Jaguar XJS shopping

[AKROVER]

I am shopping for a Jaguar XJS Coupe. I always wanted one. I am not getting any younger. I have the space to store and work on a car. And these are surprisingly affordable. It has taken me over a year of thinking and occasional research to reach this conclusion. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take on the challenges of a classic car, but WXO and Maverick have long inspired me, proving that I am still quite young enough to tackle problems. GMJohnny pushed me over the edge when his comments on El Camino prices really put some perspective on the affordability of these old Jaguars.

I am going to try to stop and look at two of them on my trip to Ohio.



This red 1990 listed for $8500 has been for sale for a very long time and the price has dropped a lot. It looks good. Two interior problems I could pick up in the pictures are that it needs a headliner and the driver’s seat looks like perhaps the seat heater shorted out and melted part of the cushion. The underside pictures don’t show clearly enough, but I don’t see any real problems. One of the exhausts looks to be hanging lower than the other. Based on the lack of mention in their lousy description, I am also guessing the air conditioning doesn’t work (they wasted way too many words talking about power windows and none talking about air conditioning). The dealer is just 8 miles off I-80 in Chicago and I have time to stop as we pass through there.



This green 1991 is priced at the high end of the range for these cars ($19,500) and looks very good except for the common cracking of the wood on the center console. This seems promising to me with a desirable color combination, but at that price, there better be some good maintenance history. The dealer is in Salem OH, just an hour from my Auburn accommodations.

There is a European classic car dealer in Nashville that has a couple of nice coupes in the high teens right now so that could be a stop on my next trip to visit my parents. There is also a nice 1986 listed for $15K in Minnesota not far off I-90, but we are not travelling that route on this Ohio trip. That could be a quick overnight trip from home. We have actually stayed at that exit before so I know what the drive looks like. There are a few other interesting cars scattered about the country, but I will start with the more convenient ones to go see. These things aren’t moving fast right now so I don’t have to move fast, either. Ultimately, I am looking at an additional expense for shipping, but even with that, the cars are still a bargain.

[MostMint]

My first thought on the red one is its an outlier for a reason. However not really knowing the market for these it might be that this seller is the only motivated seller. Even though I don't see any obvious problems I'd probably get a carfax on the red one.

I was looking at this platform for a while because I thought the V12 would sound great with proper free flowing exhaust. I found a video of one and I was quite disappointed with the sound so I lost interest.

Now that you have a home base with a garage you can tinker with one - should be a fun adventure making whatever you get the way you want it.

[GMJohnny]

I like the green one. We’ll make time to go to Salem. Researching and hunting
for old cars is so fun. Road-tripping to get them is great. I’m glad to hear that
you’re getting the itch to get back into the game!

GM

[wxo]

Since I'm mentioned in this thread, I though I'd chime in with my two cents. My Corvette turned out to my satisfaction, but it was a lot of hard work, time and a lot of money spent. If I was to do it over again, I would put more effort in finding the nicest overall specimen of the vehicle I could find. I would say spend the money up front to get a good starting point. You will get to enjoy it sooner with a lot less hassle. With a classic car I predict that there will always be plenty of wrenching to do and money to spend even with a nice starting project. Parts are hard to find and expensive. Good hunting.

[AKROVER]

My first thought on the red one is its an outlier for a reason. However not really knowing the market for these it might be that this seller is the only motivated seller. Even though I don't see any obvious problems I'd probably get a carfax on the red one.

I was looking at this platform for a while because I thought the V12 would sound great with proper free flowing exhaust. I found a video of one and I was quite disappointed with the sound so I lost interest.

Now that you have a home base with a garage you can tinker with one - should be a fun adventure making whatever you get the way you want it.

Good thoughts on the red one, not far off my own. Thanks for the input. I haven't yet listened to that online video, but I saw it and had some curiosity about what this thing might sound like with a more open exhaust. Good to know that it wouldn't be Ferrari-esque.

[AKROVER]

Since I'm mentioned in this thread, I though I'd chime in with my two cents. My Corvette turned out to my satisfaction, but it was a lot of hard work, time and a lot of money spent. If I was to do it over again, I would put more effort in finding the nicest overall specimen of the vehicle I could find. I would say spend the money up front to get a good starting point. You will get to enjoy it sooner with a lot less hassle. With a classic car I predict that there will always be plenty of wrenching to do and money to spend even with a nice starting project. Parts are hard to find and expensive. Good hunting.

