Hi everyone, I came across your site while I was doing some research on the Jag XJS coupes. I've always had an eye for them but never really knew too much about what they are and what they're known for. My uncle has a gorgeous 1969(?) E-Type so I have had a little bit of experience under the bonnet of a Jag.

I'm here because I am interested in one day picking up a V12 XJS coupe as a weekend cruiser and project car if there's a need for that. I'm gravitating towards the mid 1980s versions because there seems to be enough of them around the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania tri-state area for a reasonable price. I'm looking to find out what these cars are known for problem-wise and if there are any models that are more or less desirable. I'm basically looking for one that I'm sure will need some things here and there but won't need anything too expensive or complicated. As far as reliability goes I have no clue how these coupes stack up. I've heard the stories that Jags are known for electrical problems but I'm not bad with wiring so I'd feel confident tackling an issue if I had to.

Anyway, hopefully I'll find some good information on here. I've always had good luck with these auto-enthusiast message boards for my other makes and models I dabble in and am looking forward to hearing from everyone on here, especially the Brits! Lol.

Thanks in advance, can't wait to soak up all the info......

 

I think the british electrics reputation is ridiculous. In my opinion the some of the reputation Jags get is people telling other people telling other people about why that person originally told themself they couldn't have the car. I have been to car shows and overheard two guys who have never owned a british car talk in front of an e-type about how amazing it looks and then rattle on about its electrics.

You can literally draw the whole diagram on a piece of scrap paper. It is ridiculous.

Anyways, to my knowledge there aren't really any more sought after cars, maybe with the exception of the last two years. I think this is because they are the newest, with the lowest miles and best condition, have the most options and gadgets, and also have some value of being from the last batch.

Personally I like my vintage (1988). While I am not wild about the automated seat belts, I feel it strikes a good balance in the XJS lineup, it has the HE as well as some cosmetic updates. After the HE came out the XJS maintained some colour schemes and interior features I don't really like up until 85 or 86, like the black plastic ski slope and orangey discolored badge on the steering wheel. I like the facelifted cars, but the in-between isn't my favorite. There are a few years where the interior gets slightly updated or the exterior is facelifted but the interior is the same. You should just look at all the years and get a feel for what features you like best. The newer or older seats, the updated dash, wire wheels if you can find them, etc. I am also apparently odd in that I dislike the american quad headlamps

Don't have to do a whole lot of searching to find its faults. Like any old car lots of stuff needs replacing, but unfortunately when it comes to a jaguar many people blame it on the jaguar. Hoses, belts, tune up items, 30 year old dried out rubber bushings. All that stuff.

Number one thing anyone will tell you is the cooling system. The V12 is 700lbs of hotness in one engine bay, and there are issues that cause it to overheat over time. It can be remedied though, the thermostats (2) need to be correct and working, the water pump needs to be up to the job, the radiator can get filthy and not do its job if not maintained over the years, and the electric fan likes to give out. These topics are commonly covered here and can be resolved 100%

Probably the other two most common things are general running issues for first time buyers to fix an idle issue or misfire and then brake issues. The rubber in the braking system goes bad over time and a good number of cars need new or rebuilt calipers.
^^^another consideration when buying one. A lot of the ABS cars are a bit more difficult to work on in terms of the braking system if you aren't familiar with ABS.

I have used mine as a daily driver since I graduated high school and bought it in 2010. It has issues like any older car would, but it is a great car. Don't let the apparent mess of an engine bay scare you off, it really isn't that bad. After owning one a while it won't look messy in any way.
I guess up north you should be on the look out for rust issues, but I am not familiar with the most common areas on the car.

So I would say, expect to do general maintenance work for all parts of the car, diagnose cooling system problems, ignition, and fuel system problems. The V12 is a solid engine and the dumb 3 speed that goes behind it is not going to give much fuss in most cases either.

 

Best bet would be to try and find a dry weather car, south or southwest, and a car with a good maintenance history. Bought my first jag, 94 XJS convertible in May and, like you, just love the style and all of the compliments that I have gotten.

 

I just bought an '88 a couple weeks back. Nimbus white, 87,000 miles, a tiny bit of rust, and the only serious problems so far have been a hungry factory tape deck (which will be replaced soon,) broken door handle (which has already been replaced,) and and a couple standard exhaust problems (missing hanger, leaky gasket.) Just standard "old car" stuff.

The engine bay is definitely a bit intimidating at first, and cooling for the big powerplant is absolutely crucial, as mentioned above.

If you haven't checked it out already, there's a book out there that has a load of information. There's also a thousand-page PDF of the book just drifting lazily through the internet.

You definitely came to the right forum, though, I can tell you that.

 

Yeah it seems like a great place. I'll give you some history on my experience and what cars I have had. Minor restoration of old cars/collecting are my favorite hobbys and I'm looking to get into a kind of car I've never really looked at too closely. I've owned only American cars, most of them GM, so the fact that these Jags have a THM400 trans in them is music to me, because I know the trans well and they're pretty easy and cheap to find used.

My first car was a 1989 Lincoln Mark VII LSC, first car I really learned to work on and kinda fueled my affection for long hooded performance luxury coupes. I am a Cadillac fanatic at heart and I still have my first one, my 1989 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance. I bought it when I was 18 in 2004 and I still drive it to this day. I've had a couple others as well including a 1976 Coupe deVille, and a 1987 Allante. I've been straying out of the Cadillac thing the last few years and wanted to get into some other types of cars I've always had a thing for. About a year ago I picked up my 1984 Chevy K/10 Scottsdale with 4" lift and 33" off road tires. I wanted to get into off roading so I grabbed it as a project which has been going pretty well. Now I'm getting to know the Jags and my favorite happens to be the one I mostly remember seeing when I was a kid, the XJS.

