What to look for when inspecting a V12 XJS for sale

[AllezWasps]

Chaps,
Up up until recently I have been on the TVR forums as I own a Cerbera 4.5.
However I am off to look at a late 80's pre face lift V12 XJS in the next few days.

Whilst I would like to think I know what to look for when buying a TVR I am far less knowledgeable when it comes to a big cat.

The car I am going to look at appears on the face of it to be a very good example with about 80k miles on the clock.
Any tips on what to look for in order that I can be as satisfied as I can be that the car is as good an example as described i.e mechanically/ bodywork wise would be most welcome.

Also- roughly speaking (and as a TVR owner I know this phrase well!) what tends to be the service costs these days on the V12's (basic costs without finding too many problems)?

Thanks for your help...

[robgee1964]

AllezWasps said:

Chaps,

The car I am going to look at appears on the face of it to be a very good example with about 80k miles on the clock.
Any tips on what to look for in order that I can be as satisfied as I can be that the car is as good an example as described i.e mechanically/ bodywork wise would be most welcome.

Also- roughly speaking (and as a TVR owner I know this phrase well!) what tends to be the service costs these days on the V12's (basic costs without finding too many problems)?

Thanks for your help...

BODY
Lower trailing edge of front wing, ie above sill and in front of door. Bottom edge rots through and it quite a bit of work to put right.

Check joint between lower rear wing and sill, rot is common here.

Inside lower edges of doors and bootlid. Check inside the "butresses" as they rot through.

Lower rear quarter panels, especially inner panels adjacent to exhaust silencers.

Front and rear ends of sills, also check the sill closing panels as these rot.

Inner wing splash panels are aluminium, these corrode and disintegrate, allowing mud to get behind and hence the front end of the sill rots.

Check rear wing adjacent to bumper sides, while you there check the all bumper chrome very carefully as good replacements are getting very hard to find.

UNDERSIDE
Inner wings, just below shock absorber mounts. Hard to see with air cleaners in place they nearly all go here, its not as bad as it looks tho as there is a bracing peice underneath, so at least the shocker won't come loose. Its qutie dear to fix properly as you'd need to do some engine dismantling to gain access.

Front subframe, very hard to check unless the car is on a ramp. This is very expensive to put right.

Underneath the floor, near the outboard seat belt mounting is a flitch plate, water gathers here and again they nearly all rust through. Its not a massive job to fix because its easy to get at.

Rear trailing arm mounting, at the rear of the floor/chassis. Rot around here is quite common and dear to sort out. Also the rear trailing arms themselves rot through although replacements are available at a reasonable price.

INTERIOR
Water leaks, especially front footwells and rear screen. Water on top of carpets in front could be blocked a/c drains, but if tis underneath then could be front screen leaking or worse still bulkhead rusted through, in water drain channel under front wing. Rear screens are possible (but challenging) to reseal.

Drivers seat side bolster tends to wear, plus leather gets tired and seat starts to sag. A genuine 80k mile car should still have pretty good leather.

Headliners sag, the material comes loose also they go discoloured. Its possible however to remove the panel and recover it, the material is cheap and readily available.

The wood veneer goes a mess, especially on the "ski slope" panel, around the gear selector. Its possible to do quite a fair job of reveneering this panel.

SUSPENSION
Do a bounce check on each corner. The car should feel quite solid, if its soft to push down then shockers are worn. The units themselves are quite cheap but remember there's 6 of them, so labour adds up.

Riding over bumps listen for clonks and rattles. Vague steering could be not more than worn steering rack mounting bushes, not the end of the world to put right.


ENGINE
Make sure the oil pressure builds up quickly from a cold start, also verify that the coolant has been changed regularly and that its not been overheated. Overheating wrecks the V12. Do the usual checks for blue smoke on start up and excessive blowing from the filler cap.

TRANSMISSION
GM400 is pretty tough but check for excessive roughnes engaging drive and also for whines in 1 or 2, this can be worn planet bearings, the car will drive for years like this but its dear to put right.

Rear axle should have no whines, propshaft joints can wear which will cause shuddering or vibration but they are cheap to fix as the joints are replaceable.

ELECTRICS AND A/C
These are old cars now and likely to suffer eleccy issues. So find out what works and what doesn't.

