Good morning gents, due to a downturn in work, it appears I may have to part with my XJS ............. :O(
It is a 95 4.0 convertible, and has had about 4.5k spent on it in the last 2 years or so. It has a complete set of new leather seat covers, and new wood installed,(including the SRS door) and two new (rare and expensive) headlights.
The body and paint are in good shape. It has a few minor niggles, the power doorlocks do not work, and the A/C needs charging, as it has a leak.
The top is probably going to need replacing in the next 2-3 years
It has 98xxx miles and runs and drives fine, and won 1st in the luxury category at the 2012 Katy British car show
Question is, what should I ask for it ? I really don't want to sell, but if I do, I would like it to go to someone who would take care of it ....
Any opinions valued
Thanks in advance

 

Its always so hard to put a figure on these cars because you really do have to find the right buyer to maximize the price.

Based solely on the fact that you're about to hit 100,000 miles, I would say that it would be difficult to get $8,000 for the car.

I would recommend fixing the AC and door locks. Without those working, you may not get to $5k.

If you were expecting to get more than that, I would reconsider your plans.

 

Ok Thanks.................I was hoping for arround $6.5k, so I guess I'm not too far away. I guess I'll take a look at the door locks and A/C tho.....

 

I bought my '96 for $7,000. It was in about the same shape as yours minus the new seat covers. Yes, I think $7,000 was really to much (he started at $8,000) but you don't find many XJS's for sale around Pittsboro, NC so I went for it. By the time I get done messin' with it I'll probably have another 7 or 8k in it. Not a very good investment but lots-o-smiles per mile!
Bottom Line: I think you should be able to find someone willing to pay $6,500 for it.

 

Makes me cry! A car in this condition, with a couple of minor faults for $US6500. When compared to the price I would have to pay for it in Australia $6.5k is ridiculously low.


regrettably it is a post 98 vehicle, which means it needs 100% compliance with Australian rules as well as conversion to RHD, so cannot be considered as an import. If it were pre-89 it could be imported as it stands without any conversion and minimal paperwork.


Ah such is life.


hope you achieve your price.


BernardS

 

Perception is reality. Americans perceive that the XJS is worthless, so we tend to sell them "dirt cheap". IMO, a '94 to '96 4.0 convertible well taken care of in good shape is at the minimum a $10,000.00 car. So...remembering that there is an a$$ for every seat I'd fix what should be fixed to bring it to top condition and hold out for my price.

 

Ya I'd start at $8K with the locks working....it's an attractive XJS, I think the colour makes it desirable. Sell the Chrysler lol.

 

The A/C Do you know where it's leaking from?...

I hope you don't have to sell her. People always seem to regret selling these cars and end up with another down the road.

 

Fixing the AC leak may not be very expensive. My '96 has a freon leak at the high pressure test valve. That can be replaced without having to buy a complete new hose.
As for the fob locks, I can't think of another item that is more unnecessary.
As far as price is concerned, you have only spent around $10,000. I spent $13,000 on my '96 including new paint, tires, powder coated wheels and many fuel injection system items. A new top and headliner. I have an XJS that runs perfectly now and is beautiful to view. Last year I put this car on Ebay for $8,000 and got no interest except one company in Florida that buys these cars for export.

Selling her would leave a hole in my heart, so I may just drive her for a few years.
Luck on selling yours,
RagJag

 

Thanks for all the opinions gents, I'll wait til the warmer weather, and fix the locks and the A/C.
Oh, the Chryslers have already gone, the pic are a year old, and were all I had at work................ :O)
They've been replaced by a GS vette................which will also be up for sale soon.
Looking to clear out the garage, so that we can sell the house.........as it looks like the Oil business is going to be bleak for a while............and I'll have to travel

 

I guess I look at things a little differently then most members on here.

I would venture to say most of the posts advising you to ask 7-8-10 thousand for your car if they were in the market and it were available for those figures would want to haggle with you over the price, and before you people chastise me for that comment it's human nature.

I've had dealers license and sold used cars and ran a body shop for 30+ years and the average customer that you deal with is wired that way.

Your OP stated you need to sell because of slow time at work, surf Ebay and Craigslist and see how long XJS's priced in the 7-10 thousand range stay on the market.

As to fixing the problems that in its self can get costly both in time and money. If the repair are costly you have that much more of asking price when it comes to selling.

You are the only one that knows your financial state and having sold cars for a means of making a living I always keep in mind what my dad once said when he sold a car for what I and a lot of others thought was too cheap, he responsed with "sometimes a fast nickel is better then a slow dime".

 

@Swayne

All good points, and advice taken. I was really inquiring to get a base figure, as when I list it, I would like it to sell, so I don't want to overprice it. I am fully aware that I will get nowhere near what I have in it, but with the prospect of traveling for work, I will rarely get to use it, and it will end up just sitting in the garage. If this all occurs we will list the house, so at some time, it will be sold, regardless of price, and I would rather sell to someone who is generally interested in these cars, hence my idea of asking people on this forum, what they thought would be worth.
In my experience, if you drop the price enough, someone will buy .......it was really just a starting point I was looking for.
But like you say...........sometimes a fast nickel..........

 

Just curious, is that a Chrysler Crossfire SRT sitting in the garage in front of the jag

 

I bought my 96 with a non-functional AC. It ended up being a leaky condenser.

It was an easy fix. The condenser did not cost much from Rock Auto, as well as a drier and expansion valve. The R134a wasn't expensive, neither were the Harbor Freight vacuum gauges needed for a proper refill. The toughest part was finding a vacuum to rent, but Harbor Frieght sells some cheap venturi vacuum that would probably work.

This is probably a $200 fix if done yourself, and you can certainly do this yourself.

The locks may be a bit harder to diagnose, but probably even less expensive to fix on your own.

 

in the relative winter... no shortage of vintage GTs to be found at attractive prices here. If the $6k ain't killing you, I'd keep it.

Same with motorcycle prices - gets a bit nippy to ride, the wife complains that you don't use it, and BAM - glut of nice bikes on the market between December and March. For dirt cheap. Same for GTs and sports cars. I love it (as a buyer).

and jeez, you couldn't sell the Crossfire instead??

 

Hi Bernard,

Yes, I recently bought a 1994 built, Aug 1995 first registered, XJS V12..coupe in fact ...and paid a tad more than $6,500 -

but not as bad as the original owner - who had the car for 16 years - the car cost $189k in 1995 - I still have the original receipt - so real world cash dimunition of almost $10k per year!!

 

Good eye ........yes they were SRT6's.......a bundle of fun, but were about to get me arrested :O)
The Grey coupe was modded and was putting down over 390 hp to the wheels thro an auto box. I sold both in 2013 to buy a Grand Sport vette....so they have already gone

 

I have all the equipment to service the A/C, including a vacuum pump. I even have a sniffer type leak tester, but in my experience, finding the leaks in A/C systems is not that easy, unless you have the dye in the system. Think I'll look into buying some of the dye, and see if I can find it that way.
Anybody know who sells the dye ?

 

We have a 06 n/a with 6 speed manual, never drove the srt but if anymore fun then the manual I could see the trouble part. The wheels gave them away.

You should be able to buy a/c dye at any good auto parts store.

 

You can get refrigerant with dye mixed in, makes it a lot easier to put in.

FYI, Autozone and others have gauges and vacuum pumps as part of their loaner program, so you dont have to buy them