I recently decided on a 1995 6.0L V12 XKS Convertible -
I looked at and drove about a dozen cars before settling on the right one for me.
Here's my 2c worth....Firstly you need to download a copy of KIRBY's XJS owners guide book -'the book' print it out - put it in a binder and read it throughly. Invaluable advice throuout it and free !
I decided on a 6.0L V12 for various reasons - style, rarity, future investment potential the list goes on and on, and we are all different and want different things from our cars.
If the V12 doesn't scare you and you have deep pockets then it is an amazing engine and quite a different driving experience from the 6 cyl cars. After driving both I simply had to have a V12.
I basically looked for the best car for the money I could afford - my budget was $20K - so about $18K for the car and the rest for insurance and DMV fees etc -
I ended up finding a car which the previous owner had paid $23k (last October '94) for - then were selling up and moving out of State so desperate to sell the car quickly - they were advertsing the car for $18 K - I'm in Los Angeles and the car was in San Diego -(3hrs south of me)
Anyway longstory short I took the train down to San Diego - the car checked out, had a reasonably complete service history for its 10 years of life - I 'hard balled' the owners and drove the car home for $13k - a very proud new owner !! (I also spent 4 hrs checking the car over throughly - before buying it)
I'm currently upgrading the cooling system to a 4 row radiator and my AC is leaking so I've to fix the condenser or replace it - those things alone will set me back at least a grand probably $1500
anyway my advice is to read as much about the XJS as you can - TAKE YOUR TIME - drive a few cars and have them throughly inspected prior to decideing on the right one for you - great deals are out there but you need to be realy careful. If you decide on a coupe you'll save even more cash .......if you want to save on eventual maintance then go for the 4.0l 6 Cyl cars as then are cheaper to run, fix and insure - they are also cheaper to buy.
Ebay is a good start to window shop for cars - but be VERY careful - and go look at any cars located close to you - I used www.autotrader.com with great sucess to locate my car.
Don't forget to do a carfax on all possible purchases - $30 for 30 days of unlimited carfaxes is a good deal - I'm sure you'll find the rught car - it'll just take time - patience - but be prepared and arm yourself with as much knowlege and information about the car before you hand over your hard earned cash - or else you'll get burned -
They are amazing cars and I have no regrets about mine + I'm confident that in a few years mine be worth more $ than I paid for it....we'll see !
Hi Jim
I recently decided on a 1995 6.0L V12 XKS Convertible -
I looked at and drove about a dozen cars before settling on the right one for me.
Here's my 2c worth....Firstly you need to download a copy of KIRBY's XJS owners guide book -'the book' print it out - put it in a binder and read it throughly. Invaluable advice throuout it and free !
I decided on a 6.0L V12 for various reasons - style, rarity, future investment potential the list goes on and on, and we are all different and want different things from our cars.
If the V12 doesn't scare you and you have deep pockets then it is an amazing engine and quite a different driving experience from the 6 cyl cars. After driving both I simply had to have a V12.
I basically looked for the best car for the money I could afford - my budget was $20K - so about $18K for the car and the rest for insurance and DMV fees etc -
I ended up finding a car which the previous owner had paid $23k (last October '94) for - then were selling up and moving out of State so desperate to sell the car quickly - they were advertsing the car for $18 K - I'm in Los Angeles and the car was in San Diego -(3hrs south of me)
Anyway longstory short I took the train down to San Diego - the car checked out, had a reasonably complete service history for its 10 years of life - I 'hard balled' the owners and drove the car home for $13k - a very proud new owner !! (I also spent 4 hrs checking the car over throughly - before buying it)
I'm currently upgrading the cooling system to a 4 row radiator and my AC is leaking so I've to fix the condenser or replace it - those things alone will set me back at least a grand probably $1500
anyway my advice is to read as much about the XJS as you can - TAKE YOUR TIME - drive a few cars and have them throughly inspected prior to decideing on the right one for you - great deals are out there but you need to be realy careful. If you decide on a coupe you'll save even more cash .......if you want to save on eventual maintance then go for the 4.0l 6 Cyl cars as then are cheaper to run, fix and insure - they are also cheaper to buy.
Ebay is a good start to window shop for cars - but be VERY careful - and go look at any cars located close to you - I used www.autotrader.com with great sucess to locate my car.
Don't forget to do a carfax on all possible purchases - $30 for 30 days of unlimited carfaxes is a good deal - I'm sure you'll find the rught car - it'll just take time - patience - but be prepared and arm yourself with as much knowlege and information about the car before you hand over your hard earned cash - or else you'll get burned -
They are amazing cars and I have no regrets about mine + I'm confident that in a few years mine be worth more $ than I paid for it....we'll see !
Best of luck and welcome to the forums.
James Brinkley
1995 XJS 6.0 L V12
1974 Jensen Healey #18149