Electric windows stick esp drivers side and some cars were wrong from new due to dodgy manufacture.

Older cars have old-style glass fuses and can give problems with intermittent connections.

If your very lucky the A/C will work, but bear in mind these are all R12 systems so a re-gas won't be straightforward. The A/C runs all the time on these cars, so with the right hand knob set to any position other than "off" you should be able to see the compressor clutch cycling in and out.

The climate control can give trouble so make sure it will go from blowing cold, to warm as you move the temperature knob. Its slow to respond so allow a minute or so for the motors to change position. Check that it works on defrost and also check the face level air vents open when on moderate or full cool, these are operated by a myriad of vacuum actuators.

As for service costs well you can end up spending a fortune on these cars. Luckily I'm able to do everything myself, which makes it affordable. Few "everyday" garages have experience with them so you could be best to find an independent jag specialist. But again, if the car starts having troubles you can soon be into big bills.

What price are they asking for the car? Unless its at a posh classic car garage asking price should be astonishingly cheap, for what the car is, as these old XJS's are hard to sell at the moment, and even really decent ones are changing hands for very little money. For example I know of a near mint 1982 car which sold for just £1000. The hard part is actually finding a decent car, most of them are rubbish. That said you if you did find a good one then it should be yours for similar money to say a mediocre spitfire or midget. Above all DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES buy a car with significant problems thinking you can put it right!!



Hope this info helps

Rob

Edited by robgee1964 on Thursday 5th August 10:14

Edited by robgee1964 on Thursday 5th August 10:17

Edited by robgee1964 on Thursday 5th August 10:23

Edited by robgee1964 on Thursday 5th August 10:27

Edited by robgee1964 on Friday 6th August 13:12

[AllezWasps]

Rob- that is very thorough and most usefull.

The car is advertised in the mid 3k's. I will give it a good going over based on your sound advice and I will let you know how I get on. I am off to see the car tonight.

It makes you wonder why cars are so difficult to shift at the moment and why they are going for such rock bottom prices? I wonder if it is entirely down to the cost of looking after them i.e the potential never ending money pit or because there are still so many XJS's around. Undoubtedly a future classic- but prices at the moment do not reflect this.

regards,

Matt

[robgee1964]

AllezWasps said:

Rob- that is very thorough and most usefull.

The car is advertised in the mid 3k's. I will give it a good going over based on your sound advice and I will let you know how I get on. I am off to see the car tonight.

It makes you wonder why cars are so difficult to shift at the moment and why they are going for such rock bottom prices? I wonder if it is entirely down to the cost of looking after them i.e the potential never ending money pit or because there are still so many XJS's around. Undoubtedly a future classic- but prices at the moment do not reflect this.

regards,

Matt

Hi Matt

Its entirely possible to get a really decent car for that price, so I hope its allright! Whereabouts are you based? I'm the Northwest and would be more than happy to assist if required.

I think half the XJS's problem is they are simply not fashionable. The motoring press hated them from the word go, for being "too different" from the E-type. Also the styling was a bit controversial, but I often suspect that many of their critics probably haven't even driven one.

In a way though I'm glad they haven't caught on, otherwise I'd never be able to afford such a fine car!

[AllezWasps]

It's a very kind offer Rob.

It's South East!! I have someone coming to have a look at the car with me as well who knows a thing or two about V12's, Jag's in general and XJS's to a degree, so I should be okay.

Much obliged though and I will keep you posted...

[AllezWasps]

It's a very kind offer Rob.

It's South East!! I have someone coming to have a look at the car with me as well who knows a thing or two about V12's, Jag's in general and XJS's to a degree, so I should be okay.

Much obliged though and I will keep you posted...

[robgee1964]

AllezWasps said:

It's a very kind offer Rob.

It's South East!! I have someone coming to have a look at the car with me as well who knows a thing or two about V12's, Jag's in general and XJS's to a degree, so I should be okay.

Much obliged though and I will keep you posted...

Ah yes, a tad too far away that one!

Well good luck with the viewing, I'll look forward to hearing how you get on. If you get chance, perhaps take a few pics?

Cheers

Rob

[AllezWasps]

Rob,

Had a look at the car. As it is still for sale I will PM you the result shortly!

regards,

Matt