep it in good running condition at 5000 miles per year. That includes nothing cosmetic and I do 80% of my own work. That also doesn't highlight the fact that in the FIRST year it cost me more than $6000. Also because these are 20 year old cars now, the parts are getting hard to find in some cases. My car is often down for 2 weeks waiting for parts. You need a simple cheap car to get you to that terrific $60k job every day. When you are situated to have a second hobby car that doesn't have to be reliable THEN feel free to get whatever you want! Also I don't think $8500 is any kind of bargain for one of these. You will almost CERTAINLY have to do thousands $ of work just to catch up on the maintenance and all the problems you find as you start driving it.

This is the exact advice I would give one of my own kids.

Good Luck
Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff, I appreciate the honesty. You made a lot of good points that I'll have to consider. It's a shame really, these Jags are too beautiful to turn down!

 

They are very well made cars, and don't rust because they are aluminum so there will be plenty of nice ones left when you are ready for a hobby car!

 

Honesty, and I'm not being funny here, don't do it.

UNLESS you are willing to spend on average a few hundred quid per month on parts and labour. Some months, most months, you'll be fine, but every so often you'll get a massive bill. On average its about 200 per month when you work it out.

As soon as I fix one thing on my XJR, something else goes. I will never ever make my money back on this car, and parts are just getting more and more expensive and harder to get.

Sorry to be gloomy, but that's my HONEST advice.

Feel free to ignore me lol.