Mine, a 1991 V12 ('92 MY) facelift convertible. bought in 1993 as an ex demonstrator with 250 km, quad headlights and rear seat conversion. now done about 45'000 km.
Worth next to nothing money wise. But great fun.
Due to 15" tyre problems have upgraded to 16" mws ss wire wheels, US side marker lights ( that long nose sticks out so far l wanted it visible...lol ) and added the lighted sun visors from the later model.
Was thinking of adding the sport front and rear colour coded bumpers and a new radio/CD, if l can find one l like that doesn't look like a '70s disco.

 

I got my 1989 xjs convertible last Friday. Traded my 2007 Kawasaki Mean Streak 1600 motorcycle for it, even trade. It has 61,000 miles on it. I am going to replace the distributor cap, rotor, cables and spark plugs myself. And I'm going to get a new convertible top. But otherwise, it's amazing.

 

1990 XJS V12 convertible May 2013. $2000. Car was sitting in a yard for 3 years. It needed a complete cleanup including a fuel tank cleaning. I found broken wires and disconnected vacuum hoses. It took some work to clean it up. Now it needs a complete muffler system.
I also bought a 1989 with a dismantled V12. $1000. The owner lost interest. I don't want to challege putting an engine together. THe heads are already rebuilt but I don't want to challenge it. This car will get an LT1. I already found a donor.

 

Mine's a '94. I purchased it in 2000 with 47,000 miles and paid $20,000 for it, which was what good examples were going for back then. It had a brand new top just installed. It's now just crossing the 100,000 miles after 13 years.

And here's an interesting story in which an XJS took part. Three days before I purchased this car, I had gone to look at a 1995 XJS in Carlsbad (between LA and San Diego). It was sapphire blue with the oatmeal interior and it had only 13,000 miles. I wanted to see it because my preferred color was, indeed, sapphire blue, plus the low miles, even in spite of the steep price, $38,000, which was tops at that time, but in the hope that I could work it out, down to something I would contemplate squeezing in. To no avail... but here's the kicker...

That XJS belonged to a very wealthy couple from Milan, Italy. The broker selling it for them explained to me that the couple had a mansion in a very exclusive area, somewhere inland from Carlsbad, where they kept two cars year 'round just to have them there when they came to California for their 2-week annual visit. The other car was a Lambo. They had decided to cut down the "California allocation" down to one car and between the Lambo and the Jag, they decided to keep the Lambo.

Want more on this? The couple had similar homes, with similar "car allocations" in New York, Aspen, Montreal, London, Paris and, of course, Milan and Bellagio (in that wonderful lakes region in northern Italy) and I know that I'm forgetting other places this guy mentioned. I bet that there were a few RR's and Ferrari's in the other places. The couple was in their forties. Oh well....

 

Nice couple of Barn Funds you have there!!

 

I could not get the code for my original radio, so I bought one from this place, was easy to install RetroSoundUSA.com - Classic Radio Systems, Speakers, and Accessories

 

1996 XJS AJ16 bought in January 2013 via Craigslist with 140,000 miles for $4,850. The owner wanted $5,700 for the car but I got him to go down to $4,850. My excuse "This car has a lot of miles." As of today I just passed the 150,000 mile mark. It's a daily driver.

The CL ad



150,000 Miles

https://i.imgur.com/wrpN2b7.jpg

 

Well, I am going to retell another guy's Jag buy story, as he told me this year.

He is now in his late 70s.
He flew Hueys for Air America for 3 years in Vietnam, and told me the US Govt paid him $5000 US a month tax-free in 1970. Serious money.
Then after 'Nam he was getting his Oldsmobile serviced in San Fran one day, looked across the road and saw a Jag dealer, wandered over and saw a new V12 E-type manual. The salesman told him to take a test drive so he did. Liking it, and wanting to impress a woman he was pursuing, he bought it! Price in early 70s - $17,000 USD

Later he flew for BA and lived in the UK.
He told me he'd owned a house in Dorking.
I told him I'd lived near Dorking, in a small village called Abinger Common.
He said, "I used to drink at the Abinger Hatch"
I said, "I used to drink at the Abinger Hatch"
He said,"Yes, but I used to drink at the Abinger Hatch with Oliver Reed"
trumped

Great, true, story..

 

This tells me there are a lot of good deals out there if you are a Jag guy. We benefit (used car prices) from a relatively bad reputation from the public who are afraid to buy these cars. But you have to be a car guy/woman to own one of these - unless you are wealthy enough to buy new.

 

Bought mine a month ago. 1995 XJ6 VDP. 175,000 miles. $1000 USD.

 

You USA guys are so lucky! Im still searching for my first XJS here in Oz. They are all still way overpriced in the 20k+ mark. Think I have to find me a barn !

