OK, I have been out looking at a number of XJ-S's over the past week or
so.
The 2 '85s I looked at were awful, both needing jump starts, and various
problems with one or the other: needing a new battery, the alarm went
off on the highway when I used the turn signal, A/C inop., one had been
hit, etc. $9995 & $12,450.
There was an '87 with <23K miles and was near perfect and would be
great, but was too pricey. $21,900.
I saw an '83 that wasn't bad, 95K miles, transmission had a few quirks,
and a number of little electrical things wrong, which says to me it may
be getting to the point that a lot of little things are going to start
breaking, but what worried me most was the increased noise which the
owner thought was the beginnings of main bearing wear. $8500.
Last there was another '87 with 52K miles that was pretty nice, but had
an aftermarket sunroof and a transmission which wouldn't shift into
third. It also seemed sluggish at 60MPH, although I'm not sure if it
was the transmission slipping or some other engine problem. The dealer
says he will fix this and will call me to drive it again. $15,900.
Of these last two, I am inclined to lean more towards the '87, going
with the theory of being better off if you buy a better car (assuming I
can swing the loan) and keep it up rather than trying to bring one with
problems up to spec., but I worry about about the transmission quirks in
both of these cars. I thought the GM automatic was supposed to be
fairly solid. Has anyone else noticed these kinds of problems with the
GM automatics in Jaguars?
What does an aftermarket sunroof do to the value of the car. I imagine
if the XJ-S ever becomes collectible it would hurt the value, but right
now I just want a nice Jag to drive and would enjoy having the sunroof
(and all of the XJ-S convertibles are out of my price range).
Another question on the transmission. Some of the cars exhibited a very
smooth shift, while some had a more "solid" shifting feel with a
definite clunk when it went to the next gear. What is it normally
supposed to be like? I would suspect it is supposed to be the more
smooth action, but then again, every car I've ever owned has had a
stick...
Finally, if I decide on one of these cars, I'd like to get it checked
out by someone who knows more about Jaguars than I do. Any favorite
Jaguar mechanics in the San Jose area that would do a good pre-purchase
inspection? Any locals who know better than me that would like to tag
along?
Thanks,
Jeff Lo
jlo@gomez.intel.com
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