XJ consumer reports

[REDXJ4FUN]

My sister is looking for a new car and drove my beat up 89 thats in deperate need of work and realy liked it then she drove a KJ. she aske what i thought of the libby and as normal i bashed it a little. I told her that I didn't trust the new V6 to last long and that it hasn't proven its self yet.
Her main concern is that consumer reports that she has seen are good for the Xj and that just blows my mind that it gets a bad rateing. I know this is kinda a one sided place to talk about it but for a single woman would it be a good choice. it fits her life style very well but shes worried about finding a good mechanic she can trust in northern atlanta.

 

[Ralph]

If she can afford a KJ, she can afford a newer XJ. Help her find a good used '99 or 2000 model. I'm sure she doesn't want something that needs a lot of attention.

RR3

 

[REDXJ4FUN]

She could afford the KJ but real dosent want a car payment that big. she can use her home equidy loan for about 8grand to pay cash for one so the search is onfor the best edal I can find for her. I could buy a whole fleet of older xjs for that but iit diffrentfor me to be looking at ones thatexpensive lol considering the 3XJs and my MJ combinded only were 7grand

 

[sidriptide]

i dont recall consumer reports ever bashing the XJ... they complained about road noise and fuel economy.. a report written by someone who was driving a lexus on one of those year-long "road tests" .. a little looking and you should find a good 99 XJ in the 8000 - 9000 range.. i see them quite often...
mike

 

[BrianJr]

The late model XJ's have their problems. If you search around you will find that the leafs are completely shot by 50K miles. The electronics in them are pretty buggy. Connections become loose and things start failing intermittently - but never when you bring them in for warrantee repair. For example, there have been a few threads about the power window's staying locked.

I really like my '99 but it certainly seems to always have some new little annoying problem. Nothing that has left me stranded but still I think I would have been better off spending less money on an older XJ.

-Brian

i dont recall consumer reports ever bashing the XJ... they complained about road noise and fuel economy.. a report written by someone who was driving a lexus on one of those year-long "road tests" .. a little looking and you should find a good 99 XJ in the 8000 - 9000 range.. i see them quite often...
mike

 

[Ghost]

A-mechanic might be of some help......

He wors at a Dealer in the Atlanta area. Or is the shop manager or something like that. He is a hell of a nice guy, PM him.

 

[RichP]

I too would go for a 98+ XJ but I would look for one with out all the bells and whistles. I would avoid power windows and cruise control, both are problematic over time. I would even go with a 5 speed if she can drive a stick and the 5 speeds are usuallly cheaper than the automatics I would find one with power door locks or add them aftermarket as well as a good alarm system with a panic button on the key fob.
Once she gets it she should invest in a complete fluids change, flush, hoses, belts, tstat, cap and maybe a radiator, brakes, tires, complete tune up, pull the throttle body and clean it, top engine cleaning. You know, *stuff* that would keep YOU busy for a weekend working on your sisters car.
Oh, if she has a cell phone have her get an 'in car' mount for it, they make a bracket that mounts to the stock radio mounting points and fits out thru the center bezel, about $20 and 5 min to install. Then the 'in car' kit mounts to that. AFAIConcerned those in car kits should be the law with cell phones.

All that said, has she looked a TJ's