Although, on the other hand, there's the issue of the Other Kid driving a Disco or F250 and smashing into your kid's VW... I taught my daughters to drive multiple vehicles so they never felt uncomfortable in whatever they got into. Varied from VW's to Chevy Tahoe's, and most in between. Also had them running Off Road Dirt Bikes, Quads, and 4x4's. Youngest (20 years old) has ZERO fear! It's kinda scary at times. She'll climb ANY hill you put in front of her, even some I won't climb.

PS: Welcome Reverend Sam! I'm also SuperSport on the Jaguarforums...

 

Tom, how much have you driven a DII? Not saying you're wrong, but the suspension is amazingly different than the DI, which I'm sure you know. I just know that I can take corners the same speed in my DII that I can in my S60R.

 

I also have ACE in mine, and I have to say, this thing corners INCREDIBLY well for an SUV. It's a really neat feeling when you throw it into a corner. I've never experienced it before on a car. It literally holds it up straight. Well, my Jag cornered like it was on rails, but that's different. And if it corners as well as an S60R, then you aren't driving your S60R the right way. Just sayin. My Jag XJR cornered Circles around the Rover, Big Time, but the Rover is still impressive for an SUV.

 

OK! Here's what happened today! My daughter and I went to look at it and she loves it. She wanted to buy it right then, but she needs her mother's permission (my EX-wife) even though she's buying it with her own money. If she bought it without her mother's blessing there would be hell to pay.

PROBLEMS:

EXHAUST LEAK It has an exhaust leak in the right side of the engine compartment (on the left as you're facing the vehicle from the front). This exhaust leak only happens when the vehicle is cold, and within two minutes of starting the vehicle the leak goes away. It's a noisy leak. Sounds like a friggin' hole in the exhaust pipe. The current owner said his mechanic thought it was a gasket between the exhaust manifold and the pipe that goes under the car to the cats and muffler. He had that gasket replaced but it made no difference. I'm thinking it's probably the exhaust manifold gasket, BUT, is there a chance it's the notorious head gasket? Since it seals itself so quickly, I'm thinking it's the exhaust manifold gasket. The thin metal of the exhaust manifold is going to heat up much more quickly than the block and head, and that's why it seals itself up within two minutes. If it was the head gasket then it would take much longer to quiet down. Any thoughts? Could the head gasket cause such a leak which seals itself?

Assuming it's the right exhaust manifold gasket, how difficult is that to replace? It looks like it would be pretty straightforward, but maybe awkward to get to.

HEADLINER The headliner is sagging. Someone apparently tried to spot-glue it back in place, which has left some spots on the headliner. Can I just buy some headliner fabric at Joanne's, rip out the existing headliner, and glue in the new one with some 3M spray adhesive? If the headliner was flat I know I could do it with no problem, but with all of those compound curves I'm not sure that normal headliner fabric is stretchy enough.

Before anyone answers that let me do some basic research on the forum. I'm sure the answer is there already.

SEAT SWITCHES The switches for the passenger's seat are broken. I'm talking about the ones that control up down back forth, etc. The switches themselves actually work fine, but the two switch covers with all of the labels are off. The switch covers are in the car, they just aren't attached to the actual switches. Someone has obviously tried to glue them back on, but they didn't stick. I found another thread on another forum where someone explains how to reattach them. If we end up buying it I'll be able to fix that I'm sure.

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER

The instrument cluster has been replaced with one from a Disco that had the air suspension, and since this one doesn't have the air suspension, the SLS light is on. The current owner covered it with a piece of tape. If I buy it I'll probably just pull the cluster and disconnect the SLS light internally.

I have a question, however. Does the odometer reading follow the instrument cluster? On the Jags that I'm familiar with, the cluster holds the mileage and you can change the mileage on the vehicle by swapping clusters. This thing has 154K on the clock, so it's unlikely that it has been rolled back, but you never know.

THE GOOD STUFF

The U-joints have grease nipples, so they are capable of being greased. I'm not sure if they have been or not, but at least the nipples are there. I was definitely happy to see the nipples.

The car looked just like it looks in the pictures. Too often people intentionally leave out the "bad" stuff when advertising their cars. The interior is in great shape. Overall the thing seems to be a good deal.

 

The exhaust leak could be head gasket or not. Check for any dried coolant on the back of the block where the head meets. If it is still in the shop with the lift, this should be easy. Manifold leaks are common though, and a mechanic's stethoscope will help a lot to pinpoint it. Not sure about the cluster, but I'm sure someone else knows. The headliner does have a fix. You basically take the fabric off and paint the fiberglass. I've done it to mine and it looks good.

 

Regular headliner fabric is the way to go, just make sure you get 64" headliner material, as at the widest part it spans 62". I did mine last summer and it took about 3 hours and was a breeze.

 

Or rip it out clean off the foam spray paint it the install led strips on the sunroof cut outs and presto:

 

Daedrix,
I just went to your pic site. I really like the tire/wheel combo on your truck. How tall are the tires? Is the white disco on it's side your previous truck?

Sorry for the hijack

 

Well... the seller is going to let me drive the car on about 100 mile round trip tomorrow to get my evil ex-wife's blessing. So if it's a head gasket problem, it will become obvious as the hot combustion chamber gasses blast through the gap and destroys the aluminum block and head.

The seller says he's been driving with the exhaust leak for months, so I don't think it's a head gasket issue. I've been doing some research here on the forum and it seems like fixing it will be pretty straightforward. Other websites highly recommend Permatex Ultra-Copper RTV to fix exhaust leaks, even up at the exhaust manifold. I have a mechanic's stethoscope to help me find it, the problem will be finding it in the two minutes it takes to heat up the manifold.

 

as a father i think one of the last vehicles i would get for a 16 year old's first car would be a discovery. huge, heavy, and breaks down more than a normal teenager breaks up. far, far less margain for error compared to more standard cars, and just not a good car to learn on. now i am sure some parents have children who drive these successfully and kudos to you all for having such awesome kids, but overall it really strikes me as a bad idea.

you want safety get her a landcruiser or a volvo imho, and let her get a rover in a few years once she has earned her stripes a bit.


plus - and i'm once again speaking as a father with a daughter - the thing has a damn big back seat!