Hi all,

I got the idea that there are times when we might run across XJS vehicles that are for sale in our respective areas that might be of interest to others for one reason or another. And this is one of them.

I do not endorse, nor do I know, the person selling this vehicle. I thought some of you might be highly interested, though:

ESTATE SALE - MUST SELL
1988 Hess and Eisenhardt Convertible for sale here in Denver, Colorado, USA. I don't think the appraisers quite knew what they were looking it and went off the "it's an XJS, yup" blue-book value. Looks like it has almost every feature, you'll need to replace the "new" radio to get it back to OEM. Pictures make it look like it's in pretty good shape.

Ummm...so yeah! Not sure if I posted in the right place, or if these kinds of posting are even allowed.

 

$12,000 seems a bit high

 

I think part of the value of the XJS is in their uniqueness, but I think only a Jaguar person can appreciate that. The general public seems to lean toward the more familiar Mercedes or BMW.
One of the problems I'm having trying to sell my 1996 XJS 2+2 is finding a good venue to advertise. The target audience for someone who is interested in buying this type of vehicle is relatively narrow. In the case of the 4.0 liter, it is a good reliable "luxury touring car" that is fun to drive and gets a lot of attention, but it is not a "sports car".

 

I always stop to check Jags when I see them for sale. The XJSs range from low mileage cream puffs to high mileage beaters. The range is broad and wide. Usually well maintained low mileage cars are rare but I've seen some incredible bargains. Even the XK8s can be had fairly cheap. A clean Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale XK8 vert went for $8k. It was like a new car for like 10 cents on the dollar! Unreal!

 

I agree, Scoupe. Which is why I browse Craigslist just to see what's out there.

Usually you have the OTHER end of the spectrum, where people are trying to sell a trashed car for a ridiculous amount of money because "Jaguar!" If there is something remarkable about the car of note and worth, then I could see a semi-trashed car going for high prices. I hate to break it to people, but the XJS marquee is neither really special nor remarkable, unless you count it being bloody difficult to work on/with. The XJS brand is the Ford Focuses and Volkswagon Rabbits of the Jaguar line: lots of them were made and can be had for cheap. Of course, I personally feel/ think the XJS is a beautiful vehicle worthy of praise, but I can't let personal stuff get in the way of business.

Examples of over the top prices:

1994 JAGUAR XJS CONVERTIBLE
1994 Jaguar XJS Convertible 4,0 L
1991 Jaguar xjs Convertible Immaculate
1989 Jaguar XJS V12 with maranello TLC project

All of these have been for sale on Craigslist for a while, and the prices have been steadily dropping on them as the owners can't sell them. The first three are in really good condition, they MAY get close to $10K. The last one...well...*sigh*

 

Just joined today and stumbled on this thread. Seems tailor made for my current needs!
I am currently in the unfortunate predicament of possibly needing to let go of my 95 XJS inline 6 due to the work it needs. I'm new to jags and was able to pick mine up for $4.5k (71k mikes, interior needs TLC but it drove fine). Took it to a shop in Springfield, va, that specializes in Jags and have learned it needs upwards of $3k of work (replace transmission mount, pinion seals, coolant hose, bushings, lower radiator hose as well as fix an exhaust leak). Do any of you have experience with getting this much service done?
Seeing as how I just joined today, I don't want to run the risk of violating any regs for posting a for sale so I'll hold off on that for later if I can't figure anything else out.
Thanks for your input!

 

I make it a habit to stay away from "shops that speacialize in Jags" that in my book equals "shops that specialize in parting you with your money". The guy down the street was selling an XJRS convertable and when I popped in to have a look the antenna was bent at the base, I asked "what happened" he replied " a Jaguar expert came by to look and powered the radio on then opened the trunk" yeah, got to love those "jaguar experts" too!

 

The Hess for sale for $12K is in my opinion overpriced because it does not matter how few they made but rather the demand for that car. No cut at all to any members who have a Hess conversion but it is a well known fact that the Hess had certain issues that were problems with the Hess conversion like leaking fuel tanks. The value of a car will always come down to what someone is willing to pay at the time of sale. If there were only 5 Hess conversions left in the world and only one for sale then demand will end up determining value or sale price. You could ask $40K for the one for sale but in the end if the highest offer you get for that car is $5K then you can either sell it for that or hold on to the car and say it is worth whatever you want to say it is worth but at the time you went to sell it well it was worth only 5K at that time. When you look at how many XJS' were made with the 5.3 V12 and the known issues to maintain the V12 in the XJS, you can see why so many can be purchased relatively cheap. My read on the future pricing of the XJS is that there will always be a demand for a V12 sports car but having the V12 does not in itself drive up the value of the car. If you do not believe this then take a look at how many V12 Mercedes or BMW's are being sold IMO cheaply when you consider the original sales price of these cars and the low miles and overall condition of the cars for sale. I look far down the road and feel that it will be the limited production XJS cars that are also highly desirable like the TRW cars and the last cars with the 6.0L and 4.0L AJ16 power plants that will demand and get the best return. You already see this in the marketplace and I would think that this trend will continue into the future. Look at the pricing of the series 3 E-type and you will see that the roadster price has continued to climb while the coupe has not. I know of a very pristine low mileage 1973 E-type coupe that has been for sale for many years at the 20K mark that does not even get calls or lookers. Now if this was a roadster with the same 30K orig miles it would not even last a day at that price range. Buy what you love whether that be a 5.3L coupe or a 1996 4.0L convertible. In the end it is unlikely that either will make you money and whether you pay $3k for a 86' coupe or 12K for a last run convertible in the end you are the one that will live with your choice so hopefully it will bring a big smile to your face when ever you get to take it out for a drive. Oh, and I would consider the X-type to be the Ford Focus or VW rabbit of the Jaguar brand. No cut on the X-type but this was the entry car for Jaguar that was sold in large numbers.
Mark my words certain XJS' are already becoming the new collectible Jag that is still available cost wise to get into.

