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All, I'm a long time fan of the old XJ40 style cars, being 45, I was 14 when they first came out and thought that they were the bees knees. I currently own a couple of XJS and a 75 XJ12C, but I would not say that I know these cars as I rarely drive them.
A friend of mine called me the other day and told me that he's going to donate his 94 XJ12 and asked me if I wanted to buy it instead for a knock down price. He traded it for an XJS that I sold him a couple of years back when he lived in Dallas. His reason for selling it is cost of upkeep. He's retired and when he moved, he has not been able to make connections like he has here.
I know that the car has drive line issues. He rebuilt the drive shaft but the center bearing that he replaced failed. I also know that the car has prior salvage history which does not bother me as I buy salvage vehicles all the time.
I'd be interested in understanding what I need to look for if I decided to buy the car and what mtc items that I need watch out for. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi: I can offer this information that I have gleaned during my search for my xj40 6 months ago. I ran across two xj81s in MI (that's the designator for the v12...I wonder why they settled on xj81 vs xj80 since the 40 has a six cylinder and the 81 has a 12...stupid idle thoughts of mine. It is a fairly rare car. They were both in sound mechanical and cosmetic condition. They both had approximately 75,000 miles. One was offered at $5000 and the other asked $7500. I don't know what they went for. I love my '91 Sovereign and I believe by '94, which was the last model year of this body style, all the common electric bugs had be worked out. I've always believed in buying the last few years of a model that has a 5+ year run. This gives the manufacturer a chance to work out the bad stuff mostly. Good luck.
Car arrived on Friday. Runs pretty well. The clear is completely shot so it will need to be repainted. Fortunately, it's white which is an easy color and the body is straight. The neutral safety switch is bad and requires a jiggle to get the car started. I've not had an opportunity to drive it any distance or lift the hood so more to come later.
Here are a few quick pictures from when the car arrived. I'll post a video up on my youtube site once I get into it. Right now my lift is tied up with a parts car and I'm distracted by the other beast in the background
Last edited by alabbasi; Dec 24, 2018 at 01:30 PM.
Congratulations, Alabbasi. Looks very nice especially with the white interior. With only one model year in the USA, it is a very rare car.
Black grille vanes and 20-spoke wheels (and a few badges) set off the XJ81 from the XJ40. Just like with the X305 versus the X300. Without seeing the badges, most people would never guess you have the exclusive Jaguar V12 powerplant under the hood!
My 1995 XJ12 also got the mid-door bump strips in red, presumably from the dealer. I'm not so fond of them, but can't see disturbing them at this point either.
Possible 94 XJ12 purchase
. It is a fairly rare car. They were both in sound mechanical and cosmetic condition. They both had approximately 75,000 miles. One was offered at $5000 and the other asked $7500. I don't know what they went for. I love my '91 Sovereign and I believe by '94, which was the last model year of this body style, all the common electric bugs had be worked out. I've always believed in buying the last few years of a model that has a 5+ year run. This gives the manufacturer a chance to work out the bad stuff mostly. Good luck.
