1982 Jaguar XJS V12 HE review from UK and Ireland
"It's a love affair!"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Technically I have had nothing go wrong with the car, rather put right problems caused by the car being stored for 10 years prior to my buying it.
For peace of mind I changed brake hoses, disks and pads - £100 parts, 1 weekend of my time.
New Transmission mounting plate and spring (a common failing on cars that have been standing for long periods. - £250 at Jag Specialists.
New exhaust pipe (22 year old original unit was getting too rusty, so swapped before it went on me) - I had a stainless steel sports / performance pipe fitted - £700 Made the car sound more "Fruity" too!
Top and bottom front bushes, rear bottom bushes and steering rack bushes worn out through age - several weekends of my own work and a £60 Polly-Bush kit.
2 complete services at £300 each.
Roughly £1,400 in work done, mostly as preventative or running costs that I would have had to pay for on any car!
No rust thanks to over a decade in storage.
General comments?
It makes me grin... from ear to ear... every time I get behind the wheel!
It has yet to fail me, and I have driven the car harder than most, with several 1,000 mile non stop European trips dispached with grace, pace and comfort. The XJS sit at crawling speed in Central London without a problem, or with just as much ease will cross Germany on the Autobahns at a steady 130 MPH all day long. (Admittedly at that speed the big cat does have a rather bad drink problem, turning in aroun 230 miles to a tank which is close to single figure miles per gallon)
To anyone buying one of these fantastic cars, avoid the rusty, pre-empt problems rather than waiting for that big end to go, and most important of all, be nice to them because they know.. so begineth the affair!
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| 1980 - XJS 5.3 V12 Coupe 5.3 V12 Unbeatable power and luxury for the price of an average telly |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1982 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | 5.3 Ltr V12 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 10 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 32000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 48000 miles |
| Previous car | Audi V8 Quattro |
| Date of Entry | 8th September, 2003 |