I have been looking high and low for an XJS over the course of the last month. I sold a Harley I paid $3,000 for, for $5,000 and that is what I decided to pay for my new toy.

I looked at 3 V12 cars, a 1989, 1990, and 1991. All three cars had more issues than I wanted to deal with and each owner wanted about 5k.

I drove 5 hours to Kansas City to look at the 1989 model with 45k miles. The owner said the only thing wrong with the car was the passenger side seat belt. Upon arriving I found dents along the underside of the body, several electrical gremlins, and the final nail in the coffin was the ABS controller failing on the test drive.

The day after the Kansas City trip I am home browsing Craigslist and I run across this jewel in Wichita. I called the older gentleman selling the car about 30 minutes after he posted the ad. He purchased the car in 1998 and used it on nice days to commute to and from his office 3 miles from his house.

The car is a 1993, 6cyl, with 83k, in GREAT condition. Absolutely no rust or dents, paint is nearly flawless, the interior is in good condition. The car has been garage kept its entire life. Everything works except for the power antenna. The hood cable between the lever and the handle snapped on me while I was looking at it but I've got one on order.

The car drove 2 hours back home absolutely flawlessly at 78mph and got over 20mpg. I love the silver-green paint color and haven't seen another like it.

One interesting thing I noticed on the initial test drive is that this 4.0L I6 feels as if it makes more power than all 3 of the V12 cars I drove. I don't know if this is due to the transmission difference or due to the condition of the 3 V12's.

I paid $5,000... asking price was $5500. How did I do?

 

You did well in my opinion.

I reckon the V12's were all off song, common as mud, sadly.

A V12 on song is a marvel that sends shivers up the spine, and I have had MANY, and the thrill never leaves. Damn I must get another V12, if she will allow it HAHA.

 

Welcome to this friendly Forum.
I've moved your post to the 'New Members' section since it is a good introduction and we can all say 'Hello'
Obviously you've found the XJS area, there's also a Regional section here
Southwest US - AZ TX NM OK - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

Welcome to the forum scrible,

It looks a beauty both inside and out. Well worth the patient, careful search and the distance traveled. There will be some lustful looks in the XJS section!

Enjoy the car and the forum.

Graham

 

Welcome to the forum scribe, from the pics you posted it looks like you did real well.
You don't work for Mercruiser by any chance do you?

 

Welcome to the forum scrible,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Scrible, looks like you got a very nice Jag for just $5000....I think you did great.

As Grant says, many V12s out there are just not running correctly.....most are babied along so their owners don't even realize it

But the 6 cylinder cars like your have a 3.54 differential compared to the 2.88 used in the V12s so the off-the-line, city drivng punch of the 6 cylinder cars is surprisingly strong.....helped also by weighing 250 pounds less.

Cheers
DD

 

Clamdigger: No, I don't work for Mercury

Doug: Ah, the rear gearing difference makes sense. I cannot believe the V12 cars have 2.88 gears, that is ridiculously low.

Thanks everyone for the compliments and warm welcome! The XJS has been one of my "bucket list" cars for a while now. I am excited to be part of the Jaguar community. These cars just have something about them that most other cars don't. It's like they were built with a soul.

 

Hey there Scrible, welcome aboard, good to have you here with us here at JF

Thanks for a great intro full of info, great pics too.
I've edited them into the body of the post so peeps can see better

Man she looks awesome and in great condition...................be sure to buy a lottery ticket as you're riding high at the moment!!

Any useful information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos, use the search facility etc, can be found here
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Check out the regional section for your area?
There are lots of members local to you with the same interests.
Regional - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum


I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the whole site and all its features.

Please Jump on in and enjoy the site.................

 

It is, and it really stunted performance until some road speed and RPM built up. The "plus" was second gear being good till 110 mph....great for high speed passing on wide open roads...where the car was most at home.

Towards the end, though, Jaguar used the 6.0 litre (versus 5.3 litre) V12 in the XJS...with the 3.54 diff. Those cars, rather rare, packed a pretty decent wallop ! :-)

Cheers
DD