So I am a brand new 1990 XJS convertible owner, and had mentioned we had a pre-purchase done on the car and could post the report. Greg suggested doing so, so here it is.

I'd LOVE to hear reactions -- do you agree with his "must fix/can wait/be concerned" list? Are his costs reasonable (I'm in Maryland)? Anything in terms of other issues or maintenance I should keep in mind?

I'm totally ignorant and mechanically inept, but I'm a sponge and really appreciate any recommendations -- THANK YOU! - Gina

Overall, he said the car is in pretty good condition considering its age and mileage.
That being said, he found abunch of things, some minor, some worrisome.
Two major things concerned about:
***rear brake rotors are thin and under spec, they would not pass MD state inspection. They are old and rusty. Rear rotor is a $1,200 job ten hour job.
***We think there may be problem with left side catalytic converter, very strong case for them being dead, tap on muffler, lot of loose material in muffler. Means that converter have actually come apart. Get hot material crytalize gets brittle braeks apart. Flow of exhast pushes loose particles into muffler. Probably have poor performance. Many ways to deal with this. New converters are $6,600, aftermarket. It would take most of a day to even look at a converter. $800 to look at.

Others:
--Idle prblem could be 10 different things. It could be throttle plate, two bushings are worn out, are $5, but not cuasing it. Have to be replaced. Take air intake system apart. Clean throttle discs, set up linkage, check mixture strength. Throttle needs to be cleaned, and adjusted total of $300---but more if it turns out to be the distributor, which is stuffed inside the engine, major work to get to it,
-Mount for transmission, bushings stablizes, it is missing, not there. Might hear a thump. Put it in, requires dismantling. Drop pan to get brackets. $350 to replace.
-Front wheel bearings $100, need adjustment.
-Hood struts need to replaced $200
-Speedometer probem $300, replace electronic sending unit.
-Temperature guage does not seem to work. $75
--Convertible top. Made two calls to get estimates. He thinks you can replace fabric without the entire roof assembly.


Minor Stuff:
-Cigarette lighter could be a fuse.
-Tires starting to wear out within a year.
-Body damage under car in back, scraped in trunk floor. Went over high curb.
-Piece or rubber trim missing in front passenger side, near bumper, no serous body damage.
-Lower grill and spoiler pushed up, grill does not fit square.
-Front shocks on the weak side.
-

BOTTOM LINE: Mark says if we buy it we could fix the idle, the speedometer/gauges, the convertible top, and then hold our breath and drive it as is and see how long it lasts.

 

These are the items that I have 1st hand experience with. I would also strongly reccoment reading Kirby Palms free online book for the XJS. Even if you don't do the work yourself, you will at least have the knowledge to find out if your mechanic knows what he is doing. Youo might also want to show it to your mechanic as there are MANY mistakes in the factory manuals that will actually CAUSE problems, rather than fix them.


"***rear brake rotors are thin and under spec, they would not pass MD state inspection. They are old and rusty. Rear rotor is a $1,200 job ten hour job."

The rotors will have to be replaced. You don't mess with brakes! If they are rusty on the wear surface as well you should replace the calipers as well. Make sure you do both sides at once as they fail in pairs. I don't know if the cost is accurate


***We think there may be problem with left side catalytic converter.....


It doesn't take a day to look at a cat. A few hours at most per side.



"-Hood struts need to replaced $200"

The struts are 35.00 on ebay and take no more than 5 or 10minutes to replace and can be done at home with 1 9/16ths wrench.




"-Tires starting to wear out within a year."

In my opinion the worst thing ever on either of my XJS's was when the tires were worn. It handled aweful! Spun the tires at the worst moments, made the brakes worse and followed every rut in the road.


-"Lower grill and spoiler pushed up, grill does not fit square."


The spoiler being damaged can effect the cooling of the engine, a notorious problem for the V12's.
-

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

 

@Gina

Is the person that did the pre-purchase inspection familiar with Jaguars ? All of the things mentioned are very "generic" ie brakes, catalytic convertors, visible damage on the car. High idle, gauges intermittent, etc

Have you actually bought the car or you are deciding based on the pre-purchase report ?

Whats the asking price ?

As others have mentioned, the car needs at the minimum what your mechanic has found.

The rear brakes don't take 10 hours, but you need to get them done

"We think there may be a problem with the catalytic convertor" --> Get it smogged and find out

and probably a lot more "jaguar" things to bring it back to health. I'm worried your man isn't familiar with these cars and there is another more serious list of things needing done that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Good advice given so far on the lower grille and spoiler... it will effect the cooling.

Also think the high idle is likely to be the aux air valve. Common failure. Just a bit of a pain to find a good used one as the new ones are pricey.

How does the car hold temperature ? What does it do if you leave it running for 30 minutes with the A/C on ? does the engine temp creep up ? Does the A/C even work ? Have the fuel hoses for the injectors been changed recently ? Is it actually running on 12 cylinders ? (It's amazing how "sweet" a 10 cylinder V12 can sound if you haven't heard a proper one)

Don't get me wrong, it's great to have a new XJS owner...... bu I just want to make sure you are going in to this with your eyes open and informed.

