I BOUGHT A CHEAP JAGUAR XJ8 FOR £500!

Alright guys, how's it going? Welcome back. Well, today I thought I'd make the most of this nice weather we're having, so I'm in my BMW 430d. It's a really good spec, this car. I'm almost a bit embarrassed to admit this as I drive along with the roof down, but I've got my heated steering wheel on, I have had my neck warmers on, and I've also got my seat warmers on. If my nan was still around, she'd call me Nesh, which is quite a northern insult, isn't it? Anyway, today I bought an old Jaguar XJ8. I got an email from a viewer last week asking if I'd be interested in buying his father's old X308 XJ8 Jaguar. Obviously I said yes. Unusually for one of these types of videos, I have already seen this car. I went to go and view it last week. He explained to me that the MOT had lapped so I couldn't take it out on the roads, and it wouldn't actually start. But let's not be negative, I'm trying to stay positive, I'm really quite excited about this one. I honestly think I don't want to sound too naive now, but I honestly think it'll only need minimal work to get going again. I know it's going to need a little bit of money to bring it up to scratch, but I'm not too bothered because I really like the story on this one. It's been owned by the same family since new. It's a year 2000 W reg, and it's only done 80,000 miles. Sadly though, since Covid a few years ago, it hasn't done many miles, so it's just been sitting on the driveway. So the battery's gone flat, and now it won't start. Still, it was only £500, so it's not a huge risk, and it was just too nice to send to the scrapyard. I'm pretty sure that if I spend around £1,000 on it, then I can breathe some life into the old girl. I hope I can, I really hope that's the case, because this car deserves it. Up until a couple of years ago, it'd been fastidiously maintained. Wait until you see the history folder on it. I could not believe my eyes. It's thicker than an Argos catalogue, full of bills and receipts and membership to the Jaguar Owners Club, all that sort of stuff. I love buying this sort of thing, I just love the story. For me, this is more exciting than buying something like this. Which, thinking about it, doesn't really make much sense, does it? But as a petrolhead, you'll probably understand. The only shame really is that it's only an XJ8 rather than XJR, but, oh well, it's only £500. Beggars can't be choosers. I think this one uses a 3.2 litre V8 rather than a 4 litre supercharged V8 that you'd find in an XJR. I had it transported to my mechanics yesterday, which is where we're headed now, so I thought I'd give you a quick tour of it, and I'll tell you my plans. Right, I shall see you there. Right, well we're here, and I had to park it on the car park next door because my mechanics are closed for bank holiday. They're going to love me on Monday morning, aren't they? Having to push that all the way down the road. Look at that, feast your eyes. What a bit of class. It's even got, this one I'm talking about the history of it, it's even got the original mead of Blackburn Jaguar plates. Right, let me do a vehicle history check. Now, I have already done one of these, but that was last week and I've slept since then. It's really important that you do one of these vehicle checks before you buy a used car. So, as always, we're going to go to carvertical.com, type in the reg number. You can also type in the VIN number if you don't know the reg. So the reg number is Whiskey 192 Delta Victor X-Ray. Check vehicle. This is currently checking millions of cars in dozens of countries, and it'll tell us if it's ever been stolen, written off, had a mileage rollback, or has outstanding finance on it. If you want to do one of these checks for yourself, and I urge you to do so before you hand over any cash, click the link below in the video description, use the promo code HYPEEK, and you'll get 10% off each and every check that you do. Like I say, I have already done one on this Jaguar, and I can't remember it coming back with anything untoward, but let me just refresh my memory. This will also show us all the previous MOTs. Now, with that era of Jaguar, rust is a bit of a killer. So I need to make sure that there were no advisory items for rust in the past. And just like that, the report is ready. So, view reports. That is a Jaguar XJ, correct? No mileage fraud was disclosed. It's never been stolen, never been involved in an accident, and there's no outstanding finance. It was first manufactured in the year 2000. It was first registered in June 2000. Long time ago, that, wasn't it? 23 years ago. Had its first MOT. No advisories, no advisories. That's all clean. This seems to have had quite a good record. Okay, then. So, there was an advisory item in 2014. Okay, right. Let's go to the most recent one. Its most recent MOT was in January 2022, so 15 months ago. And we've got nearside front anti-roll bar pin or bush worn, offside front small hole near jacking point. Slight bit of rust, then. By the sounds of it, that'll need welding up. And offside front anti-roll bar pin or bush worn. Nothing too serious, then, is there? The mileage is consistent every year, so that's all good. And at its last MOT, it'd only done 80,300 miles. That's pretty good, then. This sometimes, as well, provides a valuation, but I doubt it will on this occasion because of its age. So, that is a 3.2 four-door V8 petrol five-seat Jaguar XJ saloon. We've also got a bit of a checklist here, but I've already bought the car, so that's irrelevant. Right, let's go and have a look, then, shall we? I'm quite excited. First thing to mention, look at these keys. We've got all the original key fobs, but look at that one. Looks like it's never been used. I think it's just been sitting in a drawer. There