Looking at two xjs's one a 89 with 70000.miles a lot of work done. Or a 92 40000 miles both conv ,southern cars.both in need of interior work. Does any one have pro's and cons of these year vec.

 

At this age (over 20 years old for both of them) The most important thing is how they have been taken care of. That will be a bigger factor than 89 spec v's 92 spec. The mileage delta is also irrelevant. They are both "very low" miles, and thats not always a good thing on an XJS

If one car has had "a lot" of work done to it (you'll have to help me with "a lot". I have done "a lot" of work to my XJS, meaning over 25k spent over 3 years. Wheras 3 oil changes and a detail in the last 10 years is not "a lot")

There is a simple question for the 89 owner...... "when was the last time he changed the fuel injector hoses" I have used this as a litmus test a few times and the answer here will tell you a lot of things. It tells you the owner is a Jag guy and knows about the car. Also, if he has replaced something that wasn't actually broken, then there's a good chance he's done other good stuff on the car also.

The next thing I would like to know is how they both hold temp in the heat...... can you leave the car idling in the sun with the A/C on and see the engine temp remain steady ? While we're on the subject of A/C, having that working (or not) is another factor I think (Some will argue that it's a convertible so you don't need A/C, but even here in the not so scorching California sun I can now use my XJS much more frequently because I have my A/C working and I can run with the top up when it gets too warm outside. (I'm from the UK originally, so the sun is still a novelty for me)

I'm assuming they are both rust free and that you need to spend a considerable amount of time/effort/money on each of the interiors. If there are any differences in these areas between the cars, then this would also be a factor to consider.

 

Great points by Sarc, especially about checking each car to see how they handle idling or driving in traffic in the hot sun without overheating issues.

The 92 and later years don't have fuel injector hoses, so that's one less thing you would have to worry about. But the 92 and later also have the fuel pump in the tank, requiring removal of the tank to replace. The 89's fuel pump is outside of the tank.

Unless the service records give you an idea, I'd run an autocheck or carfax to see how much each car has been driven in the last 5 years. I'd take a car that's been driven more and worked on, over one that has been sitting a lot.

Good luck.

 

Thanks so much for the great info! I'm leaning towards the 89 it has been Well maintained.