 

hmm where have you been looking?

 

Bought my '94 XJS V12 coupe about 2 months ago from the second owner on Ebay. Had the car shipped from New York to New Orleans which took a whole month. Car had 53K miles on it and I have only put a few hundred miles since then. Car still has a few problems but I love the way it rides and cruises at high speed. Disappointed in the sound of the V12 at low rpm---it sounds like a 6 cyl. Chevy due mainly to the crappy air pump. Paid $12,600 plus $1K shipping.

 

Bought my '88.5 XJ-S coupe late last September for $4500.00 with 66k miles. Put another $6000 or so in repairs over the course of this first year. Just a bit over 71k miles as I type this. For less than $15k, it's a lot of car! Tremendous value in terms of ride and fun. We are so happy with our Jag experience that we're getting a '95 X300 VDP with 66k on the clock (my new lucky number?) as a more daily driver.

I periodically blog about my experiences with the big white at here: http://nocryingjag.blogspot.com/

 

2000 Daimler 4.0L V8 (X308)- $6,000 2 years ago - 70K miles, done about 10K miles on her since... only problem so far is a wheel bearing.

2009 XJ Portfolio 4.2L Supercharged V8 (X358) - $23,000 1 month ago - 63,000 miles, 500 miles so far.... one year left on warranty so all good hopefully.

 

Got my XJS about 3 years ago right after I got out of high school.
After looking at one a few hours away and being sorely disappointed and yet still thrilled to experience my first XJS, I got online to look for more. I found one with two teeny tiny pictures advertised for $500 dollars. It said that there were no keys and no idea what condition it was in because it was from an estate. I called and found out it had been up for 2 hours and I was 48th in line.
After a few minutes I decided the wire wheels would be worth enough, regardless of the cars overall condition, to offer her $1,000 for it if I could come over the next day. She agreed.
I arrived and it was sitting in the garage with the doors open. BRG with a fawn interior! the tires were flat and the headliner sagged to the center console but it was otherwise beautiful!
The owner came out and told me she knew nothing about it and received it as part of an estate because she was a realtor. Apparently it belonged to some guy and his whole place was forclosed on, including his garage with a few cars in it. I guess this had been an ongoing situation because the sticker in the window and the plate on the back said 1997. It had been sitting for 13 YEARS! Paper work in the glovebox detailed that I was to be the third owner and the original buyer was a woman that put about 80k of its 85k miles on it. The guy bought it in 1993 and only put 5k on it in the 4 years he had it.
It was a gamble,not knowing the condition of the engine or tranny, but as I said I was willing to bet just on the wires.
Bought it on the spot for 1k cash.
Came and picked it up a few days later, had to soap the flat bed because the rear wheels were locked up, I had also put some tires that were in my yard on the wheels so it would roll.

Got it running a few weeks later, sold my other car to buy tires, and its been an ongoing project since then. Regardless of any issues I have, I know I will always own this car. One day it will get its well deserved restoration.

 

Wow! THANK YOU to all who shared their stories! It was great to read all the posts, hear the stories, see the pictures!

Michael

 

I bought a beautiful 1995 X300 VDP short wheel base (!) with 67k well documented miles from my trusty Jag mechanic last Friday for $8,500.00. I was willing to pay above blue book because the mechanic had just put roughly $4k worth of his own time (retail, not his cost, I'm sure) and he's been working on the car for years so he knows it inside and out.

Buying a Jag from someone I know, respect and trust was completely different (superior) to buying my '88 XJ-S a year ago, 100 miles from home where everyone I spoke to lied to me about some aspect of the car. From now on, I'll only buy Jags from him or from people he can vouch for. It makes a huge difference in trusting the car if you trust the person you bought it from.

 

My first is a 1987 Hess & Eisenhardt XJS convertible. Found it in a barn in southern Ohio, it has about 65-70 thousand miles on it but I have never driven it since I am still restoring it with love and care. It is called "Panache". It cost me 800 dollars and it had bird poop all over its black lacquer finish. I have treated the seats for 3 years this last August and they are now so soft.

My second is a 1993 facelift black XJS convertible with 155,000 miles on it. It was just bought in late July from a fellow who was in a divorce 3 years ago and he just wanted it gone. I helped him out with that. She purrs like a kitten but needs a tune up and she has no functional brakes...so far. She cost 2500.

Both cats are black with tan interiors. The 87 has a tan convertible top while the 93 has a black top. Both have tan top covers and each complements the other. God has greatly blessed me

 

Last Thursday, 1990 XJS V12 Convertible, $7k, had 76,000 miles roughly on it, and I've put about 100 miles on it.