Seriously, the later year the XJS the better. After Ford took over they
improved many of the seals, gaskets, etc. Starting around 1989 Jaguar
introduced a fully electronic ignition that also overcame some problems.
The last V12 cars had a 6.0 liter engine that was redone by Ford and was
more suitable to every day driving. The earlier V12's (5.3 liter) were
really built for racing and didn't come into their own until you were
going over 100. The V12 was no longer available after about '92 and the
6 is the same one that is in the XJ6's of the era, so require no more
maintenance.
Despite all the aspersions being cast, the XJS is a solid car and the
motors are good for 250k miles. The problems usually lie with the
ancillaries. The V12 puts out a LOT of heat and tends to roast all the
rubber and plastic bits under the hood. Good preventive maintenance and
attention to the car will nip most problems in the bud. I drove my every
day to work for four years. The only time it didn't get me to work is
when the Lucas alternator failed. I replaced it with a GM conversion. I
think driving a Sprite on a daily basis would actually require no less
maintenance, it would just be easier to do.
It is very true that maintenance is intense and time consuming because of
the lack of room under the hood and the complexities of the car. I would
NOT recommend you buy one unless you're going to consider it a "hobby"
car and are ready and willing to do the work yourself. Despite their
complexity, the XJS can be maintained at home by a reasonably competent
amatuer mechanic. I know because I've done it for a number of years.
David Littlefield
1962 MGA MkII
1974 MG Midget vintage racecar
1951 MGTD
1961 Jaguar E-Type OTS
1988 Jaguar XJS V12 Coupe
On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 12:00:32 -0400 "Charles Christ"
<cfchrist@earthlink.net> writes:
>
> >Your reference to Hess & Eisenhart as applied to an
> >XJS is very funny for a minute I thought I was in the
> >Cadillac mailing list.
> >What were good years for v12 xjs or is that an
> >oxymoron?
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