jaguar xjs convertible help advice
Discussion
looking at one of these any advice on what to look for in buying one, as have not a clue, know there is a facelift and celebration version whatever that is.
read the later xk8 have time tensioners and nikasil what do the xjs suffer from.
Is it a big mistake in buying one are they hard to resell further down line thanks
read the later xk8 have time tensioners and nikasil what do the xjs suffer from.
Is it a big mistake in buying one are they hard to resell further down line thanks
I've looked at buying an XJS convertable a couple of times and have test driven a few.
My (very very limited) experience is that the Celebration models seemed much better put together and much more rigid.
The XJS didn't get the V8 with the narsil and tensioner issues.
Celebrations got the AJ16 engine also used in the X300 XJ6 (nov 94 -> ?96)
These seem to be commanding good meny looking at ads.
The very late V12s are like rocking horse droppings I've only seen one advertised in the last 6 months. I'm still kicking myself for not buying one when I was offered one of the very last ones new.
My (very very limited) experience is that the Celebration models seemed much better put together and much more rigid.
The XJS didn't get the V8 with the narsil and tensioner issues.
Celebrations got the AJ16 engine also used in the X300 XJ6 (nov 94 -> ?96)
These seem to be commanding good meny looking at ads.
The very late V12s are like rocking horse droppings I've only seen one advertised in the last 6 months. I'm still kicking myself for not buying one when I was offered one of the very last ones new.
Buy a good V12 and you will never regret it, buy cheep and you will rue the day. It is a matter of personal choice, I hate the face lift cars but would put up with a 6 ltr V12 celebration if you can find one. What is your budget? Be wary of low milage examples that have not been serviced anualy, these cars do not like sitting around and can cost several limbs to get back into shape. You can expect to pay 12k ish for a circa late 1989 pre facelift car with marrellie ignition. You will have to be prepared to look at a lot of cars which claim to be good but arn't. Watch for corrosion to rear wheel arches and especialy the joint between the cill and the quarter panel aft of the door. If you can find a good one they are absolutly supperb. There are some very good books and the Jaguar Enthusiasts club is a good place to start.
It has to be a passion owning one of these. i used to look out the school window when I was a kid and dream of owning an last run V12. BUT i did start to look into them and found they probably will cost a lot of money to run, so settled for an XKR instead. Far better, just as good looking!
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The later the car the better (if you can afford it). The rust protection got better and better over the life of the XJS.
As for rust hiding places, here's my views:
If you see rust or bubbles on the lower front of the rear wheelarches, then I'd walk away (unless you've got a fetish for choping out rust and welding in new steel), it will almost certainly mean that the rear end of the sill is rotting (if the rust is through the rear wing, it's through the top of the sill too).
Open the doors and check the base of the door pillar, rust between the post and the sill is common in earlier cars.
Another critical place to check for rust is inside the splash-panels in the front wheelarches (front end of sills). Any rust here can mean that the whole of the front box section on that corner is possibly rotten. Again this is quite painful (especially given the location of the jacking point).
If the owner will let you, take out the interior carpets, and look for signs of rust at the carpet edges where the inner sill joins the floor (and also where the transmission tunnel joins the floor). Also check the area around the seat mounts and seatbelt mounts.
Check the area around where the windscreen chrome fits onto the scuttle. Look for any bubbles or staining which might indicate rot lurks underneath.
Under the bonnet, check the gutter where the wing bolts on along its full length, from bonnet end to scuttle.
Also inside the engine bay, check just below where the top of the shock bolts on, rust also forms there and is a bitch to get at (especially in a V-12).
Underneath, take a long look at the cross-member. Check the steering rack mounts, and also the turrets where the top of the springs sit. Any rust, either price in a new cross-member or expect an MOT failure.
Back at the rear of the car, check around the bump-stop.
In the boot, check for a smell of petrol (tank rust is common on earlier cars). check the boot floor (yup pull up that carpet again). Also check the area under the rear bumper on either side (lower rear wing) rot hides here often, but is less structural in nature).
Finally check the boot lid where the plinth with the lights and numberplate sits.
If all of these are clean, congratulations, you've found the only rust free XJS known to mankind. Buy it!!
As for rust hiding places, here's my views:
If you see rust or bubbles on the lower front of the rear wheelarches, then I'd walk away (unless you've got a fetish for choping out rust and welding in new steel), it will almost certainly mean that the rear end of the sill is rotting (if the rust is through the rear wing, it's through the top of the sill too).
Open the doors and check the base of the door pillar, rust between the post and the sill is common in earlier cars.
Another critical place to check for rust is inside the splash-panels in the front wheelarches (front end of sills). Any rust here can mean that the whole of the front box section on that corner is possibly rotten. Again this is quite painful (especially given the location of the jacking point).
If the owner will let you, take out the interior carpets, and look for signs of rust at the carpet edges where the inner sill joins the floor (and also where the transmission tunnel joins the floor). Also check the area around the seat mounts and seatbelt mounts.
Check the area around where the windscreen chrome fits onto the scuttle. Look for any bubbles or staining which might indicate rot lurks underneath.
Under the bonnet, check the gutter where the wing bolts on along its full length, from bonnet end to scuttle.
