Hey guys, new here and not quite yet an official Jag owner (I do have a '58 MGA though!). I have found a 1999 Jaguar XJR, I haven't actually seen it yet, just spoke with the owner. The car has 140,000 miles was described to me as "misfiring a little," but does run and drive. He said it would probably be fine to drive a shorter distance, or would run fine to put on a trailer.

I know these cars have problems with the coil packs, which would not be a big deal for me to fix if that is indeed the misfire problem considering I can get the car for a price that will justify repairing.

My questions are when I do go check out the car, is there anything I can do to determine how likely the problem lies with the coils? Also, are there any other noted problems that could cause a misfire? Lastly, just any other tips on things to check on these cars, besides the normal used car stuff. Thanks a bunch!

 

With the age and the miles absolutely anything could be wrong with it --- 140k is significant and unless it is in fantastic shape ....is not a car to put a lot of money into. You can buy these for 10 grand with 1/2 the miles and needing nothing.

The 2000's have many upgrades -- 02's and 03's are the best.

 

Yes, I do realize the above, and certainly don't want to put much money into it. Thing is, I do enjoy working on and fixing things like this, as long as I can do it pretty cheaply.

The reason I'm asking about this particular car is I feel I can get it bought in the neighborhood of a grand.... wondering if its worth buying and putting a little time and money into and using as a driver, but being able to make my money back should I choose to sell it.

 

The simple answer is yes at a grand it is fine as long as the paint and interior is OK for you. The misfiring could be as bad as timing chain jump but a junker engine less than 100 k miles will run you about $3,500 max. Id say its worth the risk

 

It doesn't matter what's wrong with it for $1k. You won't lose. The supercharger alone is worth that. Go for it.

 

If it is misfiring it has set 1 or a dozen OBDII codes. They will tell you what the source of the problem is. Coil packs, sure, but also a lot of other things. Plan on taking a code reader with you and print out the OBDII code list found in the FAQ above. That will provide a list of the codes and the diagnosis chart. You also need to check out ALL the other stuff on the car. A non-functional climate control system can cost more than a transmission.

There are two specific issues that will not show up in the code readout; fuel system and cam alignment caused by a plastic tensioner failure. One skipped sprocket tooth will cause an engine miss. Two skipped teeth will cause catastrophic engine failure.

Which brings me to a specific point . . . these cars are not difficult to work on with this forum's members able assistance but a 12 year old Jaguar should only be owned by a hobby mechanic or by someone with the financial capability to own a much newer and lower mileage car.

Sorry about the MGA!

. . . also . . . my 'puter locked up and this post was started more than 2 hours ago. No telling what other responses were posted since then.

 

Truer words were seldom written

 

Thanks for the thoughts guys. Test point, that is exactly the type of reply I was looking for. I'm very much a hobby mechanic, and taking all this into consideration, I plan on going to look at it in a few days. As long as it doesn't look like too much of a problem maybe bring it home!