I asked about the price because your mechanics "hold our breath" strategy is maybe ok for a $1000 dollar XJS (ie thats all you are going to lose), but is not ok for a $5000+ XJS that you are really planning to keep and enjoy.

 

Brake job is accurate with "book rates"

Cat price is way off. For $800 you can have a new one installed, so forget the inspection at that rate.

Agree on the hood struts. It'll take you 20 minutes to do both.

I hope you're getting this car for free...you're already a couple grand in the hole.

 

EEEK! Oh well...I did buy the car. The mechanic specializes in old British Imports - we have reason to believe he knows what he's talking about, but are open to suggestions for other mechanics in the area. The engine idle is odd - it's only in Park that it's high, the car drives great and the tach seems to indicate all is well.

I did buy it knowing I was looking at some investment up front. I do have an odd door lock question now, though -- when you use the key it locks/unlocks all door. Well, it does on the driver side. On the right passenger door, it will lock, but when you go to unlock it makes the clicking noise, but either doesn't release or locks again right away? Is it just normal to only unlock from the driver side or is that another "welcome to Jags" issue to add to the mechanic's list :-)?

Thanks again - I truly DO appreciate all the input!

 

Well, there are British cars and then there is the XJS. It is more complex than a standard MGB or Triumph. My mechanic HATED working on mine! That being said.... after reading Kirby's book I was able to direct him in alternate ways of doing some of the repairs and while he still didn't like working on mine he didn't give me as much grief every time I brought it to him. These cars are not as hard to deal with as their reputation suggests but it does take a mechanic that is not lazy and one that is willing to do a little research in something other than the factory manual with standard labor rates. You might try finding a local British car club or even a European club. They should be able to suggest reliable mechanics.

 

Where in MD are you? Which shop are you using?

 

I'm up in Bel Air, MD. The shop is Raspi's British Imports in Edgewood.

 

What happens if you sit inside the car and move the locking lever on the passenger door ? Do the locks work properly then ?

 

I think some of the prices listed are way too high. The hood struts are a good example and require no real mechanical talent to change.
I would check your local inspection station for the legal reqirements for pollution controls like the cat converters. Many states don't require them on vehicles older than 96. If so, a simple pipe could replace both converters at a very modest price.

 

If you have the time, I would consider dropping the car off in Springfield, VA to Top Line Jaguar. They are a private shop that only deal with Jags. They have the old computer that may be needed to correct your high idle (which I had on my 96 as well)

The service could be better in terms of communications, but they do know their stuff.

For $110, they will go through your car and come up with a list of issues. Some you can turn down (such as the strut replacement) and others you should have them do, like reset the ECU using the origninal Jaguar PDU.

They will probably offer to do the inspection immediately when you bring it in, but I would recommend giving them more time and leaving the car with them for a few days. The $110 will be money well spent.

You will have to call them to follow up, as they don't fo a great job of following up on callbacks, but they know what they're doing and they do a good job at a "fair" rate. I haven't had them quote me jobs that "might" fix the problem either, like you're experiencing with your cat.

Once sorted, you can go back and use your guy up in Bel Air, but for this initial service, you should take it down there and get it properly set up.

 

Yes, they do.

 

Based on that it's likely the switch in the passenger door that tells the system if the locks actually locked or not.

Now that you have played with the interior handle, does the key work correctly in the door?

I have a similar problem where now and again I lock the car and it immediately unlocks again. When this happens I can recover it by exercising the interior lever on the drivers door (my sticky switch is in the drivers door) a few times.... Then all is well again for a while.

Currently I just live with it but the next time I have reason to take the door cards off I'll have a look then

 

Seriously, 10 hours to do the rear brakes?

 

I think that is fair. The axle has to come out, and the brakes bled afterwards which is a royal pain. While it is out, the radius arms can be changed, and new calipers fitted and new cage to chassis mountings, for no extra labour cost, as required.

Basically, the decision is: "Do I want to have a really good, reliable car, to keep, or not?". If the answer is yes, get it done. If not, best to forget the project. This car can do 150MPH, and, in my view, it is not a good idea to drive it except in really sound condition.

Greg

 

I must agree with Greg(France), some things are well worth doing once and be done, as this car can do 150mph, and you will want it handling safely when you play around.
Last fall, I spent close to $3000 on my '98XJS overhauling complete rear brakes with calipers, bearings and seals in diff, transmission mount bushing plus fluid and filter, complete engine tuneup with plugs, wires, dist cap&rotor, belts and every hose that could be accessed in the car.
I plan to keep my car, so to me, most of this money was Once-Only expense that will serve me well for many years.
I only plan to live once.

 

While a 10 hr job by book time is right, the book assumes doing the job in-car, meaning IRS installed. The job can be done in 3-5 hours if you remove the IRS and do the whole thing outside of the car. Save your knuckles, clearly see what you are doing, and do everything at the same time, rotors, brake pads or calipers as needed, parking brake etc.

Removing the IRS is a piece of cake, there are only 6 mounts to remove, drive shaft, disconnect brake line and parking cable and whala, out. I can get mine out in less than 30 min after having done it 3 times before. Makes life soooo much easier.