I always get a kick out of seeing classic cars at an everyday used car dealership. It all goes back to seeing a gorgeous Porsche 928 at a local used car lot when I was a young’un in Poughkeepsie, NY. There was something captivating about seeing a lot full of Hyundai Excels and Chevy Cavaliers with a gleaming 928 in the showroom; I suppose there’s some of that attraction here for me seeing what looks like a very well preserved 1987 Jaguar XJS parked at a Washington State car dealership and listed here on craigslist for $9,980. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip.
The XJ6 is a classic that many of us find easily forgettable. These sedans were everywhere for a spell, both when new and then as used vehicles that seemingly wouldn’t die despite their reputation for being costly to maintain in their old age. They became used by owners who wanted the look of a luxury car but didn’t care much for maintaining an old British saloon, and coupled with somewhat questionable electronics, the Jaguar’s reputation took a hit that was difficult to recover from. These cars were also somewhat famous for small block Chevy swaps, so discovering a survivor with its original engine in place makes for an even rarer find.
The interiors were always lovely places to spend time when everything worked. The seller’s car is said to have just under 73,000 original miles and it certainly looks like they were gentle ones. The leather remains tidy with no tears and just basic signs of age on the driver’s seat. The dashboard shows no cracks and the wood looks very presentable; in fact, I’d wager this car spent much of its lift indoors, as the colors in the cabin materials and the lack of cracking simply looks too good for a car that spent long spells outside. The selling dealer claims it is a one-owner car and doesn’t specify whether the A/C still works.
The XJ6 came equipped with the 4.2L I6 that generated 176 horsepower and 219 lb-ft of torque. The transmission was a GM-sourced unit that was lazy but reliable, and easy to find parts for. The inline-six will never win any races but committed owners claim they are durable engines capable of big miles when kept up with. Don’t expect this selling dealer to know much about this Jaguar or its maintenance history, and I’d recommend getting a pre-purchase inspection done in this instance. The price seems fair if it’s as nice as it looks, but at the end of the day, it’s still a model not likely to appreciate – so try and get a few bucks off if you can.
Final year in the American market for the last Jaguar largely designed by Sir William Lyons (albeit updated with assistance from William Heynes for Series II and then Pininfarina for Series III).
V12 versions continued abroad through 1990 however, because the new XJ40 was deliberately designed to preclude fitting any V-engine, as a ploy to fend off the looming prospect of British Leyland stuffing a Rover V8 into it, which became moot anyway when Jaguar got spun off as a freestanding public corporation in 1984, but by that time XJ40 development was well along and too late to change significantly.
Anyway, if you want one of these but also want to minimize infamous classic Jag maintenance headaches, this is the year to get, and this example seems very well-kept indeed.
I always loved the look of these cars. I own and have owned many British cars, including a Jag 3.8S and now a second E-type. About ten years ago, a family friend gave me an XJ6, garage kept, with a minor mechanical issue, that he had moved on from. I thought I would fix and drive it as a daily, but discovered some rust tucked up in the front wheel wells that would have been expensive to address properly. More important, the car was a slug. At the time, my daily was a BMW Z4. By comparison, the Jag was slow and wallow-y. Reportedly about 220 hp, but with 4,000 lb to haul around it did not feel like much. I donated the car to charity and moved on. Always loved the idea of a restomod version of the coupe with more hp and handling, but they’ve gotten pretty expensive.
I’ll focus on my e-type!!
I’ve had a couple of these 2 tank XJ6s, a sedan and a coupe, both 6 cyl. Got an X300 now, and love it. The story going around back in the day (70s) was that the Chevy swap was because in the hot American summers the A/C compressor put too much of a load on the Jag 6 cyl and blew head gaskets. I put more than 100,000 miles on each of the ones I had and never had a problem. I’ve said this several times in the last few weeks regarding BAT…”If I had the spare cash this one would be in my garage”. Beautiful example!
Hey Jeff, I live in Poughkeepsie NY.. grew up in Hyde park.. Always tell folks I wanted to move south and so far Poughkeepsie is as far as I’ve made it…!!😁 was reading your short bio and I too am a blue and white nut. Having owned a s-load of assorted iron.. Hey, variety is the spice of life.. presently driving an 02 530 msport sedan, 93 525 sedan and 96 mustang gt convertible.. Always loved these jags especially the xj6c… Tara motors on rt9 used to sell them… I was in army reserves with the fellow that owned the dealership until he lost it all and served time for non payment of his taxes… The site has been selling BMW’s for a number of years now… Happy new year