I found my XKR on eBay, in the exact spec I wanted. The search took several weeks. I first saw the listing on its third day, but it was in Texas (1400 miles from me). Of course I wanted to actually SEE the car before I purchased it, but it was a long way away, and flights were ridiculously expensive right then (upwards of $600, one way).
All that didn't matter, as it turned out, because the dealer that had the car was Two Miles from my Brother's house! I trust his opinion, so I had him go take a look at it. All was well.
So anyway, I purchased my XKR over the phone, but now I needed to get it home. My brother SELFLESSLY offered to drive it those 1400 (as long as I paid for gas and his trip home [cheaper ticket, a week out]). Me being a nice guy, I obliged. After the Dealer Prep and all, he left that Friday and got to my house Saturday night (he brought his wife with him, she volunteered to go with him).
Short story long, the only available XKR in the specs I wanted in the entire country was a three minute drive away, via proxy.

 

Cee Jay, that was obviously meant to be your car!

 

The last thing that I needed was another XJS, as with 10 of them in the garden, I was expecting a call from NASA to say that they could see them out in Space.

But they were becoming a nusiance, which was not so much to do with the Cars but more the number of people, who either used to ring me up or else call round the house.

Who seemed to have got the impression that I had just taken over a Jaguar Dealership, where they thought that they could buy Spare Parts!

With the benefit of hindsight, it may have had something to do with the name of my house, which in a moment of 'Jaguar madness!' I decided to call 'The Cat's Whiskers'

Not helped by the fact that I had that engraved on a plaque by the side of the gate and used to have 'Traders Insurance' so that I could drive them all on the same Policy.

And while some people have 'Gardeners' I had this old chap who used to call round, to wash clean and Polish all of the Cars in my 'Fleet' at least once a week.

Though eventually I convinced myself that I was being stupid to have so many Cars, as I seldom used the Coupes and I had Seven of those! as well as Three Convertibles in all of my favorite colors.

And in case I forget to mention it, 2 MGB's a Land Rover and a Jaguar Supercharger, plus numerous Boats in all shapes and sizes.

As I lay on the Phychiatrists Couch, it was clear that there was something missing in my life, where completely unbeknown to me, I was now about to go and find it!

Or maybe I should say that it found me.........?

To be Continued...

 

Have you seen this! said the voice that was standing beside me, excitedly clutching last nights evening paper in his hand.

It was my Car Cleaning Pensioner friend who had seen a Jaguar for Sale and who was either trying to be helpful or looking for another Car to Wash.

'No and I don't want one, I've got more than enough as it is!'

'Well just thought I would mention it' as its an XJS'

Though having disposed of half my fleet, the money was starting to burn a hole in my pocket, so this was like dangling 'Crack' right in front of an addict!

This was no ordinary advert but more a list of assets of a Company that were now up for Sale, with almost nothing in the way of a detailed description.

His pale blue eyes had the demonic twinkle, of someone who had just hooked a 'Big Fish' But as for me, I couldn't fein disinterest any longer!

I'd taken the 'Bait' my heart started to race, as this could easily so Break Bad or be 'Yeah Baby!' Stuff.

Within Seconds I had taken out my 'Mobile' and dialing like a man who was possessed.

Hello! said a voice on the end of the phone 'can I help you?'

So trying not to sound too keen, I asked him for more details on the Jag.

'It is a Convertible, what else would you like to know?'

Then almost by way of an afterthought said, I think its also got a 'Wood and Leather Steering Wheel'

Oh my God!

I think my heart stopped beating!

My throat had suddenly gone dry and beads of perspiration were now dripping down my face.

'What Color badge does it have on the front of the bonnet (hood)?'

'Why is that important?' hang on just a minute and I'll go and have a look.

He may have been gone for five minutes but to me it felt more like five years!

'Hi There, its a 'Gold Badge'

Me, I'm on my way!

After hanging up the phone, the Adrenaline rush was so great that I nearly passed out!

Does it sound any good asked my 'Pensioner friend?'

While I replied 'get in the Car!'

To be Continued.........

 

We jumped into my Car which was a Turquoise XJR and with the pedal to the metal, I could feel the Supercharger kicking in.

