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With regard to the headlights the plan would be to buy a conversion kit to the older US quad light style, regardless of condition. It’s entirely a matter of personal taste but I like that styling a lot better. I think the facelift coupe with quad lights is one of the most stylish and interesting to look at vehicles made in my lifetime (up there with the DB7 and original NSX), with the convertible not far behind. I’m well aware that makes me an eccentric weirdo, of course. My wife and kids would strongly prefer a convertible so that makes that decision.
That and presumably it would be easier to fit LED bulbs to see better at night?
Originally Posted by DaveAllen
Clunk might be upper suspension bushes on the damper. Easy fix and minimum labor. Clunk due to worn control arm bushings is straightforward, but much more labor to fix.
Check headlights for fading, cracking. Headlamps are difficult to get new.
Drive for long enough to get warm. Press every button to make sure everything electrical is working OK.
Test drove this morning, and I’m trying to decide what to do.
On the good side:
The suspension and steering felt very solid, and it felt confident on the road. I didn’t get a chance to take it on the highway (the guy doesn’t have it insured at the moment and my insurance would only cover liability unless I owned it, so I didn’t want to take any risks), so just drove it around neighborhood streets, but it felt very smooth, better than a lot of older cars I’ve driven. It took tight turns well.
Interior was nearly spotless, there’s one tiny 1” tear in the driver’s seat that could be easily patched with that plastic stuff used for leather repair. The front seats are very comfortable.
Started right up, with no hesitation, idled smoothly, and sounded good on the road. Above 2.5-3k it pulled as strongly as I’d expect for ~240hp.
Convertible top was in good shape, though it had to be “helped” by hand at the beginning and end to get it to raise or lower all the way. The owner said one of the motors on one side might need attention.
Celebration-specific wheels looked great, and the tires had plenty of tread.
On the not as good side:
The climate control blower fan only worked on position 3 — from what I’ve read this is a common failure mode that requires a few $ in parts but is a huge pain because of where those motors are located.
The insulation under the hood had been chewed on by mice. As far as I could tell they didn’t get into anything else (that I know of).
I think sport mode in the automatic gear box wasn’t working. Is there a light that’s supposed to illuminate on the switch? Turning it on or off didn’t seem to do anything, and at low rpm it felt pretty weak (and wouldn’t kick down when I floored it). Is S vs. N something that I should notice immediately? Once it built speed it felt more satisfying and responsive but it was very slow off the line. I know the 4.0 isn’t a racer or anything but I’d expected more at the low end.
The AC didn’t work (might just need freon), and was replaced sometime back with an aftermarket unit with an extra switch added to the side of the dash. I wasn’t aware this was a thing done for the late AJ16 cars, since a lot were made and parts are readily available.
The paint looked great from 10 feet but there were a lot of little hairline scratches and a couple small spots where the clear coat had faded on the front and rear bumpers. He hadn’t waxed it in a long time (though did keep it in a covered garage) so some of them could be buffed out for sure. That said it overall had a really nice shine and the clear coat was in good shape on all the body panels.
At this point I think I’ll still pay to have a mechanic look at it (it’s only $200) since there was a lot to like about it. I’m going to ask the mechanic to focus on the sport mode/kickdown and climate control stuff.
With 87k miles, assuming the mechanic gives it a clean bill of health (and can get to the bottom of the things I mentioned), is $12k still a good price? The owner has had it virtually since new. “Perfect” lower mileage versions usually seem to cost closer to $20k, and I don’t think perfect is a reasonable state of existence for any car this old.
First you have to decide if you are happy with the car. If you are, then I would look on bringatrailer.com and see how it compares to cars that recently sold for 12K. If you are happy with the car then use BAT to decide what you would pay for it.
Personally, I would not touch the car if it has a nonworking aftermarket A/C. There are too many unknowns there. It is hard enough to troubleshoot the original Jaguar A/C system that has repair documentation. With a Frankenstein system it could be as simple as an R134 charge, or a nightmare figuring out what you have and why it is not working. I can troubleshoot A/C systems and would not consider the car unless it was perfect in every other way at a bargain price.
Did you indicate what year it is? Which motor? How many miles?
An aftermarket AC is scary to me but it depends on what the swap entailed.
Does the original owner have the old AC parts?
Was it converted to recent Freon substitute?
Are the seals and components compatible with the new refrigerant?
Is there a shop that has the Jaguar PDU diagnostic?
Does it have a On Board Diagnostic or and OBD II port?
Did you indicate what year it is? Which motor? How many miles?
An aftermarket AC is scary to me but it depends on what the swap entailed.
