XJ12's are generally worth less than XJ6's even though they sell for about
the same price.
Having gotten that out of my system, $6995 sounds like a sort of average
asking price for a car in fair condition. Here are some things to look for:
Steering rack leaks. Very common on older XJ's, figure about $500
exchange to get a rebuilt rack for it. Avoid developing this problem
by literally *never* steering your XJ with the engine off.
Hard starting in cold weather. Usually caused by the Thermo-time
switch. Figure about $70 for one that is still labeled "Bosch".
Costs more if it says "Lucas" on it. Only works for a year or so.
Climate control problems. The climate control system is very reliable,
but heaven's wrath is shown to mortal man by having those that god
wishes to punish buy a Jag with a broken climate control system. The
thing is arcane, and difficult to fix.
Rough idle, and stalling. There are a number of things that can
cause this, and most XJ12's suffer from at least a few. On the ominous
side is the fact that it is fairly common for these engines to
blow head gaskets between 2 cylinders, and run for years, just a
little rough. I guess a leak down test would catch that one.
Catalytic converters tend to clog, and they are difficult
to remove and replace (there's very little room to work). Valve
seats tend to drop down in the head, of course reaking havic.
For all of this, most XJ12's don't idle well because of failure
of random sensors in the fuel injection system. These can
be difficult to find, buy are generally easy and inexpensive to
repair, once identified.
Does the car feel "solid"? XJ's are full of rubber bushings that
tend to deteriorate over time, which makes the car lose the "elegant"
ride that they are famous for. A tight XJ feels really nice (for
a luxury car), soaks up bumps very well, but doesn't wallow or roll
too badly. Soft but very well controlled would be a fair description.
Older XJ's almost always need a number of bushings replaced to
regain this characteristic. Some are easy some are hard. Look at
the bushings at the fulcrum of the lower front A-arms. They are the
hardest to replace in the front. Listen for clunks in the rear.
Working on the Jag rear is medium difficult, and its not hard to end
up replacing an expensive amount of parts.
Make sure both fuel tanks work, make sure that every window and door
lock operates (rear windows from both front and rear consoles), make
sure the parking brake isn't seized. Crazed paint is common on XJ's
and permanent repair requires stripping to the metal. Cap and rotor
are surprisingly expensive ($40'ish), just be aware. Rust is not
usually a problem, rust in the lower rear quarter area could indicate
a leaking fuel tank.
Well, good luck. If the car is in good shape, it can be a stylish and fun
daily automobile. Just be aware that if it isn't in good shape it will very
likely be both difficult and expensive to repair. The XJ12 in particular
tends to have less than average engine reliability, and is difficult to
work on. The XJ6 is much better on both of these counts. I personally
would avoid the 12 cylinder unless it was attached to an XJ-S or XKE.
Joe
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