95 XJS V12 6.0L

I passed on the car due to the owner being unwilling to let me take it to a Jag dealer to get checked out properly -
So still looking for a nice low milage 1995 / 96 V12 6 litre convertible. Looking to spend between $15k - $20k. I'll keep you posted once I find the right car ! Cheers all.

Jim: What is the story on your XJS purchase? Did you get a V12?

Jaguar Jeff
'95 XJS 6.0L Convertible (Queenie)
'87 XJ6 VdP (Black Cat)

The 4.0 liter top boot is plenty attractive, but except for longer drives, I dont find I use the boot at all, its too much hassle to put the boot on after dropping the top to bother with. I think my wife ( who I bought the car for) has yet to even put the top down. Something about it ruining her hair!

As to the car itself, Los Angeles is fortunately one of those markets with a good supply of low milage XJS cars to choose from. Most of the rest come out of South Florida. You may not find many 95s in the V12 range, and a 96 is just as good a choice. I bought my wife her 4 liter on Ebay, and aside from some minor cosmetic issues, and a lengthy shipping time, it turned out to be a decent experience. We overpaid a year ago at $19,000 for a car with 53,000 miles in excellent condition, but in a rare color. I saw a very similar car with a few less miles for $16,000 just a couple months back.

My XJ12 has basically the same motor as the V12 XJS. I will only say, with a car of this vintage of any milage , get a complete service history, because when neglected, these cars can cost a fortune to put right again. When properly maintained, they still won't exceed around 14MPG, whereas my wife routinely gets 23 ish in her 4 liter. Routine maintenance is also very expensive.

I thumbed through our membership roster and did not see your name as a member of the Jaguar Owners Club based in Los Angeles, so be sure and look us up and join. We are having our first Concours of the season on May 15 in Fullerton, if you ever wanted to talk XJS, we usually have about 15 in attendance, and thats the place to do it!

Daniel Arsenault
Lakewood, CA
1994 XJ12 Morocco Red
1995 XJS 4.0 Rose Bronze

James, you might check with your local Jag dealer and have them run the VIN through their service computer network. My local dealer was able to run mine and came up with a nation wide DEALER service history. It's worth a try.
Greg XJR-S

What color is the one you are looking at? Here are the XJS production figures. The one to have is the '96 6.0L car. Think there was only 3 made? The '95 was at the very end of the production run. Cost new was in the low $80s I have owned mind for 3 + years and have over $15k in receipts. Like I said, the car runs like the wind and looks best with the top down. Per my last note, the boot that came with the car is leather matching the interior. They had a habit of getting stolen and not wanting to pay the $1,600 to replace it, many owners bought a cloth boot or went to the less expensive XJS 4.0L care boot. I've still got mine but I keep an eye on it. Been thinking about getting a cloth boot saving the leather boot for show.

I've attached the official production numbers for the XJS. As you can see there are very few '95 2+2 V12 cars.

Jaguar Jeff
'95 XJS 6.0L Convertible
'87 XJ6 VdP
Wilmington, DE

Thank you for the excellent advice - I'll keep you posted once I've had the vehicle checked out by the pro's.

regards, James

1974 Jensen Interceptor Convert. #9989
1974 Jensen Healey #18149

Jim: From 1994 forward, only Jaguar Dealers have the Jaguar Diagnostic Unit necessary to read fault codes stored in the car's ECU. Take it to a dealer and for usually one hour's labor they will hook the car up and read out all of the fault codes and tell you if anything is wrong with the car's systems. Normally one of the warning lights comes on over the speedo and tach when a system has gone wrong, but if something behind the dash has been disconnected, you would not see it. Reading out the fault codes at a dealer will catch it.

A 60k service with plug wires, cap, rotor, plugs, belts, tranny service, flush and change all the fluids, will run $1,500 give or take a couple of hundred.

Your shocks, transmission mount and possibly your breaks are nearing the end of their useful life. If a front and rear break job plus shocks (OEM on this car are Bilsteins, not Bouges, Figure another $2,000.

Check the top. A new OEM top and liner is $2,000 installed. Does the car have the leather top boot that it came with or a plastic one off a 4.0L car?

This is just normal for these cars once they get this kind of milage on them. Mine has 68k on the clock and has never run better. I have an aftermarket, transferable warranty. I'm the second owner, have all service records from the first owner, have performed all of the service mentioned above. My top is 6 years old and in good shape. The car is topaz with oatmeal leather. I recently repainted the entire car due to someone hitting the car in a parking lot damaging the rear fender and bumper. The repair looks great as does the new paint on the rest of the car.

A low mile (34k) '95 V12 car recently sold on eBay for $17,100 and with the money that you will have to devote to normal service in the next year or two, I'd think that you would want to get it for less. Unless all this has been done, budget $4,000 to $6,000 over the next two years to keep everything up to standard.

Bottom line, the car is a gas, runs like the wind, but expensive to maintain properly. By the way, my car is for sale, fully documented, has a transferable warranty, all of the above recently done and I'm looking to get $21k. I'm the second owner and have all the first owners records as well. It's top dollar, but then again, you won't have a major service for 3 years or the kind of dollars that I'm talking about above.

Did you know that there were only 78 1995 XJS 6.0L Convertibles made world wide.

Good luck with your purchase if you go ahead with it.

Jaguar Jeff
'95 XJS 6.0L Conv.
'87 XJ6 VdP
Wilmington, Delaware
jeff.bolmeyercomcast.net

I wouldn't worry about a compression test if the engine basically runs well and sounds good. The V12 is a *very* durable piece of machinery and isn't likely to have compression problems. The ONE thing they won't tolerate at all is overheating---so pay particular attention to the cooling system. If it looks neglected consider avoiding the car...

You'll want to look for all the same stuff you'd look for on any other used car.....tires, brakes, excessive fluid leaks, wobbly steering, operational climate control and accessories, etc. These later XJSs have lots of luxury gizmos....some of them expensive to repair.

Taking it to a good Jag mechanic would be a good idea, yes.

Even if it gets a basically clean bill of health set aside a couple grand for small repairs (it'll surely need a least a couple things fixed) and to catch up on routine servicing. Since there are no records, you'll want to get a fresh start with a *major* service job. It is a sad fact that many Jags have had a fresh wax job every 3 months for their entire lives....but mechanical servicing has often been neglected.

Good luck

Doug Dwyer
Longview Washington USA
1987 XJ6 Ser III
1988 XJS V12 Coupe