I have the opportunity to buy a jag xjs
With coupe automatic with 13000 miles ...yes 13000 miles on it ....could anyone give me a estimate on what this car is worth....all original except tires and brakes as far as I know ..probly small stuff like the battery has been changed as well. I'm going to look at it tommorrow if anyone could help me that would be great

 

What year and motor?

 

My advice... don't buy it

Sorry, guys... my XJS experience has been a real downer

 

@Time-Pilot sorry I thought I out it in the post but I forgot it's a 1982 v12 automatic all original

 

 

wow.

The irony of you suggesting someone not buy an XJS.

 

Would love to hear your issues. I love my XJS.

What went wrong with your one that you couldn't get right?

Cheers
Craig

 

If its an HE 1982, then theoretically will be fine.

Keep in mind that if you are not mechanical or have no inclination for tinkering then probably not for you. It may require parts to get her back into line and ready for the road so be expected to give her a little birthday or two with parts.

These cars are alive! They require care and maintenance and constant monitoring like any classic car. That's what makes them so much fun to own.

Most people are jealous when they see your XJS run really well as they can't figure out what you must have done to achieve it!

I have owned millions of cars and nothing compares to one of these. They are simply cool as hell!

 

Maybe it's just that I have had so many things with a low mileage car taken out of long term storage and should have expected more problems. I seem to have gotten it right at the moment but I can't seem to trust this car. I'm about to take another extended road trip and perhaps with good luck my mind will change. Also, preferring to sell the car for something more practical and having such limited interest is really troubling. I have never had such a hard time selling a car. So I am at the point of giving up and living with it as a driver car. At some point I suppose the car's style and comfort may win me over but that depends on the next breakdown.

Things that continue to bother me:
Fuel consumption vs. performance is poor.
moaning hydraulic noise upon cold start... I'm told it's nothing to worry about
moaning hydraulic steering... another fault waiting to come out
oil consumption - about 2 qts over 1000 miles
oil leaking onto manifolds leaving me wondering if it will catch fire... the smell is a constant reminder of the uncertainty of engine fires
the reputation of these cars to have engine fires - I'm keeping good insurance
suspension showing signs it needs work and concern over the costs involved
the general feeling the wiring will give out somewhere else at a bad time - have had headlight issues, fuel pump issues, all due to old wiring and connectors that are crumbling

Otherwise it's a nice ride.... and I get a lot of thumbs up along the way.

 

I honestly think you are being a little unreasonable. The car is a relatively low-volume supercar of its day. It is a late 1960s/early 1970s design. Your car had been under used and neglected for a considerable time. In its day it was both faster and more comfortable than the Ferrari 308 that was twice the price. Almost everyone in your situation is cautioned that the car will need a full overhaul of most systems. Oil leaking onto the manifolds is a consequence of a 30 or 40 year old cork gasket sealing the cam covers giving up. It needs renewing not ignoring and a day's work will do it. The Great Palm's book explains how to do it, as well. Engine fires happen because owners do not renew leaks such as this and do not renew 30 or 40 year old high pressure fuel pipes. Again, what do you expect of a car of this sort if old parts such as these, well past their design life, are not renewed? And we are talking a couple of days work here, tops, and very little money to buy top-notch high pressure fuel hose to make the repairs with.
Ditto the suspension: all rubber suspension components in a car of this age will be shot - where is the surprise in that? Again parts costs are nugatory for the DIY owner.
Ditto electrical items: they are from an era when connector quality was far poorer than now, and were not designed to last 30 or 40 years. There are countless posts on the forum suggesting durable and cheap fixes - again it is time and effort, not money that is required. The wiring, for the most part will be fine, it is the earths that need cleaning and it is only the wiring subject to heat degradation that will need renewing, again a job for the owner that is time consuming but neither expensive or difficult.

The next breakdown depends on you; if you ignore these necessary renewals, you will have a failure. If you do the renewal work, you will end up with a reliable, very fast GT car that ranks with the best. I have done over 100,000 miles in mine with no breakdowns and it never occurs to me that the car will let me down. This is a matter of maintenance and preventative work. Obviously the decision is yours; but I feel it is unfair to blame a car, any car, of this age for no longer being reliable if the known difficulties are not tackled. Selling a well sorted XJS is not difficult, selling an unsorted one with things needing doing and things not working, as you are finding out, is. We are lucky because parts are cheap and the mechanical parts are very reliable - compare and contrast Ferrari. But, and it is a big but, the owner has to do the work on an XJS and if the owner does not, then the reliability problems of this, or of any neglected supercar of this era, are well known and buyers will shy away.

 

Hello Cody

Check for rust in the boot (trunk) area.
In the boot - there is two drains either side of the boot hinges - these go down through rubber pipes into the cavities behind the rear wheels. If these pipes are still firmly connected to steel work at the exit point

The other place to check is in the window wiper scuttle area. Here they have 2 drains that go from the cavity to above the front suspension. You should be able to remove one of these. If they are clear of rubbish and rust

If these 2 areas are in good condition, then I would say she has been stored in a dry place and the car is in very good condition.

