Hi, I'm looking at getting myself a cheap old XJ of about 1998-2001 kind of age at around £1000 as I've had enough of "sensible" "economical" cars.

I don't mind if it's V8 or straight 6, sport or executive but I don't really want to fall in to any pitfalls.

Can you help me in avoiding some with some advise on what to look out for?

Thanks

James

I believe the timing chain tensioners can be a big problem as they are made of plastic on certain models ,and can crack causing incorrect tension causing the chain to jump and possibly cause serious damage. Replacing them with new metal ones will be very costly . I'm no mechanic but i'm sure i read that somewhere when i was looking to buy one . I opted for a 3.0 x type in the end and am very happy with it .