Yep, true love in my case.

I've had a love affair with the XJ-S ever since I was a teenager, and first saw one parked at an upscale hotel near the concert hall in Birmingham Alabama when I was there to see THE WHO in concert in 1976. I have long since forgotten most of the details of that concert, but, the image of that gunmetal grey XJ-S sitting in that wet parking lot, just before sunset with fresh raindrops beading up all over it's crisp sheet metal, is an image and a moment of my life which I will remember forever. It literally changed my life. Even though I was a poor kid living in an 800 square foot house in rural Alabama, I vowed to myself, and to my best friend, that I would own one of those cars ''someday''.

Another indication that I had "the Disease" was when I was in the Air Force, and went back to my mother's home on leave one year, to discover that my old neighbor had bought a new white XJS. This was mid to late 80s, so I'm thinking it was an '86 or '87. It didn't have the active seat belts, so I know it wasn't an '88. It was just sitting there under his carport, with dust all over it. He wasn't home, so I couldn't talk to him about the car, but, I wasn't about to let it remain filthy. I got his garden hose and some of my old car wash supplies, and ended up spending the next 2 hours washing and drying his car, caressing and admiring every curve, as if it were a woman. The thing is, that I did this on more than one occasion, over the course of a couple years. He eventually tossed me the keys, and told me to take my wife for a drive in it. That was the nail in my coffin. I had to have one. Today I own 3.

It's not about the money guys. It should never be about the money. It has to be a burning passion, or it's nothing.

 

Funny thing is my Lincoln LS (daily driver) is awaiting parts to come in so I'm forced to drive my XJS to work the past 3 days...yucky, sunny 76F weather here in NEFla....the young Gate Guard at the base yesterday commented on what a nice car I had...spreading the XJS joy to the younger set!

 

I'm jealous for your Florida weather. Lol. Don't spread the joy to much or the prices may go up with demand. Lol. Just kidding.

 

There's nothing that says you can't....if your total investment x 2 = a price someone out there is willing to pay!

Is it?









Which really has no bearing on the matter at all.






You ask any price you want. If you find someone who wants to pay what you're asking then everyone walks away happy .


Cheers
DD

 

Hi Allan, I got a good chuckle from your comments ;

"This is a funny old thread, full of pride, love, loyalty and a healthy dose of wishful thinking

To compare the XJS to the E-type and infer that it will follow the same valuation trajectory is wishful at best. (Probably been watching too many shows like Car Chasers and their ilk ) Was the XJS a better car? In my opinion, yes! But the E-type was an iconic car, a car that was called the most beautiful car ever made by Enzo Ferrari himself. A car that is almost always on anyones list as one the most beautiful. That is what drives the price. The XJS has never had that caché and sadly never will. "

Well Allan, let us be clear, the series 3 E type coupe is not and never will be considered as desirable as a series 1 thru 2 E type. This is a fact and not just wishful thinking. That is like saying all Mustangs or Camaro's are equally desirable. Or why don't we just say because Ford called a 1958 Thunderbird the same name as a 1955 that the 1958 version is just as desirable. The original E type shares very little in common with say a 1973 E type. Yes, both are called a E types but there is a reason why the series one demands many, many more times the value of the series 3. Just park a series 1 coupe next to a series 3 coupe and it will be very obvious why one is highly collectible and the other not.

I said and I stand by my prediction that the day is coming when a late model XJS convertible will bring a better resale value then a series 3 E type coupe(mileage and condition etc. being equal). This is not wishful thinking or loyalty. I base this on a simple fact that the most desirable E types were produced at the beginning and the most desirable XJS' were produced at the end of the run. Simple fact, and price and demand already reflect this reality.

A series 3 E type coupe owner can ask any price they want but the reality is they are not getting any where near the price the series 3 roadster is getting. Oh, and yes Enzo did make the comment about a series 1 E type but show me any thing that says he was even interested in the series 3.

The truth is Jaguar tried to widen the sale ability of the E by making it bigger and able to seat 4 people. Well that did not work out so well. Kind of reminds me of the Datsun 240Z and how that car continued to loose it's appeal as the car became bigger. Some designs just start to loose that something special as the manufacturer continues to tinker on it and make it larger to increase sales.

Since the XJS was not offered as a convertible for 13 years, the simple fact is if you like the look of the XJS in the convertible body you only have so many years to pick from. The next fact is if you do not want the XJS convertible in a V-12 version you again are limited in choice. Then if you want the most reliable and powerful non v-12 XJS convertible available you are now down to 1.5 years of production. Uh, that just starts to sound like a future collectible in the making. I did not buy a XJS to make money, I bought it because it hit the marks I was aiming for at or below the price point I was looking at. After owning and being around this wonderful car I continue to pinch myself on what a great find this car was. Oh, and I also really like the TR6 but the 1995 XJS for the money is so much more car-this is just a fact ,not just another wishful thought.

 

Here's a Jaguar ad I cut out of a newspaper in 1991. They promised a "legend in the making".

I figured out why I don't like the XJS: every year as a kid I would go to the car show with me Dad, and every year Jaguar brought the same three cars, XJ6/12 and XJ-S. None with a manual transmission. All the other car makers had new models from time to time, but not Jaguar.

I had no idea they were going to sell the facelift XJS with a 6 cyl and 5 speed until I saw this ad in the paper. Finally, a Jag for me. It took me 20 years but I got one (only the fourth I had seen for sale in all that time).

 

Here's another ad I kept from that time, from a magazine and in colour.
I'd be happy to send you higher-res images by email if you provide it via DM.

Heck that could be my car in the ad.

