V12 6.0 XJS 1994
Discussion
A friend of mine at work (who likes his barges!) has finally decided that he wants a V12 XJS! (I dread to think of the petrol bills!)
He went to look at one locally today which looked ok on the Autotrader photos, but on closer inspection was on the slide. It was also a bit steep with an £8k asking price!
A quick trawl of Autotrader nationally has turned up one or two...... Is there anything that should definately be checked on one of these (apart from service history etc)
He is looking for a post-93 car, as he tells me that there was an improvement in the quality of the body panels and rust was less of an issue.
One that has caught his eye is in Boxhill, Surrey.... 130 miles away from home. Are there any PH'ers who know their Jags living locally who could give it a quick glance over before he commits to a long journey to view?
Thanks
Meeja
He went to look at one locally today which looked ok on the Autotrader photos, but on closer inspection was on the slide. It was also a bit steep with an £8k asking price!
A quick trawl of Autotrader nationally has turned up one or two...... Is there anything that should definately be checked on one of these (apart from service history etc)
He is looking for a post-93 car, as he tells me that there was an improvement in the quality of the body panels and rust was less of an issue.
One that has caught his eye is in Boxhill, Surrey.... 130 miles away from home. Are there any PH'ers who know their Jags living locally who could give it a quick glance over before he commits to a long journey to view?
Thanks
Meeja
Edited by meeja on Monday 12th March 16:40
M, I live maybe 5 miles from Box Hill. I've run two S-Types over the past 6 years. I know nothing about XJS ownership. I'm happy to go and have a look at this car if it is at the independent Jag dealer at Box Hill (Luxtons?). I would not want to go to a private address. If you want me to go ahead let me know and shall I contact you via your website?
R
R
Great cars.
They should be pretty rust free as the facelift cars had galvanised body panels.
The v12 engine is generally bulletproof and the auto box is strong. Although they are complex if anything does go wrong.
I never had any problems with mine, but I would recommend checking that the aircon works, no noise from the power steering and no clunks from the suspension.
Run your fingers under the wheel arches as this is a likely place for rust due to stones chipping away the protection and mud and dirt buildup holding moisture.
Expect oil pressure to sit dead centre on the gauge and hardly move at all.
If it's chilly and the car is cold you will see quite a bit of water vapour (white steam) coming from the exhausts, but don't worry that's normal.It should go once the car is warm.
If you can find a good indy to look after it your mate will be laughing. It shouldn't be expensive to run.
If he intends using a main dealer then he should beware. A lot of the people who new these cars are no longer there. A V12 jag can be highly confusing for the current crop of mechanics who get little training on such cars. I should know I saw a few brought to my indy on a trailer after a main dealer took them apart and couldn't figure out what was wrong or how to put them back together again.
happy hunting!
Oh and IMHO £5K should get you a good 1994 6.0L model. Don't worry about the mileage, they're just about run in after 100K!
They should be pretty rust free as the facelift cars had galvanised body panels.
The v12 engine is generally bulletproof and the auto box is strong. Although they are complex if anything does go wrong.
I never had any problems with mine, but I would recommend checking that the aircon works, no noise from the power steering and no clunks from the suspension.
Run your fingers under the wheel arches as this is a likely place for rust due to stones chipping away the protection and mud and dirt buildup holding moisture.
Expect oil pressure to sit dead centre on the gauge and hardly move at all.
If it's chilly and the car is cold you will see quite a bit of water vapour (white steam) coming from the exhausts, but don't worry that's normal.It should go once the car is warm.
If you can find a good indy to look after it your mate will be laughing. It shouldn't be expensive to run.
If he intends using a main dealer then he should beware. A lot of the people who new these cars are no longer there. A V12 jag can be highly confusing for the current crop of mechanics who get little training on such cars. I should know I saw a few brought to my indy on a trailer after a main dealer took them apart and couldn't figure out what was wrong or how to put them back together again.
happy hunting!
Oh and IMHO £5K should get you a good 1994 6.0L model. Don't worry about the mileage, they're just about run in after 100K!
the leaper said:
M, I live maybe 5 miles from Box Hill. I've run two S-Types over the past 6 years. I know nothing about XJS ownership. I'm happy to go and have a look at this car if it is at the independent Jag dealer at Box Hill (Luxtons?). I would not want to go to a private address. If you want me to go ahead let me know and shall I contact you via your website?
R
R
Hi Roger,
I've dropped you an email via your profile.
Thanks
Meeja
bobfrance said:
Lots of stuff
Bob, many thanks for this.... very, very useful stuff.
Although it isn't me buying the car, I keep passing this info on, and it is proving very useful.
The car he looked at on Monday did have wet patches in both front seat footwells, and one side had a very poor botched weld repair of the floor panel. My mate suspected that it was probably poor window seals that had caused the water ingress, as they were very hard and partially perished in some instances. Although the floor had been repaired, it was still wet/damp... so presumably someone along the line has fixed the symptom, not the problem.
It also appeared that the drivers door had "dropped" as the shutline was poor..... but there were no other signs of accident damage.
Anyway... with the comment that he should be able to locate a good 'un for £5k, it meant that the one he looked at on Monday was WAY overpriced!
I don't think £8k is way over the top, if the car is all-round excellent, but sadly, most are far from it. Worth paying for a good example, since anything less will be a money-pit.
