question for you car guys

[JohnnyT]

I've always liked Jaguars.

I can't afford a new one, but I'm thinking about getting a used one.

However, I've been hearing they are unreliable, and repair costs are ridiculous.

Still, I think they are beautiful cars, with the coolest hood ornament ever.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[ThirstyDrunk]

I got one for ya - it's a '71 four door sedan, excellent interior, leather, all wood grain dash, XJ12 but converted to a chevy big block it hauls ass and American parts are cheaper to replace. Few rust spots, needs a master cylinder, I bet it can go cheap.
Right now it's sitting in my parents garage with boxes stacked on it (15 years at least). Xenia Ohio, you pay shipping.

[JohnnyT]

well, since you're a Browns fan, I can trust you.

I'll give ya 50 bucks for it.

[BeerMakesMeSmart]

You're getting rid of the Fiat?

[Frankennietzsche]

Chachi's looking good there on the right.


JohnnyT, do you think that you are the Equalizer?

Get a Kenworth T700.

[Judge]

Get an ATM plastic model of a Jag. Place it in a prime spot in your abode. Go out and buy a cheap Japanese car that will start everyday.

And never, ever consider buying a Jag with a Chevy V8 shoehorned into it (the electrics can't possibly work) especially from Xenia, Ohio where people like this come from:

[kowalski]

Are you thinking of getting a classic, or a modern Jaguar. I guess if you're going for an ultra cool classic , then you just need plenty of cash, patience and some good automotive contacts...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1959-Jag ... 3377fffb08

For a modern Jag then you need slightly less of each...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-JAG ... 41673405c0

[Frankennietzsche]

I used to live across & down the street from some Latino guys, one of which owned an older, but nice looking Jaguar. There were at least four instances when I would notice police lights flashing on a weekend night, I would look out and see these guys in their Jaguar, pulled over by a police cruiser, ten feet or so from thier rental unit.
The police would do their thing, check the car, etc. and then let them go. I reckon that the police would see four brown guys in a Jaguar in a mostly white neighborhood and think the worst and pull them over. Or maybe the worst was true and they couldn't catch them. I don't know.

[ThirstyDrunk]

And never, ever consider buying a Jag with a Chevy V8 shoehorned into it (the electrics can't possibly work) especially from Xenia, Ohio where people like this come from:

Everything works, except the breaks. Oh and Drive doesn't work but third does. Neutral is Park, Reverse is Second. If you have to use Reverse put it in Drive. And the accelerator sticks too so be careful, but don't be afraid of it, you gotta give it to her or she'll stall.

[peetie44]

I've never owned a Jag but I know plenty of guys who have. You need to narrow your choices down and then find someone who has serious knowledge of the ins-and-outs of, and how to shop for, the used model(s) you're interested in. Then, you need to find yourself a good, after market, Jag specialist who can work on your particular model car. IMHO, Jags are not for shade-tree mechanics and only SERIOUS DIY types should attempt to work on them (for instance, some models require special, Jag-only tools).

[ThirstyDrunk]

SHOW ME THE CARFAX

About 1978 my dad buys this Jag. 1971 SJ12, one owner, the car is immaculate. Like I described leather interior, wood grain dash, well kept car. A few days after he bought it he took me for a ride, I was about 14 yrs old and when we went around the I-35 bypass in Xenia at 140 MPH that was the fastest I'd ever been in a car. It kicked ass I was sold.
A couple months later my Mom went to pick something up at Sears and left our family dog, a rambunctious Boxer named Caesar, in the car. He decided to try and dig his way out of the car through the passenger seat. It's still coverd in black electrical tape to this day.
A year or so later the car started running funny. My dad has been a mechanic all his life, so he called up all his buddies and decided to find out the problem. It ended up with all of them drunk in our garage with the engine half tore down and them gunning the motor until midnight. There was fire shooting out the tailpipes I remember, and it melted the grill on a Chrysler parked behind it in the driveway. My mom still swears they were pouring shine in the carbeurator. Engine blown, it sat for about a year in our garage.
Then they decided to swap it out for a Chevy motor, easier to work on. So they hauled the car over to a drunk buddies house and spent a month transferring this 12 cylinder Jag motor out for a V8 Chevy engine. I was only there for a couple nights, but it was a fucking drunk mechanic pipedream world. I was a punk kid, but they needed me. They could call a bolt size by looking, but they were so drunk they couldnt read the size on the sockets. I felt like I was helping.
To everyones amazement, the fuckin thing worked. It ran for another couple years until the brakes went out.
It now sits in a garage in Xenia Ohio where my mother wears my fathers tap dancing shoes and dances on top of it.

[TheBigCasino]

this story would be great on a radio show, like on NPR or something. I don't care where that car is, i want it, the only things stopping me are kids, a wife and garage space. Fucking life eh?

Craziest swap I ever saw was a Saab 900 with a Buick Grand National motor in it. I was working in an auto parts store, had to be, maybe 1995/96, guy comes in, tells me about his car, asking for all these weird parts and what not. I'm thinking, this thing has GOT to be a mess. I go outside and take a look at it, my god, the shit looked factory. I have never seen anything so clean. that motor looked better in that Saab than it did in the actual Buicks. I will never forget that car for as long as I live.

[ThirstyDrunk]

I think Click and Clack quit NPR.

[peetie44]

this story would be great on a radio show, like on NPR or something. I don't care where that car is, i want it, the only things stopping me are kids, a wife and garage space. Fucking life eh?

Craziest swap I ever saw was a Saab 900 with a Buick Grand National motor in it. I was working in an auto parts store, had to be, maybe 1995/96, guy comes in, tells me about his car, asking for all these weird parts and what not. I'm thinking, this thing has GOT to be a mess. I go outside and take a look at it, my god, the shit looked factory. I have never seen anything so clean. that motor looked better in that Saab than it did in the actual Buicks. I will never forget that car for as long as I live.

The late Don Randall was Leo Fender's partner in the guitar and amp business (Don controlled Fender marketing and sales). After they sold Fender Intruments to CBS (@1964), they had agreed to stay out of the competing marketplace for @9yrs. After this, Don founded Randall Amplifiers and installed a friend of mine as chief designer. I was a Randall endorsee for many years (with both Canned Heat and The Blasters) and got to know Mr Randall fairly well.

After being ribbed by his country club pals about driving a "mundane" Cadillac, Don Randall went out and bought a nice Jaguar sedan (XJ something or other, I believe). But he soon got tired of having to take the Jag to the dealer for even the most simple repairs, since no generic garage wanted to work on it. So Randall had the entire Jaguar drivetrain replaced with one from a late-model Corvette. He then had the whole Vette drivetrain taken apart and reassembled, balanced and blue-printed with high-end after-market parts by the best mechanics money could buy. That car was badass! I had driven the original Jag a couple of times and Mr Randall let me try out the Jaguar/Corvette Frankensteined version. There was no contest...the Vette drivetrain and independent rear suspension kicked the shit out of the stock Jag setup.

Randall took a terrific beating from all his rich buddies for "ruining" a beautiful automobile but he just laughed. "I get all the Jaguar creature comforts and stylish looks but if I need a new fan belt when driving out of town, any kid at a gas station can do the job."

[JohnnyT]

So the answer is no. Got it.