 

"It is so much more car"...but what it will never ever be is a Classic British roadster from days gone by, no matter how you slice it. I had a chance to pick up that beautiful 6.0 convertible down the street but that would mean selling my TR6, hhmmmm, British, convertible, similar? Not even close by a mile to being the same soul stirring driving experience. The TR6 stayed, the XJS convertible got channeled to a club mate. Sorry it's bad enough IMHO to compare an E-type to an XJS but I'm not going to compare the TR6 experience to one either, my old RWA Midget, now there was a FUN car..................miles of smiles for little $$. The XJ-S and XJS are what they are great GT cars that draw attention for their rarity and uniqueness and one that I will probably never part with, I didn't buy one for the investment and have lost my a$$ on every motorcycle or car I've owned and sold, it's a labor of love not a "comparison" exercise for me. I watch XJS's roll across the block at Mecum (watch day one for the fun stuff most can afford) they don't roll big $$ cars up till day 2 and 3 (sorry XJS's are usually day 1) it doesn't bother me in the least, I want an Etype but can't afford one, the XJS and TR6 satisfy me for what I can afford and provide me the best of both worlds, classic open top British motoring with that loud raspy exhaust in my ears and cool, sleek, smooth V-12 motoring with the A/C on....both on a budget!

 

I agree completely that the series 3 coupe is an odd looking car and in my eyes not even close to competing with an XJS. However, you actually somewhat make my point. Even though the series 3 coupe is an ugly duckling, it still commands a very healthy price advantage over the XJS and the only reason for that is it's association with the icon that is the E-type.

I don't see any facts here at all. Here are some actual facts. The current average value for a 1973 Series 3 coupe is according, to Hagerty's website, $26,457. That is the weighted average of all sold at auction this year. Condition 1 cars average $43,800, Condition 2 $34,600, Condition 3 $27,200 and lowly condition 4 cars $18,300. Prices for these cars are actually on the rise as you can see from the chart.

Price Guide Report

Hagerty did not have valuations for the 1995 XJS but a bit of searching showed that average auction values for the 1995 convertible were around $8,000, a pretty big gap to $26,000. The very best cars were selling for about $15,000 compared to $43,000 for the series 3. Also if you look back a few years to before the worldwide recession you will see that Series 3 prices, in fact all e-type prices, were significantly higher. This was not the case for the XJS. These are the real facts.

Looking into a crystal ball one might reasonably presume that the series 3 could return to it's previous valuations as economies improve but where will that leave the XJS? I suspect more or less where it is today.

Like you I did not buy my XJS to make money but because I loved the car from the moment I saw it at it's debut in Earl's Court in 1975. This was the gold beauty that started my love affair

 

And I'm betting he never said anything nice about the XJS, either!

When launched the XJS rec'd almost universal criticism as far as styling goes. It was a weird car. Still is. Although, yes, the facelift models were not quite so....unique.

If the XJS styling was universally loved we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation.





Right, those would be coveted variants of a car that is virtually invisible in the collector world and struggles to break $10,000 .

If *lots* of people lusted for a Jag XJS then the premium vintage (your 1.5 year production window, for example) would be a real keeper. As it stands, though, not many people lust for a Jag XJS.

As I said before, what's collectible to a handful of Jag guys may not be collectible in the big world of collector cars. There's nothing wrong with that, but it isn't a recipe for big value inceases, either.

Just my 2-cents, obviously

Cheers
DD

Cheers
DD

 

I have some good news

My 19 year old daughter wants my XJS (over my dead body literally its in my will) she also wants a 59 Cadillac so there is some hope with the young.

 

my daughter wants to put my XJS into a museum of some kind, she says its just so much different than any other jags!! one of a kind

course after i gone

 

Great comment. I've been meaning to ask whether other members like to shift their automatic XJS's through the gears and wind them out a bit (say mid 3's to 4k RPM). I have been told that it's good for the engine and also that its bad for the engine. Personally I like the feel of the engine around 3.5k RPM. So does it do the engine any harm to wind it out a bit through the gears?

 

Give 'er the boot ! It's not made out of glass.

Heck, I practically consider it an obligation to hit redline (5500 RPM on my XJR) a few times a month!

When I had my V12 XJS shifting at redline (6500 rpm) was half the fun of owning the car. Magnificent sound. The engine never seemed to object. The 1-2 shift was at 65 mph and the 2-3 shift at 110

Anyhow, 3500-4000 rpm isn't gonna hurt anything....unless the engine is on its last legs to begin with.



Cheers
DD

 

Well then I guess I'd better get those RPMs up a bit. The engine really feels great when its winding up a bit. Thanks for the reply.

 

I'm with Doug. No need to exceed redline, and no need to avoid it either

 

I just bought mine a couple of weeks ago. When my sister-in-law saw it she immediately said that this was her father's "dream car" back in the 1970s but that he never bought one. I knew her dad and he was a great guy. So I've been thinking that I'm glad I actually did buy one when I got the chance and maybe I can enjoy it a little bit for him.

 

Reading these posts makes me want to take my XJS out of Wisconsin winter storage... I miss my girl.

 

i told you jags are possessive!!!!

they own us. we are at there beckon call.

 

As I remember, the '94 convertible on that auction in Anaheim was a straight six.
I now have a V12 update from this on-going Mecum auction from Kansas City.
It was the turn for a '92 silver coupe V12 to hit the red carpet. The car was really impressive, shining as beautiful as that convertible that started this thread. It started at $3,000.00 and went up to $4,750.00 with no additional bids. The owner chose not to let it go for that amount (no idea what the reserve was), so "the bid goes on". Being a coupe, plus being in the midwest and maybe the engine option may explain the lesser attraction compared to the convertible in Anaheim the other day.