UK Car Repair: 1987 Jaguar XJ6, 1987 jaguar xj6, jaguar xj6

Question
I own a 1987 Jaguar XJ6 with approx. 73,000 miles on it.  We are currently getting ready to sell the car and when we went to start it the car would not go into gear.  The gear stick slides very loosely back and forth while not engaging.  Clearly, we do not want to spend a ton of money to repair the car.  Could you please let me know what you think might be the problem?

Thank you for your time.

Answer
Well, If we are talking about an automatic it would be due to the shift selector paul and spring breaking. Not all that bad a fix. If it is a manual, all kinds of things could be causing it and all will be somewhat expensive since it could range from a bad stick pivot to a stuck clutch.
As a restoration specialist, I would advise that instead of selling it once fixed to the first person with cash you take it into a shop and have it get a full shakedown and a written bill of health. An appraisal wouldn’t hurt ether.
Never sell a car to anyone without doing at least a good preventative maintenance shop visit. If everyone would do that with their cars the automobile community would be a lot more like it was back in the day.

Regards,


John