Where the 'Wafting' Jags are famous for, was instantly replaced by a snarling growl that sent us flying down the 'Two Lane Blacktop' with indecent haste.

While inside the 'Harmon Kardon' turned the Cream and Walnut Cabin, into the kind of Concert that you can't buy tickets for as 'We Rocked Out!'

It didn't take us very long to get there and as I swung the XJR in through the Compound gates, She was sitting there in front of me, 'Glinting in the Sunshine' with Her Soft Top folded down.

Showing off Her Wood and Leather Steering Wheel together with Her Celebration, Embossed leather seats, which only helped to make Her look exactly like the Sports Car of your dreams!

The Compound looked deserted, maybe they had gone to lunch? So we hopped out to do a quick inspection and walked towards her silently like you might do when entering a Church.

'Told Yer!' 'Told Yer!' didn't I! chuckled my mate George, as I looked at Her and just went Wow!

With only 30,000 Miles, showing on the clock, She looked 'Out of the Box' Inspection Over! Though just time to crack the bonnet (hood) catch to see Her AJ16 Engine gleaming underneath.

And while outside She was looking like a Princess, with that 'e' type (esk) engine She was 'Wired!'

As we walked around to try and find the Office, I was praying that this Car had not been Sold and while I didn't know how much they wanted, the one thing that I did know was they didn't want Her half as much as me!

When we found their 'Porta Cabin' we were greeted by a Guy who just said 'Hi you must have come to see the XJS'

But as I clenched my fingers in the pockets of my 'Jeans' I hoped and prayed that he was not now about to shatter all my dreams!

And did he know that this Car was the 'Celebration Model' that would attract a big price tag to match!

I looked at him, he looked at me and then I asked how much? and nearly bit my tongue in half, while waiting for his answer.

To Be Continued.........

 

This is a wonderful story!
BQ

 

Yes it is pray continue.

BQ how goes your search?

 

When I was told the 'Asking Price' which modesty forbids me to reveal, I tried to feign a look of grief and took a sharp intake of breath, which whistled through my teeth.

As I looked up at the Ceiling and rolled my eyes around, like two ***** spinning in a matching set of 'Roulette Wheels'

And then looked down and asked 'Is She a runner?'

Where I was told that She drove in, under Her own steam (Oh no!) and even had some Tax left and a nice long MOT as well as being a one owner Car!

'Here's the Keys, We'll go and Start her up!'

I didn't want to do that, as I did not want the risk, that if She started it might also maybe start to trigger his emotions, where who knows he then may decide to buy this Car himself!

Also unusually for me, I didn't even want to make an offer!

As when something is handed to you on a 'Gold Plate' with a 'sprinkling' of Diamonds for good measure and maybe a couple of Rubies on the Top.

Then it always pays to keep your mouth shut! As I've seen it all before where one wrong word can turn your dreams to dust.

'If She is a runner, then that's good enough for me!'

As I then took out my Wallet out, quickly followed by my Credit Card.

What the hell did I think I was doing! as if She fell to pieces, then there would be no comebacks whatsoever!

It's hard to say who looked more shocked, it was either him or it was me.

He had that look of are you Sure you really want to do this, while I was trying not to look as if I really did.

While all the time just thinking, for God's sake put that Card in your machine!

Then having put my PIN in

It seemed to take forever, for it to cough and splutter into life, as no doubt it was choking on the price I had agreed to pay.

Then after waitng for so long, which I was finding stressful, the 'little darling' printed out: 'Transaction was Sucessful!'

I tried hard not to jump for joy, as the way I was feeling, would no doubt have had me flying through the 'blinking ceiling'

Except it wasn't over Yet!

Oh no! there was a lot more Stress to come!

To Be Continued.......

 

Yep, the two cars we had when we got the Jag have since departed.

Don't you just love it when you agree on a price and a pick up day only to have the seller call you couple of days latter to drop the price and offer up some problems you may have coming!

Turns out he was a mechanic at a Toyota dealership and I was his service managers best man back in 1994(lol), you gotta love it.

 

Having now paid for the XJS or should that be My XJS, completed all the paperwork and then had her signed over.

He then finally dropped the keys of the Car into my hot sticky hand, which felt so good that words cannot describe it!

Now there was only one thing left to do.

