For information related to XJ6 ownership, read most of everything here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...k-links-20088/


Specifically read this:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...yers-guide.doc



And again, while I certainly understand how your experience with the XJ8 has soured you on that model, it is not accurate to say: .

You apparently were sold a car that was poorly and improperly maintained, and possibly misrepresented and if only a few hundred dollars, should have been a red flag. But an XJ8 in good working order, well maintained and with proper proactive attention to the known issues will last as long as any other modern car. The XJ8 is not known as a poor quality or unreasonably high maintenance cost car (for its type).

Issues with the Nikasil engine are a red herring by now, which BTW is not unique to the Jaguar as many European cars (BMW) and motorcycles (my Moto Guzzi) had nikasil lined engines in the 90s and early 2000s. Lots of info on the nikasil engines is out there and on the X308 forum; but essentially if they were going to fail... they would have already. If you have a nikasil engine today that has good compression, it should be fine forever. The issue was the type of high sulphur fuel that existed in the 90s, which is now gone. Those engines failed from nikasil early, and Jaguar replaced them. The engines that didn't fail, just kept on going. Nikasil is actually a very tough coating, and is not a design flaw and your head gasket failures are not related.

And again, not to talk you out of buying a Jaguar, but any luxury car regardless of make/model with lots of accessories and complexity is bound to have a higher maintenance, operating/running and repair cost than a simpler car. I guarantee you that a "few hundred $" Jaguar will cost you more to maintain and operate (MPG, tires and 8Qt oil changes if nothing else) in the long run than an equivalently priced and maintained economy or standard car. I drive about 2000 miles a month, so it shocked me when my fairly frequent oil changes were $100+ ($140 at a dealer)


But I'll leave it at that


Good luck!


.

 

The saying goes that there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Jaguar. Running X300's are not that expensive now, so I wouldn't take a chance on a non running one that I had not examined closely and was confident I could fix.

I could easily see the situation turning into the non running car + tow + parts + time costing more than a running car. It's a fairly high risk purchase.

Even if you do everything yourself, your time isn't free - you could be doing other things with that time).

The only way I would buy a car sight unseen would be if it didn't matter if I lost the purchase price due to the car being unfixable/unsavable. I gather you're not in that situation.

 

Hopefully I am totally wrong about the XJ8 motors and am just being bitter about my experience. I do in fact wish the best for all XJ8 owners and their cars.

When I bought it the head gaskets were shot. It was after it overheated from coolant loss (the second overheating I experienced) once the whole cooling system was serviced when the head gasket problem made its self obvious.

This time, the car never started again (without cylinder oiling anyway). This is why I assumed bore degradation due to heat. I read somewhere that heat was dangerous to the bore liners as well as old fuel.

I could not think of any other reason the oil in the bores would help it start that would have resulted from overheating. The second overheating was much worse than the first because I could not stop right away (long bridge, no shoulder, 80mph expressway).

 

I believe you've got the wrong end of the stick on several issues.

 

to answer the OP's original question, I bought my manual XJR site unseen 2 1/2 years ago for NZD $13000.
So there...

5 days later it wouldnt go at all. Much heartache for nearly a year,
now it is the Beast.

 

I have actually seen a pic though. I would start with cleaning it off from years of dust and then putting a battery in it. You can see it sitting by it in the grass.

 

Based on this advice, I decided to increase my offer. I just emailed the seller.

 

I am beginning to understand why you are called Fast!!
I dont think Al NZ was offering advice as such, or encouraging you to increase your bid.
The car AL bought represents the Holy Grail for many X300 fans, a manual XJR.
Very few were made, and if a factory original one came up, I too would buy it sight unseen, up to a reasonably substantial figure. It would be a different story for the more common or garden varieties of X300. Good cars can be had for modest amounts, as has already been mentioned, and bad ones can be money pits...
As far as the X308 is concerned, I think you are being rather harsh. If you bought it as a non runner with a blown head gasket or gaskets, you were taking a big risk. The V8 is a much more modern engine in many respects, and like many modern engines, it is very reliable, but doesnt respond well to extreme overheating. The days of whipping the heads off and sticking a new gasket in and all being well are long gone. I would not buy a modern car with a blown head gasket without quite a bit of research to establish what the repair entails. Even budget models can turn into nightmares if the head needs to come off.
The straight 6 on the X300 on the the other hand, I would expect to be able to replace a head gasket in the traditional way with a high probability of
success.
That said, I have yet to come across one that needed it.

 

I clearly understand that the man has a nice car.

Yes, the American equivalent to $8900 two years ago is about what something like that would cost. At the same time any car brought $400-$500. Although, this only affected the fully depreciated price of most vehicles. I would not be expecting to get an XJ6 or any car as cheap as I can now. I am taking advantage of the same market conditions that screwed me over. Perhaps economic conditions are different in the UK so you do not understand.

I did coincidentally email the seller right before AL commented. I increased my offer to $400. I was joking when crediting him for the increase. I do appreciate the response though. I am glad that your sight-unseen order worked out well. The car looks nice!

The fact of this matter is that I could not significantly increase my offer if I wanted to.

I didn't buy a XJ8 with a blown head gasket knowingly. That would be idiotic unless parting it out was the goal (or 2003+ I would buy to fix for sure). Without even being familiar with Jags, a look at the front cover shows a higher degree of difficulty than say; my Chevy small block. I't did look fairly easy though.

The car was bought as a "Green Light" vehicle at auction, meaning it is considered at the sale to be a fully functional vehicle without known defects. We were given a license plate and they let us drive out of state with 2-kids in car seats. They screwed me on the sale of my Mercedes leaving me with the current chump change budget of scrap metal and parts. I was totally shafted on the deal. I did know about the torque converter solenoid, that code wasn't able to be cleared. The car would have otherwise sold for more. I didn't realize Jaguars took so long to drop the P1000 code though.

I know how to fix head gaskets. I have done it many times. I'm ASE Certified in Engine Performance & Electrical Systems.

I understand everyone being skeptical of me wanting a Jaguar that is on the brink of salvage, that is understandable. Please though, do not assume I am some kind of moron.

 

The 600hp small block in the NASCAR chassis under the 71 Super Sport is why I am Fast. (see profile pic)

 

Fast,
please allow me to apologise if you thought I was suggesting you were some kind of moron. Having sought some advice on the site, I though I would try to provide it.
I can see from your qualification that you are better placed than me to comprehend the pitfalls of buying a low price Jaguar, and given your experience it must have been particularly annoying to have been caught out so badly last time.
Best of luck next time, should your latest bid prove successful.

 

M

 

I never claimed to be experienced with Jaguars in any way prior to the mistake of buying the last one. You do not get to compression test a car at auction. Your suggestion that I should have known of, or did know of, the head gasket issue at the time of the sale is what it took offense to initially in your comment this morning. My experience told me not to pay more than parts value for it, hence me having something to work with now. Same strategy, next car. I am not sure what you are trying to say about what I could have or should have done. I moved on to pricing the next car, and even that is over and done with at this point.