I imagine one of the best parts about being in the car business is getting the call when a classic you hadn’t known about gets thrown your way. In other words, because your reputation precedes you, people just assume you want to know about the hidden time capsule in their neighbor’s garage, like this 1992 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible, listed here on eBay with a $13,650 Buy-It-Now and just 37,000 original miles.
The seller says he bought a few cars from one individual, who then tipped him off to a friend that was winding down his collection of vehicles. One of the cars the seller brought home is this low-mileage, V12-equipped Jaguar XJS convertible. This is the preferred spec, with the updated taillights and attractive BBS-style wheels but still sporting the old-school interior that looks the same as the one found in a 1986 model.
See what I mean? Fortunately, the wood trim in this car hasn’t perished and the plastic and leather surfaces are still in outstanding condition. The steering wheel looks new, even if it’s an ugly airbag wheel. You can easily class up an XJS interior with a three-spoke, wood-rimmed steering wheel from the likes of Nardi, but I’m not sure how finicky it is to sever ties with the airbag.
Many of these labor- and maintenance-intensive Jaguars skipped right past cheap car hell and into the scrap pile, rendered too costly to maintain by its 12-cylinder mill under the hood. If a needy car couldn’t be saved by an SBC swap, it wouldn’t be long before it ended up at a local pick-and-pull. This one surely deserves a better fate than that, as its owners appear to be nothing short of fastidious, and the low mileage should give the next caretaker a relatively pain-free relationship.
So cheap! That would be far more in the UK.
These can be fantasic cars, but you have to keep up with the scheduled maintence. If you are able to do that, then you might want to check this car out. It looks to be very clean, and is a great deal. And they drive wonderfully.
An iconic classic in the making, the appreciation on this will be vast.
The low mileage is likely due to it’s inability to stay running. There is no such thing as pain free Jaguar ownership. Unless you believe in unicorns and that the earth is flat.
Oh rubbish! I had a Sovereign Double Six new and put 200,000 miles on it. Never touched it other than for regular servicing. Tyres were an issue but this was probably due to our rather rough country roads here in Australia!
Jaguars are like everything else, you’ve got to keep them serviced. If you don’t you’re opening yourself to a whole world of pain, but its no difference if its a Mercedes, BMW, Audi or any other high spec car.
I had an XJ6. Every ten days or so, I would start it up and take it to the repair shop for the “latest” thing that went wrong. It was a beautiful BRG, with tan leather and Dayton wires.
I went down to Johns Cars in Dallas, bought a kit, picked up a 350 short block, put on FI heads, edelbrock carb, headers, and a 300 turbo.
Six months later I had a very drivable car, that turned heads when I blew by folks on I 30. Two years later I sold it to a Delta pilot who drove it from DFW home to Miami, and he raved about it a year later. These jags are beautiful cars, but just terribly difficult to keep on the road. Yup, did the Nardi wheel thing too.
Have these really appreciated so much in the last few years? I had a beautiful 1990 XJS V12 convertible, British Racing Green with tan interior, 60k miles and in really nice shape that I only managed to get $6,200 for back in 2015.
Thats crazy cheap! Shoukd have sold it back to UK :)
Here is a lower mileage example. Its $30k and not the most expensive i can find.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-SALE-Jaguar-XJS-V12-Convertible-LHD-5-3-1992-37k-Miles/122955924754?hash=item1ca0be8512:g:KNMAAOSw9Z1aeyPc
I hear you on that Paul I was surprised when I went to sell it. It was a very nice car, had a few niggles like every Jag does (the doors liked to lock themselves whenever they felt like doing so, sometimes the convertible top motor worked, sometimes it didn’t…the radio rarely worked but I didn’t care cos I preferred listening to the V12 anyway). I will say that car got more thumbs up at stop lights than any other classic car I’ve had, and I’ve had over 50. And the thing about that was that people of all age groups seemed to like it from teenagers to older folks. I’d post a pic of it here but seems like that option isn’t available anymore on BF??
So, maybe the world is flat.
I owned an XJS and it was a fabulous drive – took it round the Nurburgring, Luxembourg, France etc – what a treat! But it didn’t take kindly to the salt air where I live, but nor did the Mini which replaced it…
I love mine and don’t regret buying it for a moment! :-)
2 kinds of owners when it comes to these Cats…Love the V12, or Lump’d to a SBC.
Having owned several of these fully original classics it doesn’t take a lot to keep them running right. Problem is most of the cars are on their 2nd or 3rd or 4th owner, and if maintenance was sketchy along the line, then the current owner will willingly badmouth these Coventry beauties.
That being said, this one appears in great condition. I doubt it will garner the almost $14k asking price, betting it will go around $8k. Just my thought.
(Wanted to post a picture of my last 3 Jags, but it appears that option is no-longer-available….)
I owned an old Jag and yes it was a 350 sbc with an R 400 trans. It was a good car being a chevy in its heart. That said the rest of the car was still a Jag. When something went wrong in the other supporting systems, be prepared to open up your checkbook or learn a lot really fast. Oh, and by the way, the SBC I installed was a corvette TPI it looked very exotic with those pronounced injection tubes. but once you got that much weight moving it ran pretty strong. however, even the 4 wheel discs had a hard time handling the deceleration from the power of TPI 350’s ability to accelerate.
None the less what a freaking sexy machine. I wish I had some doe and the space to store it cause I would love to nake her mine!
The best comment I have heard about these 12 cylinder engines was that they were a plumbers worst nightmare