she is. It's a proper bit of class that isn't at the old X308. It does need a good clean and buff. See all the mould growing, can't you? But it is quite straight down the panels. This is from an era when tyres were tyres with a proper-sized sidewall. Look at that. 225, 60, 16s. It's black with the grey interior. But, yeah, we've just got mould everywhere. But I'm pretty sure it'd clean. There's not an awful lot of rust or, well, there's hardly any, really. They normally go at the bottom of the doors. When I was having a good old look around, I couldn't see any. I'm convinced. Oh, there's a little bit there, look. In fact, yeah, there's quite a bit there. Must have missed that in my excitement. Got carried away. So we can soon repair that, though. But, yeah, look at all the mould build-up. The worst bit, really, is the boot lid. The sun, I guess. Or tree sap, perhaps. But I think it's the sun. The sun's eaten into the lacquer. But I'm convinced there's a car here under all this. And, sadly, look at the... Can you see the headlining? It's dropped. You just hardly see these, do you? It's a really regal-looking car, I think. So down this side, the little pinstripe's starting to wear off a little. And it's missing a reflector. And there's some marks here which would buff off. But the reflector is actually in with the service history. So I'm sure I can just fit that back. So I need to paint the tailgate and then give the rest of the car a good clean and buff. I'm pretty sure it'll come up looking like new. Let's have a look inside, then. Now, we've got a flat battery, so I need to put a battery on it straight away. It's quite clean. Oh, yeah. It just smells of old leather. So the driver's seat is a little bit worn in the usual places, but I can soon get that fettled. But it is very clean. Yeah, look at the state of the headlining, though. That's quite an expensive job. I'd have to do that on my old XJR. They've got to take out either the front windscreen or the rear window. There's no other way of getting it in or out. So that needs to be done. We've got some pop-out cup holders here. Oh, yes. Look at this. I didn't even see this last time. Oh, I've broken it already. Just don't see this sort of thing, do you, anymore? 90s technology. Where did that go? I can't believe I've broken it already. My heavy-handedness. I'll pop that in there. So it is a really complete... I mean, look at that. It's never been used. It's a really complete old thing, isn't it? We've got the original Dragula mats. The carpets are immaculate. In here, we've got old tax discs. What else have we got? The other service receipt, by the looks of it. Carry-out ECU diagnostic test. Found lambda sensor offsite. Okay. Removed, replaced. £333. That was September 16. This has got reams of history. But I just desperately hope we can get it sorted. I might just keep it forever. How cool is this? I'll tell you what, actually. I've got my booster pack in the boot of the BM. So let's try and hook it up and see if we can get any life out of it. Because it is... Yeah, completely dead. Look at the size of the boot on these. That battery actually doesn't look that old, but they need to use it. Otherwise, they just wear out. I'm clumsy today. I've broken everything. There we go. I'm expecting the alarm to sound as soon as I hook up some power to it. Red to red. Ready for the alarm? Shield your ears. Nothing. The key fob batteries are flat as well. Moment of truth. We've got some life. Driver's door open. Boot open. We turn off that. Turn that off. I mean, look at the condition of everything. There's no wear or anything. Oh, nearly. Come on. Now, all I'm going to do there is wear out the starter, isn't it? Ah, it's beeping because I've left it in neutral. That's why it's not happy. Let's give that another whirl. It's trying, isn't it? It's trying. Let's try it in park. Nope, nothing at all. What a pity. Put it back into neutral, then, so my mechanic can roll it. Actually, it won't let me take the key out. Strange, right. I think that this is a job for Monday. So I think I'll have to come back down here on Monday. Not Monday, actually, Tuesday. It's a bank holiday on Monday, isn't it? Come back down here on Tuesday. That's when my mechanic's to push it into the ramps and stick a battery on it and try and sort it out. Try and get it running. Once it's running and driving, then we can service it, give it an MOT, and then sort out the rest of the jobs. Cosmetically, it's not too much, really. A little bit of paint on the wheel arches, paint on the tailgate, give it a good cleaning buff. And then interior-wise, we just need to sort this headlining out. It's making me a bit claustrophobic. And that's pretty much it. It's a nice, clean old car. I hope you can see now why I was quite excited. Give me a few weeks with this one, cos it might take me a little bit longer than usual. So yeah, cheers, guys. See you soon. Well, guys, I've finally got an ending for you regarding my Jaguar XJ. Bear in mind, I started this video in April 2023, and it's now June 2024. So I've had this car on my mind for some time, really. And wait till you see it. You won't recognise it. I'm really excited to show you. Shall we go and have a look? Well, here it is. It's not quite finished yet, as you can see. This one has been... It's taken an awful lot of patience, money and time. If you remember when we last spoke, I think... Oh, it was parked over in that car park because I'd had to get it transported to that car park because it was a non-runner. We got to the boss with that in the end. Let me show you what it was. So the fuel tank was just full of water. So what had been happening over time, the fuel filler cap here had been... Well, it had blocked up. It's got some drain holes in it. And it's got a rubber