1998 jaguar xj8 bad transmission

1998 Jaguar XJ8 Description

I have owned this car for 3 months. The previous owner was ill and the car had not been driven in 2 years. The car would not start. The owner was a long time friend and gave me the car. I had a mechanic look it over and everything was fine after a new battery. I put new tires on it and drove to emissions testing and it passed. I had put around 800 miles on it when without warning the transmission stopped working and a message on dash said "gear box fault". My local transmission shop said they could rebuild it but I can not afford it.Here are improvements I have done since owning it.New tires.Replaced broken control arm link.Oil change.Tune up.Air conditioner seals replaced & system recharged /AC works perfect now.New battery.Replaced front shock upper bushings.
What I know about problems are that the on dash display says "gear box fault" and the transmission won't work in drive gears but works fine in reverse.The headliner will need to be replaced.The sunroof is not closing properly by itself.The motor has a slight lifter noise when it is started cold but goes away immediately. The mechanic said it is because it sat for so long without being driven and that it should go away.I hope someone will be interested in repairing the car and not parting it out...such a fun car to drive.