Friday 8th June 2012

SOTW: Jaguar XJS V12

Well, nearly - this is the Shed that got away, but we just had to write about it even so

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The Jag that got away was the price of this tired one...

On the face of it a Jaguar XJS does not seem like the ideal Shed of the Week. After all, a fearsome reputation for unreliability, a dauntingly complex - and expensive to fix - V12 and the likelihood of frilly bodywork are not the best combination for budget motoring.

...but closer to this in condition...

But, as has been said many times before, Shed isn't necessarily about making rational choices - it would be a thoroughly boring weekly feature if it was. Which is why the idea of 5.3 litres and 12 cylinders of majestic Jaguar coupe for £995 is such an appealing prospect.

Sure, it's definitely-not-an-E-Type looks aren't the prettiest of lines, but there's an undeniable grace and presence to the XJS shape that makes it stand out from the crowd - it's aged distinctively if not necessarily well, shall we say.

Unfortunately, the car ad we had targeted as Today's SOTW - spotted by PHer RP1 - is no longer live, so we presume that some lucky/brave punter has already snatched it up. And it's a measure of how rare it is to find a clean, cheap V12 XJS HE (this one had tax and ticket, old MoTs, some history and looked clean, despite the seller admitting to a few rust blisters) that a thorough rummage around the UK's classifieds turned up nothing to remotely compare with it.

...from the sound of things at least...

The best we could come up with was this 1986 V12 which, apart from the colour and the absence of cross-spoke wheels is pretty much identical to that mythical near-miss car that originally caught our eye on Gumtree. Except that the seller of this Jersey-registered car (actually the one we've used in most of the pictures) wants a full thousand pounds more.

In fact, the only V12 XJS we found that was comparable on price was this distinctly ratty F-plate example with neither tax nor MoT, up for £790, curiously - and we suspect erroneously - described in the advert headline as 'supercharged'.

So what's the moral of the story? (I didn't know SOTW had to have a moral - Ed.) Well, we suppose it's that you can find shed-price V12 Jaguar XJSes out there, but boy are they rare. And boy do they get snapped up quickly. Although given the model's potential to become a money pit, perhaps it's a good thing they don't come along all that often...

Advert for the original find is reproduced below

11 MONTHS MOT, 6 MONTHS TAX, NICE GENUINE CAR, SOME SERVICE HISTORY, ALL PREVIOUS MOTS, HANDBOOKS, ENGINE AND GEAR BOX BOTH GOOD, BODYWORK GOOD FEW BLISTERS,

LEATHER INTERIOR, CROSS SPOKE ALLOY WHEELS,ELECTRIC WINDOWS, CENTRAL LOCKING, POWERED STEERING,

DRIVES SPOT ON

[B'stard Child]

What could possibly go wrong

[B'stard Child]

Limpet said:

Drive it until something catastrophic inevitably breaks, then remove the engine, drain it of fluids, clean it up, and have it as a static display in your lounge.

Double kicking from the other half, but it would be worth it.

Depends on how tolerant your other half is.... Mine pinched my used up slicks to grow spuds in towers and is very keen to have my soon to be discarded six pot block from tme Monza placed in the garden to grow mint in the bores (apparently it needs to be restricted to stop it spreading and a block is perfect..... )

[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