I've been traveling for the last 3 weeks and driving various rental cars. It has been pure misery.

The first was a Chrysler Sebring. Put about 1000 miles on that one and could not wait to give it back. Not horrible but a fair amount of road noise and vibes from the 4 cylinder engine.

The second was a Nissan Cube aka "the Toaster" because it looks like a box on wheels. This vehicle was worse than the Sebring because it was all over the road at 70 mph in any kind of wind conditions. Forget about passing trucks with any kind of stability and turn your cell earpiece volume up to max because the road noise is horrible. Drove the Cube 500 miles. I hope to never drive one again.

The third was a Pontiac Grand Prix. Same comments as the Sebring above.

I got home and took the Jag for a drive today. It was refreshing to shut the door and not hear a hollow bang. Instead it's more like shutting a refrigerator door. Start the engine and it purrs. Stab the throttle and you get a you get a rush of power without the harsh chainsaw like noise from all of the cars above. Open the windows and sunroof and cruise in comfort on the supple yet firm leather seats.

Ahhhh.... It's good to be home.

Even though these older cars sometimes are a challenge to keep up, the headache is worth it. At least that's how I feel about it now. We'll see how I feel when I'm doing the rear main seal in a couple weeks.

 

Not to offend the owners of those rides you mentioned and here a couple of things to say
sebring = crappy thing
cube = toaster what a nice find

I appreciate such threads and wish you many happy miles

 

Always a pleasure to hear from you Caddy. Mostly because Char in your sig always gives me a tingly feeling. Man she's hot!

Back on topic...

I don't mean to be harsh on the other cars. It's really not a fair fight between the cars because the Jag when new cost at least twice what those do now. It should be better.

After my adventures, I've decided to keep the XJ8 as long as possible. The 3 things that are bugging me are: Rear Main leak, Slight rough idle, and some minor paint issues. Normally when I have a car with a few issues I get rid of it. What I learned these past weeks is that I would have to spend at least 4X what I'd get for the XJ8 to get a car that I'd hate to drive.

For now I'm sticking with her and have committed to keeping her sexy and on the road. As long as I keep the costs below $400 per month I'm justified (in my mind) in doing so.

Ken

 

I am with you. I love my Jag. Expensive to fix but less so now because, thanks to the folks in this forum, I have been able to do some basic (but expensive if done in a shop) things on my own. I do need to have the tensioners looked at but other than that, the car has treated me well. It's a pleasure to drive. I still get lots of compliments it has never left me anywhere and nothing has broken that is out of the ordinary.

Joe
98 VDP

 

Sinister: I know the feeling!!!! I went to Spain for the weekend a few months back and I was given a VW Polo hire car. This car is smaller than a VW Golf/Rabbit and is powered by a 1400cc Petrol or a 1400cc Diesel motor. I did about 1000 miles in it, and was keen to return to JLA to pick up my XJ again! I felt totally unsafe in the little car, and missed so many things I took for granted on the XJ. If I'm honest I didn't remember driving back to my house, because it felt like the Big Cat did all of the work!!

 

Whenever I travel and rent cars, I always appreciate getting back to the Jags. The last two trips I've taken (beating a path back and forth to San Jose) I've rented the new Mustang and the new Camaro. I liked both as little sport rides. The Camaro has an interesting profile - very short side windows

Cadillac - Love the thumbnail too - any background?

 

Update:

Just ran from Detroit to Milwaukee for work. 380 Miles one way in a little over 6 hours and still lovin the Jag even after being in it for hours.

Days like yesterday remind me that all of the work I put into the car is well worth it.

 

Mine is still running great!

 

I'm currently on holiday in Spain, and I'm missing my XJ8 like crazy!! I'm using a Seat Ibiza hire car which is like a VW Polo (smaller than a golf) and has a diesel engine. We've got two four hour drives and having completed one so far, I spent the whole time wishing I had my Jag!!!!
However, when it comes time to enter the citys, all my desires fade as the Spainish do use their bumpers, do make their own parking spaces if one isn't avaliable and their multi story car parks are tight in a small car like the Ibiza!!!

However I have seen a few S-Types and they seem in Good condition. Maybe they respect the Leaping cat out here!!

 

My leg and lower back pain went away after driving the xj8 for a month. The seats are better somehow, although I have been driving a Cadillac.

 

I've been driving a Jeep for 2 weeks now while my XJ8 was disassembled for paint. Got to drive it for the first time last night. Again, all the work is worth it!

 

Its gonna be amazing to get my XJ8 back!! I miss so much about it! These cars really are amazing machines, I love mine!!

 

Best car I've ever driven too. Why did I ever wait so long to get one ?

 

Well I got home today and got my XJ8 back at last. OMG it felt good to be back in the cat!! As soon as I got in everything just felt right!! The driving position, the way the car conducts itself and the feel of it was just a perfect balance!!

I don't care that the little Ibiza Diesel only cost me €82 ($104 or £67) to drive 1600 km (1000 miles), it will never be as good as an XJ in terms of driver satisfaction no matter how little fuel it uses!!

That said I am looking into an LPG fuel conversion for the XJ....