There’s really nothing wrong with wanting to own a Jaguar XJS: smooth V12 power, gorgeous styling, plenty of good spares available – the list goes on. The trouble is there’s an awful lot of bad examples out there, the type that someone will foolishly buy and then rant and rave about to their neighbors. This 1989 example could be the one you’d want to buy if you’re so inclined: it comes from long-term ownership with a mere 35,000 original miles. It may need some light reconditioning, but still runs and drives despite going into storage in 1999. Find it here on eBay with an $8,750 Buy-It-Now and the option to submit a best offer.
The seller sounds motivated, likely due to losing their storage for the car. Sporting old-school Texas license plates, it gives you some indication as to when it last ran. The seller says he and his dad were the primary operators over the last several years, and that they’re the second owners. The Jaguar really does present nicely, with great shut lines, no visible cosmetic damage and black plastics still lustrous. The tires are quite old, and look to period performance rubber based on the “Eagle GT1” lettering on the sidewalls.
I had forgotten this, but I believe some years of the XJS came with those blasted automatic seatbelts. Honestly, these things were hateful enough that I wouldn’t blame you if you looked for a model that didn’t have them. The rest of the cabin looks excellent, with nice wood veneers, seats showing strong bolsters, an uncracked dash and door panels in nice shape. The interior of a Jaguar from almost any era (except the late 90s / early 2000s) is a wonderful place to spend time if it’s been maintained.
This photo presents some questions for me, as the car looks very good up to this point: suddenly, the paint looks a little more weathered than I expected, and I don’t think it’s storage dust. Then there’s the wooden stick holding up the hood, which certainly isn’t to factory specs. Overall, though, if the seller’s claims are true that the notoriously finicky V12 still fires up and runs despite 20 years of dormancy, the car had to have been subjected to some level of maintenance and care prior to storage. Best bet is to find out whether this cat can be brought back with ease or if it’s an SBC swap candidate in waiting.
Jag is right where it belongs – on a trailer. I am single and once spoke to a woman by phone for the first time. After she mentioned she drove a Jaguar I replied “No need to exchange pictures, you have to be in good shape from all the exercise you get pushing your car to the side of the road while waiting for a tow truck!” Of all the Jaguars I’ve owned, the only one that was almost reliable was the oldest, a 1938 SS100.
I had an 80’s Peugeot 405s with those type of seatbelts. If I recall Peugeot called them passive restraints. Luckily they could be unclipped from the top, or you would almost get strangled by the things.
Wasn’t it the US Congress that came up with that harebrained name and scheme?? Air bags are also passive restraints.
I love Jaguars (as my name suggests), especially the XJS(s). But I do have to say, I’ve had my most recent XJS for 4 months now, and it has spent 2 of those in the shop. My advice, but the best one available if you want one, otherwise, it’s a money pit.
A friend and Jag owner from long ago offered this advice: Think twice about a low mileage Jag, there may be a good (bad?) reason it was driven very little.
Pass on this one. The reliability just isn’t there. It only has 35,000 miles on it for a reason. If it had service records, they’d be about as thick as a telephone book.
Extraordinarily expensive to maintain. I almost bought one years ago, but a Jag mechanic found a bad valve and a bad ring. Said it would be $5000 to fix and that was in 1985.
This is a PRIME vehicle for an LS and turbo 400 transplant, kits are available with everything you need, very nice.
The best XJSs were the ’95s with the well proven six cylinder models for their reliability. No denying it was a pretty car though.
Can confirm. My ’96 has been a wonderful car during my 7 years of ownership to this point.
Doesn’t a Ford V8 engine fit into this car? That way you could have the dependability of the Ford engine and the beautiful lines of the Jaguar XKS. The best of both worlds.
A wise man once said the Jaguar V-12 was exactly 12 cylinders too many for Jaguar engineering. Chevrolet Big Block (like 454) is the best swap candidate. Performance is similar and the V-12’s have a Turbo 400 transmission. They bolt in easily with readily available swap motor mounts.
Costs of owning a Jaguar are in direct proportion to your real knowledge of cars. Knowing what wear and broke look like. Because of the complex nature of a performance luxury car ownership will overwhelm those without real knowledge. It’s too easy to to be sold expensive unneeded repairs.
The stick holding up the hood just means that the twin lift struts (visible at the very front of the bay) have gone weak. They all do eventually, and they’re easy to replace.
Much truth to that. In my case I had built and repaired many cars, and worked with the mechanic to verify the valve and ring problems. And fixing those required removing the top half of the V12, a very messy and time consuming business best left to the pros. But I sure do like that model.
There is no HE badge on the boot lid so expect very heavy gas consumption. The HE stands for High Efficiency and is much more frugal on gas.
all the jaguar v12’s in the xjs were he….he stands for hess & eisenhardt
I’m sorry, all v12 Jags were HE since 1981 or so. The HE badge just might be missing. HE does not stand for Hess and Eisenhardt, who built the early convertible versions. This one’s a coupe.
Are you sure it isn’t for Hot and Expensive??
One animal I always wanted. Sure its a maintenance headache. But XJS is nearly as beautiful as the XJ.
Greetings All,
I’ve rebuilt 2 Jaguar V12’s in my life. Unbelievably expensive, and not just because of twice as many cylinders.
Unless matching numbers is an issue and even then, I’d swap out the engine with another V12 and sell the car with the original unit……..on a pallet.
