Opinions please

[BringbacktheP&P]

Hi

I've been looking for an XJS for a while now as a weekend car and noticed this one today;

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1153392.htm

Pretty much ticks all the criteria except being slightly over budget. However, do you think the mileage is too low - c.400 miles per year!

Any thoughts on the car, mileage or price?

[NormanD]

There are many Jaguar owners as well as other make/model owners that use their cars just to go to shows to get 'Best of Show' prizes

Often their cars are better than they were when they came off the production line.

[a8hex]

Now that really is stunning!
I reminds me of one I tried to buy about 15 years ago. Sadly the salesman had promised to someone else about an hour before I saw it. I said I'd have it if the other guy didn't like it when he came to view the car. Sadly he did.

I'm sure you'll have many hours of fun finally running the car in.

[taldo]

seems very pricey, you could pick up an immaculate end of the line 6.0 v12 for a fair chunk less if you could find one!

edited for speeling!

Edited by taldo on Saturday 25th July 00:35

[Jaguar steve]

Honest opinion? Really? OK then..

Earlier XJSs rot like old pears and will have more leaks than Thames Water.

Low annual mileage cars are often a source of problems once they start being used again. Engines, cooling systems, electrics, tyres and suspension bushes to name just a few all have the potential for major grief and expense.

£15 grand.. FIFTEEN fkING GRAND!!... for an XJS.. Make yourself a coffee and sit and think - really think - about that for a while.

There.

If you really want one try to find a very late model, well cared for one at a sensible price. Or buy a good XK instead.

[eldudereno]

Jaguar steve said:

Earlier XJSs rot like old pears and will have more leaks than Thames Water.

You cannot question why the OP wants this model, everyone has different tastes.

You're right about the reliability issues though, old seals and all. The condition of the car does seem to reflect the very low mileage.

[x200sxy]

It's a superb colour combination.

Get it checked out by the JEC or a suitable specilaist.

Yes, way over top price but maybe not too far out?? Some people are asking way the other side of £10k for top series III XJ.

Defintely needs using. Must get mine outof the garage more my specialist tells me (1000 miles in the last 12 months).

[nev996]

i hav a local neighbour with same 89 on an f plate an same colour with that deep wine interior but cross spoke alloys think it has done 40.000. it comes out for mot and servicing an then back in garage. the guy bought it at a couple yrs old as an investment but would be quite sure i could get it for about 8ish. its a stunning car but u need to be on top of those v12 jags.

[wack]

The reason it's so expensive is it is in effect a new car, if it's your dream car and it's as good as it looks and you can buy it without worrying about what it costs then go for it, I presume at that price it'll come with a pretty comprehensive warranty for at least 12 months.

I'd like to know what he paid for it though

well yes it's in good condition but it's very old, there's just no demand etc etc

[Jaguar steve]

eldudereno said:

Jaguar steve said:

Earlier XJSs rot like old pears and will have more leaks than Thames Water.

You cannot question why the OP wants this model, everyone has different tastes.

You're right about the reliability issues though, old seals and all. The condition of the car does seem to reflect the very low mileage.

Well the OP asked for an apprasial and the facts are they do rot and they do leak - my personal opinion is anybody who spends £15k on any XJS is as mad as a box of frogs - but that's only my opinion. Cars are only worth what sombody will pay for them of course - Put 10 different people in a room with the same older car and ask what they'd pay and you'll get 10 wildly different answers.

I'd never pay anywhere near that amount for one - I just don't like the XJS that much and believe they are hoplessly flawed, terminally unreliable, overweight rustbuckets with diabolical handling. I worked for a multi franchise garage in the mid 1980's and had a stream of XJS owners deserting the main stealers as the cars aged coming through the workshop. On one occasion I recall racing (yes that's what mechanics do to your P&J when it's in for a service) a 3.6 manual one - with a known good driver who was pushing it hard down a favourite road test route in a 1.6 rep mobile Cavilier and comprehensively pissing all over it.

Try the same thing nowadays in an XK8 against your average sales mobile wheels. I know who'd come second. And that was really my point - a vastly superior car in every way you can possibily think of for the same money.

[varsas]

I don't want to get into an argument about weather or not XJS's are good cars (you obviously have more experience then me) and will admit that this one is expensive. However, there is something special about them. I really liked my '89 HE. The engine was incomperable, certainly nothing I have driven comes close to what I felt as that engine passed 4000rpm on a WOT. The supercharged V8 in my XJR is much more powerfull, but it doesn't have the soul of a V12. I found the XJS very comfortable to drive and I liked being so low down. I was also very pleasently surprised by the handling; It wasn't a sports car but I always felt very confident while driving it, you just turn in nice and steady and then power out. I loved it. it's taken me much longer to get that comfortable with the XJ8. I also miss the LSD every time the road gets bumpy or it rains....traction control is a poor substitute.

anyway, I really liked mine but, as you say, it was a rust bucket (which is why I don't have it anymore) just saying some people like 'em!