There is a lot more than two cents worth in that. It is exactly the advice I need. I can be pretty stupid about chasing bargains and this isn't the time in life nor the car to be trying to skimp on. Thanks for pushing me in the right direction.

[AKROVER]

I like the green one. We’ll make time to go to Salem. Researching and hunting
for old cars is so fun. Road-tripping to get them is great. I’m glad to hear that
you’re getting the itch to get back into the game!

GM

British Racing Green, perhaps. I figured I might find assistance on the Salem car. All I need you to do is a compression check on all twelve cylinders. Try not to lean on the fenders while doing that.

[MostMint]

Do you know the weak points on these cars yet? There has to be some. If you plan to pay up it might help knowing the weak spots so you can confirm they've been addressed on any potential buy.

V12 Jag sounds so you can hear for yourself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOal50E2fpk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NefbIDlFby8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKVPkZJDcDY

[GMJohnny]

Since I'm mentioned in this thread, I though I'd chime in with my two cents. My Corvette turned out to my satisfaction, but it was a lot of hard work, time and a lot of money spent. If I was to do it over again, I would put more effort in finding the nicest overall specimen of the vehicle I could find. I would say spend the money up front to get a good starting point. You will get to enjoy it sooner with a lot less hassle. With a classic car I predict that there will always be plenty of wrenching to do and money to spend even with a nice starting project. Parts are hard to find and expensive. Good hunting.

I had this revelation the first time Input a wrench to my ‘69 Chevy truck. No rust! The body work was
DONE. All I had to do was mechanical stuff, which is easy and fun. If you read through the threads on
my last two Oldsmobiles and my El Camino, you’ll see me working A LOT on REALLY clean cars. You’ll
find out that nobody will take care of them the way you think they should have and you’ll fix a ton
of stuff and the hard work of body and paint is already done! If we were 22, I’d say get a project and
fix it. Now, spend as much as you can on something nice. WXO’s advice is extremely sound.

GM

[TireSmoker]

I've always liked the way these cars looked, and small-block swaps were common, which made it that much more appealing. I look forward to seeing what you come up with here.

[AKROVER]

I've always liked the way these cars looked, and small-block swaps were common, which made it that much more appealing. I look forward to seeing what you come up with here.

While I hope to have a V-12 indefinitely in the car, the fact that Jaguar used GM transmissions (mostly TH400) does give me a potential future solution to engine difficulties. Almost any engine can be bolted up to a TH400.

[AKROVER]

We stopped to look at the red car today. The car looks pretty good in person, too. The paint isn’t bad, but I think it is mostly original with a few imperfect touchups. The underside of the car looks better than I expected. This is a very clean car. The driver’s seat wasn’t as bad as I expected, but I think something was spilled on it rather than it melting from the seat heater. The only thing I noticed that I couldn’t pick up in the pictures was that it is leaking oil. There were no salespeople there, so it was just a chance to look. I spoke to the office manager, and she didn’t have too much additional information. She gave me the Carfax which confirms that the 72K miles appears legit. The car spent most of its years in the southwest and the Vegas Jaguar club emblem suggests it was owned by an enthusiast. The office manager said that she thinks the woman who owns it is just trying to get rid of her deceased husband’s car. I think the car has been sitting for a long time which means it probably needs a lot of refreshing. I haven’t ruled it out, but I don’t think this is the right car for me.

We did have fun just wandering through the cars at the dealership. They had a nice Lincoln Mark III that was surprisingly painted almost the same color as what I put on my ’68 Continental. They also had a 1995 Mark VIII which gave me a fun look into my own past. It is funny how unfamiliar interiors of my past cars can look to me. The Jag was parked next to a custom Vista Cruiser that was pretty cool. I think we looked at every car they had which was probably a couple hundred in their indoor showroom. My wife even seemed to enjoy looking at all the cars.

[MostMint]

If you are ruling it out due to the oil leak, you might see what common oil leaks are on these? Could be something simple (as opposed to the rear main). Since that car is sitting there for so long you have to figure they will take a lower offer though I don't believe that will move the needle in your decision process.

The west coast rust free past is a nice feature.

It'll be super interesting to see if the green one is really more than twice as good since the asking price is twice as much.

[Fred32v]

I started out looking for a Jaguar, after much searching I stumbled
on a dealer who only had one car left on his lot, a 99 Eldorado.
I made him an offer just a little over Black Book, which he rejected.
He called me the next day to come and get it "you son of a bitch".

[wxo]