Alas, it's time to get into something more comfy. Have a line on a trade for my 1985 Corvette for a 2005 Jaguar XJ8l. My Vette is all original, 66200 miles, nice shape. The Jaguar has 93000 miles, also in nice shape. This going to be a straight up trade. Any advice or opinions? Or am I nuts. Looking for more comfort, with a tad of performance. My daily driver isa Lincoln Navigator.
Do you want a jag? Do you like how it looks?
I traded mine for a Ramcharger, with a plow. I’d trade but I don’t get connected to cars and I’m always ready for something new; why I never finish a project.
I always liked the look and semi performance of the XJ series, never drove one. I guess there is something of a Jag ownership mystique. As it turns out, the deal fell through. Apparently a C4 Corvette is worthless to people, regardless of condition. More interested in the 95-97 XJ series anyway.
The same here. The shine wears off a car, and i also like to move on.
Dirtydog said:More interested in the 95-97 XJ series anyway
If you like those, the 98 - 03 is an updated version of the same basic car. 04+ was the big re-design and probably doesn't have quite the same Jag character. The 88 - 94 is the beginning of that lineage. Older looks, but mechanically pretty similar to the 95 - 97. Basically the first of the mostly reliable Jags.
From what i understand, 98-2001 early 2002, had Nikasil cylinder problems. Then, although mostly resolved, cam chain tensioner problems until late 2002-2003. I understand these are maintainence cars. 1995-1997 were the end of the 6 cylinder motors and electrical issues were pretty much resolved. The 2003 V8, is supposed to be OK. 2004 being the first model year has some growth issues. We'll see, and keep looking.
Nikasil isn't much of a concern at this point unless it's an incredibly low mileage car. The ones that would fail from it will have already failed by now. Timing chain tensioners are a concern though. They were fixed towards the end of the run, but the updated parts can be put on the earlier V8s and then it's a fix it once and never worry again kind of deal. Even the 88 - 94 cars are electrically pretty solid. A far cry from the 87 and older stuff in that respect.
In reply to Dirtydog : Having owned both believe it or not the Corvette was much more maintinence intensive.
From 56,000 to 99,000 miles the Corvette cost me a clutch, a water pump, a transmission rebuild, an instrument panel, a Wheel ( split in two) and a battery for a total of over $5500 in parts and a lot of nights and weekends working. The Worst Jaguar I've ever owned was much less work and about a grand for parts.
To be fair some of the work on the Corvette was due to hard use by the original owner and a lack of knowledge. While I pretty well know Jaguars inside and out. Most original owners treat Jaguars carefully. You have to beware of 2&3! Owners though.
Also, the x308 xj8 had tranny issues.
Frenchy your corvette was like that because of the previous owner. Plus a clutch, waterpump, and batteries is a typical maintenance item in most cars. Instrument panel work is a familiar thing for British and Italian car owners. Wheel split, anamoly.
I do think an 05 xj8L would of been a great trade for a 85 vette though. Those XJ8L's are seriously nice. The previous owner of my xjr has a xj8L in green with tan interior.
yupididit said:Also, the x308 xj8 had tranny issues.
That can probably be said for any of the XJ40 / X300 / X308 cars that aren't the X300 / X308 XJR (both of which had much beefier transmissions, a 4L80E in the X300 XJR and a Mercedes W5A580 in the X308 XJR).
The rest of the bunch use a variety of ZF boxes (4HP22, 4HP24 or 5HP24). They weren't bad transmissions, but they weren't overbuilt for the application either, so they don't last forever under heavy use and light maintenance.
Thanks guys for the input. Frenchy, not much high maintainence on the Vette. Since I don't drive it much. 150 miles in 6 months or so. PIA to get in and out of. Plus I don't store it at home. Older Jags still running overcame the Nikasil issues. Electrics seem to have sorted themselves out. I am looking, so we'll see. It also seems to me these XJ's are similar to the C4, in their pricing. Stupid high or crappy low.
In reply to Dirtydog :if you buy a Jag post Ford ownership they pretty much have their act together. Ford spent a lot of money and really improved the quality of Jaguar
My Corvette had been rode hard and put away wet which I'd expect most used manual transmission performance package Corvettes to be. The price I paid reflected that and the price I sold it for reflected its improved condition
Well here's a sharp turn in the road. Came across a deal to trade my Vette for a 2008 Volvo S60 2.5T AWD. Nicely optioned with a little over 100,000 miles. And the timing belt was just done, with a full service. going to look at it in few hours. We'll see.
Deed is done. 85 Vette is gone, 2008 Volvo is in. The Volvo is a nice car. Peppy for a small motor, but it is turbocharged. More comfy than the C-4. (And SWMBO prefers comfort) I'll tell you, these early C-4's are a hard sell. My car was in very good condition, but I had a harder time negotiating the trade in value than the new car price. But everyone walked away happy.
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