XJS: More questions

Thanks for the help in my other thread (Trade my Audi for an XJS).

I have a few more questions quick!

  1. Just how reliable are these cars, say if kept relatively well. I've heard that they're either really bad, or not the nightmares most people claim they are. With our old XJS, I remember my dad putting almost 30,000 miles on it without a whole lot of trouble, but the car was only about 7 years old at the time. If I used it as a weekend car, say 200 miles a month, would it be pretty reliable for that duty?

  1. Next time I look at the car, what should I check for and look at? So far I know to look for rust around all the usual places, inspect the cooling system, fluids, tires, hoses....anything else major that deserves a peek? I'll be printing this out and bringing it along with me as well:
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  1. There are plenty of shops in my area who work on these cars, i'm not worried about that. Would you consider paying 0 for a PPI vital? Does anyone have a carfax account and would be willing to run the VIN for me?

Wow...i'm really excited, but REALLY nervous at the same time. I'm a little scared that I could be going in over my head, and that one or two big repairs could wipe me out. I'm not poor, but I don't have just thousands of dollars laying around to dump into a car. It seems like a huge commitment to undertake, so you guys might have to nurse me through it so I don't get cold feet :)

Reply to
Yaker
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They have Lucas electrics, so how reliable could they be?

My 84 has been reasonably reliable, but it has been towed probably

4 times in the dozen or so years I've owned it... fuel pump computer, ecu, temperature sensor, plugged catalytic converter, as I recall. It has not been nearly as reliable as most of the other cars I've owned. I only put around 3k-4k miles per year on it, so that's a lot of towing for the mileage. It is said that they are more reliable if driven often.

I note that on the Johns Cars checklist, which looks pretty good to me, it talks about vague steering (which you mentioned) being due to rack bushings or steering coupler. Hopefully not the rack itself, because they cost a lot in labor (4 hours), and parts, to replace; I think a rebuilt rack itself is in the $400 to $500 range at a shop... once you've committed to the labor, you might as well renew the bushings and hoses while it's out ($$$). I just paid a shop $900 to replace the P/S hi-pressure hose, change the spark plugs, and take it through a smog test. OUCH!

I've done the rack bushings myself, without removing the rack. A transmission will be expensive... haven't had to do mine, I bought the car with 50k miles and it had just been done, but I expect $2k may be a lowball number for that. And of course, people often replace the V12 with a Chevy V8 when facing the cost of rebuilding the V12; that's how John's Cars got started, I think.

All that said, I love the ride and I'd do it again, but not if it were my only car.

If by PPI you mean a pre-purchase inspection, I'd say that was mandatory for an XJS purchase. Don't be surprised if they hand you a list as long as your arm... it's up to you to decide what items on the list are vital, and which mean the inspector is anal about XJS maintenance. In fact, ask the inspector which items ARE vital. At least then you know pretty much what you face in the near term, but realize an inspection is not a guarantee of trouble-free motoring, either.

Yaker wrote:

Reply to
WayneC

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