And that was to go and inspect the 'Booty' like two Swash Buckling Pirates, who had stumbled on some buried Treasure, which in point of fact was not far from the truth.

The moment we left the office and walked around the corner when the Car came into sight, we suddenly broke into a run and couldn't wait to get there.

Then just stopped and stared at Her in order that we could both take in all Her iconic beauty, until I could stand it now longer and opened the door and got in absolutely gobsmacked by the luxury surrounding me.

The Wood and Leather Steering Wheel, Cream Embossed Leather Seats, together with a Sound System to die for.

The only question now is would She Start!

So having put Her into 'Park,' I then put the Keys in the ignition, where once turned to position one, I heard 'Bells' start to ring, which even to this very day have no idea at all what they are for.

At least that seemed to tell me that the Battery was ok, so wacking the Key right over the self starter swung the big Six into life, where I'm very pleased to say, She started straight away.

And then as I gave her a gentle blip of the throttle, the the Torque from the engine was so great, it rocked the body every time I did so.

So snicking the Shifter into drive and then releasing the brake, we headed off down the road for a test drive, where She didn't disappoint in any way at all, although She felt totally different to driving my V12.

But which Car do I love the best? you'll have to wait and see....

As we returned to the Compound, grinning from ear to ear, George suddenly said something that wiped the smile off my face.

Where almost jumping for joy he said, 'do you want me to follow you back in your Supercharger!'

I didn't even know he had a licence! as he always came round mine, on his old push bike!

In my haste to buy the Car, I never got around to the logistics, so now I faced a really big dilemma.

'Have you ever driven an Automatic before?'

'No' Said George. Wrong Answer! OMG!

Well go and sit behind the Wheel and have a little drive around the Compound.

George got in the XJR with me sat beside him and looked down at the floor.

Is that big pedal the Brake or is it the Clutch? WTF!

George is this a 'Wind up?' there is no Clutch in an Automatic, once you put Her into drive, its the Accelerater and the Brake.

And don't use your left foot at all!

After a few circuits, he seemed to be doing OK

But then he made the 'Classic mistake' of going for the Clutch he was so used to, whereapon he hit the brake and nearly sent the pair of us flying through the Windscreen!

There is something you need to know George, which is that if you are involved in a 'Smash' then you will never get to see your 67th Birthday!

'But you always told me that Jaguars were built like Tanks and one of the Safest cars on the road to have an Accident in'

I know but if you 'Prang it!' I will kill You!

And if you run it into the back of the XJS, then I will have your body exumed and do it all over again!

So if you haven't made your 'Will' out yet, then now would be a good time!

After a few more circuits, we went out on the road, with strict instructions to just take it easy and not to try and overtake anything at all.

As George was getting the hang of it now, or at least seemed to be, the plan was for him to drive in front while I would follow behind.

How we managed to get home, I will never know and while George was clearly enjoying himself, I was just so Traumatised, I think I must have lost a Stone in weight!

 

When I first said I was going to get an XJS, I was kidding. Next thing I know, I'm looking at car websites and even Craigslist (this was literally the second time I even considered using that site). I had to hide it from my mum, who has always wanted a Jag and who is perpetually terrified for my wellbeing, financially and otherwise. I said to her that I was looking into buying an import - getting away from the "old Fords I usually gravitate towards" (My last ten years were spent behind the wheel of Lincoln Mark VIIs) and she was at ease.

I spotted two - one in "cream" (turned out to be nimbus white) and one in cooler white (Alpine white? Or is that a Fender guitar finish? Glacier white?) and each had their pros and cons. The "Cream" XJS had blue interior - this seemed rather interesting. It was closer and less expensive, but had a moon roof, which I wasn't thrilled about. The owner was also difficult to reach. The second one was more expensive, further away, and had an aftermarket stereo, but it didn't have a moon roof - this was important. I don't like them.

The further Jaguar was also named. This vexed me. The owners were patient and very forward with information. I made contact with the owner of the closer Jag, and thankfully I was fresh off of some pretty serious research, so I was able to talk like I had extensive experience with the car. He said to me "listen, you obviously know what you're talking about, so I'll level with you" and mentioned a number of quirks the car had, things to look out for, that sort of thing. The car was also unnamed. Bonus.

