1980 Jaguar XJS 5.3 V12 Coupe review from UK and Ireland

I installed a leather interior as mine is one of the rare cloth versions, but the cloth had rotted. During the installation I disturbed the wiring harness and as a result the electric windows stopped working (now fixed - loose wire)

The rev counter works sporadically.

Indicator flasher unit failed.

Exhaust bangs on the underside of the vehicle.

Aircon has never worked since I bought it.

Well what can I say, I paid less than a thousand pounds for this XJ-S and the bodywork, engine and transmission are all immaculate. It was also MOTd and on the road when I purchased it.

The only major flaws with the car were that the interior was beyond repair so I got a later HE interior with cream leather and elm dash facings off a well known auction site for a couple of hundred, replaced the carpets that I had made at a local specialist and gave it a really good clean.

The car is in white, so the inside looks a million dollars now. The performance is effortless, I have taken it up to 140 (!) and it was still accelerating well.

The gearbox had been reconditioned at some point at great cost to a previous owner (bills to confirm) and the engine has great oil pressure so no worries there.

The aircon looks as though it has not worked for years, but who cares? I live in the UK - and in Yorkshire, so I don't really need it.

To anyone who is interested in these great cars, I suggest you start looking for a good one now because the prices will soon start to climb and they are at their nadir at the moment.

The electrics are a bit of a nightmare on these, but find a decent manual and with patience most problems can be overcome. I managed to fix the flasher unit on mine by replacing the two capacitors in the unit with new items bought from the local electronics store. Total cost? twelve pence!

So don't be put off by tales of horrendous running costs.

Go on, You know you want one (and the girls love it)