Also inside the engine bay, check just below where the top of the shock bolts on, rust also forms there and is a bitch to get at (especially in a V-12).
Underneath, take a long look at the cross-member. Check the steering rack mounts, and also the turrets where the top of the springs sit. Any rust, either price in a new cross-member or expect an MOT failure.
Back at the rear of the car, check around the bump-stop.
In the boot, check for a smell of petrol (tank rust is common on earlier cars). check the boot floor (yup pull up that carpet again). Also check the area under the rear bumper on either side (lower rear wing) rot hides here often, but is less structural in nature).
Finally check the boot lid where the plinth with the lights and numberplate sits.
If all of these are clean, congratulations, you've found the only rust free XJS known to mankind. Buy it!!
jadeycakes said:
how do you know whats a fair price for one?
is it best given earlier models a miss? as i am as green as grass
is it best given earlier models a miss? as i am as green as grass
Jaguar world (magazine) has a price guide in the back plus loads of adverts.
You can try joining the owners clubs, there are two, I joined both the "Jaguar Drivers Club" and the "Jaguar Enthusiasts Club", in my area the JEC seem is much more active. Both clubs have a monthly rag with loads of ads so look there.
If you're green to buying second hand cars, or at least ones of this complexity, then you might be more comfortable buying one from a reputable dealer. You'll pay more for the car but they're unlikely to sell you a bad car and they'll hold your hand at the start of your ownership experience. This is what I did when I bought my XK150. You can try asking here, at local Jaguar clubs or at www.jag-lovers.org for recommendations of dealers in your area. XJS's are too old to buy from the main dealer network (I guess - Phil?).
Try driving a few, as many as you can really. Get a feel for whether I still love them from the drivers seat. The first one I looked at buying, I drove 100 yeards up the road from the dealer (main dealer, it was over 10 years ago) a knew I couldn't live with that car. It looked stunning. It was immaculate, when I first saw it there was a Jag club meeting in the show room and some of the guys there looked it over for me and said it was a good example. But to me it felt like the font wheels needed balancing, the salesman said they were all like that... so back we went. Susiquent drives in another XJS convertable and also some XK8 (and other convertables) I found the problem goes away soon when driving, they just feel not quite right after they stood still for some time, may be it's the tyres.
Good luck, I hope you find what you're dreaming of.
In 2001 I bought a copy of the Auto Trader, in the prestige section was a picture of a Jaguar convertible in black with the roof down, it was shown in a shiny showroom and it looked gorgeous. At £7450 it seemed right on the money too, V12 1989 and 70,000 miles. Of course being sensible I dismissed this car completely - well actually I got in my car and drove straight over there. She looked gorgeous, some paint had been done but as it was black this did not matter, I checked undder the carpets and the floor was painted silver but there was no rot. One test drive later and I had a mile wide smile. Of course I did not do obvious things like check the hood, fortunately it was a cracker. When looking through the bills it had £17,000 worth. The owner had used it for long trips as it had air con done in France and Spain. I paid and apart from a few niggles, no brakes as the garage had bust the rear calipers , the battery also was knackered.
I drove that car around for 2 years, the only jobs apart from servicing were new pads, tyres, suspension all round inc. bushes. I had read about the steering rack going on XJS's and fortunately this car had had this done. The only bad thing was this car had ben kept in a heated garage and with the hood down. The hood was great but had huge creases in , I managed to mask these with a Renovo kit.
Water leaks into these convertibles like it was a seive. I found that very quickly the best way to deal with it was not to stop it but to sort it out at the footwells. Every night I would place nappies under the front carpets. I used a lot of nappies but when I sold the car the front footwells were still mint as that water had not been sitting in contact with them. I now use this on my Merc 350 which has a slight leak on the sunroof!!
When the car was polished and with the hood down and hood cover on this car looked a million dollars, nothing touched it and it got respect whenever we were out. A trip to Amsterdam and back via Goodwood Festival of Speed was a highlight. With the hood up it was a stunning coupe and never made me feel any less than special.
Anyway enough of the waffling - I sold it for £7000 two years later, I think I spent £1600 on all the servicing etc. so all in all a bargain!!
Buy a good one with lots of bills!
I drove that car around for 2 years, the only jobs apart from servicing were new pads, tyres, suspension all round inc. bushes. I had read about the steering rack going on XJS's and fortunately this car had had this done. The only bad thing was this car had ben kept in a heated garage and with the hood down. The hood was great but had huge creases in , I managed to mask these with a Renovo kit.
Water leaks into these convertibles like it was a seive. I found that very quickly the best way to deal with it was not to stop it but to sort it out at the footwells. Every night I would place nappies under the front carpets. I used a lot of nappies but when I sold the car the front footwells were still mint as that water had not been sitting in contact with them. I now use this on my Merc 350 which has a slight leak on the sunroof!!
When the car was polished and with the hood down and hood cover on this car looked a million dollars, nothing touched it and it got respect whenever we were out. A trip to Amsterdam and back via Goodwood Festival of Speed was a highlight. With the hood up it was a stunning coupe and never made me feel any less than special.
Anyway enough of the waffling - I sold it for £7000 two years later, I think I spent £1600 on all the servicing etc. so all in all a bargain!!
Buy a good one with lots of bills!
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