 

I sort of agree with you, Luvmy. Sort of.

The XJS is a vehicle that has a unique look. There's few, if any, other cars that match the way the front looks, the styling of the back, or the interior, especially when all the wood trim is still in good condition. On the other hand, the V12 is known to be a beast of a power-plant to simply maintain, nevermind when it needs to actually be worked on. It also has this rather nasty reputation of catching on fire, something that most people seem to shy away from when looking at a car to buy.

On the other hand, it has been over fifteen year since the last XJS was made. It has been well over thirty years since the last E-Type was made. The E-Type has a certain aura about it that the XJS has never had, and doesn't quite have yet. The XJS was never really accepted as a good E-Type replacement, and got bad reviews because "it isn't an E-Type". This last piece still seems to haunt the poor XJS line.

The XJS may be starting to reach that "collectible" status, but by no means that guarantee that your "collectible" car will go up in value. Like you said, a thing's worth is only as much as another person is willing to pay for it. Combine the XJS's reputation as a portable smores maker, the difficulty of working on it, and it still being disparaged because it is not an E-Type, and it makes for a collectible that few are willing to pay much money for.

 

Just was in CO. A real mess! The floods have forced out a lot of project cars so be aware of flood victims. Some of the craigs list cars are all over the map from trust fund kids looking to get rid of their parents prized Jag to real beater projects!
Agreed. Es were D race cars with bumpers & lights. Comparing Es and Ss is like comparing apples & oranges.

 

Good thing you brought up the CO flooding, I didn't make a connection between the floodings here and the cars now appearing on the market. However, I do believe there is a law where you must disclose that a car was flooded when/if you choose to sell it. Otherwise you can get taken to court and have to return the money.

And you brought up something else that made me realize something last night: most people nowdays have never seen an E-Type. In a way, this is good for the XJS line, because when they read that the XJS "isn't as good as the E-Type", most people won't know what they are being compared to. Fewer, if any, people looking to buy an XJS will ever have ridden an E-Type. I do remember that when I was looking for an XJS, I kept seeing these comments about the XJS not being a good E-Type replacement. I have yet to see an E-Type in real life, much less actually drive one. And the prices for an E-Type are way out of my league. The XJS was just introduced when I was born, and I grew up seeing the XJS line as "THE" Jaguar car, one of the few "dream" cars that I grew up always wanting. Think about it, the XJS was made up until 1996, so I basically grew up seeing them for as the Jaguar marquee for most of my life. How can I not attach the XJS to Jaguar? It's essentially the same thing of when I think of "Chevy", I think "Suburban". And, yes, I have a Suburban.

I need SOMETHING to tow around my XJS, don't I!?

 

I brought up the series 3 E type as a way of showing market trends. It is a well known fact that the series 1 E type is the most collectible and valuable. For years the series 3 lingered as the bloated E type that was not really considered a pure E. When I hear people say the S was not accepted well after the E lets be clear on something; the last series of the E (namely the coupe) was not well accepted as a E. Market demands and safety requirements had already changed the E type to a car that many did not see as a sports car any longer but a GT. Jaguar did not intend the S to be a direct replacement for the E but that being said it was a much closer replacement for the series 3 E type coupe. I have always said that had the S started out as both a coupe and convertible it would have been much better accepted. Imagine if the E type had started out as a series 3 coupe only-How great a reception to you think that car would have had? When you talk about value and the XJS you have to keep in mind that the car was made for 21 model years. It is IMO that the XJS is and will continue to be the most desirable( so therefore most valuable) with the cars made towards the end of it's production( in a sense it is just the opposite of the E). The main reason for this IMO is that Jaguar was in a financial crunch during the 70's and simply did not have the resources to put into the S at the time of it's release.
My point in all of this discussion is that the XJS was made for many years and so one has to be careful lumping all the S' into one comparison or conversation. Saying a 1988 Hess conversion is as valuable as a 1996 convertible is truly comparing apples and oranges.

 

kinda makes me feel old, i can remember when series 1 E types could be had for $1000.-1500. us dollars.

i bought a 1966 E roadster for $750.US, had a knock on the front rod, run great after a quick fix with a new con rod, and polished crank.

around 1969-1972, like all things , time changes everything!

 

little off topic, last week at mecum auctions, a 1967 Corvette conv. with all matching #s, sold for highest ever ,3.4 million, WTF,is that about???

seems nothing makes logical sense when it comes to money and cars.

 

Lets not forget this post from awhile back
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...49/#post715548

They wanted $30,000 for this car. Too bad the original CL post is gone.