In regards to the comments above -

My father had a 1964 Ford Compact Fairlane with 40K on the clock - stored in a dry shed for 30 years. Perfect body, paint and interior and he sold it for a good price. The new owner than put a substantial amount of cash into the brakes, cooling system and other items that perish over time. With your XJS now pushing 37 years of age, the same will need to be done. With the super car status, I am finding that parts are reasonable if you shop around, the information in this forum is good, the service manuals required are still available and these seem to be easy to follow

I am new to XJS ownership but a long time admirer. The curves, the stance, the presence and the smile I get every time I walk past her actually makes me stress less.

Boot area drain hole (Left hand side)

Rubber hose connects to the drain hole - then feeds down behind the rear wheel. Mine was not connected

She is sure pretty and puts a smile on my face every time I walk past her

 

Hi Cody

As mentioned, carefully check for rust.

There's a buyer's guide in one of the sticky threads at the top of this section

I don't know what it's worth. A lot of these cars sell in the $3000-$6000 range it seems, some higher if well sorted. Occasionally much higher for a truly 'mint condition' example.

Be prepared for a lot of refurbishing work to make the car right. Almost every XJS needs quite a bit....and low miles doesn't really guarantee much of anything.

These are really great cars when you get everything sorted. And, for a V12 newbie, there's a quite a learning curve. But, there's tons of good repair info on these cars. Virtually all failure points and fixes are well known.

It takes a fair bit of owner commitment but, IMO, is well worth the effort.

Cheers
DD

 

The list of things I've had to deal with on my car is quite extensive. And expensive--I'm well past my initial purchase cost. The second day after she arrived, I had smoke pouring out the bonnet from a transmission oil leak spurting up from the dipstick hose and spattering on the hot engine. I've had coolant leaks, failed coils nearly causing a Marelli-type fire, overheating issues, leaking aircon heaters, non-working lumbar support, non-working cruise control, non-working vacuum solenoids, brake fluid leaks, steering rack issues, rain leaks... the list goes on. Even bloody rats! I've felt very similar to you before. At times I have very much felt as if the true definition of "luxury" is "peace of mind" like with a dead boring but dead reliable Toyota. Each time I start her up I'm a little apprehensive. But she does start up each time (okay, save once--dead fuel pump).
But after getting all these done, I wouldn't hesitate to drive her across the country--and have, on multiple occasions. And that's where she's in her element.

 

Just be prepared to spend and invest time and money into it. Copious amounts of money if you can not work on her yourself...../ Mine is a end of line 1995, and I have an extensive, never ending list, but then again I want everything to work as intended, or better if possible. I hate hacks. I even go back and fix hacks that I have made myself to make things original.....but I digress.

If you understand this, I think am XJS is the best proposition out there. Reasonable to get into and more aesthetically pleasing than any other car out there.

 

Greg, you are right for sure I am being a little unfair... and I certainly don't want to insult the great people that have been so helpful here.

The one that hurt the most is the fuel pump connector which is on the assembly removed and restored with the only thing available... used parts which are very hard to find. This connector is part of the lid to the tank design which was used two years then changed again. And when I had signs of the failure (random stumble on the highway, a stall in a parking lot, nobody suggested to look at this connector, so it is a phantom trouble spot which remains unsolved). So yes, it will fail and I will likely be stranded again and faced with a huge effort to find a fit another replacement. The complexity of the electrical systems and potential failure of so many electrical points is what feels uneasy. I could put the effort into the oil gaskets but then those failures will remain with the car. I don't know how one could replace all of those reasonably. But in the end I will drive the car and hope it makes me a believer. It is currently a smooth running and comfortable car but in all the classics I have owned just not pleasing me up against this feeling of imminent trouble. I leave Monday for a 1500 mile journey.. Wish me luck!

 

gccch,

If you want to cheer yourself up a bit, go read other forums of cars that are the equal of the XJS in performance and vintage. You'll find that any limited production car or super-car, even from the Germans or Japanese, has it's "special charms". I have a friend who is crazy about Porsche 928's and he had one that would die without explanation, and before he or a professional could ever diagnose the problem, it would suddenly run fine. After racking up more miles on a flatbed than the road, he gave up and traded it for another one. It had a whole another set of issues, but he said, "at least, I know what's wrong, which is a step up".

Chin up.

 

You should be able to get the car for very little money, especially it the car has not been babied and allowed to just sit or worse....no regular maintenance.
They are not Toyota's. You will have to invest time and money to make her a dependable car given the age. it's worth it. Take your time, save your money as much as possible by doing the majority of the work yourself. The other posts are spot on regarding issues to look for. Another one is potentially the gas tank. it may be rusted on the bottom side. Good luck. Where are you located?