MEOW!
1986 Jaguar XJ vanden plas LIKE NEW!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well, Mary - that car looks nice and the price seems right; but you can never really tell but by looking at it yourself and having it inspected before purchase. There could be lots of little things (brakes, linkages, leaks…) that could add up to hundreds or even thousands that wouldn't necessarily be visible to the naked eye.

That said, 1985 is considered a Series III, not an XJ40. The Series III folks might have more and better advice for you than we would. It's a beautiful car, though - perhaps the 'last' of the grace, pace, and space era of Jaguar.

Good luck!
Scott

 

Hi Mary,

Scott has already informed you that this is a Series III XJ6, which I personally consider to be one of the most beautiful sedans ever made. The experts at the Series III forum will not only tell you that they consider this the last "true" Jaguar Saloon, but also what to look for when evaluating one for purchase.

One thing to keep in mind is that the exceptional beauty of the Series III is somewhat offset by the fact that it is a much more "old-fashioned" car than the XJ40. It was the last of the virtually "hand-built" Jaguar sedans, and is much heavier than an XJ40 (a few hundred pounds, if I recall), so fuel economy is probably a little worse. I think I remember that the rear brakes are mounted "inboard," close to the differential rather than out at wheels as on most cars, which requires substantially more work just to swap the brake pads. I once helped a friend replace a rear wheel bearing on his Series III and it was a lot more difficult than on our XJ40s. I don't know if other repairs would also be more difficult. Electrically and electronically, the Series III was better than the Series II, but I'm not sure it was as reliable as the XJ40 (which is known for its own electrical gremlins). On the other hand, there is a tremendous amount of knowledge and information available on the Series III to help with maintenance and repairs, and as far as I know, both new and used parts are widely available.

Please let us know what you decide about this beautiful car!

Cheers,

Don

 

Can't help you with the car, but please do tell the photographer to clean his lens off..... I kept rubbing my monitor, thinking I had spewed food on it!!

Good luck, it's a pretty car.

 

I am inspired. Someday I will know the models. Happy to be corrected. So from what you are saying the price should be higher for that car, so must have issues. U will checked it out. Who knows it might blow up like the last one I inflected and get it for pennies! :-1