In the end, I went with the nimbus white Jag after learning that the sellers lived on a street that shared a name with the city where the car was made. I did a quick test drive, and everything was mushy. The brakes, the steering, everything. I also had to replace the battery (and got a decent price break to buffer the blow).

On the way home, my friend (who had taken me out there to look at the car) and I had to stop for some police cruisers, and I nearly rear ended him, but avoided throwing a seven year friendship out the window (but barely).

I then brought the car to my folks' place, and my mum was clearly a little jealous. "Not fair", she said. I didn't bring up the fact that she'd not only owned a '64 1/2 Mustang but a '55 Chevy in black and yellow that she'd called "Bumblebee". I didn't say "now we're even", but I thought it.

I did a bit of maintenance and minor fixes before the weather turned, and before the weather turned I got a chance to really open her up on the highway. If I had to pick a moment where I'd fallen in love, it was then.

She then spent almost three months at a garage in various states of disassembly while they rebuilt the heads (bitter cold and lack of facilities made doing the work myself a near impossibility). Separated from my car, I was a bit morose, and taking heat from all sides on having bought the thing in the first place. Of all people, my dad empathized with me, sharing a story of an old Saab he bought decades ago.

Now she's back and better than ever. "Purrs like a kitten". "Runs like a whispering watch". I look forward to all the memories that I make with this car.

 

The first time I saw my XJS was four years ago. I am a contractor in the Pittsburgh area and I was running late for a meeting. I passed the street I was supposed to turn on and the opposing lane was gridlock traffic. As I was pondering my best move a car in traffic caught my eye. It was a black '90 XJS conv. glimmering in the sun.

I made it to the meeting and in the driveway, there it was. The XJS. Its master was my future clients son-in-law. Dr Sam. I complimented him on the vehicle and he let me know he was head over heels in love with the car.

......years pass....

I got an email from the wife of Dr Sam about a rather large project they wanted to do. So after months of attaining info, budget numbers, etc, I started the project. At one point Dr Sam told me the new fireplace arrived and they put it in the garage. So my laborer and I went to get it. We walked into the garage and there it was sitting next to the XJS. "Oh man" look at this thing was the laborers response for seeing the car for the first time. The same as mine. In my mind I thought "that's it, I have to have it". As I quickly glanced the XJS over I noticed a " for sale" sign in the window. $5,500 firm!!!!

Later that day Dr Sam and I were talking and I asked him about the car. His response was "OK here is the deal with the Jag. Its not for sale. Unless a good friend wants to buy it, its not going anywhere. I'd sell it to a friend for $1500." I was fumbling for the word "Sold"!!! I blurted it out and he was like " oh, you want it? OK." He ran down a laundry list of issues. None serious at all. I called my wife and told her to get the money out of the bank asap! The next day Dr Sam changed his mind. " I'm sorry my friend I'm not selling the car". With my best poker face I said OK. " if you change your mind let me know first, before anybody else." I knew I had to wait it out.

A few more months pass and we are knee deep into Dr Sam's project. Running out of room for supplies and such I asked him where we could store a few of his items. He hemmed and hawed. I said "how about the garage". He said " mmmmm. No room". It was my moment to bring it up. "Then make room, I said. Sell me the Jag." He nodded. "OK" was all he said. I wasn't planning on going back to his resident for a few days.

When I got home he sent me a text about the project. My reply was " the next time I'm there should I bring an envelope full of cash". I waited two hours for his response. Finally got it. "Yes".

So a few days passed, I walked into his house with $1500 cash. Later I handed him the money. Never even drove the car!!! At the end of the day he took his items out. Charged the battery and we went for a test drive. At least 6 times he asked me if I changed my mind. I mean it was ridiculous. As we looked the car over he was like, "oh the tail light is out. If you don't want it I understand. Oh your not to cramped in the seat are you? Not much room. If you don't want it I understand." As we wrapped up the test ride and I pulled it into the garage he gave one last "do you still want it". I said "Sam. Are you having second thoughts"? " yes I am" he said with his head held down and I quickly followed with "too bad, go get the title"... "OK".

