In lieu of finding a low miles 1996 under for under $14000, I'm considering a 1995 V12 with 40k priced a bit under $13500

Is the 1995 V12 that bad? That car looks immaculate ,original paint,immaculate interior ,all maintenance records, and yet its been for sale for 3 month ?
Why do buyers stay away from that year and model? Are they that un-reliable ?
Only 172 were made that year I would think collectors would buys these in a heart beat ? I have seen several for sale and they are still for sale ....
Why do you think that is ?
Would you stay away from a 1995 V12 XJS in very good condition and why?

 

Maybe the Fuel consumption of the 6.0L has got something to do with it.

Even a 5.3 V12 uses Petrol like there's no Tomorrow.

During the Summer just Tripping around my Fuel Bill is a Minimum of £150 per week and I've even got through that much in just a couple of days!

 

In a word

NO.

Just in case you mis-understood.

NO.

The 6ltr is the best of the best. Rare as they came, and a rag top is even more "I want one".

 

A 6.0 litre XJS? Ooh-la-la

Grant's right.


Cheers
DD

 

Doug and Grant are right, but you MUST like working on cars yourself, or have the resources to find and use a good garage. These wonderful cars need using and they need good maintenance.
Greg

 

IMOP , Doug hit the nail on the head. You must be able to work on a v12 yourself or have unlimited $fun$ . Finding a shop that does correct work could be next to impossible. A Jaguar dealer, don't forget these engines were last produced in 1996. How many Jag Tech's that are familiar with the v12 are still working their?
At some point it will need something, engine work, rear brakes,etc. Tools are another must. Reading the Forums is a must before you buy .
Lawrence

 

I do my own service/maintenance work so owning a Jaguar, or any other car is no concern to me.

The 6.0 liter was the best V12 Jaguar ever offered in a production car. If I was in the market I would not hesitate to buy a well condition '95 XJS.

Mark

 

As the others said...

Late 6 litres are making all the money and more here in the UK!

Buy it!

Paul

 

They stay on the market for a long time because they are expensive. Most people looking for an XJS are perfectly happy paying half that for an earlier one and some people prefer some cosmetics over others. I like the seats and the 6.0, and I love color matching dashes, but I don't like the tail lights or steering wheel.

I think it is mostly just that there is a huge price gap between a pristine late XJS and daily driver from the 80s.

Would I stay away from them? For that price, yes. There are other cars I would rather have for that money, and having 20k,30k,40k miles doesn't mean much. Actual engine wear is the least of your worries with an XJS, but all the other bits that go wrong, do so with use and with age. A 20 year old car with 20k miles still needs all its hoses replaced, all its brakes worked on, etc. Being old and oxidized can be just as bad as being used for some time. 13k doesn't sound bad for those specs honestly, since a lot of decent XJSs are around 10k. I am used to seeing the low mileage late cars for $16-24k, and the take long to sell because you are asking twice the price of the regular cars and XJSs still are valued to the point where people want to throw money down on a mint condition one.
This probably won't happen until the XJS gets old enough that you start seeing restored versions. Other than some resprays I have never really seen anyone restore and XJS to like new condition, it just isn't cost effective and no one cares about them that much, not to mention most of them are still in pretty decent shape. If I had the money to restore mine now, I would do so knowing it is just for me and its really not a good way to spend the time or money.

 

Thank you for the replies.I don't work on my won cars and my mechanic just told me he would not want to work on the V12.
The car is very tempting...but the seller is an older gentleman not easy to communicate with.. He owed a garage told me things were taking care of and thats it... I think i just met Felix from the Odd Couple. It is a Northern CA car

 

It just goes to show how different are the attitude and market conditions in the US compared to the UK. Here the prices are moving up quickly, cars are being restored and there's a thriving market in specialists and restorations. As with many cars, teh desirable ones are early cars (especially Manual ones) or late convertibles, especially 6.0 litre cars. I've even seen LHD 6.0 convertibles (imported from the US) being marketed over here for up to £65,000!!

Paul

 

Gosh, maybe I should buy that V12 and sell it to some one in the UK ?

 

I have two 1995 XJS' with the AJ16 engine. I bought my first one aprox. 5 years ago with 57K miles and soon realized how incredible the car was to drive, maintain etc. that I decided to purchase a 2nd one with 36K miles as an investment. I know the last few years of the XJS very very well. I will share a few insights that I hope will help you in your search.

First and foremost I can tell you have been doing your research and have narrowed down what you are looking for. You already know that you can only get the AJ16 for the last two years with the XJS. I can tell you first hand that I have no regrets getting this set up-none and I would do it again and again if I were looking for another XJS.

Why am I so adamant about owning a XJS with the AJ16 motor-simply put it is the most refined and reliable of the bunch-period. In the last 5 years of driving my one XJS I have changed fluids and transmission cooling lines, frt brake pads and rotors and replaced the crank sensor-that is it. The car is a pleasure to own and it is reliable. I did not buy a XJS to work on it I bought it to drive and enjoy.

I have nothing against the XJS with the V-12 but it is not for me. I want to get in and drive my car and when I need to work on something on the engine I want to get to the part-handle the problem and drive my car. I have had to do so little on my XJS driver that I sometimes forget I am now driving a 20 year old car and a Jaguar at that.

The AJ16 is fast, quiet , decent on gas and did I mention reliable. If you are not someone who enjoys or wants to be involved mechanically with this type of car then I would stick with your original plan and hold out for the AJ16 set up. The newest XJS is now 20 years old so you will have issues to deal with no matter which XJS you get so why not get the best of the best if you can to start?