Does the original owner have the old AC parts?
Was it converted to recent Freon substitute?
Are the seals and components compatible with the new refrigerant?
Is there a shop that has the Jaguar PDU diagnostic?
Does it have a On Board Diagnostic or and OBD II port?
1996 XJS 4.0 AJ16 convertible, 87k miles. It should have ODB II, and there were no check engine lights or anything like that. The owner didn't have the original AC parts. Not sure about the details of it. To be honest, the AC spooked me too -- even if a lot of the time I won't need it since I'd be driving in good weather, a GT car (which the XJS is) is very much about comfort and never being able to get the AC to work is not in the spirit of that.
ln the So Cal market, one would say you are being excessively picky.
There are *no* thirty year old cars, where everything works perfectly.
XJS's are heating up value-wise, the median here is approaching 20k
AC systems are not *that* complicated, we put the little Sanden compressors on them all the time,
I don't imagine they have done much else....
- I've not heard of someone fitting a replacement aircon system and an "extra switch". I would want to know exactly what has been done. And the fact it doesn't work anyway, and the fans only work on high -speed setting would further concern me. IMO, there is never a non-functioning system that "just needs gassing". If that was the reason, the owner would have spent £20 and got it gassed,
- Sport mode feels very different to Normal mode. Quicker downshifts, holding on to gears for longer etc. That would also concern me as that's a very unusual problem.
I'd be thinking about walking away from this one at $12k. I think there are better cars out there,
The AC bit is a hint that other short cuts or kluges are in this car’s past. I’d rather see you in a completely original car even with things not working 100% because you will be able to rely on us to help you get it sorted. Once someone has “fixed” things your best resources will be flying blind.
Walk away, don’t waste money on an inspection.
Last edited by Mac Allan; Mar 10, 2026 at 10:45 PM.
I decided to pass on it and keep looking, without bothering with an inspection. I don’t expect perfection but there were a bit too many weird problems and it wasn’t the color I most wanted anyway (which would be any of black, dark blue or BRG). On the plus side it convinced me I definitely do want an XJS as I loved the feel on the road and found it quite comfortable! So the search continues.
Thanks to everyone who’s replied to this thread! I really appreciate all the advice and suggestions.
Success! Huge thanks to Dave Allen here for getting me in touch with the seller, giving me a full rundown of the car and helping arrange an inspection. I bought this '95 BRG 4.0 convertible on Thursday and absolutely love it, it's so fun to drive and gets a lot of attention. Overall it's in phenomenal shape, there's a handful of small things to address over the next few weeks that realistically I'll likely be posting about for help here and there, but it's truly unique and I'm proud to own it.
That's the only good photo I have -- right now it's sitting at my parents' home in California waiting to be shipped to me in Colorado.
Along those lines, does anyone have a domestic car transporter they can recommend? I booked one company but ended up canceling because they were being flaky. The only one I've found so far that looks genuinely good (based on Google/Reddit reviews, guaranteed delivery dates and price, and a total price a bit higher than average) is called Focus Auto Transporters, though with enough work one can still make lots of fake positive reviews so I'm naturally wary.
Auto transport is always a crapshoot. Almost all of the people you contact contact are brokers, not the actual driver- owner/operator. Including the one you have selected - look at their license. The brokers all do the same thing. They guess a price to get your business and then post on a bulletin board looking for drivers going from A to B with space available. When they find one they give you the real price, which may or many not equal their guess, and an estimate of the pick up and delivery dates. That is why they can't/won't give you driver information until after you have given them money.
There are a few transport companies that actually own the rigs. I have found that they are often 2X the cost of using a broker that finds space available on a trucker wanting to fill his trailer.
You need to make sure they put your car ON TOP, not the bottom. If you don't specify that there is about a 95% chance they will put a car that leaks oil on top of yours and it will ruin the convertible top.
Last edited by davchr; Apr 14, 2026 at 01:26 PM.
Reason: add information
I ended up going with Focus, and I’m glad I did—I paid extra for an enclosed trailer and the car made it to Colorado a day early without a scratch. I’ll take some pictures in the next few days, I didn’t want to post photos taken by my home on a public forum given how well ML systems can geolocate photos these days…
I absolutely love the car. Nothing modern drives like this and I mean that in a good way.
I agree. If the AC work is mostly contained in the engine bay, then not much to be worried about that can't be fixed.
Not many XJS owners have been able to make major changes to the interior Delanaire units.
There are more than a few Jag owners who have removed and installed all new AC parts in the engine bay that are on this Jag forum.