Man, it was tough but my patience payed off. I got it, drove it home and its been sitting in my garage ever since. (The purchase was in December). Right now its -11 degrees outside. I'm gonna go out and dust it off again, fantasizing about driving it this summer.

I can't wait!!!!

 

There are 'Two Kinds of People' 'The Quick and The Sick' so I always keep, some Cash on hand, in Case I spot a Bargain.

 

Wonderful story. Further proof, just like OB's story that the XJS chooses you, not the other way round.

Congratulations on a brilliantly played hand.
Greg

 

Love this thread.

I bought my first last year as some of you already know. It was practically all done via the Jag forum. Joined up. Asked heaps of questions. Became friends with a few fellows and before you know it I was buying an XJS sight unseen. Even got it delivered to my house! It was a bit of a risk but I can tell you I wasn't disappointed and I'm glad I got her!

Check it out:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-owner-122917/

 

Welcome to the Club Bro, a lot of us including me bought the first one they saw and I do not remember being disappointed either.

As I bought one like 'Fern'! is She still about?

All that Changed however when She Started to go wrong and at the time I never knew about this Forum.

So in the end I did a PX for a better one and then got sort of addicted and bought a few more like you do, or maybe you don't!

 

You travelled over 700 miles with a one-way plane ticket and hired car to pick up an XJS convertible you've only seen in pictures and video. The previous owner won't tell you that the car is fit for a cross-country drive home, but in theory the minor fire damage in the trunk shouldn't be a serious concern. It's 100 miles back to the airport you flew into, which will make for a nice little shake-down cruise on a quiet provincial highway. Worse-case, you can get the car into town yourself and then put it into a shop, or on a truck, and hop a flight home none-the-worse for buying the Jag in person. It's a holiday weekend, so you've got an overnight plus another whole day to get home.

You pay the man, shake hands, and off you go. The seller told you there was a FF44 code for the O2 sensor, and sure enough the engine starts cutting out on acceleration and the idle occasionally suffers epileptic seizures. However, it’s no sweat keeping the engine from stalling at stoplights by popping into neutral and floating the tach a bit. The speedo is kaput and the turn signals are DOA, both likely due to the trunk fire. The tail lights are good, however, and this isn't your first XJS, so keeping a good speed by feel is second nature.

It's -4C outside, but not only does the heater work, the driver's seat heater warms up nicely. The choppy tach begins smoothing out above 1,800 RPM. All the rest of the instruments are working, and aside from the oxygen fault your board is green. There's only a handful of other cars sharing this stretch of God's Country, and before you know it you're back in the city again. It's late in the afternoon and you're a bit peckish, but you're really hungry to turn the car loose on a real highway. It's only another 200 miles to the next major burg and it’s not even dark yet, so once more into the breach you go.



Running the car on the cross-country highway, the engine troubles fade away and the classic Jaguar GT driving experience becomes palpable. How fast are you driving on this night lit mainly by the freight trucks you're sharing the pavement with? Who cares? The speedo's busted and the ECU forgives all trespass purring along at 2,800 RPM. You make a brief pull-over for a drive-in burger, a call to the missus, and a fill-up, in that order. All is good.

Reaching your night's destination with ease, you find an ideal suburban ramp with more hotels and eateries than you could ever hope for. One pleasant if uneventful hotel stay later, you awake the next day to overnight ice and snowfall. The locals appear somewhat nonplussed by the infrequent effect this has on the roads, but you've circled around the sun enough times to know how this works. You checked the weather before your flight out, and have both warm driving gloves and an ice scraper which somehow cleared security at the airport. One warm breakfast and scrape-down later you are ready to continue the drive home.



Road conditions are marginal, but you put 300 miles on the car last night so you'd only have another 180 miles of icy roads left today. You should be clear of the weather by lunch. Maybe a late lunch if everything slows down to a crawl, but you've got all day to get home. The roads start off slushy with some freezing rain, but traffic is light and the ice is pretty soft. Progress is slow and your planned lunch stop is getting pushed back after the noon hour. As you approach the outer band of winter's late gasp, you eventually arrive in country which received less snow but more ice. That's when the highway turns to absolute ****.

