I drove an '01 Carnival Red VDP at a DC area used car lot today. Build date 05/01. I opened the door and saw the dash clock spinning around as if it were in a big hurry to get to 2022. I thought maybe one of the +/- buttons was jammed, but pushing, prodding and speaking sharply to them did no good!

Firing it up from cold I heard a ticking/clattering noise that's not present on my '03VDP. The car had about 74k on it. There was an unbalanced tire vibration through the steering wheel, the front end felt a little loose and it pulled to the right. A front fender had been replaced (no VIN tag on it, nor on the opposite fender either, and a side impact accident was listed on the history). On the upside, the transmission showed no sign of harsh shifts .... YET.

When I returned from my drive I told the salesman the car had problems. In typical salesman fashion he suggested his manager could adjust the price. I gave them the rundown, said they couldn't cut the price enough to make it worth my while, and bid them adieu. Oh yeah: they asked if I wanted to sell my VDP. I uttered a firm "no" before the manager finished his thought.

But I've never seen a Jag clock spinning like the one in this car! Has anyone else?

 

Sounds like an auction car that someone has ragged. Good eye to see the missing VIN sticky on the fender, thus an almost assured accident replacement. I recently pointed the same out to a friend looking for an XJR...that car was trashed and they wanted 8k...I laughed...it was a 2-3k car. Oh, and you have to love this, the fender leaper was held on by scotch tape...LMAO

The fact they aren't even trying to fix something simple like the clock is a sign to stay away. I would guess the issue is a bad prompt button stuck.