Hey guys, new here, first post.

I am going to go look at the car this weekend. The owner claims it runs and drives great. However, the CEL is on and he says it is due to the transmission. He says he's replaced the harness but, it didn't rid of the light.

From our conversation on the phone, he appears to be a diehard Jag fan and has owned several. He also sounds like the type to take good care of his cars.

Photos look good, clean body/paint with the exception of some fading clear coat on the tops of the doors. Owner says that when he bought it, it had the same clear coat problems on the hood, roof and trunk lid and he had those painted.

Interior looks good. New tires. Heat, air and heated seats supposedly all work fine.

Anyway, what am I getting myself into here? I've never owned a Jag, have always been a German car fan but, I just love the way Jaguars look and I'm intrigued by the V12. If it runs and drives fine, what should I be looking at as far as known issues with these models/year? And what should I be asking/looking at with the CEL?

Many thanks.

 

If the CEL is truly caused by a transmission fault it might not be too hard to fix. It has GM's 4L80E transmission...notorious for speed sensor and shift solenoid faults....both easy to repair. No promises, but there's a good chance that sensors and solenoids will fix it. About $150 in parts and 2-3 hours DIY labor

Harness problem are common as well, due to trans mount failures over-stretching the wires.....but obviously that didn't fix the problem.

The 6.0 V12 engine itself is not too likely to cause problems repairs can be labor intensive if/when needed. A lot of the bugs of the older V12 were corrected on the 6.0

Go to the "X300" section. At the top of the section, in one of the sticky threads, is a buyers guide that might be useful. The V12 car ("X305") is simply the V12 variant of the "X300". it was flagship of the fleet....a real dreamboat.

The X300 cars are generally considered quite good...but neglect can bring out the worst in them and age/miles can take the gloss off any car eventually.

Cheers
DD

 

Just worth mentioning that while it is GM's transmission, the case is unique to Jaguar. Thus you can't swap a Jaguar 4L80E for one from a Chev truck. As far as I know the internals are identical to the GM applications.

 

May be too late with input as it is now Monday. No major known issue's that would deter anybody from looking at an 95 XJ12. Plenty of wear items will need to be addressed if pervious owner has neglected the car. Front shock mount bushings, transmission mount, headliner, cup holder, radiator mount bushings. If the air does not work and will not take a charge check the mount bushings for the little air conditioning radiator (I'm sure they have a name for it) as these bushings also disintegrate with time and it rubs a hole in it. Power steering hoses will be tired. Radio may need TLC, speakers will be tired. All what I would call normal wear items for a car of this age. My experience has been the vast majority of XJ12 second or third/fourth owners neglect the car on these little items. Now I have also replaced starters, water pump, hoses, power steering pumps, alternators ect... but I have more in the garage than most. While above may be a dark picture keep in mind this list is over 15 cars of the same era. However most of the minor stuff listed is universal with 95-96 XJ's. My advice if you like to tinker on small issue's go for it. The car is drop dead gorgeous and a real head turner but it is 20 years old. Let us know how it plays out. Good luck.

 

Have to agree with previous message. The xj12 is a gorgeous car, as a head turner, I can only compare it to my 92 xjs convertible, which English tourists to Orlando drool over when I occasionally take it to an English bar on International Drive. It creates so much interest the bar owner is happy to move a couple of outside tables so I can park close to the bars door.
If the xj12 you are looking at is priced right, I would say, GO FOR IT.
Pic of mine on my post in this forum, "power sring issue"
Littleguy.