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Sept 17, 2020 5:31:00 GMT
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Hi guys - I love my e39 530d ut I'm getting Jag pangs again! Particularly for an Xj40. Now it wouldn't be the most mint example as my budget won't stretch past 2k. Are the electrical horror stories justified? Will I need a fuel tanker following me? Are any sub 2k XJ40s not patchwork quilts by now?
I'm most drawn to the 4.0, cloth interior, and manual would be ideal but I know that'd be rare. Auto with leather would be fine. They all seem to be red so ideally I'd not want red but small budget boys can't be choosers I guess.
Penny for ya thoughts?
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Sept 18, 2020 11:51:03 GMT
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The silence is speaking volumes! 😳
Maybe I shouild be sensible and go X308 v8 instead?
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shin2chin
Part of things
Making curse word cars slightly better
Posts: 820
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Sept 18, 2020 13:12:08 GMT
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Just get it bought. Life is too short and there are too many different cars to try. If the thought is in your head, if you're anything like me, you'll buy one regardless of what everyone says anyway (see my beetle thread)
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1977 PORSCHE 2.0na 924 1974 VW Beetle 1600
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Jem45
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,021
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Sept 18, 2020 14:13:51 GMT
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Carbs 'n chrome
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,872
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Sept 18, 2020 14:43:50 GMT
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I had cheap X300 as a daily for a while a couple of years back. It was both wonderful and hard work. I suspect a lot of the issues would be the same with the XJ40. On the plus side the driving experience was lovely. Could do endless miles and enjoy them all. The AJ6 / AJ16 engines are smooth, powerful, sound nice and generally very reliable. It was one of those cars you look for excuses to take for a drive. On the downside, it was a 25 year old car that had done plenty of miles, that means 25 salty wet winters on the road. While my car didn't suffer some of the bodywork rust issues that are common, corrosion was still the main enemy. Putting the car into daily use soon showed up some issues, nothing drastic, just a couple of bushes to change, a wheel bearing, etc. But these jobs were made so much harder because most of the nuts and bolts hadn't moved for decades. At least the parts were fairly cheap, and easily available. Ultimately it was this kind of general age related corrosion that ended my ownership experience. I had a failing diff output bearing, not uncommon with the Jag IRS. I bought the part cheaply and easily, but was unable to change it with the diff in the car as the heads had rusted off the bolts holding the side bearing in. I tried all the tricks (hammering on smaller socket, welding on a nut etc) and failed, there was nothing for it but to drop the subframe to get better access to the diff so I could drill the bolts out. I came to the conclusion that removing the rear subframe would have meant plenty more bolts that would probably round/shear and need replacing, the brake lines didn't look like they stood a chance of coming off in one piece and once it was apart I'd probably find several bushes and there parts that would need changing. None of this is an insurmountable problem, but it would have been several weekends work and meant no way of getting to work while it was in bits, it was a sign that I needed to consider my priorities and ultimately lead me to selling it. Probably if I'd not had the diff problem, with another 6 months driving I'd have gone through the basic maintenance cycle, and things would have got easier. Most of the basic maintenance jobs would have been done and the seized/rounded bolts already dealt with. Fuel economy... I had the 4.0 AJ16 engine and was averaging about 20mpg. Around town it was comfortably under 15mpg... but you just gotta learn to fill it when it says empty and not work out the MPG. Would I do it again? Not as a daily, it's not worth the Sunday nights in the rain on the driveway trying to put the car back together in time to drive to work on Monday. But I'm also really glad I have done it, and ultimately it was part of planting the seed in my mind that lead me to buying my Daimler project. Regarding the X308, personally I much prefer the interior design of the XJ40 / X300 to the X308. The AJ6/ AJ16 engines are also considered much more reliable than the X308 v8. The AJ16 is the final iteration of a tried and tested Jag straight 6 that dates all the way back to the XK engines of the 50s, all the problems were ironed out years ago. The AJ8 engine was new for the X308, and as such has a whole bunch of issues they couldn't force when designing it. An example being the cam chain tensioner which I believe had several revisions and should be checked which version you have as earlier versions are prone to failure. On the plus side for the X308, they are meant to be a bit more refined and do noticeably better fuel economy.
