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XJ6 Sovereign Jaguar
We are looking a a 1991 Jaguar XJ6
Sovereign...99,000 miles, body and interior in
great shape. Going to a mechanic tomorrow for eval.
Last owner 3 years said she had no problems (were
not buying it from her) Asking $7925. Am I asking
for for a lot of expensive problems down the
line???? Please Help!!!!!
Sovereign...99,000 miles, body and interior in
great shape. Going to a mechanic tomorrow for eval.
Last owner 3 years said she had no problems (were
not buying it from her) Asking $7925. Am I asking
for for a lot of expensive problems down the
line???? Please Help!!!!!
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Comments
So get the car thoroughly checked out top to bottom, maintain it like a fanatic (don't skimp on maintenance), find a good shop to take care of it, and you may have a good experience. But you might as well know now, that IF it breaks, it's going to be expensive.
If you can't afford, or don't wish to spend, about $100-150 a month on maintenance and repairs, then don't buy it; otherwise, if that budget is okay, that's probably what it will end up costing you, presuming no major problems come up. If the previous owner had good luck, that's a good sign. You might check the previous maintenance records and see what they spent on it. If there are no records, that's not so good.
Expect it to leak oil at the base of the distributor. But if it's a WET Leak (I.E. quite a bit) then you can plan on a head gasket soon.
Rear Suspension: Make sure that it has been converted from self-levlling. If not it will fail and will need to be converted to normal.
Diff: Make sure it doesnt whine under decel
Make sure that everything works and look for rust on the decklid and hood.
If it's nice.. $7900 isnt a bad price.
The 90's arent as bad as people seem to think.
Bill
Questions? E-Mail me.
Prices for used cars are ultimately decided not by Price Guides but by supply and demand. Since there are more of these cars than there are people who want them, the price drops until the number starts to find buyers. This is what happens with used Jaguars. They won't bring retail blue book because sales resistance is high (low demand). And, of course, the prices are low because of the reputation. So when it comes time to make an offer on one of these cars, you have to decide if all those people who won't pay a high price for the car are right or not. Something is obviously scaring the majority of buyers away, and this is worth investigating thoroughly. In some cases, the prejudice against a certain car is not so well founded (let's say, Mazda RX-7s or MGBs or Audi 100s or Infiniti Q 45s).
My advice usually is this: if you can't stand the thought of spending $100/150 a month average (you'll have good months and bad months) to maintain an older luxury car, then don't buy it, because I feel that will end up being the reality in most cases, whether it be old jaguar or old Benz. Of course, to this $150/month you should add insurance and fuel costs.
The car may be cheap, but the maintenance requirement is the same as when the car was new.
Given the price of a new one, $150 a month doesn't seem so much, even $250 a month...you won't get a monthly payment or a lease for that. If you need a car that costs less per month, shop elsewhere.
Bad idea. These cars are best avoided In My Experience..
Bill
ABOUT REPUTATION AND RELIABILITY. THE ASKING PRICE IS $20,000, IS THIS TOO MUCH FOR MY WIFES
DREAM CAR.
That's why I advice people to buy with very low miles, and use the car a great deal up to 100K--in that way you get your money's worth, rather than just sitting on a rapidly depreciating liability.
The same is true for other "luxury" cars, too, like Ferrari, Bentley,7-series BMW...they sink like a stone for 10 years or so it seems.
1)When you turn the steering wheel, it makes a very slight/grinding/moaning sound.
2)whenever you get the rpms up over about 3400, it makes a squeling sound, sorta like what a loose belt will make. But it only does this at that rpm or higher.
Other than that, I can't tell as if there seems to be anything else wrong with it. It does have a ton of miles - 160 K. They are asking 5K for it, which to me doesn't seem to awful, and I think I can talk them down a little. Is this a good deal, you think? I haven't taken it to a mechanic yet, but planning on taking it to the dealership here soon. Also, this won't be a daily driver, just something to drive around like on the weekends and the such. So, even with the high miles, should I still be really weary about the 150 a month maintanence? Just wondering. Any advice would be great.
Thanks
You would know the true meaning of driving pleasure when you drive it. The ride was great.
Sometimes I have problem to start the car after a week of not driving it when the temperature dropped to levels well below 10 degree C. But all it needed was just a boost and it can run again.
57K, $10 grand, very clean. Car has Euro gray market engine (no poll. controls)and fuel injection-- welcome anyone's comments on performance-maintenance-things to worry about, etc. I plan to drive it frequently but not everyday. Appreciate any comments. A. Aycock, Atlanta.
Bill
But I wouldn't sink any real money into this car, as it is, I presume, on a salvage title. You have to be disciplined about getting rid of it if it starts going haywire.
If you got two reliable years out of it, you could junk it and still have gotten your money's worth.
You have to look at it this way. Any Jaguar sedan or coupe that is out of warranty and just a little bit shabby or "needy" is one fender-bender away from the crusher. The cars are too expensive and complex to restore, given their low resale value.
No, it is grossly overpriced, about double what it should be.
How expense are repairs?
Major repairs are very very expensive, maintenance is like with any comparable luxury car like a Benz or BMW.
Are these cars dependable?