lining here, but it had perished. So it was letting in rainwater. So as it was trying to crank up, it was just... Well, it was just trying to run on water. And obviously that doesn't work, does it? So they drained the fuel tank, topped it up with fresh fuel, and then replaced all this sort of stuff and cleaned it all out. So that's all fine now. But it still wasn't running right. It needed some sort of fuel pressure regulator, which was quite tricky to get hold of. I posted a story ages ago, you won't remember, on my Instagram looking for one, because I couldn't find one anywhere. Eventually, I found one on eBay. I think it was a new part or a copy part, I think. It was only about 40 quid or something. So I got that, fitted it, and now it runs silky smooth. But in addition to that, to get it through an MOT, it needed... Do you know how much I've spent on this car so far? This scruffy-looking XJ, which looks like it's just been abandoned. I've spent... Well, my mechanics bill was two and a half grand. I paid £500 for the car, spent two and a half grand with my mechanic. It needed welding, it needed... I think it needed disc pads, suspension arms, it needed all sorts of stuff doing. So I have massively overspent. And we're not out of the woods yet, are we? While it was down here, I had the headlining replaced. So in order to do this, they've had to take the rear screen out, or the front screen, I can't remember. We got a company out to take out the glass, and then you sort of shimmy the headliner out through the hole, basically. Then that was retrimmed and then refitted. Because if you remember, it was sort of sagging on my head like a baggy tent. And I mean, now it looks... Well, it looks good. The inside's an awful lot nicer than the outside. Shall we fire it up so you can hear it running? Because it is silky smooth. So it's a big old V8, this. You ready? Ready for this? The old big cat's purring away. Does smell a little bit fumey. Because the old fuel pressure regulator thing was leaking terribly, it was like a little diaphragm and it was just leaking everywhere. So my mechanic called me once they finally got it running, just to come and have a look. And it was just leaking fuel everywhere. So since that's been replaced, it's all fine. But I'm guessing there's still a lot of fuel that had spilt everywhere. So it does need a good run, really. But what I couldn't believe... I know I'm getting excited about this, but the air conditioning was ice cold. I just didn't expect it to work in this whole thing. But it is. Honestly, it's like climbing into a chest freezer. So what do you think? Do you think I've lost the plot completely? With this old scruffy old £500 drag, spending two and a half grand on it. I was just thinking, or hoping really more than anything, that it was still a £5,000 car. So if I can get all the paintwork sorted for maybe... I don't know what. £500, £800 maybe, I don't know. Whatever that costs. There'll still be a little bit of profit in it. I was hoping to do a video with this once it was all done. Once all the paintwork was done and it was all pristine and gleaming. But I think you've waited long enough for it, haven't you? So I thought, why not give you a quick update? What else do we need to do? The inside's very clean. We've got a reflector here that needs to go back somewhere. But yeah, mainly it's paintwork. Let me show you what needs doing. Let me just take this jacket off, hang on. So, because it's been parked up for ages, there's moss and algae and stuff everywhere. But you can see here, this has been filled and then primed. So that needs painting. Same on the other side. Moving around the back, this has been pre... Well, it was prepared once. It needs doing again. This was all peeling, all the lacquer. So that's been sanded and primed, but obviously it needs some more attention. And the same around the rear wheel arches. So if you look down here, we've got more signs of, well, work in progress, basically. It's a big job, this. I kind of wish I hadn't bothered, but it'll be worth it in the end. I hope. So it's not going to have a full respray, but it will have bits where it needs. I'm also going to try and get rid of the pinstripe because I don't like that. It looks a bit dated. So that will go. And then it needs a very good clean, a very good buff. There's only one man for the job, really, with this, and that's Jimmy. I'm just dreading taking it down to him because... Knock you out. He will knock me out. So yeah, I think actually I might go and get it washed first, just so it looks a little bit less sort of decrepit. Still, it's a nice day for it, isn't it? Sun's out. What do you think then, guys? This car then, currently as it sits, owes me about three and a half grand. Would you be happy with that or have I gone mad? I was thinking about keeping it as well, genuinely, because I do quite like it. It's only done 80,000 miles. It's a nice, genuine one. And I just like the story, but then I get a bit carried away sometimes. I think had it been the R, I would have kept it, but it isn't. So I think the best thing to do, really, is to get it looking its best and then move it on. And I suppose I should be quite pleased that I've saved another classic Jaguar from the jaws of death. Although with the sheer size of the bonnet, it would make quite a few Coke cans, wouldn't it? I quite like it, still. It could be the perfect sort of classic car, the classic starter car for somebody. Somebody that wants to go and do car shows and all that sort of stuff. You know, I'd rather have it than a Rover 75. No offence. So I think that's about it, guys. Thank you once again for watching. Make sure you give the video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. 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