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,867
Club RR Member Number: 58
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XJ40 as a dailyadam73bgt
@adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member 58
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Sept 18, 2020 14:44:36 GMT
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I had an XJ40 as a daily about 5 years ago, for me I love the angular lines of them that a lot of people seem to hate forum.retro-rides.org/thread/167446/1993-jaguar-sovereign-farewell-22Mine was a 4.0 auto, Sovereign spec so leather interior with good spec and the "fishtank" headlights. As mine was a 1993 model which was after Ford bought Jaguar, the electrics are meant to be better, certainly the troublesome digital dash of the earlier cars was replaced by normal analogue dials. I never had any particular electrical issues in the time I had mine. I think mine was £1300 when I bought it, not sure if values have climbed much in the mean time, bodywork-wise it wasn't perfect but also wasn't rotten. The engine was lovely and smooth, not quite as quick as I felt a 4.0 should be, but was one of the thirstier cars I've owned, at the time my mileage was geared a little more towards town driving but I struggled to get over 20mpg I'd say go for it if you can find the right car, I'd still love to have a manual one Edit to add: I had an E38 750i a couple of years later and while the BMW was "sharper", I found the Jag to be much more comfortable and relaxing to drive
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Last Edit: Sept 18, 2020 14:46:49 GMT by adam73bgt
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Sept 18, 2020 15:42:24 GMT
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Dailied my XJ40 4.0 manual for a couple of years when I was 23-24ish (2013-14). Was rock solid reliable while I had it, and it's only really my own fault that it ever came off the road (put an LSD in and didn't get the shimming right). Even took it on a big roadtrip to central France (pictured!). Was pretty thirsty for a 23yr old on not a great deal of money but I made it work. The manual helps tick up the mpg a point or two, and you can get good economy on a cruise (think 25-28mpg). Around town it's closer to 18. Worst I managed was 8mpg after some rather rapid progress cross country if you're wondering, they're a bit soft at the limit but nice and neutral. Electrical horror stories aren't justified. Just steer away from the very early cars (so '87 and '88) and you'll be ok. That's probably good advice for car buying in general, no matter what you're getting. Seems to be more on FB marketplace for a reasonable price, whereas the ones on eBay seem to be on the upper end. Really nice ones are climbing in value now, but you can still get usable ones within your budget. Mine is a bit of a goldilocks car, and probably one that you'd want to aim for if you can. It's a '92, which means post-digital dash and a 4.0, but pre-Ford. When Ford came in they improved the electrics, but also changed the bulkhead structure which made it more susceptible to rust. Both are reasonable propositions though. As for why you'd actually want one...There isn't a car I've driven before or since that has made me feel as baller as I did rolling around in this Jag. Combination of the interior, the way it drives and the way it looks so different from anything else on the road. Hell of a vehicle just for that feeling alone. Oh, and there's an excellent and very knowledgeable forum for them (XJ40.com), and a chap there called Naki has hoarded all sorts of parts over the years so you can still get quite a lot of stuff for them (including bits of trim and whatnot).
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Del
South East
Posts: 1,448
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Sept 18, 2020 16:46:04 GMT
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Sept 18, 2020 17:21:57 GMT
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Being as its not our wallets at risk........BUY ONE and entertain us with the horrendous pitfalls pleasures of ownership and massive reliability and sensible running costs
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Needs a bigger hammer mate.......
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Sept 19, 2020 8:15:37 GMT
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Thanks for the info fellas! Some really useful stuff for me there 👍
I still really want to do it - I've had a few Jags to date:
1996 Xj6 X300 converted to LPG
1999 XJR X308 converted to LPG
2003 XJ8 X350
They've all been dailies. The X350 was the least troublesome but I was worried about future bills (gearboxes aren't the best) and sold it. The Xj6 was great but the idle was always missy. Still, it was uber reliable. The XJR was an absolute nutcase but again, Couldn't get it to idle nicely. In retrospect, I presume my idle issues were down to badly set up LPG issues so I'll be avoiding that avenue.