Hard to say with this year. Probably with the low miles and if you conduct very diligent maintenance, you'd be okay with it. But not at the asking price. If the car passes all mechanical scrutinies, and it pristine, and you love it to death, maybe you could go up to $8,000, but that's really all the money in the world for this car and retail price. Then enjoy it until around 60K miles and then bail out, is my advice.
Hmmm - I haven't used my torque wrench in years....
Thanks for any advice!
As for webs ites, I've posted this link before, but....
www.jag-lovers.org
Just be sure you check out the "modern" model page and not the "XJ" model page, or you'll find yourself reading about Jags from the 70's and 80's, and not the XJ40 you're looking at.
That Sovereign is not a real steal... full pop retail with those miles. $10-11K is more like it. 100K+ mile cars in perfect condition break $5K at dealer auctions. That car is worth, realitywise, $7,500-8K wholesale if its just in the wrapper and 10Kish retail.
Bear in mind... VERY low mileage Jaguars bring HUGE premiums.
A better buy than that 91 would be a 1994 with 70-90K on it for about $10-12K (Color,condition, mileage, etc..) or a mileyish 1995 without a Sunroof (Say 70-80K miles) for $13K or so.
But if you have to have ultra-low miles in a Jag, they willbring large amounts of money. I sell LOTS of these cars...its the really really low-milers that bring enormous premiums and inturn canbe turned around and sold for enormous money.
Do check out http://www.jag-lovers.org/modern and know what to look for. The big basics on a 1990-1994?
AC Works and blows strong out of center vents and doesnt leak out of defroster flaps.
Differential is silent. (Noisy? $1,000-1,500 to put right)
Self-Levelling is either working right, (It WILL fail) or has been converted. ($500-700)
Base of distributor is NOT wet and oily (Head gasket leaking) ($500)
Smoke puffs on startup are normal on 93-94s. $500 to fix it if it bugs ya.
Those are the biggies....
I did originally write those pages at JL BTW
Bill Weismann
1995 VDP 139K miles $675 in non-warranty repairs since new
2000 VDP Supercharged 22K (Come heeere little Mustang GT...hehehe)
Having read them (several times), let me congratulate you on a job well done. I have yet to find any marque specific webpage as thourough and friendly as J-L, and you and the rest of the guys who put time in on it need to be thanked.
Thanks.
Just in case that makes a difference to the value proposition.
Do you sort of specialize in the XJ and prefer them over the S-class Benz?
I think the latest four headlight models with the nacells for the lights are exceptionally pretty,but I just feel too cramped in them.
Guzzetta: Follow the info at J-L and above.. $4,500 is awfully cheap for that car. 100K is no worry of the other stuff is right.
Merckx: Yeahup. The lack of a sunroof (Realistically, 1995s only) kills their value. $13-14K should buy you a nice 1995 without a sunroof.
Compared to an S-Class? Cheaper, prettier, much more reliable, and when they DO break, it isnt $1,500++ to fix em.
I do sprt of specialize in them.. I am low in stock right now. I only have 4 or 5 available for sale.. usually we try and keep 10+ 6-cyl cars around.
Bill
I wouldn't touch a 100K Jaguar from the early 90s with a ten foot pole unless it was pretty cheap. $4,500 is plenty, that's a fair price. That's what Bill buys 'em for, not sells 'em for, so he's no fool either.
Better yet, I'd just save up and buy a low mileage one, because you will have spent the price of a low mileage one soon enough. I'd rate Jaguar maintenance costs equal or higher to a Mercedes, and in durability of the body/interior/hardware there is simply no comparison in the early 90s. Now it is closer however, but as the cliche goes "only time will tell" and so far, when the years roll by, the Benz has always come out on top.
I know, I know, you meet people who say they haven't had "much trouble" with their older Jaguar, but it never fails, I get in their "no trouble" car and find about 25 things wrong with it that they have blissfully ignored because they are in love.
This is not unlike the people who marry into your family now and then.
That hasnt been my experience. You need to find a good, competent Jaguar tech to work on your car who's familiar with XJ40s. Remember, they share more in common, parts-wise, with a BMW 735i than they do with a 1987 XJ6 or an XJS.
I'd say $1,000 a year for repairs and maintinence should be fine assuming that the car doesnt have the problems I mentioned above. These are either great cars, OR, they can rund and drive nicely, and be hiding $1,000 in repairs. So look it over carefully.
Bill
This is what I always encourage people to do "without exception" if they want a pleasant Jaguar experience. But too many people jump on high miles cars that aren't carefully and thoroughly inspected, or they fall into the hands of real monkeys who don't know a Jaguar from a Pontiac (despite their claims).
If your shop fixes Jaguars, Porsches and Buicks, watch out.
Also, stay away from the 12s, but that's another topic.
Now, tomorrow we're delivering a 1990 VDP. Sold for $9,500. It has 48,000 REAL Miles on it and I would DARE you to find anything wrong with it. And you know how well I know these cars.
Door seals are new, Leather, wood, Mechanics, Paint, chrome.. perfect. Leak and rust free. New Pirellis. New AC system. The car is a total stunner. My Jag mechanic has been all over it and I spent $1,300 on the car with him (Damned compressor blew.. and the customer wanted new door seals. Didnt NEED em, but he wanted it perfect and who am I to blame him)
But, again, Miles and condition are paramount to value on these cars...
Bill
Hey, you should buy my girlfriend's 1999 Lexus. It has 2,900 miles on it!