Hello all. I am trying to decide between a '94 xjs 6 cylinder with 54k miles with a full tune up including brakes and bushings, tires and great rims in the a beautifully repainted dark red OR a '95 that has been fully gone through 2 owner same color, no repaint but in good shape, but has the leaping cat on the hood about the same miles. However, the '94 the seller says has a check engine light that comes on once and a while. He claims the mechanic says it is the throttle position sensor, but it doesn't affect performance. Both seem to be good trustworthy dealers who specialize in xjs.

Concerns on which one to buy:
1) My concern is the check engine light on the '94. Should I have him fix it before I buy it or reduce the price in recognition of this issue?

2) Some say the AJ16 for the '95 is a better engine others say the AJ6 with the '94 is better due to the reduced amount of electronics.

What are your thoughts?

Regards and thanks,

Erik

 

Everything else being equal, I would take a 95 over a 94. The 95 engine is more powerful and fuel efficient, the electronics are not different enough to make me choose a 94 ( said as the owner of a 94 V12).

Depending on how it was done, you could probably remove the leaper and replace it with the correct badge and not have to do any paint work. Hopefully!

 

AJ16 is a brilliant engine and would be the only AJ I'd consider. I had a 1994 convertible with an AJ16 so do a visual for confirm.

 

Not so fast....

AJ6Engineering seems to be able to deal with the ECUs whereas the 95/96 years have ECUs which seem more difficult to refurbish.

The 96 have the Teves IV ABS system, the 95 and 94 have the less reliable Teves III. That being said, I think they gave some of the 95s the Teves IV, that would probably be the deal maker for me.

 

 

I had recently a 95 XJR; the coil on plug design is nice and all, and frankly more modern in design, however I'm more keen on my my 94 now with it's simplistic distributor setup. I don't think you can go wrong on either really.

I realize the check engine light can be a deterrent, but everything has a solution in the end. It is a bit easier to plug the 95 into an ODB II scanner and get easy information on the issues, but you can also pull codes on the 94 via the dash light.

 

Is there a significant difference in price?
Isn't the AJ16 engine the one used in the famously reliable and rugged X300 saloons?

 

 

 

AJ6 vs AJ16?

I wouldn't put too much emphasis on it, personally. Buy the better *car*. It's not like the AJ6 is grossly sub-standard.

Experiences vary, of course, but I ran an XJR with the AJ16 for several years and 171k miles. I don't think you could kill the engine of you tried. Durable, for sure. But....I had quite a few driveabilty problems over the years. It wasn't entirely a pleasure cruise. Getting back into a V12 has proven to be less torment !

Cheers
DD

 

The same.

 

Of course the engine alone is not everything, but the X300 did have a good reputation for reliability overall, so all other things being equal, I'd take the AJ16 one myself. Especially as they're a lot thinner on the ground over here at least. Lack of a check engine light is good, too. And original paint (in good nick) is a selling point, for me at least, unless tons of cash was spent on the respray.

 

 

There are some definite differences between the 94s and 95s. That 94 has the best of breed of the AJ6 refinements. The advances of the AJ16 introduced in 95 take the model to another level. Yes, the AJ16 is known as being bulletproof, and a lot of good miles were put on the X300s over the next few years.

Seats are different, so its a matter of liking the ribbed variety (94), or the fuller panels (95). 94 has computer in dash, 95 has the clock. Early 94s only had 2 seats (assuming you're talking about the convertible).

Finally, the 95s went through a couple iterations. There is the 95, the 95.25, and the the 95.5 (Celebration). Outward distinctions of the Celebrations are the wood steering wheel, wood shift knob, and the embossed leaper on headrests on seats.

You have to do a little more work to identify the 95.25, the easiest being a leather covered parking brake. The 94 and early 95 is metal. The 95.25 is covered in leather.

The 95.25 offers the upgraded brakes. Vented discs. Don't know if they are Teves III or Teves IV, but you will not have the ABS accumulator on the 95.25 like you have on the 94 and early 95s. Not a huge deal, but the accumulator does go bad and they are tough to find (thus expensive).

The VIN tells a lot. What is the VIN of the 95?

 

I replaced my clock with the computer, so not a draw back. I have the vented outboard rear disks and the OBDII is a plus. I like the 95 wheels better. I would pay more for the 95 if all else were equal.

 

Good point. The wheels are different. Lattice (94) vs 5-spoke (95). Also, the 95s are 16" vs the 94 15" wheels. Been hearing that its getting hard to find 15" tires that fit this Jag.

 

I'm on my second 1995, and I have never heard of 95.25. Interesting though. I couldn't bring myself to buy a 94 because I don't like how the engine looks, it has less HP, I don't like distributors caps. Ford spent a huge amount of money on AJ16 improvements - valves, valve guides etc. My current 95 is a Feb 95 build, which I know is a 221 VIN start. I would only buy a 94 V12. You could put 16" factory rims on instead of the 15".