Greetings from Seattle, Washington! I did post this on the Forums so I apologize if you’ve seen it before.
Well, the long wait is finally over. I shared a couple months ago I bought an ‘87 Vanden Plas sight unseen last May from a dealership in the commonwealth of Virginia. I found it on AutoTrader. It had only 26k miles and was a two owner car before the PO sold it to the dealer. I paid $12,500 US. I didn’t mind paying that price because I wanted to find the best car I could and don’t mind paying a premium. I hope to keep the car for many years. The second owner told me it mostly sat in his garage for 25 years, only putting about 5k miles on it. (Yes, he thankfully had the fuel tanks refinished a year ago because of rust. He also replaced the rear brakes and calipers.) I have loved Series III’s and have wanted an ‘87 since ‘88 when Jaguar introduced the XJ40. My parents had an ‘86 VDP and I fell in love with that car. When they traded it in for an ‘88 I think I was sorry because I preferred the classic lines of the Series III.
When I found the car, I was leaving the country for vacation and didn’t have time to fly to Virginia to inspect it before I left. So I had a buyer’s inspection done by a mechanic who’s personal car happens to be a Series III. He basically raved about the car and told me it was almost in like new condition. It is in many ways. The air conditioning didn’t work and he replaced the two fans in the dash and converted the system. He said it blew cold. He also replaced the headliner because it was sagging and he changed the oil and transmission fluid. Then I waited almost a month to find a carrier to bring it to Seattle. The wait was excruciating! After getting picked up by a carrier, it took another two weeks for it to arrive. I got it last Saturday. As I was on my way to pick it up, I felt like a little kid on Christmas Day. I was so excited!
The car has exceeded my expectations in many ways and let me down in others. How has it exceeded my expectations? I forgot how nice these cars drive. It’s so heavy and rides like a dream! And it’s tight and quiet. The engine runs great (minus a rough idle but I understand this is normal), the transmission shifts well, and the suspension feels tight though I have recently learned it needs all new bushings, boots, etc. I just ordered all those parts and they’ll be installed next week.
I think what I love the most is how the car just looks like a work of art. It’s so beautiful and I can’t stop staring at it. Jaguar really outdid themselves when they designed and built the Series III. Wow.
The interior almost looks brand new and I particularly love the cream leather. The driver seat had some slight wear from getting in and out but it was very minor. I had it refinished just today and it looks brand new now. The black vinyl was pulling away from the wood trim on the right rear door and I had that fixed today too. The wood dash looks new. There are a couple cracks that are maybe a half inch in the corners of the ski slope and I didn’t even notice them for a while. They don’t bother me. The right rear window is inoperative. I tried both the front and rear switches. I replaced the switches with one that works and the window is still not working. So it must be the motor. When I press the window switch, the interior lights don’t dim and there is no sound from the motor. Maybe it’s just a bad connection. If the motor is frozen, how do you get it to move?
I just had the windows tinted and I like the look.
The engine is in in pretty decent shape though in many ways it looks like the 30 year old engine it is. The valve covers are peeling and there was a brake fluid leak at some point that damaged the paint on one side. I felt inside the valve cover and just right of the oil filler hole (is that what it’s called?) I could feel what feels like a plate and a screw so it must have a stake down kit. In time, I hope to bring the engine bay up to show quality but that’s a low priority at this point.
The trunk or boot looks brand new!
But I do have some unpleasant surprises and am a little disappointed in the mechanic. The air doesn’t blow cold. There must be a Freon leak somewhere. I do believe the mechanic when he told me it blew cold when he had it six weeks ago. Also, after I filled both tanks, gasoline started pouring out from the left side near the gas tank. I could hear noise coming from the gas cap. When I lifted the gas cap, the sound and the leak stopped. After researching these forums and Doug’s help with someone who had a similar problem, I suspect a faulty return valve. But maybe it’s just a leaky fuel line. So until I get it fixed, I’m running the car using the right tank with no problems. The rugs the VDP’s came with (were they cashmere?) are missing. Does anyone know where to find a set? I’d love to get some. But my biggest disappointment is what looks like clear coat checking on much of the boot lid. I wasn’t told about this and it’s a big surprise. I showed it to a couple detail guys and one told me he didn’t think it would rub out and another one told me it would. He’s going to try rubbing it out next week. I hope it works because I took the car to my body shop to show them the checking and they told me if they painted the trunk, it wouldn’t match the fenders. Yikes! The paint on the car is original and is otherwise gorgeous! I just can’t imagine repainting the car with such beautiful original paint.
I knew there would be plenty of things I’d want to do to the car and I love having projects and doing as much of them myself as I can. I’m no mechanic by any means, however I get great pleasure when I can do something myself. The help on this site I know will be invaluable. And I’ll always try searching a problem to find the answer in an old thread before I ask for help.
To sum it all up, I’m absolutely in love with the car and feel so blessed to be it’s caretaker. I have named her, Classy. I just wanted to share! 
PS: I tried adding pictures but ran into problems. I’ll add some soon.