Rebuild one and then the fun starts. Pay premium for original parts that were of questionable design and more questionably manufactured or upgrade. Intake and ignition usually gets my attention. Crank trigger and coil packs.
I just wish Jaguar had developed an aluminum block for the later versions.
Sorry, all production Jaguar v12 engines had aluminum blocks from the beginning.
rare care in that condition i didnt see a bot of rust wowo would make a nice play car just hope he changed gas before he started it or had a stabilizer in it
This car is massively overpriced. I just got a nice running ‘92 coupe for $3500. The low miles is a plus, but don’t think for a second this car is ready to roll. My “recommissioning” procedure for one of these tanks is $2k in parts alone. Basically every rubber or paper piece in this car needs to be replaced. Every hose, every gasket, every bushing. Do that all at once, up front, and you will be rewarded. Skip my advice and each and every piece will fail slowly over the first couple years of ownership. You’ll be disasssembling the same thing again and again. Based on age, not miles, the engine alone needs front main seal, valve cover gaskets, intake sandwich plate oil pan and filter block gaskets, 14 coolant hoses, a mile of vac line, a dozen injector hoses and injector seals, a new $400 injector harness, cruise control bellows, four belts, radiator rod out, viscous fan clutch and probably a fan (they crack). That’s just to have it running right and not leaking as you wallow down the road on quarter century old suspension bushing. I’ve done this before, they all need this work, don’t overpay!
Almost bought one a year ago that had the SBC conversion and was California legal. (CARB sticker)( not that I care about how they do things in California living in Nevada). I think the front end is beautiful. But the back end is too long. It needs to be 12″ shorter.
The HE ‘Fireball’ heads began in 1981 and used until the end of production. The HE badge was used thru 1986. This car would have an HE engine.
The H.E. High Efficiency head was designed by Michael Mays. It is a swirl design with 11:1 compression. Fuel economy improved approx. 20% to 20 mpg. highway on premium fuel only. Cars that have been in constant service, even with higher mileages are better buys, usually they have been maintained regularly. For this price a nice well running example could be found, lots of them in California. I have a nice ’89 convertible of my own.
Nod to the poster above with ring and bearing issues, but most times its not the mechanical that makes jags a PITA. Could you not improve the reliability by a huge factor with a modern Painless wire harness and stand alone engine management. You could keep the purity of the Cat with the weak points addressed. 2000.00 bucks and 2-3 weekends, problems solved.
I’m wondering if JohnsJagsofJaffrey is in NH and near to me. I’m near by Manchester NH and I’d bet he could be a valuable resource of information. I’m hoping he subscribes to supporting the British Car community. I belong to BCNH.org and he likely would have knowledge of our “Eating and Drinking Club with a car problem” e-mail dcasko.mgb@gmail.com
Ah, are the electrics a weak point in the Jag? Good to know. Some have mentioned replacing the V12 with an LS or BBC, but I love the sound of the V12.
“Ah, are the electrics a weak point in the Jag? Good to know.” – Ah, c’mon, is that a serious question? Sorta like asking “Is the Pope a Catholic?” But if you really want to worry, consider that Lucas is a major supplier to the aviation industry too!!
Lucas builds refrigerators too, thats why they drink warm beer.
Yeah, but know why they don’t make computers?? Haven’t figured out how to make ’em leak oil!!
Ahhh, the ignorance of non-XJS lovers shows loud and clear. Sadly, many owners chose to simply ‘lump’ these magnificent rides with a SBC, erasing the value and heritage that these cars reflect.
My first XJS was an 86, same color and style, and trust me when I say you never forget your ‘first’.
Have owned probably another 5-6 since then, mostly convertibles. It certainly does help the pocketbook if you can do your own wrenching. There is fabulous support on http://jag-lovers.org/ for lovers of any/all Jaguars. There are a ton, and I mean a ton of upgrades that can be done on these these cars, all while still keeping the V12 and overall integrity intact.
These cars always get the looks, and there’s nothing better than stretching one out on the interstate. Pictured is my patriotic lineup of convertibles.
Have owned quite a few Jag-u-arz and never another! Driving one was always an adventure though – if, and that’s a big IF it got you to where you were going, you had no idea if it would get you home! The only one that approached any sort of semi-reliability was the oldest one, and yes, I should have never sold it – a 1938 SS100. I’ve stuck with Bentleys and Rolls-Royces ever since – their old six cylinder cars probably taught the Japanese a thing or two about reliability!!
One of the most beautiful cars ever produced. If money were no object, I’d snatch it up and send to KWE to work their magic, accompanied by a blank cheque. http://www.kwecars.com
I’m a big fan of all things British…The ride and handling of jags are great and I’ve enjoyed the comments by the owners…I will say I think this model is a big disappointment after the E Type….I think they’re quite homely.
“Homely”. Never heard that one describing an XJS!
I’ve yet to drive an E Type, so I can’t compare my XJS experience…but it’s on my bucket list to at least see what all the E Type hype is all about.
The earlier (70’s) XJS’s had a much lower gear ratio than the ones in the 80’s due to EPA requirements. Off the line, my ’86 with a factory 2.88:1 was a pooch. But after swapping the diff for a late 70’s (3.54:1), it got going much better! The E Type had 3.07,3.31,3.54 ratios during its 1961-1975 reign.
I worked for a small dealer that specialized in Austin-Healeys about 10 yrs ago. I absolutely did not understand the hysteria about owning those cars or the prices that they brought.
“One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure”, I guess!