i recently ran across a 1988 xjs v12 that has been sitting since 2001 on a farm in laveen AZ. the car looks like is in good condition besides the 13 years of dust on it. the owner said is ran perfect when it was parked and it has around 60 thousand miles on it. what should i offer him for the car? i seen a white 87 xjs v12 with 89 thousand miles in real good condition for $2300.

 

An XJS that has been sitting for 13 years is gonna needs lots of rehab work. Even decent examples that are still in use almost always require a fair bit of work to really make 'em right.

And buying a V12 (or any other car, really) without first hearing it run is risky.

Personally I'd consider it a parts car and offer, oh, $500 ?

Cheers
DD

 

what do you mean by rehab work is it going to be more work than any other car( hoses,tires,gas, filters, fluids) that has been sitting that long? because i have done this before, my first car was a 1984 corvette that was sitting for 7 years and my second car was a 1980 camaro that was sitting since 93.

 

So Corvette sat for half as long, and it's unclear how long the Camaro sat. Parts availability/pricing was a non-factor, correct?

Getting around the engine on a Vette and Camaro is way simpler than the 12 cylinders shoe-horned into that car. So that's going to complicate things immensely right off the bat.

Also, I'd like to know if any rodents chewed away at the electricals. That will cause you some major grief as well.

I think any number in the three digit range should be ok, nor would I rule out a "I'll take it off your lot for free" offer.

 

Right, all that routine re-commissioning stuff.

When you're done with all *that* you can *then* tackle the list of fix-its that are particular to XJSs and V12s.

It's all doable, and most of us enjoy doing it....but be ready for some work and $$$$. Just fair warning, that's all.

If you're willing to dig in, we're willing to help!

Cheers
DD

 

Ha!
Replacing the coolant system hoses alone (all 17 of them) will likely be more of a task than everything you did to either the Vette, or the Camaro. I believe Vee mentioned the electricals...always a major problem on the XJS, complicated on the '88 due to the active restraints (mousetrack seatbelts), which almost never work at this age, with repairs and parts totally unsupported by Jaguar, even though federal law mandates the factory repair defective seat belts. In 88 the majority of critical gaskets were still made of tissue paper that couldn't contain a good sneeze, and 26 year old British rubber components inside the oven that is the underhood area of the XJS will have the consistency of Bakelite.

A cheap oilchange in your driveway will run you $50. Figure at least twice that to change plugs, wires, and distributor cap.Oh yeah...figure on the plugs & wires consuming at least a long weekend, likely longer, since it will be your first trip inside the Vee. If you want to set the timing, you'll be taking your life in your hands, as it has to be set from underneath the car, with the engine running at 3,000rpm.

This is not a project for novices, the faint of heart, or the shallow of pocket. "So you gotta ask yourself one question. Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" LOL

If you think you're up to the challenge, welcome to the family, and to the forum. The folks here will do everything possible to help you on your journey. Unfortunately, none of us can offer you the name of a decent rehab clinic, as we are all still in the throws of our addiction.

 

Wow, if the seller can remember that in ran perfect 13 years ago I have to wonder why he parked it :-)

I too would make him start/run it. If it can do those simple things everything else if fixable by you if you want to put the time and money into it. You doing it will be a lot cheaper than hiring it out. AND, the sense of achievement will be amazing.

However, that wasn't your question. Look at it this way...if you are LUCKY, it won't start at all! Then you can look him square in the eye and and say that your feeling generous today and you'll get it off his property for nothing :-). In that case, you are out only what it costs you to move it, plus whatever you need to do to get it running again (which may not be all that much).

So...offer to take it off his hands no charge and bargain from there.

John
1987 XJ-S V12
63,000 miles

 

Any car that has not run in that many years will have issues... Jags are just like anything else that sits that long, they will need a lot of servicing... Just because it ran before the owner parked it, means nothing... Just assume it needs a lot of tender loving care(I'm being nice) and tell the owner to get it running before you make an offer...

 

Tell him you'll take it for free and that you intend to restore the car to its former glory. How's the interior? Arizona is no joke.

 

interior is perfect if the car was cleaned it would look like it was running yesterday.

 

Still, it's a non-running XJS. Offer $500.

 

wondering how the interior looks....

i got my XJS in 2010 and it had sat since 1997. Bought it for $1000 with no keys and no idea what condition the engine was in. Hard to pass up BRG with wire wheels. $1000 was double the asking price to get ahead of the other 45 callers.

up to you, sounds like a dry place for the interior to be....with the work involved and the fact the owner still has it, i would max at 1500 but offer 750 and really focus on the amount of work and fact it is just getting worse and worse the longer the owner neglects it.

 

There's an old saying that is still true to this day:

"The cheapest Jaguar you can buy is the most expensive one that you can afford."

Case in point, last year I bought a 98 XJ8 from "Smiling Ted's" for $3300. It was running and appeared to need only minor updating.

To date, I have put $2632 into it and haven't quite finished.

Now, as for my 76 XJ12L that I bought for $5000 in 1984, don't even get me started. Can you say "Money pit" ???

However, I have loved every bit of it.

Best of luck