Hi all. Looking for some opinions before I pull the trigger and possibly pay too much.


Black on tan 1999 XJ8 Vanden Plas, 68,xxx miles, body is in really good condition (I saw 4 or 5 small dents, like hail might do but smaller, and on the sides; no paint damage), wheels are from an XK or something the guy said, and have goofy no-name snow tires on them. It was a 3-owner NJ car and the Carfax is clean, miles seems to be actual, and the odo works. Didn't see any rust in the body panels, and a quick peek under the back of the car didn't reveal any.

Headliner is sagging over the rear seat, and the part covering the moon roof is gone. Antenna doesn't go up, and the cup holder realeases itself (flips up) going over smallish bumps, but it's in good condition. CD changer is there, but no magazine. Driver's seat is somewhat worn and a little cracked, but not cracked through or torn. A little wear on the driver's door armrest and panel. The speaker cover on that door is cracked. Back seat is great, trunk is great, engine bay is pretty clean.

It was indoors when I started it with the hood up (engine was cold) and I didn't hear any abnormal noise like from the timing chain. Didn't see any smoke out the tailpipes either. Ran it for about 10 minutes, shut it down for another 10, then drove for about 15 minutes, max 50mph. Had good power, shifted well, no obvious bad behavior, no warning lights of any kind though the guy (kind of a small-time car dealer/buyer's agent) said the Brake light usually comes on and it was because one of the LEDs in the 3rd brakelight was out (is that something that would even throw a code? I didn't actually verify one was out.)

I've never owned a Jag, and never even driven one till this one, but I've owned a lot of used cars and I thought it was pretty nice for its age. I know you can't put a lot of stock in kbb.com prices, but this one computes out at a private-party Good condition value of $7793, and the Good trade-in value is 6318 (Atlanta). Ad posted today said $5799, but he said he's been trying to sell it for a while and quoted me 5400 without me even asking about price. So what am I missing? No service records, and I know it'll probably need the tensioners done. Throttle body and thermostat housing too?

Anyone know about how much for an independent shop to put in a new headliner? Doesn't have to be original. 200? 300, more?

And any idea how much to re-cover both front seats in leather?

Thanks in advance for any insights.
Mike

 

I don't know about XJ's, but the seller sounds like a car flipper. He gets the car dirt cheap, makes it look better than it is, and sells it for as much as he can get.

This business model doesn't mean the car is a bad deal. But it should make you cautious. He wasn't the owner. He knows nothing of the car's history, maintenance, accidents, floods, etc.

He might have personal convictions to only buy decent cars to resell. But how do you know this? Carfax is a tool, but not the word of god.

Can you take the car to a mechanic to check?

 

those wheels are stock XJR wheels from slightly newer X308s. Nice wheels in my opinion, but i'm biased since they I have them on my car.

headliner for 300-500 bucks usually, not sure about the sunroof panel, a junkyard could probably hook you up for a couple hundred bucks.

Cd magazines can be had brand new for around 100, so used probably even less. the lack of antenna movement could be due to a previous owner disabling it or perhaps installing a switch, or it could be broken of course.

there are fixes you can do on the cupholder that are basically free if you're handy with epoxy and a dremel

tensioners and all would run you a few thousand if you pay someone, less if you do it yourself, but it's a big job.

I always recommend finding a perfect condition 02 or 03 with no problems and paying closer to $10,000 for a perfect car.

but if you're not opposed to paying a few thousand to sort out all of your issues and dealing with the annoyances of getting the issues sorted, $5000 would be a fair price in my basically amateur opinion.

 

Both great answers, a lot to think about already.

@heima: good observation, and that may be exactly what he does, but I get kind of a good vibe from him too (I'm 49 and have traded a few horses over the years). He seems to be a "car guy" for whatever that's worth. He claimed he started his business a few years ago as a buyer's agent, and the story on this car was that a client asked him for a VDP of about that vintage, he bought it, then the guy backed out without even seeing the car. True or not, who knows? And he very much pushed me on the idea of taking it to a mechanic; Hennessy Jaguar is nearby so I probably will.

@JaguarXJR02: I like the wheels too, good to know where they came from. Headliner is more expensive than I was hoping; could a good shop put something on the moonroof that would look right, without having to get the factory piece? I don't even know what they're supposed to look like. Sounds like I could do the cupholder latch, and even the tensioners, but I know what a job that would be. These are interference motors, right? Timing chain goes, valves get bent? Great advice on looking for a newer, better car. Would 10k get an '02 or '03 VDP, or just the base model? Possible to get a nice '02ish XJR for that?

Thanks you guys, I'll go back and look at it with a more critical eye and more research under my belt?

 

What has probably happened to the roof is that the second panel has slippe dbaxk in the track. It needs to be pulled forward to keep the roof from leaking water- it has a water gutter in it. If you want to fix the roof, add $650.00 more for tracks.

5 Bills sounds a little high, but if the paint is good and no signs of clear coat delamination, you are OK. '

Take it out a run it a little to check for CEL or "Restricted Performance" on the display. If either of those happen, at least find out why before you buy it.

 

Mike,

Kbb.com is a Kelly Blue Book site for consumers. The dealer KBB requires subscription. I ran your car without using VIN, just year, make, model and mileage. Also added for premium wheels:

Wholesale $3976 + $3200 for mile add (low miles) = $7176
Retail $6911 + $3200 for mile add = $10111

It used to be that dealers did not add for miles but due to hot u/c market and low inventories add for miles gets consideration. The degree of that is based on the make and model.

I also ran the Manheim Market Report (MMR). The highest price for a 99 VDP paid was $2600 on 12/4 in Commiefornia for a 117k mile car in above average condition. Commiefornia is usually the best market for high end cars, meaning that its a good indicator of its max auction value.

I'd be very careful on this car. Red flag is the wear and tear on 68k mile car. I bought an 01 XJR with 80k miles with interior in perfect shape. There could be several "bad" reasons why this car has low miles:
a) a lot of mechanical issues causing it to spend time in the shop
b) possible extensive body damage where the car sat a shop until repaired. we get a lot of "salvage" cars here in southern commiefornia that have low odometer readings.

With regards to salvage title, check your state laws. If there's such a classification in your state, then "carfax" will most likely catch it. However, "carfax" doesn't always catch accidents, especially if they weren't reported to the insurance companies.

Another argument against pre-2001 X308s is the nikasil cylinder lining. The nikasil linings had a bad habbit of cracking causing many an engine replacement. Jaguar burried the issue and avoided recalls by simply replacing those engines that suffered a nikasil breakdown during the warranty period.

Here's my $0.02: I agree with above recommendations to go for a newer car. However, if you are set on this one, then spend few $$ and have the car inspected by a dedicated Jaguar specialist. Pay extra and get the compression checked out. Look for repaints on the body panels. Having a Jag specialist check the car out can help you in negotiating a price too. Almost always there will be items on the check list that would need to be addressed. You can negotiate the cost of these off the price. Most important, the inspection will give you a piece of mind.

IMO the car should be around $4k, $4500 tops considering all issues that you have to address that you can see + give some consideration to those that you can't.