Jaguar XJS

Toronto 308,
I had a 1985 XJS V12 coupe, and yes I think they have aged very well. As far as deciding between an XK8 or an XJS, I would go with the XKR. I had a 97 XK8 coupe, and though it was much quicker than the XJS V12, I missed the refined driving of the XJS. I didn't miss the fuel economy though. I now have a 2000 XKR coupe, and this more than makes up for what I missed about the XJS. The torque is always there like you would get in the V12, but it's a better driving car than the XK8, and fuel economy is the same or a tad better than the XK8 I had.

Jim

 

Avoid the 12 cylinder cars.

Gas and maintenance hogs.

 

Great looking cars, but I MUCH prefer the earlier headlights and no bonnet leaper look...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

XJS is very expensive to maintain and its an old classic. suggest the newer XK8 R.. the V8 with CAT suspension is almost as good as the Aston DB7.

 

Definitely a gamble and a potential nightmare, but such a timeless iconic design...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

the DB7 was based on the XJS, right?

 

They were great race cars as well,this a TWR factory race car.
winner of a ETCC
winner of a Spa 24 hour
winner of the '85 Bathurst 1,000.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I doubt that racecar has much in common with anything you will drive on the street.

 

well, it is in the shop...

 

And only one rear light is shining...

 

no but what a winner.

 

lol

 

I have a 1991 XJS Classic Edition which I purchased new. You guy's are probably not going to believe this, but it has been the most trouble free car I have ever owned. She has 70K miles and the only repairs I have had, other than routine maint., was to replace a broken radiator hose and new tires. The car is absolutely stunning and always attracts a crowd.

 

sounds a nice car.

 

do you own one, or are You guessing ?

I´ve driven an XJS V12 for the passed 5-6 years with absolutely no problems and at low maintenance costs. Of course not cheap in fuel but which V12 from 70-80 is cheap in fuel ?

As always, rather "cheap" cars attract "wrong" buyers who cant afford maintenance ...so bad reputation is born

Drive and smile, there are lot of companys producing fuel for us to use
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

This is exactly what killed the XKE/e types reputation. Jag got bad rap from folks who did not keep up on the mait. Buddy had a xjs roush edition was a nice car, very comfy.

 

Avoid the 12 cylinder cars.

The cats were directly underneath the engine bay, therefore huge amounts of heat basically destroyed everything under the hood in 3-5 years.

I saw a couple of cars with receipts for $10K a year in maintenance on examples that were driven 10K miles per year in city traffic

The two techs in our old shop were ex-Jag guys from a dual Porsche/Jag franchised shop in the 70's and 80's.....trust me.

 

I owned an 1986 coupe and loved it. I would like to own a 1995 coupe or convertible, that car to me is what a Jaguar is supposed to look like. I am not a fan of the new stuff at all.

 

I own one and have fixed dozens of them over the years.

 

Tim - what model/year Jaguars would you recommend for a pleasurable daily driver?

 

The Series 3 XJ6 was a pretty good car. It's been 22 years since they built them but if you can find a nice '87 you might like it.

The cars to avoid like the plague are the '88 XJ6 (XJ40). They were terrible cars with many problems.

The later 6 cylinder XJS is a much better car than the V12s. The performance is not much different.

I don't have much experience with the newer models.

 

Thank you very, very much. For the record; around this household, you are respectfully referred to as Mister 2NA.

 

LOL, so be it.

Yet another in my long list of nicknames.