About to call on an 1980 xj6

[MattP]

The ad lists that it is running well, and has a new interior. It goes on to say that it needs little work. At $1550 I am thinking that it might make an acceptable daily driver for my 3 mile commute. If there are a few body problems I am not too worried. I like the look of the SS100 kits and this would make a good donor car later.

My questions are:

1. Am I on the right track for a daily driver?

2. What should I look out for?

3. Is the price about right? What should I dicker down to?

TIA

 

[Dave Russell]

I think that the number one question for a daily driver is "is it going to be completely reliable". How much does it cost to make it reliable & to keep it that way. A British car would not be my first choice for this duty.
D

 

[MattP]

I suppose I should clarify Daily driver.

I do have a very reliable main car. But we could use a second car to get me the short jaunt back and forth to work. Which with my schedule only means working 4 days a week. Plus, even if my wife had the Escort and the Jag didn't feel like getting out of bed that day, biking or even walking would not be out of the question. I row about 3 mi a day so if I were to whine about the occasional stroll it would be kind of hypocricitical. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I guess my question is could I rely on it about 60-80% of the time, factoring for Escort availability, and weather?

 

[Sherlock]

Matt,

Also factor in increased cost of parts/servicing.

A few years back a friend replaced his daily driver (Chrysler of some sort) with a 1987 Jaguar Sovereign sedan. He has had relatively trouble-free driving but when parts and/or servicing has come up he has spent more money than on an average car, in his case he planned for this even when he made the purchase.

 

[Steve]

If it looks to be well cared for that's a good sign, and if it runs alright too, you can mess with the non-essential things on weekends. Three miles from work, alternative transport available, in good physical shape just in case, and not likely to deal with blizzards where you are.......and the price is low for such a car (at least compared to prices for similar cars up here). Seems to be a good prospect from where I'm sitting.

 

[Bugeye58]

I agree with Steve. 1500 bucks here will get you a ratty old Chevy winter beater.
If it runs and drives well, it bears investigation.
Jeff

 

[Johnny]

Buy the car, put on a long sleeve white shirt and tie (not tied of course) and pretend you have lots of money. Keep the bike in the trunk. Now you know why the Brit's invented the fold-up-bike.

 

[MattP]

Thanks, everybody. I will call on it here in a bit. It is about an hour or so away, but there is a brit car show halfway between here and there. I guess if we can meet there, it should be a good sign. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif So I am not in that good of shape.

I do have one correction. I said that I row 3mi a day. Not quite, the ol' WaterRower talks to me in km, and I got fuddled in the head /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[MattP]

Just got off the phone, and the "little work" it needs is a new gasket on the transmission pan, and a bit of leaking oil around the front of the crankcase. Plus the Odometer is out. He recons it to be around 100,000 miles.

How serious are these leaks and how big a nusiance will the odometer be?

 

[John S Farrington]

The price is very right if the body, leather and wood is presentable. If it has rust, pass it by. The transmission pan leak is trivial and even if the leak in the front of the engine is from the front crankshaft seal, it is not serious (no engine removal). Front engine leaks of the 4.2 liter engine are usually from cam gover gaskets or engine breather gaskets. The speedometer is a cable driven mechanical unit and can be repaired by Moss Motors. It will take a plastic part or two. If you want the image of driving an unusual car, go for it. The series 3 Jag (from 1980 through 1987 is classic potential and is an easily maintainable car compared to later model XJ6s.