RE: SOTW: Jaguar XJS V12

[B'stard Child]

There are some fantastic examples and stories coming out in this thread - so much love for the the XJS and so many hidden gems it really makes me smile inside.......

It's one of the many things that I always enjoy about any SOTW thread - whilst you get the odd "blinkered opinion" and "pub statement" you frequently get the other side of the coin, what the cars are like to live with, the odd lurker that pops up and says some interesting stuff and you can learn something new.

I'm not sure that was the original purpose of this long running "soap" but I'm so glad it's worked out like that.

Big bodied 2 door coupe with a choice of 6 or 12 cyls sprinkled with leather and luxury - just lovely

[B'stard Child]

M666 EVO said:

I had an XJS V12. Bought it for 2k, drove it for a while and then ran out of room as I moved flat and had no parking so I sold it for 2k - annoying thing was when we went to the garage so the guy could get them to look at it for him, they said it was the cleanest XJS underneath they had ever seen, no rust what so ever and the only issue it had was it needed a new HT lead! That was it, it was a minter. I miss it... My mates hate me for selling it... G322 UDM where are you now??

Still being used it seems

The vehicle details for G322 UDM are:
Date of Liability 01 09 2012
Date of First Registration 01 08 1989
Year of Manufacture 1989
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 5343cc
CO2 Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Licence Not Due
Vehicle Colour GREY
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

[DoctorX]

boardinscotland said:

Ok a bit more expensive but I do fancy this one

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3166669.htm

G

These are wonderful cars but I much prefer the wood, leather and chrome look. Can't say I'm very keen on this, the front in particular has ruined the look and they always look wrong with four headlight conversions IMO.

[Martin_Hx]

They are brill cars, ill get ours up on here once I get home, I want to join in :-P

[Strawman]

Here's one for £700 over the thread limit and in Northern Ireland, but crucially still for sale and with the "high efficiency" engine.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/30976...

[urquattro]

Here is one recently gone to a new owner, it was one too many and should be really good when some odd bits done, its a 1979 pre he V12 with the sweet but very greedy early engine.

[will261058]

I actually believe the XJS has aged both distinctively and well. I almost bought a black one of these in the mid 80's and only a change in circumstances got in the way. Wallet probably more thankful than heart but thats life I suppose.

[Rushmore]

What is the perception of the XJS in the UK? I always thought it had some dubious connotation - from Larry Leisure Suit -like bachelor pad Don Juan-ness to ganster in a black leather jacket.

[Martin_Hx]

Here we go !


Jag by Martin0080, on Flickr


Jag by Martin0080, on Flickr


Jag by Martin0080, on Flickr

Unfortunately i haven't got any good ones with the roof down, need this rain to stop so we can get her out ! Its unbelievably cramped when the roof is up

[nickyboy29]

Check out this Jag I found on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=1...

[nickyboy29]

Check out this Jag I found on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=1...

[gr88]

another.....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1988-JAGUAR-XJS-HE-AUTO-...

[W124Bob]

grosserbaby said:

Beautifull I've come over all Arfur Daley

The man himself

[vsonix]

405dogvan said:

I cannot, for example, get a new headliner in decent condition for my 405 Estate because it's a sunroof model and every one I've found which isn't grotty is from a non-sunroof

Ah but surely a bit of clever adaptation would solve that? I would imagine having a non-sunroof car and only being able to source sunroof headliners would pose a more significant problem to a determined person...

[dbdb]

sdmurray said:

Couldn't ignore this thread. We bought this beaut in 1999 and for years it was my wife's every day car (and no, here arse doesn't look big in it!) It is now only used occasionally (as we have a few cars to choose from) but is still immaculate. It does a few thousand miles a year, is annually serviced and kept garaged. That way she (the cat not the missus) doesn't cost too much and has really never given us trouble. Yes, it is still around £1k pa in maintenance to keep her in tiptop condition but we both fell in love with her years ago and cannot imagine the garages not containing her.

Thing is, I keep records and whilst the car was £9k when we bought her (she is a 1992 model with the 5.3 V12) we did have some initial things to do which were not cheap (including putting bits of the body/trim back on that had a tendancy to fall off!) Over the years I am rather shocked to see that we have spent a massive £27.8k on her! It doesn't feel like that when we look back over our years of motoring in her so quite shocked to see the total.

Wow! £27,800 is rather a lot! It's result is a beautiful looking car though.

Cer Leopold said:

@sdmurray: What a frightening concept! The mere idea of adding up all expenses... madness :-)

I'm not going to add up my own Jag's pile of bills...

[P9UNK]

Strawman said:

Apart from being very thirsty are these much worse than other V12 engined cars for reliability? I know they used some cheap electrical connectors in the build which means switches have a habit of not working, but leaving that aside, aren't they quite a reasonable proposition to own.

I think you are right, with proviso that it will at times have unreasonable propositions to own but not different to many other cars in its class and the initial outlay is tiny rather than the 30 to 50,000 plus we might spend on something modern and comparable. As a comparison my brother had an S class v12 Mercedes in the 90s and many of the electrics failed (windows, rear window, locking) although it was only 6 years old and he paid well over all the sheds this year for it in the first place. He got rid of it when the ceramics from the engine started to destroy the cats....in other words it isn't just Jaguars that can be dodgy propositions, sometimes in our mist of Germanic obsession we don't always paint a fair picture.

[V41LEY]

There's this rotter at £560 at present !
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JAGUAR-3-6-MANUAL-/16081...

[V41LEY]

There's this rotter at £560 at present !
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JAGUAR-3-6-MANUAL-/16081...

[steveww]

It would be rude not to post an image of mine, 1996 Celebration.

[pSyCoSiS]

V12 Migaloo said:

Oh MY! That's one sexy cat!