You're now driving on every kind of black ice there is. Glossy skating rink black ice. The chunky refrozen black ice. Then there's your all-time favorite: the washboard black ice. Long lines of traffic form as everyone sorts themselves out into their ice comfort zones. You mostly remain content to be patient and hover behind the same truck most of the time. However, there is occasionally that one driver who insists on being out on the ice at five miles per hour, forcing everyone else doing 20 mph or a little better to mix it up trying to pass.

The Jaguar handles all of this with aplomb, with the exception of the slow speeds aggravating the oxygen-befuddled ECU. However, even the sure-footed Jag has its limits and occasional feathering of the throttle is required to keep the nose pointed forward when changing lanes across the swales of ice. Ice-limited acceleration prevents you from making some desired passes as the truck next to you raises a blowing cloud of ice which reduces your visibility to absolute zero, forcing you to retreat back into the following lane.

Despite all this, progress is still being made. About halfway through the ice-zone, you pull over at a handy rest stop to relax your muscle tension off the throttle, relieve some bladder pressure, and scrape down the Jag again, which has iced over pretty severely. The air has dried out and there's no wind. The rest stop is in a nice location in the woods on the side of a hill. Despite the cloud cover and road conditions, it’s actually a very pretty winter landscape. There's only a few brave families making use of the facilities, so you leave the engine running to keep the cabin warm as you pick your way up the hill for the loo. You return with your ice scraper in hand, ready to clear the iced-over mirrors, windows, and wiper frames. That's when you discover that you are locked out of your car.

That's right, I said you are locked out of your running car, at a rural rest stop in the woods off the side of a national highway, at -4C with nothing more than your wallet and an ice scraper in your hand. Your keys, phone, laptop, and spare clothing are all inside the toasty warm cabin of the Jag, which is sputtering a bit with a fit O2 madness. Throughout this you remain calm, because you have a plan. In fact, if you were certain that you'll be able to reach the key, you'd find this tableau pretty funny.

You bought this car cheaply because, in addition to the fire-damaged trunk, the canvas top has a large rip and needs replacing. The rip goes all the way across the top just behind the windshield and directly above the only two seats the car has. The headliner remains intact, and the seller did a nice job of taping up the canvas for you, so the top has not really been an issue before now. The tape is coming off on its own though, and now you complete its removal manually. After clearing a large, heavy sheet of ice off the hood, it’s up onto the car you go. The layer between the canvas and the insulating mat in the headliner is filled with dirt and leaves. The headliner was toast and needed replacing anyway. The snow this morning caused the liner to swell and hang a bit, so it was just a matter of time. You bring the thank-god-I-left-the-car-with-this-ice-scraper to bear on the inside of the headliner and cut a rude gap through the top.

Now is the moment of truth. Can you reach the key in the ignition? Spoiler alert: yes, you can, if only just barely. After 30 minutes of flailing, bending, leveraging, bruising, and stretching, you manage to turn the steering wheel a bit, turn the key to the off position, snag the keyring with one finger, and ease the key out of the ignition without dropping it. Success! In the meantime, your no doubt appalled fellow rest stoppers politely ignore your gyrations. You accomplish this "rest stop" without a single word to anyone, thankfully.

It turns out the driver's door is not locked at all, and the key works the door lock just fine. But it also turns out that the passenger door was locked this whole time and the driver's door handle has failed entirely between you leaving the hotel this morning and this stop. Perhaps the shaking from the washboard ice has broken something in the door. With a little added ventilation and hanging headliner thread in the cabin, you head back out into the ice parade.

Nothing has stopped you yet and you are now only 20 miles from a major city, and not much more than 40 miles from escaping the ice altogether. A nice meal in town with a dry-off and some fresh tape, and you will be home free. It's not even 2 o'clock in the afternoon yet, the day is still young. Then the engine dies. You are buried in a long traffic line of trucks on an icy road. Shifter goes to neutral, hit the ignition, sputter starts, back to drive, stalls again, neutral again, no start; better hit the safety of the shoulder while you still can.

It's not the oxygen sensor; it doesn't prevent starting. This is just exactly like running out of gas. The fuel gauge says you have a sliver over a quarter of a tank, but you just bought this 22 year old car yesterday, and fuel gauges are notorious approximaters. So who knows? Just as long as it’s not the pump, everything will be okay. After the rest stop fiasco, running out of gas is cake. Everything will be okay.

