Hello, I must be going.......

Although in reality, I've already left! What I'm trying to say, in a roundabout way, is that after almost 6 years of ownership of my 4.0 96 XJ6 I've moved on to a 09 XF 3.0 D.

Like myself, my X300 was starting to show her age. This became very apparent recently, as I was preparing her for her annual NCT/MOT. I had given her a good service, replaced the front lower suspension joints, "A" frame bushes, oil change, brake fluid change, diff oil, filters etc. etc. and moved on to tackle some corrosion issues.

Last year I had already addressed some corrosion in the chassis rails and floor area around the jacking points and this time around I was looking into some serious bubbling at the front section of the sills. My plan was to cut the required sections/panels from my donor car, which, on the surface is very clean and then do a patch and weld repair to my own car.

I cut one section of the sill from my "very clean" donor car and was very taken aback by what I found underneath. Extensive corrosion to the extent that some of the inner sections had completely disappeared! The lip at the bottom of the sill was rusted to the extent that it was beginning to separate from the floor pan. So I thought, how bad is my car if the rust has made its' way right through to the surface?

So I'm looking at more than just a cosmetic repair, but something a lot more structural and am I now going to be chasing rust for the rest of my cars life? I had always planned to keep this car and was even considering getting a full respray at the end of the year, as part of a programme of repairing the various shopping trolley/ car park dings, clear coat peel etc. Added to this would have been the cost of renewing my annual road tax, which, here in Ireland costs €1,800.00. And that's if you pay it in one chunk, otherwise by instalments it will cost just over €2,000.00. Yes that's right, Two Thousand Euro, every year!

This is getting harder to justify. Of course with my long term plan of keeping the car, it would qualify for vintage/classic tax if and when it reaches its' 30th birthday. That's another 9 years away, after I'd have paid another €18,000.00 in road tax.

But the rust issues may determine that it will never make it that far anyway.

Alongside this, I had been looking at the XF and considered it the only real candidate that I would give up my XJ for. I saw one that caught my eye, a 2009 3.0 D with a full Jaguar service history and only 76,000 miles on the clock. And the road tax is "only" €750.00 per annum. I took it for a drive and was smitten. I won't go into all the details but will post a comparison of sorts when I have some more miles with it under my belt. This might be of interest to anyone considering the same move. I will say however, that the 230 mile drive home with it, in the dark on a very wet and windy night was an absolute pleasure. And very much more economically that my XJ would ever have managed.

The bad news is that there is no great market for these large cars here in Ireland, given the rod tax and as my car still has €1,350.00 in road tax on it, the only way this can be refunded to me is to have the car scrapped. It could take forever to sell it, all the while the tax is running out and so, making it harder to sell. A catch 22 of sorts.

So, tomorrow I will be taking her on her last run to the "end of life" centre. They will issue me with a Certificate of Destruction and with this I can claim my road tax back. Before too long, she might be that new fridge you've bought! Sad, but I have to face reality. I have a project MGBGT that I want to do a nut and bolt restoration on and that's fine. That's a hobby, as opposed to climbing around under my daily driver, chasing problems.

The good news is that I have some bits and pieces, surplus to requirement that may be of interest to members on here. Up for grabs is a complete centre console unit, with a working radio, for which I have a code. I did occasionally get the "NOT CONT" message, especially if I hit a bump in the road, but that's an easy fix. The clock is dodgy but otherwise it's all good. I also have a Jaguar CD unit and a complete set of owners documents in a Jaguar wallet. I have two complete under bonnet tool kits also. And a set of 6 genuine coils, two of which are suspect. I'm happy to donate any of these items, free gratis, on a first come, first served basis, but might need to meet you half way on the postage. In the past, I've sent other items at my own expense to members, who never even acknowledged receipt of same.

My (3.2 ) donor car will be disposed of also, so there would be other bits available.

And finally, let me say a big thank you to all the wonderful, friendly, helpful members here, who have ensured that my Jag has run as long as she has. Ironically, after the work I did recently on her, she has never run better! I will stay in touch and hopefully still be able to pass on some help, but otherwise you'll find me over on the XF forum.