I'm definitely very much into my GM/American stuff, but I've always had an admiration for British Cars like Jags, MG's, Rolls, and Bentleys, mainly back when they were still Brits. I also watch a decent amount of Top Gear, haha. So now I'm opening my horizons to something new with my hobby. I don't make a crazy amount of money so I never really deal in A1 condition cars and am more drawn to the ones that are in good shape that need some work. I spent some time online today looking at a couple XJS's for sale in my area and am seeing some prices that look like they could be something I can swing. I wanted to go out and see some in person to get an idea of what I can get for my price range. I don't see myself making a move anytime soon since parking at my apartment complex is nothing short of a joke.

I'd like to actually see one to get a feel for how they look, start, run, drive, shift, ride, and sound. I've pretty much made up my mind about the engine though, it's got to be the 5.3L V12. To me a V12 in a Jag belongs there just as much as the V8 in a Cadillac does. I might take a ride out this weekend to see one or two in person.

 

Hopefully you find a decent one to check out. The first XJS I ever saw in person or tried to drive was an awful piece of garbage and I was still mesmerized.

I swear someone bought an XJS like 2 weeks ago that used to have a mark 7...weird. Maybe it was you and I am forgetting the thread and OP.

If the suspension is in any decent shape you will be surprised at how fast it goes. The 0-60 isn't the greatest, but you will drive faster than you think if you aren't used to the car. When I first got mine I averaged 15-20 faster than I thought I was going if there weren't other cars around to keep me in check.

 

Definitely wasn't me, I just joined. Haha. I can't imagine any car that came out of the 1980s had an impressive 0-60 time but I would pin these V12s for being straight torque monsters. I'd like to get some opinions on what the best model year is and why.

 

1990... Lol.

 

No, not particularly. And what torque it does have is pretty well blunted by the tall gearing


Cheers
DD

 

I'd like to get some opinions on what the best model year is and why.

My personal choice is the 94 to 96 with the body color matching bumpers, not a big fan of the large black rubber bumpers. Of course these were much larger on the US models.

 

I don't dislike the airbag steering wheel like many others do, but I do think it looks on in the non-updated interior of the 1990, it looks in place with the updates dash/gauges

 

I found this thread interesting. Everyone has their favorites.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ar-xjs-124466/

Bottom line is buy the best you can afford. Mechanical work is usually cheaper than paint and bodywork, and most of the critical stuff to maintain the V12 is well documented here and elsewhere (I'm speaking only to what I've read, I've never worked on a V12). Mainly you'll want to make sure cooling system is perfect, fuel delivery and ignition working as they should. Stay away from anything that looks like it ever overheated.

 

After getting a good look at the 90-96 I don't like the look of the facelifted cars. Based off what I read on Wikipedia, the 81-89's are what I like the best. I guess the NA cars had the quad-lamps and the Euro versions had the composites. Was there a disadvantage to the HE engine? Also, was the THM400 trans used during this entire generation?

 

Right



No disadvantage to the HE engine to speak of, no. Some who built hot rod V12s prefer the pre-HE version as a starting point. But broadly speaking the HE is an improvement over the pre-HE

The 400 trans was used behind the V12s from mid-1977-ish until the introduction of the 6.O litre V12 in 1993/94


Cheers
DD

 

Go on ebay and look at ads, try to look at dealer ads. Just use it as a gallery to look at different years of cars and check out the differences in the interior or any bits of trim.

You will notice the earlier 80s cars have different colours of carpet, the center console is different, the steering wheel usually has what looks like a discolored badge, and the inside the gauges are always a sort of lighter faded looking gray compared to the outside of the cluster.

The seats are pretty much the same until the 90s. They look dead simple, but the inside cushion is actually a separate piece that works well for the seat heater and allows a lot of movement. They are extremely comfortable in my opinion. The newest ones are electronically adjustable, but even the older ones have electric lumbar support.

 

"long hooded performance luxury coupes" yeah, that pretty much sums up how I like my cars!

 

It seems like there's no real difference visually from 1986-1989. Is this true or am I missing something? Also, what's the "Rogue Edition?"

 

More like 1982-1992.


When the HE engine was introduced some cosmetic changes were also included....different bumpers and different interior trim most obviously. This was mid-1981 calendar year....1982 model year in the USA

Nothing changed significantly until the 'facelift' model came out...1992 model year in the USA

I dunno what a 'Rogue Edition' is. In the 90s Jaguar jumped on the 'special edition' bandwagon with some special appearance packages. I think there was a "LeMans" and and "Classic" and a couple others....but "Rogue" isn't ringing a bell. Others will chime in.

Oh... it just hit me. You probably mean "Rouge Edition" . It was another appearance package with lotsa red stuff! Someone will come along with the specifics.

Cheers

 

I noticed from 81-85 there's an "HE" badge on the trunk instead of the "V12" badge which I prefer. As far as interiors go everything looks the same up until 89 when the style of the seats changed. So it looks like my favorites are 86 and up until the facelift. Not sure which style of seats I like better though, which one is more comfy? Also, do they all have heaters in the seats or just one specific style?

 

The early 'flat seats' are uncomfortable according to many. That's subjective, obviously. The contoured/bolstered sport seats came out some time in calendar year 1988. I think they were installed on all models for all markets, the early flat style being discontinued entirely.

Seat heaters were introduced Jan/Feb 1987 (1988 model year for USA market). Other '1988' changes that came at about the same time were bright metal sill plates, wood panel on center console, heaters for the windshield squirters, and a couple other things which escape my memory at the moment.

The motorized seat belts came along a month or two later.

Cheers
DD