[Jaguar steve]

varsas said:

I don't want to get into an argument about weather or not XJS's are good cars (you obviously have more experience then me) and will admit that this one is expensive. However, there is something special about them. I really liked my '89 HE. The engine was incomperable, certainly nothing I have driven comes close to what I felt as that engine passed 4000rpm on a WOT. The supercharged V8 in my XJR is much more powerfull, but it doesn't have the soul of a V12. I found the XJS very comfortable to drive and I liked being so low down. I was also very pleasently surprised by the handling; It wasn't a sports car but I always felt very confident while driving it, you just turn in nice and steady and then power out. I loved it. it's taken me much longer to get that comfortable with the XJ8. I also miss the LSD every time the road gets bumpy or it rains....traction control is a poor substitute.

anyway, I really liked mine but, as you say, it was a rust bucket (which is why I don't have it anymore) just saying some people like 'em!

I know some people do - and I've owned and worked on enough odd or unusual cars to sympathise with a bit of a left field, heart over head view. But £15000 - - That's way too much for a 20 year old XJS when the same amount would buy somthing light years ahead in every aspect you could think of shirley?

[varsas]

well....yes. I expect you are right there. I could argue and say a decent E-type would cost £30k+....but that's a special case. I have seen late facelifted XJS's for £20k (there were two on autotrader a few months ago, a coupe and a cabrio, I think the XJS on 5th gear was one of them) but that doesn't make this right...Personally, I'd pay about £10k for this one if it's as good as described.

Edited by varsas on Wednesday 29th July 08:16

[richw_82]

Hi,

I've had a few XJS' I've still got a 1984 V12. I like the XJS, but like any other old car it's thirsty, it's not particularly fast nowadays, and no matter whether you use it every day or just on Sundays they can be very cranky.

The 3.6 with the rear anti roll bar is a lot nicer to drive than the V12, it always feels more balanced. A friend of mine picked one up recently in good condition, with documentation, for £3000 and he's now using it every day.

Try and get a drive in a good one before you buy one, that long bonnet and limited 3/4 visibility due to those gorgeous butresses can be a bit daunting too.

Regards

Ric

[cml]

That is nice! Yes it is a bit much but not if all the rubber/seals/electrics/bits and bobs are in tip-top condition. You won't really know until you've driven a few hundred miles though.

Ideal car for a museum or garage queen collector.

These cars should be worth more! I may be biased though.

Late as posible 6.0 is the one though.

[varsas]

richw_82 said:

it's not particularly fast nowadays,

hmm, i'd take issue with that. I guess it depends what you are used to, but I've driven a few quick cars (C63 AMG, M3, and I own an XJR) and the XJS never felt slow. Also, in the context of Jaguars, a V12 XJ-S is faster then an XK8; and an 6litre XJS would detroy one. I reckon a V12 XJS was the fastest Jaguar until the XKR? (except XJ220/race cars)? Of course you are comparing a top spec XJS with a bottom spec XJR but V12 is defacto for an XJ-S; wheras I think of the XKR as special.

[cardigankid]

eldudereno said:

Jaguar steve said:

Earlier XJSs rot like old pears and will have more leaks than Thames Water.

You cannot question why the OP wants this model, everyone has different tastes.

You're right about the reliability issues though, old seals and all. The condition of the car does seem to reflect the very low mileage.

It is perfectly fair and reasonable to question his sanity.

It looks great, sure, it's a V12, and I would have thought that 1989 was relatively late - they started in 1975 - but if it has sat for a long time who can say what it's like underneath, and that is a lot of money. You cannot simply take the dealer's word for it - his business is, quite legitimately, just to shift the thing off his forecourt. If you are a dead set XJS fanatic why not speak to KWE who produce the remanufactured ones and see how economically you could get into one of those.

[pr100]

That's a lovely car and, of course, a helluva engine. I've owned four XJS V12s. I loved them all -- and I'm still missing the V12 now that I own an XK. The old cars were a much superior ride imho.

I have no idea what that car is worth. If it is as described, it's difficult to pin it down. But you absolutely must go over it with a fine toothed comb. Check sills, wheel arches and everywhere else for rust/filler. Check all the electrics as only my old Lotus was worse than my XJS's in this regard. You could be in trouble if the aircon isn't working (and many no longer are) as the unit in my last XJS was impossible to re-gas - I think the gas is illegal now.

But if you're a real enthusiast with money to spare and can get it for the right price, I would go for it. Unfortunately, I can't even change my own oil so I had to pay plenty to keep my XJS's in good order.

Notwithstanding my love for the V12, I wouldn't buy an XJS today. For that money, you could get a decent XK8 which would require much less attention and a lot less in running costs.