So that's about it for now, but in the words of Arnie, "I'll be back........

 

Oh so sad to hear. That Road Tax scheme would do me in as well I am afraid.

I'd love to have one of the under bonnet tool kits. Since I am in the states I will foot the bill. They didn't come with them here!!!

Will PM you details.

 

It is so sad to see a car having to retire prematurely because of rust. It does not snow here in Hong Kong so RHD X300s are luckier in terms of bodily health, but many do not survive the "beyond economical repair" test due to high maintenance costs and low second hand value here, so many good ones are given up and shipped elsewhere to other RHD regions to pursue a second life.

If I may, I would be interested in the owner's manual wallet and stuff. I would also be interested in the bonnet leaper if yours has it. Not sure about Ireland's, I understand that many Jaguar in the UK don't have the leaper, presumably because of pedestrian safety or owner's preference. I learned the hard way that the leaper, new or used, has many versions in terms of size, geometry of the base (originals are curved to match the sloping angle of the bonnet), and the position of the anchoring needle that extends from the base to ensure that leaper stays straight.

Will pay for the postage, and PM you the details.

 

Irish cars didn't come with the keeper. Send me on your postal address and I'll send the documents on to you. Postage shouldn't be too crazy. I'll let you know by the weekend.

 

So sad to lose another X300. I would be interested in underbonnet toolkit as mine is somewhat depleted. I’m only over the water in UK. Will pay you £ or € for it as you wish. Good luck with your new wheels.
Nigel

 

Ok, that's the second toolkit sorted. I think it's a full set. Will check. Costing postage on Friday, otherwise it's free. Will let you know.

 

You mean rust like in the attached pic? I've also used panels from my spares car to fix it although I've used sill section from the middle of the car, thats always fine.

Took almost 3 days to fix this plus another day for paint. It wasnt very expensive to fix either, probably ~50% of the car value when I bought it

 

Sorry to hear the X300 has to go but it's the sensible decision given the projected repairs and costs. The Eire tax is a real killer.

Enjoy the XF.

Graham

 

Yes, like that and then some. I accept that it was repairable, then there was the opposite side to tackle, then the joints in the lower sill to the floor pan. Only today I took the under bonnet toolkit out and found some more rust that had eaten up from below and was appearing in the top of the wheel arch/bulkhead area. I want to enjoy my car and not have to spend my time chasing things to fix. I'm happy you got yours sorted and there was a time I would have done the same.

 

Sorry to loose you! I would like to know how to fix the "NOT CONT" message? A fully working radio with code would be very nice! How much do you want for it? Alec Gurney. Chester UK.

 

The " NOT CONT" message comes up when the radio loses contact with the CD changer/player. It usually happened to me whenever I hit a bad bump in the road! The problem is a dry solder joint which was missed at the factory and is very common. I can't recall if the solder joint is in the radio or in the CD changer, but think it's the radio. It's been covered on here numerous times and a search will unearth all the necessary info, bit it's an easy fix.

I'm in the process of finding out the cost of postage of various items to various parts of the world, so I'll let you know, otherwise, no charge. Your name is on the radio, so it's put aside for you. OK? Watch this space.

 

Hi sogood, sorry to hear about your car. She's a beauty, it's a shame. But also happy to hear you got an XF! Those are nice, I like the XE's too so it'll be cool to see how depreciation affects them in a couple of years.

What was your paint color? Carnival red? I'm curious as to if it's a match with mine since some non-faded body colored mirror covers would look excellent on my '96 X300. The chrome replacements I got from my Dad's old VDP have overstayed their welcome. Let me know! I can foot the bill if you'd like.

Also, I live in the States. Want to ship me your drive & pass. seats? Lol. I am kidding, I'm sure that would cost loads of $.

EDIT: I would also be interesting in the sun visors and the pins that hold them in place if you still have them!

 

Sorry to say that the car went to the scrappers today. So nothing else available from it. I do have a pair of sun visors from my donor car, with all the fittings. When you say "pins" what exactly do you mean? I can send them on to you if you pm an address to me. Checking out various postage costs tomorrow, hopefully. Failing that it will be Monday before I have an update but I'll put them aside for you if you like.