I love the lighter colours or more 60s tones - bronze/brown/gold/silver etc. and cloth/tweed would be great.
There's just something 'special' about an old Jag that I want to experience again.
I'm in the very lucky position to have a few cars on the road at the moment (e39, Capri and Eunos as well as the wife's E46 as she works from home now) so reliability isn't as much of a concern as it normally is. My commute is 12 motorway miles each way so fuel consumption isn't as much of an issue as it could be either.
I'll get the e39 up for sale but I'm in another fortunate position in that I do really like it and don't mind if it doesn't sell immediately. It gives me the chance to scour the market too.
I'm excited, boys!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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XJ40 as a dailyChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Sept 28, 2020 9:04:12 GMT
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I wouldn’t but I’ll say more later.
EDIT : I had a chat with the Jag friend of mine
They aren’t the best built with in built water leaks they rot for England anyway. Daily use won’t help that.
Even my Jag loving mate would call you mad for selling an E39 for an XJ40, and he’s owned the lot from an S1 to an X350. He used to race them and XJSs as well. I know on XJSs some Spares have dried up like master cylinders for some variants and some just are plain wrong despite being new. New springs for example just have an XJS now looking like a reverse speedboat. But that’s your choice these days
My XJ40 was rotten in 2006! It wanted floors, inner wings repairs, boot floor issues and sills, repairs if done right would have outweighed the cost of the car fairly quickly.“, even today. Mine had inner wing patches aplenty as a 'bit of welding' over the years. It did become a bit of a patchwork quilt.
Spares for the pre-Ford cars are becoming trickier. SLS bits are now hard to find as are interior parts/electrics. The Series cars have always had more demand and thus more parts for them.
I also doubt WFH will last forever
It’s the only 80s car I’ve seen have the floor plan completely detach itself from the car at the front when on a trailer.
Sorry if it seems negative but after having owned one and seeing a mate bring in loads and loads of them since 2006 to break due to them rotting and in later times aforementioned spares issues, I couldn't recommend one to anyone. A W124 doesn't quite have the class but in terms of rot and spares availability, they are leagues ahead, especialy with Mercedes providing the backup.
It's something the E39 will have over even an X308. As I've said before, I can get most parts for my M3. My Mondeo? The stock is already drying up. Jaguar Classic generally won't put things into production unless there is significant demand for it, with 10 years being their 'reduction' status.
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Last Edit: Sept 28, 2020 20:29:53 GMT by ChasR
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Sept 28, 2020 10:00:55 GMT
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My wife uses a 3.2 Sport XJ40 everyday and it's been spot on. Off the road at the moment for some modifications and a bit of welding, as soon as it's done it'll be back into everyday use. It only let us down once which was the crank position sensor.
Brilliant cars, very under rated and they will (at some point) start to go up in value. I think they're the best compromise between running a classic and a modern everyday. I had an X308 XJR and it was fine, and very quick..just something missing if that makes sense.
Go for it.
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Feb 12, 2021 17:28:29 GMT
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Just an update - I was so close to buying an xj40 but ended up going for an xj8 instead. Thanks for all your help!
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Jul 10, 2021 16:26:22 GMT
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Dave
I'd be interested to hear your views on your new X308 XJ8 Vs your old X308 XJR and X350 V8?
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Jul 11, 2021 13:52:12 GMT
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They are a great car if you get a properly maintained one, a probable money pit if you buy a neglected one. I had one that I bought for a modest price due to rust ( mostly cosmetic ) Greatly enjoyed driving it and did not need much doing in the time I had it , for 3 years. Just avoid any rust bucket and take the car on a proper test drive to show up any faults.
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