The rescue crews are out in force. You get help in mere minutes. They bring out a flatbed with a gas can for you in due course. Two extra gallons of gas in the tank, and lo, the engine restarts! Back into the fray with the flatbed following behind to the next village 7 miles down range. Except the engine forces you over again after only a mile. Seriously? XJS fuel pumps are super-super-cranky when run low, so maybe some more gas will do the trick. It’s worked before. Up on the flatbed the Jag goes in any case, and into the local town you go.

A full tank of gas, a couple of hours of multiple battery recharges, and countless attempts to restart the engine in various ways all fail. Final conclusion: your fuel pump is dead mister, we're pushing you into parking, there is a hotel with sketchy wi-fi next door to the gas station, there's no rental car for miles, but we do have tex-mex and a pancake house; welcome to our town!

The required call to the wife is made. Rescue is arranged. Work will have to wait an extra day. A shipping broker is working on getting a truck to haul your XJS the last 300-odd miles home. It arrives at your local garage 3 days later no worse for wear; no worse than you left it, anyway.



Was this all worth it? The car is definitely worth it, you bought it for a song. But you could have arranged everything remotely, or just put it on a truck and flown home on Day One... Are you kidding me? Where's the fun in that?

 

What a Great Story!

Black is fast becoming my favorite Color!

 

I posted this story once before so i found it and copyed and pasted for this thread:

i just joined the fourm been reading for a couple weeks. I have been in the market for a xjs convertible for a little while mostly i was looking for one with a v-12 and in north Dakota where i live you just don't ever see them much less see one for sale.

I went down to kentucky to visit my brother and while i was down there i got a chance to drive his 95 xjs-6 with the 4.0L straight six and decided if i could find one with the 4.0 i could live with that over the v-12. he told me about a xjs that had been sitting on a dealership lot down there for a while so we jump in his xj-6 to go check it out

I really didn't think i would be able to make a deal on it because it was sitting on a dealership lot i figured that they would want way too much for it. We get up there and from a distance it looked pretty nice get up closer and the first thing you notice is a very amateur paint job on the car. it looked ok from 15 feet away any closer you start noticing some very heavy orange peel some small runs and 6 inch wide stripes on the trunk and hood i'm guessing they shot the black in direct sunlight in the summer time. but i have done a good bit of body and paint work in the past so not a total deal breaker and the car is solid no rust. new top on it so im still interested.

i go talk in and talk to them still figuring a deal to be made on this car is not going to happen. they start showing my nada book value on the car being 9k ect. so i stop them right there and make it clear that i am no where near that number on that car. and he agree's that the car isnt worth that much he just thought it was interesting that nada has it priced so high. he tells me he would take $3500 cash for it. so i figure well were close enough a deal might be able to be made after negotiation. so i take the car for a test drive

car fires right up and sounds just like a jaguar should. drives down the road like a dream but not without some issues. parking break indicator is on. bulb fail light comes on when any lights are on. temp gauge was reading high (very close to the upper line on the operating range but holding steady there. hood latch pull handle is mangled seats are not in great shape with some lame seat covers over them. lacquer Finnish in the center cover is cracked everywhere.

so i pull off in a grocery store parking lot away from the dealership to give the car a good inspection. i serch the car top and bottom for any signs of rust pulled up the carpet in the front checking the floor pans truck, look under the car looked very closely at common rust area's for any signs of rust or improper repairs of rust (very much a concern considering the amateur paint job) there was absolutly no rust to be found anywhere on this car. everything under the hood looked right the motor did not seem hot despite the temp reading on the gauge also durring the drive the gauge rose to around 3/4's and stayed steady right there not rising further on hard acceleration or sitting in traffic. i felt pretty cofidant that the issue was fairly minor. if it was even actually running hot at all.

so i head back to the dealership ready for negotiation. still thinking i probably wouldent be able to make a deal on the car. so i talk to the owner of the dealership and tell him well the turn signals don't work its over heating theirs a couple idiot lights on and it has a bad paint job on it. ill give you 1500 for it. then he tells me well it has a bran new convertible top on it good tires and runs like a champ he would come down to 3000. i tell him ill do 2000 $100 bills that's my top offer. he comes down to 2500 i stick to 2000 he says he cant do it and we go back and forth on it several times. i want the car cause its solid and all the issues are pretty minor and i can re-paint it for my time and material costs. i had looked at others that were in alot worse shape they wanted more money than what we were at on this one. after many back and forths on 2000-2500 i offer 2250 and he agree's and the deal is finnished and i drive off in my car.

