Going to look at and potentially buy a 100,000 mile 1995 Jaguar XJR this weekend...

Going to look at and potentially buy a 100,000 mile 1995 Jaguar XJR this weekend. I've never driven an automatic car in my life so I don't really know what to look for, what are some signs the gearbox is totalled or is going bad?

If it shifts smoothly without making any ungodly noises, you're good.

/thread

Pretty much that easy?

Also how do you service a slushmatic if at all? or it a case by case basis?

One of the best Jaguars ever built. Everything is overbuilt. Do it. Enjoy it.

The transmission will either work or not. If there aren't any problems, drive it until you need to replace the clutch packs in the transmission, do that, and drive it some more.

Yeah I hear the drivetrain on these is pretty reliable as far as Jaguars go.

Looked at many of these, far, far too many wrecked ones with ruined paint and rust sadly.

BODY. WORK.

if it is clean and runs well, it will last you a lifetime if maintained.

smooth, quick, handsome and even fun to drive in the bends, it's criminally underrated because of the patchy history of the late 80s/early 90s jag troubles

find a good garage, anyone should be able to work on a normal (i.e. not a shitty dsg or anything) autobox

enjoy the car - the xjr really is a beaut

Pic related is the one I'm after, it looks pretty clean. The pictures aren't brilliant but I can't spot any rust anywhere other than a little on the underside of the sills, and under the bonnet.

Not holding my breath though as I've gone to look at some which looked pristine in photos but were rusted out shit when I got there.

depend what under the bonnet means, on strut towers it's fine but you should deffo check the inner wings (check where the arch liners connect with plastic studs) but the floor is probably not going to fall through.

otherwise check brake pipes, get under the car and check all the subframe mounting points and the fuel pipe if you can

all that said it's a nice colour and on the best wheels so pls report back

>no dumb jaguarposting
I hope for a world like this, without Americans

>best wheels
True, shame it looks like there aren't many tyre options for them and they are expensive as shit. Maybe just fit off size ones.

Pic related was the rust had me worried. Just looks like surface rust not bad rot though. Dunno I'm no rust expert.

surface rust on panels is no biggie, that bay looks quite solid but you need to have a look along those rubber seals and make sure they aren't hiding anything

i'd recommend joining a jag forum, they are quite friendly and welcoming compared to other car sites i can think of

This thing rides like a sofa on wheels

If you know anything about cars/mechanics, you would probably be able to tell if somethings up. Make sure to test drive the car before you buy it so that you know what condition it is in.

To add to what i said above, if you are that concerned then take somebody with you or take it to a mechanic after you buy it. Its worth checking just in case.

Take it for a thorough test drive.

The great thing about Jags is that if there's something wrong with it, it'll be immediately apparent because it will make a hideous noise or slump in a certain direction. Or it won't start at all. If it starts first time, doesn't pull left or right, goes up an down through the gears smoothly then it works about as well as it's ever going to.

Join the owners club and have a word on Pistonheads about it, someone will probably tell you the history of that exact car and specifics to look out for.

Those have GM 4L80E transmissions

Literally indestructible

And if it is bad for some reason it's only ~$2000 to get all the bit to install the Getrag 290 5 speed in it from englad

X300 XJR rides pretty rough as far as Jags go

>Andy's timing advance bracket
>Rebuild and port the m90 supercharger
>Lower pulley upgrade
>Better air filter
>Bosch intercooler pump from SL55
>Larger intercooler radiator from X308
>Swap in 3.54 LSD from NA 4.0L car

Easy 400bhp and much better gearing

Red Jags are the best

>Swap in 3.54 LSD from NA 4.0L car
The NA car had shorter gearing? That seems quite backwards.

Is changing the diff on these a pain of a job or not? Haven't driven it yet but from watching videos it looks like the gearing is stupidly tall.

>GM 4L80E
Why was a car made under the supervision of Ford made with GM parts?

Eh. Used to happen more. In the Seventies for instance a variety of Fords used Rochester carbs, Saginaw P/S pumps, Frigidaire compressors, etc. For Jag I don't think the E4OD/4R100 was ready yet

Because they needed a beefcake transmission that Ford didn't have. Keep in mind this is the transmission that the Chevy Suburban uses.

For what it's worth, it's one of the reasons that this car is one of the only Jaguars considered reliable - that and the inline engine.

My pop's has the XKR with a Mercedes planetary transmission. Makes the car better than all previous years in that it has a bulletproof transmission and no nikisil liners.

>pls report back
Guy just text me saying it sold, was about to go tomorrow morning, RIP.

Pretty assblasted.

Go be mad elsewhere Ahmed

Fuck's sake. Same EXACT thing happened to me when I was gonna check out an XJR. Keep looking man, they seem like great cars

Was in the best colour and seemed in pretty good condition too, the next one in that colour is twice the price. I'm not too asshurt as good ones pop up quite often, no where near as often as the V8 one though, just have to be fast I suppose.

Guy said he sold it to a dealer from Scotland, given he's in the midlands that means a 500 mile round trip at-least on the part of the dealer. Hopefully for me it will fall through somewhere. Either way, guess I'll see it up for sale again soon.

The fedora of cars.

Fair point, luckily their fedoraness means they are undesirable and thus extremely cheap.