Anyone Familiar With The Jaguar Xjs

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

Hi guys,

 

I've found a nice looking Jaguar XJS close to me in British racing green in need of a bit of work but at a very fair price and was thinking of getting it. Is anyone familiar with them? Good cars in general or should I stay clear? It's a 5.3 V12.

 

Thanks for the opitionis.

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

8-9mpg.

Is it a HE?

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

Yes, it is an HE. Well MPG is not a concern for what it will be used for. Just wondering if they are reliable, expensive to maintain, that sort of thing.

[dcc 855]

rust and poorly maintained engines. about it from my limited experience (Uncle bought one 4 years ago - its been parked up for 2 years)

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Yes, it is an HE. Well MPG is not a concern for what it will be used for. Just wondering if they are reliable, expensive to maintain, that sort of thing.

 

Reliable no, expensive to maintain, yes.

 

It may be cheap to buy but I reckon in most cases you will spend more than its market value to get it up to a decent standard.

[jackherer 543]

There is an honest account of owning an XJS here - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=47&t=1356804

[RichF 1 2 Cars]

Top Gear did a review of a 'refreshed' XJS a while back, there's a company that takes a car and then fixes/updates/upgrades all the bits that usually fail or never really worked properly in the first place.

 

Think it may have been this lot, may need a bit more cash to buy one though!

 

http://www.kwecars.com/jaguar-xjs-for-sale/j884-wac-4-litre-coupe-45000-miles/#.VO8SLfmsV1w

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

Dude, what is the year of the car.

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

1984, a few months older than I am . It's just too beautiful to skip and I have to have it now and if it ends up being a money pit, well I've wasted more on the Pug and it's still not really roadworthy yet.

 

Was wondering what the deal breakers would be when I inspect the car. Rust I can deal with, hoping the engines are solid.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

A mate bought one at night years ago now when we got it home he said it felt like it was a bit wobbly during the drive home, next day we had it on a ramp and the rear arms/wishbones (if thats what you could call them) were completely rotten through, falling to bits and broken off in places.

 

But 160mph+ top speed and very quick acceleration fuel guage is almost as quick lol

[harryskid 193]

For sure i've had eight of em, they are all out the back now rusting away in the field!

What you do is buy one run it for a couple of months or so, bin that one and get another! Cheap motoring!

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

At that year, it was still under BL ownership and if you get a bad one, it will be the most expensive hobby you will enter into. It is true that the rear subframes are made of cheese and the front suspension is not much better. The reason it feels a bit wobbly wobbly is because the bushes are pants and the mounts wear away within a short timescale.....HOWEVER, there is one most important reason that you should buy it and it is that glorious v12 engine.

 

Seriously, nothing and no v8 will ever compare to it. Buy it and you will see what I mean.

[Andy_C 50]

KWE are a customer of mine. Thoroughly decent folks.

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

Well I'm going into this with mixed feelings, my welding is getting better but wouldn't want to rebuild a car from scratch. I'll make up my mind upon inspecting it.

[RichF 1 2 Cars]

Walked past one of these last night on my way home....it looked gorgeous! HTH

[nomis 12]

In terms of the cost of ownership you could be better off spending more and buying a later one and then hoping that the general appreciation being seen on the XJS now means you can sell it on for at least what you paid, with only maintenance needed while you own it,

 

My old man had a late N reg (I think) XJS convertible 4 litre. Was an absolutely wonderful car. Cracking drive, proper grand tourer and a special place to be. Think he sold it for about £8k. He had bought it for more hoping it would be a future classic but jumped in too soon as this goes back about ten to four years ago. If he had done it later I reckon he would have made money.

Edited February 27, 2015 by nomis

[harryskid 193]

This might help!

http://www.kwecars.com/technical/buying-tips-xjs/#.VPG21I5IquM

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

Must be 30 years or older so that I can register it as a classic car, otherwise tax and insurance on a 5.3 will cost me more than 2-3k a year. If it's a classic that goes down to less than a tenth.

 

Either way, thanks for all the input.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX 1]

Hi,

If you need any help with classic car insurance then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

[jackherer 543]

Hi,

If you need any help with classic car insurance then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

 

You've successfully identified a thread with the word 'insurance' in it but I suspect you've missed a minor detail...

[welshpug 1,657]

Hi,

If you need any help with classic car insurance then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

 

EPIC, not looking at O.P's location ftw...

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

Thanks for the offer, but this is one romanian that's not coming over .

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

Aaaand I bought it and don't regret it.

 

Knocks a bit on the front but is rock solid, so suspecting dampers, gearbox crunches under full power from 1st to 2nd so I'll just replace it all together. Other than that it's a nice solid car that turns heads every since place I've been. Drove it from Amsterdam to Prague, Budapest and finally home without issue and with a decent 13 liters/100km fuel consumption while keeping between 130 and 150 kmph. (That's 18 mpg at 80-90 mph for you lot that don't want to get with the times and finally adopt the metric system. )

 

Either way, it's going in for a full strip down and respray tomorrow and I'm well chuffed.

[Rjuhar 52]

Pics or it didn't happen! Happy for you!

[nveeate 78]

Congrats - XJS is lovely.