New '96 4.0 XJS Owner!!

Greetings, we bought our 1995 XJS 4.0 this June at 55,000 miles and had an immediate complete 60K service done. For $1500 my independent Jag mechanic did new front pads and rotors as the old brakes were so bad as to be almost dangerous. He also did a complete coolant, transmission and brake service including a bleed and refill, an oil , chassis lube and filter, and had the car smogged and inspected for me. There may have been a couple other little things he did which I have forgotten. It was a very thorough checkup as we did not know the service history of the car. Its runs perfectly, and has never failed to start or run since we have gotten it.

My local dealer may be a little different because they make a push to get me to do my service there every time I am in looking at something or picking up some parts. No doubt they would be at least 30% more expensive than my independent guy.

Its been a fun car and great complement to my XJ12, my wife takes it to work every day. Enjoy it, keep it in top condition and it will make 150,000 miles before anything big needs to be done.

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

1991 XJS Convertible Classic 5.3
3. Does anyone know a clean, simple way to replace the Jag hood emblem with a leaping cat?

As far as the leaper is concerned, some do, some don't so what. I replaced my emblem with a high end 150.00 leaper made for the XJS out of the UK, it has a base that fits right over the gasket under the emblem, not one of those small ones not designed for the angle of the XJS bonnet. I will try to look up in my records where I purchased it from, but all who have seen it love it. Don't go out and by one of the other one's they just don't work.
Robert V.

1991 XJS Convertible Classic 5.3
Nice looking car! I bought mine in October of last year and will share what I think to be the truth. Cooling system is one of the top priorities. Make sure all the hose are in good shape (I would change them or have spares). Thermostats and water temp. sensors along with air temp. Sensor. Find a good mechanic you can trust and stay away from dealers. Put K&N filters on her. Check the vacuum hoses, replace, and tighten as needed. Well that's my two cents worth. Have fun. PS Wetter water is nice to add to the cooling system.

Hi Marshall! Congrats on the beautiful XJS! Adding to what Steve & Pascal have suggested, join your local club, find out who works on their Jags, and what resources members have and are willing to share (garages, tools, lifts, as well as their knowledge. Our club has established relations with two wonderful Jaguar dealerships where twice a year we can use the lifts and their techs advise our members. We can do anything to our Jags that we can do between 9AM and 2PM- and besides routine oil, belts, fuel lines,supercharger pulleys; members have serviced brakes, balancing, U-joints, etc. That's a lot of savings twice a year. Always ask us for our help, that's our goal,to support each other in our Jaguar passions!!! Welcome to JCNA!!
PS Wayne Estrada's e-mail is
Sherman D. Taffel, Columbia, MD
NCJOC, Pres.
'72 E Type Ser III Coupe
'76 XJ12C (upper engine renewal project)
'89 XJS Convert
'96 XJR

Edited on 2004-12-08 10:47:16

Edited on 2004-12-08 10:22:29

Marshall

steve gave you good advice. many dealers don't even want to deal with XJSs and pre 97 cars anymore.. the prices you mentioned seem high... when I used to get my XKR serviced at the dealer i never paid more than around $50 for oil change...

$500 for front brakes seem expensive too... JAguar brakes are no more complicated than any others... i never paid that much for service either... $ 1000 for 30k ??? and it's not even a V12... the 6s are much easier to service... gee... do they charge $2k for a V12XJS?

you're in illinois, right? join the illinois club and ask for recommendation on a good independent jaguar specialist. (click on Clubs link in the nav bar).

one last thought... even thought the car has only 28k, pay close attention to some of the perishables... hoses, belts, etc... if they're original, these things age with time almost as much as wear

Pascal Gademer
South Florida Jaguar Club
72 E-type 2+2
00 XKR Coupe
99 XJR

Marshall,

Congrats on the new XJS. It looks really nice. Enjoy it! I'll take a shot at some of your questions:

1. Generally, using the dealer for routine service is much more expensive than other alternatives. There are many good, qualified specialists who do this type of work. Join your local club (if you're not already a member) and ask around for recommendations. You don't say where you live, so can't recommend anyone.
2. $500 for front brake pads sounds high, even for a car with ABS, if that's all they did. Did they also cut the rotors and bleed the system? $1000 for 30K service? Depends on what they are doing. Look at the owners manual and see what is called for. Nothing that is that difficult, so could be done by any good mechanic, I'd venture. IMHO.
3. Check out www.jag-lovers.org and go to the XJS site. Download "The Book" by Kirby Palm. It's the bible for XJS owners. Even though you have a 6 rather than a 12, parts of the book will still be relevant to you. Lots of good information there, even if much of it is oriented toward the V-12 engine. There is also an XJS forum there, as well as the XJS forum on this site, where you can ask questions. Post them there, not in the General section, and you are more likely to get responses.
4. Do a Google or other internet search for "Wayne Estrada". Wayne has a website dedicated to the XJS and he has some wonderful tips on how to maintain these cars and get the most out of them.

Hope that helps.

Steve Weinstein, JTC-NJ
'70 XKE FHC
'69 XKE OTS
Former '89 XJS owner