Hi everyone

Apologies if there is a post that already covers this and I missed it..

My father passed away recently and our favourite car was always the Jaguar Xjs coupe.

I'm considering buying one and would like to get a sense of running costs - conscious that classic Jags aren't famous as cheap modes of transport 😊

A little bit of context:

I've identified that I'd like a good condition late 80s/early 90s 3.6 and have a daily driver already, so this would be for high days and holidays.

If occasional repairs are expensive that's fine, but with a young family and financial commitments, I don't want to be shelling out thousands every single year to keep it on the round.

Is anyone willing to share their experience of running costs averaged over say, 5 years, I'd be very grateful!

All the best
Bruce

 

Welcome to the forums Bruce,

With any used Jaguar, history is crucial. Ideally a vehicle in long term ownership with a fat file of bills for all work done. As you already have experience of the XJS, no need to tell you the ravages that our climate can cause to this model. Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xjs-x27-32/ to the XJS forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

These are hobby cars so it's doubtful that anyone logs expenses in the sense that you're referring to. Most, I suspect, assiduously avoid a close look at what they've spent

Most of these old Jags have not been well serviced. I can almost promise that any 25-30-35 year old XJS you find is going to need a lot of attention to truly bring it up-to-snuff. This can be costly, especially if you're not a DIYer. Of course, in many cases the required work can be spread out over a period of time while you're driving and enjoying the car.

As an example I'll mention that, years ago, I bought a very nice...nicer than most.... XJS V12 for $6500. In the first 6 months I spent another $6500 fixing everything to my satisfaction. After that, several years of enjoyment with only minor fixes and simple servicing. Some of the money I spent was optional but, still, the typical scenario is to spend a lot of money early-on to play catch-up on all the repairs and services that the previous owner didn't do

Actual routine servicing of these cars (oil changes, filters, flushes, etc) is not particularly expensive.

Cheers
DD

 

Hi Graham, Doug

Thanks very much for the replies - most helpful.

I think it's a great point that if I actually *was* the owner of a nice Jag, I perhaps wouldn't be in a hurry to scrutinise my spend on the car retrospectively :-)

Doug, your example of significant spend in the early days followed by several years of smaller scale repairs and routine maintenance is actually quite encouraging.

Thanks again both
Bruce

 

Hello Bruce,
A good idea is to take a look at the price and availability of parts, keep in mind a lot of stuff may not be available new.
Take a look at the famous auction site, you will find a huge price difference in the price of parts.
Some sellers will take the p+++ while others are trying to make a few pounds, an example, I needed a heater control panel for an X300
one seller had the part at £5 + postage another wanted £152, a vast difference.
Also ask yourself the question, if I have a euro fuzz box as a daily driver am i going to leave the big cat sitting on the drive?
I think you will find the jag will be used as often as possible.
I have managed to convince the wife that you don`t buy these and worry about the fuel economy, they don`t have it.
Buy it for the passion for what it is, the love of the car.
You don`t want to end up the richest man in the cemetery.
Hope this helps.
John