i get the car back to my brothers house break out some tools get the turn signals works varify the car is not actually over heating that the gauge is just reading wrong. and some stuff like that. i also have to drive this car 1200 miles home from ky to nd. so go threw change fluids ect normal new to you used car type stuff. put about 1000 miles on it running around town and some highway. enough to gain enough confidence in the car for the trip.

now for the trip home. my visit is over and it time to head home. part of this trip included buying a couple 2wd pickups at auction up here and re-selling them down there i was going to buy a 4wd at auction down there for the return trip. so anyway i carried a boat load of tools down with me. so now iv got me and the dog and a boat load of tools to load in this tiny xjs convertible. i manage to get everything in the car behind the seats is stacked to the roof trunk is full to the brim ect. we leave out in the morning everything is going good car is running great 100's of miles feel like you have hardly been driving.

I cross into Indiana and i'm driving along and i pass by a cop sitting in the middle of the interstate and he pulls out get behind me and pulls me over for no plates on the car. writes me a couple bs warning tickets . Then starts me some questions about why i bought a car in ky and am driving it to nd how i got to ky ect. he had already wrote my warning tickets and i had already been there a while and say "well im not here to chat it up with you am i free to go on my way." he starts telling me how my story sounds suspicious and normally people that drive one vehicle to one state buy another one cash and drive it somewhere else are normally involved in trafficking of drugs or guns.

2 1/2 hours later after a drug sniffing dog that barked at my dog after my dog barked at it witch lead to a complete vehicle search including removal of the door panels ect. all my stuff being set out on the side of the road they couldn't find anything illegal and i was finally on my way.

the rest of the trip went without a hitch made it 1200 miles in less than 24 hours including my Indiana delay and a quick cat nap about 180 miles from home. i had originally planned on getting a hotel room in Iowa for the night but blizzard warnings in effect starting at 9am the next day cancled that plan. so i just pushed on and cancled my reservation. the jag drives so nicely that 1000 miles feels like a couple hundred so fatigue never really was a issue. knocking out around 350 miles between stops was done without much discomfort other than needing to pee really bad...lol










some pictures from when i first bought it

some current photos about a year later

 

Well this is not a Jaguar hunting story, but here is my rather inauspicious start to XJS ownership:

I bought my XJS sight unseen and had it shipped to me. The shipping process ending up being a bit of a fiasco, so it was more than a month after the purchase date before it was finally on the way to me. Obviously I was chomping at the bit to see it in person, verify its condition, and start driving it!

When the delivery date was finally set, it happened to be just two days after an outpatient medical procedure I was undergoing. I didn’t want to move the delivery date, and figured everything would be fine. The procedure went well, but I had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia that was getting gradually worse as it got closer to delivery time. Adverse meaning awful headaches, repeated vomiting and honestly feeling as sick as I’ve ever felt from any illness.

I had the car delivered to my office address, to have more room for the massive car carrier delivering it. My wife was out of town and I was determined to be present for delivery. I went to the office and waited in the parking lot in my daily driver. It’s the middle of summer in Atlanta, so of course it’s mid 90’s and high humidity. I’m sweating like a pig, literally opening my door to vomit periodically and awaiting the truck, which is an hour late. The driver calls to say he’s parked a ½ mile away as he found a good spot for the carrier. I manage to drive over and find him as he’s unloading my beautiful XJS. I give a quick once-over, but at this point he could have pointed to a rusted out chevy on blocks and I would have signed that bill of delivery.

With the driver’s help, I manage to get my new XJS and my daily driver back to the office and leave them in the parking lot. I immediately take a taxi back to the hospital where I had the procedure done and was admitted for dehydration and to deal with this reaction to the anesthesia. I ended up staying there for 3 nights before I could finally get a ride back to my new Jaguar! Miserable experience. Luckily the car turned out to even better than described and after that rough start it’s been smooth sailing.