 

Sad that you're leaving us and that another two X300's bite the dust. In your situation I would do exactly the same. Good luck with the XF. I've worked on a few XF diesels for friends and they're pretty straight forward (except EGR valve replacement !!!! - think X300 b****d hose job).

 

I think road tax in Ireland is more an enemy than rust....as it bites much harder than mother nature.

 

Sogood,
Sorry to hear about the rust. I had what looks to be a very similar nasty surprise last year, and had to weld in a new lower dashboard panel (available from Jaguar classic parts, c£90) and have some replacement outer sill profile made locally. In truth, a very localised problem, and not too difficult welding.
I suppose my real purpose in posting this is to offer a contrary point of view regarding your decision to break the car.
Prior to discovering the rust, you had decided to keep the car for the long term, and had invested a fair bit of time and effort, not to mention cash, in buying a spares car, and undertaking some of the less than straightforward maintenance issues, eg A frame bushes. In electing to go down this path, you were by implication committing to pay the road tax in the future. Even before the rust was discovered, you had made a decision which would be uneconomic applying your current logic about the XF. The rust is indeed a setback, but it is but a bump in the road. Viewed in the context of your original decision to keep the car long term, it is only a few euros and a weekends work to fix. In other words, view the rust in isolation; the road tax costs are a red herring, as you had already decided to pay them.
The pleasure of driving the car afterwards will be all the greater, and far more enduring than any satisfaction you will derive from the XF. And I havent even mentioned depreciation on the XF....
A bit of man logic for sure, and I can well sympathise with your situation. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

 

Thanks for the input, but the deed is done. The daily driver went to the breakers yesterday and today I applied for the refund of road tax still on the car (€1,350.00). The donor car will be collected in the near future.

I understand your point and my hope/plan was to keep the XJ for the long haul. But I was spending more time and money to keep it running and this was a scenario that wasn't going to get better. mentioned, as a project or part time car that would be fine, but as a daily driver I needed something that I would spend more time in, rather than under.

I have my project MGBGT to work on for my pleasure in that department. I was also finding it hard to justify the annual tax bill. And getting through the annual inspection was getting to be a bit more of an issue. Last year I had to do some repairs to the floor pan and to rectify some rust on both chassis rails.

I know the XF won't be trouble free, but for the moment at least, I have a car that I'm really enjoying (albeit it still the honeymoon).

I never really thought that I would go this route and I salute all those people who keep these classics and potential classics on the road, and some day, all going well, I'll have a wonderfully restored 1968 MG to take for a spin.

Thanks for the input.

 

I think I can share sogood's pain. It was sort of hard having to decide surrendering two cars at the same time. Hong Kong where I live has very strict annual inspections where a car may fail because of tiny things, and with cars showing any sign of a rust, the inspector uses a hammer to hit (no joke) the underside of the body panel to see if a car had just a cosmetic fix. Cars with a history of rust is no joy to fix if previous fixes were not thorough or poorly done (but too late to address when you find out); it is like a degenerating disease, and when there is high cost involved, the concept of opportunity cost would kick in, i.e. would the money be better spent on something else, and less in the long run, until the replacement falls in the same situation. Some cars are worth every dime to keep, but when it is not in grade A or restorable to grade A conditions, letting go half-way is a painful call. Been there, done similar things before; my current Alfa 164 is a better keep than my first, and it is now in storage waiting for a steering rack fix - waiting for nearly two years now. With a few cars to maintain and restore, retirement means that one has to rational rather than passionate spending time and money on cars that have proven to be a money-pit, and if I too have a project like sogood's MGBGT waiting, it is going to be very tough call....

 

Many ,many thanks. I have looked at the radio "not soldered" issue before. I am somewhat confused as to which joint is the problem. I guess taking the radio out and opening it up will be the only answer. If I get yours, I will get a touch of "BRAVE" come over me!

 

Here's a picture of the offending bad joint. It's the item inside the circle. If you open up the radio you should recognise it easily enough. If you do the solder repair, don't overheat things. A low melting point solder might be the best way to go.