Hi all, my name is Arron (NZ) and I am looking at buying my first XJS. Been a classic motorcycle owner for 25yrs (48 now) and own an RG500, 1230 EFE Katana (all highly modified) and a GSXR1100 also (lots mods) all from he 80's. Used to own more but life (kids) are stripping them away from me due to their cost, why do teenage suck the life frm us? lose that, want that ... the list never ends.... So I am making a stand... with what I have left. I am a fitter and turner now sales man so work on all my own stuff for fun. I searched hard for a classic car.. Valent Charger (AUS), BMW, Merc's, Cortina's.. MK 3 GT... etc BUT I always admired the XJS and that motor..the V12!

I'm getting old and after some bike accidents I am looking at classic cars. Always admired the XJS, remember telling people in my 20"s that they had to remove half the engine to change the spark plugs on a V12. Ok only half wrong.
Being an engineer (used to half a life time ago) I have rebuild all of the above bikes. Now its time to move on. Looked and read about the 3.6l & 4.0L and should I buy a 12. I love the concept of the 12 (cant afford he gas, $2.60l) and being mechanically minded I said to the wife V12 or nothing. I would always want a 12 or wonder what a 12 would be like if I buy a 4.0 or 3.6. So a 12 it is. Wife said convertible, she always wanted a Merc convertible. (no way)

So I have told the wife GSXR11 will sell for 8k and the RG500 for 20K... one just did. I purchased mine for 6K and it better than the one that just sold.



So long story short this is an XJS 1993 (1991 when I ran the number, SAJJNJDW3EP183060 ) and its twice the price of most privately sold older coupes, one convertible went for 12k last month 1988, looked ok. This car is from a Jag shop they want $39,990. Japanese import with 62,000miles. 16,675.73 Pound sterling. They have serviced it.. see below. what do you think.

 

I'd be interested to know what diagnostic equipment they attached to it (it doesn't have that capability) to reset the service light (that it doesn't have).

 

Personally, half the fun of having one of these is working on it. I have a 1987 XJ-S V12, and have got it pretty much to running that way a normal car would. If you buy one, you will certainly find yourself working in it quite a bit...as I said, not a bad thing.

But am I reading clearly that they want $40,000 US for it??? I bought mine 5 years ago for $4,500.

I don't know what it costs to ship a car from Japan to NZ, but that seems like a really high price.

Thanks,
John

 

 

Hi not 40USD but NZD = $26,000 USD.
Looking to pay no more than $23,000 USD

I'll update soon.
cheers

 

I guess it really is true that the xj-s is finally climbing up in value. I remember paying $2000 USD for my '87 xj-s coupe back in 2009 which was near immaculate. A few weeks ago I just had to shell out $10,000 USD for an '86 with service history also in near perfect shape. It's good to see these cars finally being appreciated and noticed by more than just enthusiasts. I'm also seeing xj-s's in more and more TV shows, movies, and commercials.

Anyway, I'm sure old jags are more scarce in NZ than here in the US- you'd be crazy to pay $26,000 USD for any xj-s here unless there was something truly special about it. Still, even being a rare car in the region that seems too high. I'd hold out.

If you are still considering it I would check basic maintenance items i.e. spark plugs & wires, distributor cap & rotor, fuel lines etc. Are these items fresh and if so are they done correctly? Or are they all original? Things like this will give you a window into the type of care the car has been receiving and if it is worth the price tag. Maintenance records are also huge as others have stated. A well looked after jag will give you years of enjoyment. One in so called "original condition" can reek havoc on your wallet.

 

Unless you enjoy working on it NO, one thing after another. These cars are not worth over 8,000.00 no matter how nice.

 

Thanks for the updates.
Thanks everyone for your input, really appreciated.

https://preview.trademe.co.nz/motors/cars/jaguar/xjs
All XJS forsale in NZ...

check this site for prices.... even the 4.0l XJS are going in the 20k NZD mark, privately sold cars seem to be 15k mark.
Imports sold by importers and 20k plus.

Most import are Jap or private...

XJS are few on the ground with like 9 for sale by private people and 2 from a dealer.
so not a lot to chose from.
A convertible went for 12k NZD.

15K NZD = $10,000 USD - so most good privately sold XJS are 10k USD plus. For 1984 coupes, what should the premium be for a convertible?
The one I am looking at is 21.5k USD - late model and must be mint. see my other post for work done, all the suspension stuff, and must be rust free to import in to NZ.