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Hi I am a new member of th forum and a new owner of a 1986xj6. I have only owned one brit car befor and this one reminds me of it. Oil leaks bad fuel pump the prince of darkness wiring.
My question to the forum is,"what is the bestXJ6 made".
The reason I ask this is that I bought this car to learn about the Xj6 befor I bought a mint one and got taken because of my ignorance.
I have aready learned quite a bit about her quirks.
I also have a 68 bronco,63 VW,81 Alpha Romeo spider, 98 Seabring Con.,and a 00 Kia Sportage.
The Kia I hate
 

Jeff

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Think you answered your own question. I can't see anyone justifying buying a British car except for the pure luxury of ownership. There are a myriad of more dependable, economical and certainly more practical vehicles on the road. No offence indended, but if you are looking for something that doesn’t leak oil with a sound electrical system… suggest you buy a Toyota.
 

Steve

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Welcome to the forum. Boy, what a question! The "best" XJ6 made? It was supposedly the very vintage that you own right now, before the XJ40 (the new re-designed) model appeared. The factory was free of British Leyland, a new private enterprise looking for investors, so the quality of the product was supposedly increased. As with anything, that was not always the case. Seventies XJs were supposed to be dire creations, beautiful to look at, poorly built and unreliable, but I owned a '76 XJ12 that contradicted all that. Still beautiful to look at but never missed a beat, I still miss that car!

I suspect that if you are really set on the perfect XJ6, then you might look at an early Series I, with a 4.2 litre engine. Brand new model, won car of the year in europe, built well and with pride by a workforce still under Sir William Lyons before Leyland messed everything up. You will still have to contend with Lucas, the Ozzy Osbourne of the motoring world, but that is a cross we all have to bear.

You might also want to consider an "S" Type, (the original) that was succeeded by the XJ6. Mechanically very similar, with that wonderful IRS, overshadowed by the gorgeous MK2, and therefore cheaper.

Still some nice Jags around, but as with any car, get a good condition report from an independent inspector that you trust before you buy, whether it's an '87 XJ6 or the sixties models.

And why should you NOT buy a Toyota? Same reason as you hate the Kia. Defined in my tag-line below.

[ 08-07-2002: Message edited by: Steve ]</p>
 
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From talking with mechanics, friends in Jaguar clubs, and reading on the internet, my understanding is that the best XJ6s to own are the latest models before the changeover to the new square-headlamp design in 1988, or what are called late Series IIIs. So, the best XJ6s are supposedly 1987s...like most cars models, Jaguar kept refining the design and working out bugs.

Unfortunately, you've got a car from right around that time and it's frustrating you. Conventional wisdom suggests that these are as good as the XJ6 gets.

Moving to previous or following model years can be disastrous. The late 70's early 80's XJ6s are a terror on the owners I know (I believe even Sir William himself admitted later that none of the cars built by Jaguar in the year 1980 'were very good'. ) And the 1988-1989 Jags are a nightmare also: for one, they regularly shred their differentials, which is a repair that almost equals their used-car-purchase price. Stay away!

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HI:
I would like to thank you all for the responces that I recived; but I think I nead to make myself more clear.
As Jeff may not of noticed I have a Quite a few vehicales that are anything but trouble free.
What I am realy interested in is what Is the most beautiful, most refined series III Xj6 ever built.
I would like every option: Wood stearing wheel,leather seats, dimond studded wing nut, and the whole list of obscure others that only a group like this could tell me.
Sorry I post so late but I own my one shop and one must make hay while the sun shines and cut bait when it is not.
 

Herman

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Hej new XJ6 owner:

I have a 1976 XJ12L that is a wounderful car. It has over 130,000 miles on it and has just had it's first real problem. The upper bearing froze in its original OPUS distributor. I have also owned a 1962 (3.8 Liter 3 carb, 4 speed with overdrive) Mark X that was even nicer (but not as pretty and even more work) It was a real autoban cruiser. My wife is still mad at me for selling that Mark X. (and that was over 30 years ago) I say if you maintain any Jaguar correctly, it is as good as any, and a lot more fun. Just keep the maintenance up. Someone suggested a a Toy.. what? I quess I'm a sucker, but I think I want a Mark IX now. They really have class. Herman
 
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