Expect the aircon to pack-in as soon as you get it home and definitely check the condition of the shocks - a pair of yellow bilsteins cost me £360! Ouch!
Expect the aircon to pack-in as soon as you get it home and definitely check the condition of the shocks - a pair of yellow bilsteins cost me £360! Ouch!
Edited by deadslow on Wednesday 14th March 14:55
25mpg! I just about get that in the 4.0 on motorways, I think you should expect under 20. The trip computer on Top Gear when it tested the car read 10 to 11 in the bit of film they showed. Any spirited driving will be like chucking fivers out of the window - still you got to spend it on something before you die..
cml said:
25mpg! I just about get that in the 4.0 on motorways, I think you should expect under 20. The trip computer on Top Gear when it tested the car read 10 to 11 in the bit of film they showed. Any spirited driving will be like chucking fivers out of the window - still you got to spend it on something before you die..
I had to be very gentle on the gas, but I did indeed get 25mpg on a trip from Manchester to Devon.
General motorway driving tended to give me 20+mpg.
I guess that means there's absolutely no reason not to buy a V12 in favour of the Straight 6.
Ah... long story!
He arranged to go down for the weekend, and combined it with a visit to his Uncle who lives relatively locally. (Who is also a bit of a petrolhead apparantly - which helps!)
They went to the showroom on the Saturday morning, about half an hour after it had opened, but were told that the keys to it were not available (the salesman had left his stash of keys elsewhere!) so they agreed to pop back later in the day.
When they returned around lunchtime, the Jag was not there, and they were told to take a seat.
20 minutes later, the Jag returned, with some other chap having just test driven it. This other chap then had a poke around, and a handshake took place.
Basically, the car was sold before my mate was even given a chance to look it over. (Or even better the price that the other chap had offered)
Needless to say he was pee'd off to say the least.
So his hunt goes on!
He arranged to go down for the weekend, and combined it with a visit to his Uncle who lives relatively locally. (Who is also a bit of a petrolhead apparantly - which helps!)
They went to the showroom on the Saturday morning, about half an hour after it had opened, but were told that the keys to it were not available (the salesman had left his stash of keys elsewhere!) so they agreed to pop back later in the day.
When they returned around lunchtime, the Jag was not there, and they were told to take a seat.
20 minutes later, the Jag returned, with some other chap having just test driven it. This other chap then had a poke around, and a handshake took place.
Basically, the car was sold before my mate was even given a chance to look it over. (Or even better the price that the other chap had offered)
Needless to say he was pee'd off to say the least.
So his hunt goes on!
the leaper said:
Meeja,
A long, and also a very annoying story!
The guy at Luxtons seemed reasonably genuine to me. Just goes to show never trust a salesman one bit, particularly when it comes to cars!
Anyway, I'm glad I could help out at the start.
R
A long, and also a very annoying story!
The guy at Luxtons seemed reasonably genuine to me. Just goes to show never trust a salesman one bit, particularly when it comes to cars!
Anyway, I'm glad I could help out at the start.
R
Indeed. And many thanks for your help! Steve enjoyed a weekend away at the least (He got to spend time at his uncles... and he discovered the dealer "Romans" - Which means nothing to me..... but Steve tells me that you need a BIG wallet to go in there!!!)
BIG is not the word! Romans is at Banstead on the A217. If I said that in the past 6 months I've seen for sale at least 6 Enzos, 2 Veyrons, some Ford GTs, 2 Zondas, and even a Maserati MC12, you'll get the idea. Their "stock" cars seem to include the current "ordinary model" Ferrari, brand new Merc S63, Range Rover Overfinch and Bently Continental GT. Never seen a Weismann their though [my current "I want one" car]. It's a great place to drool, either at the showroom or even on their website. I'm sure they sell mainly on commission.
Water in the footwells is usually a sign of a problem either with the aircon matrix or, most usually, blocked drain tubes to let the condensation flow out under the car. Sounds simple but can involve a complete dismantling of the dashboard - very time consuming and expensive if you give it to a garage.
The second thing to very carefully look for is the level of antifreeze and the servicing history of the car. The V12 Jaguar engine is bullet proof if well looked after but if the antifreeze level hasn't been regularly checked corrosion will set in in the waterways and this will lead in the end to a hot running car and blown head gaskets. It is therefore important to check for "mayonnaise" in the oil filler cap, to run the engine up to working temperature and then leave the car idling for a while to see if the temperature shoots up or is held steady by the fans. If the former walk away without a second thought.
The second thing to very carefully look for is the level of antifreeze and the servicing history of the car. The V12 Jaguar engine is bullet proof if well looked after but if the antifreeze level hasn't been regularly checked corrosion will set in in the waterways and this will lead in the end to a hot running car and blown head gaskets. It is therefore important to check for "mayonnaise" in the oil filler cap, to run the engine up to working temperature and then leave the car idling for a while to see if the temperature shoots up or is held steady by the fans. If the former walk away without a second thought.
Yep, first job is to poke around in the drainage holes with a fine wire (a ramp helps). Then check the door seals and see if they've gone hard. If water comes out from the side of the centre console on hard cornering it is the AC, If is just appears after rain then its probably the door seals.
I found a mushroom growing on my carpet recently!
I found a mushroom growing on my carpet recently!
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