Jaguar xk8 HELLLLL PPP TRANSMISSION OWNED 3 DAYS ONLY!

Maintenance/Repairs
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I really can’t believe it! I have owned two jaguar’s, both xj6, convertible british racing green, for 5 years each, sold one after 5 years because I couldn’t get it smogged. Loved both for 5 years.
Then I chose a simple Mazda miata, that turned out to be the bane of my life, finally burning it up! worst car I have ever owned, but this one takes the the cake!

I just paid for the new pretty silver blue, convertible jag, with 101,000 miles on it , last week. I brought my car collector investigator to check it out, he said it sounded good, I had driven it out on Hwy, and around town for about 15 minutes. . Just as I was about to drive away, I asked if it had been smogged. He said no. I said I wanted it smogged. He told me it had a new alternator, and to drive it on the highway for about 15 minutes and go up the street to this smog guy. I did, and it did not pass, he did a pre test. I brought it back, to the man and he said he would drive it home, which is an hour away, to get it warm enough to pass smog. I came back two days later, and it has the smog. I drove it the next day, no problem. I went to register it at aaa, closed for Veterans day, then yesterday I went to drive it down the hill, 3 blocks, and when the road flattened out, it showed a yellow light transmission, and it would not go forward! I tried some other gears, 2,3, 4, and it finally slooooowly went forward,. somehow, I got on the highway for about 10 minutes, and when i hit a red light, it again , barely started forward, naturally a highway patrol man , comes behind me!!! I managed to get off the highway, and reached where my other car was, to trade cars! I now have a non operating Jaguar I have paid for less than 10 days ago, it is not even registered to me yet, and it does not run! Therefore my user name:: JUSTRUN!

HAVENT THEY BEEN MAKING CARS FOR 100 YEARS? DOESN’T SOMEONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE A CAR YET? SO THEY RUN??? WHAT DO I DO? HOW EXPENSIVE IS A TRANSMISSION??? WHY ME OH LORD?

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Did you pull up the dipstick to check the transmission fluid?

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No one who drives a Jag wants a car that ‘just runs’. Buy a Corolla, attach the Jag’s hood ornament to it, keep the Jag on display in your garage.

How did you burn out a Miata? A friend had one for years: she never had a problem with it.

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Assuming the fluid is at the correct level, take the car to a good local transmission shop (not a chain) for a diagnosis.

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you should have some codes? drive by wire issue? you dont say if motor revs fine and you just dont move? friend bought a 1yr old xk8. i think he liked it. long gone now though

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Doesn’t mean they make cars the way you want them to.

Yep, but it ain’t Jaguar.

Quit buying Jaguars if you want a car that “just runs.”

Somewhere in the ballpark of 7 grand, including installation. Less, if you can find a mechanic willing to install a junkyard one.

Because you keep buying Jaguars? :wink:

In seriousness, old luxury cars with 100,000 miles on them are almost always a bad idea. You can get away with it with Acura and Lexus, but BMW/Mercedes/Audi/Jaguar are a very high-risk purchase on the used market.

I don’t know what the motivations of your “car collector investigator” are, but I’d love to know why he thinks a high-mileage Jag is a good investment.

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@justrun Other than the excellent reply by Shadowfax you seem to have unrealistic expectations of used sport and luxury vehicles. I read your other post about the Miata and it was older with lots of miles so you should not be surprised at problems.

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You took a huge risk buying this car. In addition to Jags being expensive to repair, they developed a well-earned reputation for being very unreliable through the '70s and '80s. Ford, when they owned Jaguar, managed to elevate their reliability some, but not enough.

You gambled. This time you may have lost. But until you get a diagnosis from a good independent tranny shop (NOT a chain shop), everything is just blind guessing.

Good luck. If reliability is important in your next vehicle, I recommend avoiding old Jaguars.

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I’ve heard it said before… if you want to buy a (insert luxury car here) and you have ANY concerns about the cost of gas, insurance, or maintenance… Don’t Buy the Car.

It’s that simple.

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Thank you 2nd same suggestion

Dianne

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Good question! Nothing but perpetual problems. I had a unique model automatic. Had to have the starter replaced, rebuilt 2 times as they don’t make starters for that miata… All sorts if problems, more trouble than my jags ever had

Dianne

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Not yet thanks for the idea

Dianne

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I’m wondering if you got taken advantage of . . .

In other words, I’m wondering if the seller/previous owner fully well knew about the transmission problems. Was the seller the previous owner, or just some kind of middleman? How long had he owned it? If he only owned it a short time, it might be worth finding out why

Just how old is this car, anyways . . . I’m asking because it sounds like your car had to undergo a dyno smog, something that is typically reserved for older vehicles

The automatic transmission might be in “limp in” mode . . . has anybody scanned for fault codes yet?

If so, what are they?

Have you checked that transmission fluid level yet?

What color is the fluid?

What does it smell like?

Do you have any of the service history for this vehicle?

I’m talking verified maintenance history, on paper, not some guy’s word that the car was well maintained

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One thing about cars, pretty much whatever’s broken can be fixed. Automatic transmission problems starting at about 80 k miles and up are one of the most common complaints we get here. Not just on Jags, on pretty much all cars. So you aren’t alone with this problem. I expect your transmission is just plum worn out and needs some transmission shop work to get you back on the road. whether you need a full rebuild or just a new solenoid, or even just a new electrical connector, no way to tell over the internet.

The only other thing I can think of is the relationship with the smog test. Were you there when they did the smog test? Did they put your car on those rollers and drive it at 15 mph and 25 mph while the other wheels were standing still as part of the smog test? If so, that might have contributed to the transmission problem.

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Really . . . ?

I perform smog inspections at work, and there is no correlation between dyno smogs and automatic transmission problems and/or failures

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Aren’t all wheel drive cars exempt from dyno emissions testing?
The XK8 has rear wheel drive so it doesn’t matter.

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Wow!! I was not there for the test and the pretest failed
I was wondering of something they did contributed to this . I need to understand more if what you are talking about. I have just brought it into my car repair guy to have it looked at. I would love to talk with you if you care to share your phone

Dianne

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Thank you for all the specific questions to ask. I just brought towed the car in today to be looked at. Lots of questions I had in my mind. This wonder had only driven it 10000 miles when someone hit
The side door. I do have a big folder of the service records but have been so blind sided by this I have not gone over them. My two big questions are did he know this already? And it did nor pass of on the pretest so I left it with the man to drive home one hour and back next day to get it slogged. They had put in a new alternator… Then it passed. Wondering if smogging had an effect on it.
Dianne

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They have never in 100 years that didn’t need fixing and the most often need fixing cars are high mileage English cars.