Friday 9th February 2007

SOTW: Jaguar XJS

1989 JAGUAR XJS 3.6 manual

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1989 JAGUAR XJS 3.6 manual

When it comes to cars, everyone wants a bargain. And with cars getting more reliable, more durable and more rot-free than ever they have been, paying pocket money for an older machine need not be a total restoration job.

In other words, old cars have never been such a good buy -- you get a lot of car for your money, and £1,000 is still throwaway money when it comes to cars.

So in the spirit of aiming for fun, low-cost motoring, here's our regular weekly slot following a trawl of Auto Trader's depths to find a drive-away bargain.

Sorry: we busted the £1k limit but this one looked (almost) irresistible...

1989 JAGUAR XJS 3.6 manual. MoT 09/07, silver/blue, utterly reliable, mine for past 6 years, superb drive, averages 27 mpg, some rust but very presentable. £1,200.

• www.autotrader.co.uk

[sheepy]

If I had a grand to spare, I'd be in there!! Still miss mine. Not sure about 27MPG though. I never saw that sort of figure unless I was on a tow-truck going home!!

[bob1179]

Very nice. Just need a nice sheepskin coat and a big cigar.



But seriously, if it isn't rotten around the lower half of the entire car, including the scuttle, rear pillars and everywhere else, and the engine is Ok. I would have a punt.

[Mr MoJo]

Miss my old one still to this day. IMO they still look great in the flesh too.

[anonymous-user]

I had a new one in 1992. 4.0 facelift model. It was built pretty poorly but was a great long distance cruiser. Thats a lot of motor for a bag of sand. Even if you tool around it until the next MOT and then bin it its got to be worth that for someone.

[oagent]

Glorious old barge. My dad sees that kind of mpg out of his on a run so its not impossible.
The rot kills these pre-facelift ones though.
The values of the nice (ie garraged low milage) ones are going up now too. With an xjs its probably best to spend 4.5k and get a decent one if you intend to keep it any length of time... And they must not be left out in the elements!

[bigbadbikercats]

Nice enough for what it is and a lot of car for the money. I have to say though that as far as I'm concerned an XJS without a V12 is a bit like strawberries without the cream - very nice as far as it goes but definitely something missing

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JG

[chrisbr68]

Wish I had the £1200! A manual as well, nice car

[annodomini2]

What a great buy for 2 reasons, as has been said its a cheap motor so run it till the body fails an MOT.

Then you've the perfect basis for a kit car, there are many out there that use jag components. So ok it won't be an ultra light bike engined speed machine, but should be more cost effective.

[Beefmeister]

This one looks in fantastic condition, not bad for £3k in my opinion.

If its rust-free then its a bargain!

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/

Edited by Beefmeister on Friday 9th February 13:32

[andysgriff]

Why are they so cheap?

[davy9449]

I think as prestige cars do, they kind of fall (to bits) into the category that Rover do in production 'run of the mill' cars. Seriously though, I think that personally it's because no one wants to spend god knows how much fixing them, and waiting for them to rot as has been said above already. I would like one though as a 1 yr experiment! Could be fun if you don't expect too much from it. Remember that stripped out one with Nitrous on TG a couple of years ago.... what a blast!

[dcb]

andysgriff said:

Why are they so cheap?

You need to ask ?

At best iffy build quality,
expensive bits,
and a decidely optimistic 27 mpg ?

Certainly a buy for the enthusiasts only.

Another ten years and the "classic motor"
lads will be interested.

[kurtiejjj]

For some reason I like these things a lot at the moment unlike a few years ago. I could see myself wofting along in one (especially a convertible) on nice sweeping roads somewhere sunny!

[chickensoup]

With +2 E types on Autotrader for £13K, not sure the classic car boys will ever really move on to the XJS (Lynx / TWR / R / soft tops excepted)

[Pickled Piper]

andysgriff said:

Why are they so cheap?

They are very poorly built
They break down
They are expensive to repair
They are expensive to run

Can't think of anything else right now.

pp

[deadslow]

Pickled Piper said:

They are very poorly built
They break down
They are expensive to repair
They are expensive to run

Can't think of anything else right now.

pp

None of the above fits with my own experience. The poster can't think of anything else. Pity.

Good cars. With great character.

[anonymous-user]

deadslow said:

Pickled Piper said:

They are very poorly built
They break down
They are expensive to repair
They are expensive to run

Can't think of anything else right now.

pp

None of the above fits with my own experience. The poster can't think of anything else. Pity.

Good cars. With great character.

I agree. Mine wasnt particularly well built but in the same way that my new TVR's weren't. i.e.. doors badly hung etc.. But all faults were rectifiable by the dealer, which they were, as is the case with my TVR's.

My XJS never broke down and I did 72k in 2 1/2 years in it. I think that a good XJS is now one of the great bargains to be had.

[anonymous-user]

chickensoup said:

With +2 E types on Autotrader for £13K, not sure the classic car boys will ever really move on to the XJS (Lynx / TWR / R / soft tops excepted)

The series 1 and 2 2 + 2's have always been relatively cheap and with reason. They look totally wrong IMO, rake of the windscreen etc... The XJS, particularly in facelift form looks right and I think its a definite future classic.

[voituer]

27 is easy on a long run in one of these, especially with the manual. Auto is always the better option for a Jag but at least you get get some sense of urgency out of the 3.6 with the manual. Not that these are slow but anyone who has driven a V12 knows how sublimely effective they are at getting to high speed whilst feeling like you are sat in your lounge on a Lazy Boy recliner. the effect is really felt in the 3.6 although they are actually quite nippy.

Manuals are actually quite common on the 3.6 and they had a knock on effect of heavy wear on the dif as these were not quite good enough, poor tick over on the early engines too as they forgot to compensate for the missing bits that an autobox has to stop an engine stalling (not sure about that black art stuff).

The killer on these cars is the framework rusting at the back of the engine bay. If they need repair here then throw them away.

I've owned a V12 Convertable and a 3.6 manual cabriolet and if you can find a good XJS then its a joy. When polished they always pull envious glares and still look a million dollars. A dog is always a dog though..............

[cardigankid]

The trick must be how to find a genuinely good one. I'm sure a bad one would be a profoundly depressing experience even as a £1000, throwaway punt.( If you're in the business of throwing away £1000 )