The reason why there were so few V-12's sold in 1995 is because people quickly realized that you no longer needed to spend the extra money for the V-12 to get the performance that was only available from Jaguar's V-12 in the 70's and 80's. The AJ16 will take the V-12 off the line so I will give the V-12 owners the better acceleration above 70 mph- I do not spend my time accelerating above 70 mph so not something I care about or would benefit from anyway.

As far as holding out for only a 1996 celebration XJS here is the main reason why I focused on the 1995 instead. Number one reason I wanted a 1995 over the 1996 is the stock wheel package available on each year. To my eye the '96 Aero wheel makes the car look less sporty-this is not a deal breaker as you see many a '96 XJS with the 5 spoke chrome factory option wheel but I just do not like the Aero wheel on the XJS-again just a personal thing.

I do like the half wood steering wheel on the '96 but my '95 with 36K miles has the all wood steering wheel installed-this was not available from Jaguar but was custom made for the car and I must say is the best looking steering wheel I have seen in any '95 or '96 XJS. Here is a photo showing my '95 XJS with the all wood steering wheel.


In my opinion you will not go wrong with any well kept XJS be it a V-12 or inline 6. You are going to be the one who will live with the car you choose so get what you want. Be patient and take your time finding the right car for you. It is getting harder to find late XJS convertibles with low miles in excellent condition for under $14K but they still come up mostly from private parties.

The key is to watch everyday and be ready to go look when they come up as there are now companies looking for clean low mileage convertibles to buy and resell here in the U.S. and also buy and ship to Europe to resell.

 

You're thinking of the 5.3 V12 which was no rocket-ship out of the hole, particularly the low-comp version.

The 6.0 V12, which we're talking about in this case, is much more powerful.....60-70 more horsepower than the 4.0 six cylinder. That amount of difference can't be dismissed. It'll run away and hide from a six cylinder car at any road speed or coming off the line.

But, yes, if power isn't important to you, the most of 6.0 appeal is lost.

Cheers
DD

 

get the 6 liter v-12...do it...do it!!!


take it from a man who has owned 12 cyl cars for nearly two decades...


12 cylinders or walk!!!

 

Thank you guys ! Amazing replies. I can tell you are all very passionate about your cars! This a great Forum!!!


Finding a good mechanic in Studio City CA, who could work on an a V12 may be a challenge ... at the moment I have my eyes on three cars , actually 4 !

The 4th one being a 2002 XJR I know its not the same but just in case I can't locate the right XJS I ll get an XJR foe the fun of it then keep looking

-I have found a 1995 V12 with 40k for around 13500 Green looks immaculate owned by a garage owner very difficult to deal with and not so friendly...
-A 1995 Off White AJ16 55k immaculate all service records owned by a lady
-A Black 1996 with 35k for 14900 out of state and thats the problem unless I can find someone I could trust to look at it for me.

I did find a 1995 on the Auto-trader with 50 k Off white , the ad is still running but the owner wants 19.5 so its not gonna happen


Faith and perceverance will prevail...

 

What he said. I think part of the reason these XJS's are on the market longer than one would expect (other than price) it's a polarizing body design. You either love it or hate it. This takes allot of potential buyers who would pounce on a 2 seater V-12 Jag out of the mix. My advice, if it is what you want spend the extra couple grand you will not regret it. As long as your willing to do what it takes to keep a 20 year old car with British rubber on the road. The V-12 is all but bullet proof.

 

Comparison courtesy of 1995 Jaguar XJS Series 2 Coupe full range specs

6.0L V12
accelerations: 0- 60 mph 6.5 s; 0- 100 km/h 6.9 s (a-c simulation); 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 14.7 s (a-c simulation)
fuel consumption and mileage: 12/16 mpg (U.S.), 19.6/14.7 l/100km, 14.4/19.2 mpg (imp.), 5.1/6.8 km/l EPA ratings average estimated by a-c: 18 l/100km / 15.7 mpg (imp.) / 13.1 mpg (U.S.) / 5.6 km/l

4.0 I6
accelerations: 0- 60 mph 7.9 s; 0- 100 km/h 8.3 s (a-c simulation); 1/4 mile drag time (402 m) 16 s (a-c simulation)
fuel consumption and mileage: 17/23 mpg (U.S.), 13.8/10.2 l/100km, 20.3/27.5 mpg (imp.), 7.2/9.8 km/l EPA ratings average estimated by a-c: 14.8 l/100km / 19 mpg (imp.) / 15.8 mpg (U.S.) / 6.7 km/l

 

I think they are the market for a long time because people save these late XJSs to sell them for $20k and no one wants to buy one for that when you can buy a decent looking 1980's model for $7,000. People that want and XJS can buy them like that all day. People that have $15-20k to spend buy something nicer, or save money and have cash to the maintain their new purchase. The XJS just isn't old enough that its that rare and sought after. Yeah the garage queen late XJSs look great, but the difference just isn't big enough.
I don't think the price of XJSs will increase until they get old enough that they are beat to hell. Most other classics increase in price because the average car is a piece of crap in need of a restoration and a good car has been restored, which costs money. People don't want a crap car, so they spend money on a good one.
As of right now you can get a decent driver for $5k with the XJS. No one the low mileage high prices ones sit on the market for so long...

 

To be fair, I don't think the 5.3 "is no rocket ship" its mostly the fault of the transmission. I know what you are saying though.

Also, if you put the car into first instead of leaving it in drive, its remarkably faster. Sucks gas, but I don't think enough people drive their XJS like this.
Recently watched a video on Harry's garage channel driving an XJS and he shifts the 3-speed himself most of the time it seems.