I’ve always been a fan of the X300/X305/X308 XJ series and didn’t think I was in the market for one. However when searching for others cars I came across a one owner 1995 XJ12 with about 80K miles.

It appears to have been daily-driven from 1995-2000, with about 70K of the miles in that time. The next 11 years (2001 - 2012) put on nearly 10K miles. Since 2012 the car was driven around 2K miles. CarFax appears to show fairly regular service over the car's lifetime.

The selling dealer told me that a PPI was done and it didn’t reveal any major issues. New spark plugs and an oil change were done in preparation for the sale.

If I decide to move forward I would get another PPI done. What should I to be on the lookout for? Especially given the limited driving done in the past 10-15 years.

 

Engine mounts ($$$), vee mounts, front wishbone bushes, radiator and condenser bushes, power steering hoses, fuel rail crossover hose, and upper shock absorber bushings should all have been done by now. If not, budget for them.

That's just off the top of my head. I think there's a more complete list that Richard compiled.

 

See this thread on another 1995 XJ12 purchase discussion

You can cut about an inch off the power steering hoses at the bottom of the reservoir ( common leak that goes every where )

ECU connector corrosion , it is always under a small panel fwd of the right front door hinge

differential output bearing noise , this is totally dependent on wheel speed
,
Transmission Orange dot on the casting , there is a TSB on it if applicable but the range of the TSB is not accurate

Spot the Discrepancy - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

"One owner" would be a good sign, the car was worth keeping for 27 years! As long as it wasn't parked outdoors in a field for the last 10 years like that white one in the other thread.

The radiator and condenser are very important and expensive items, if you can even find them. Make sure they are sound. Make sure the dealer doesn't stick you with an undersized battery that's on its way out. It needs a strong battery.

Maybe the dealer has documentation of the PPI and he is willing to show you?

This is a lot of car. It might be too much to take on unless you are of reasonable mechanical skill, with tools and motivation to fix things. Repair shops typically don't like these cars and will overcharge, some might even refuse service.

Take it on a good test-drive. The vast majority of problems you might notice are not deal-breakers, unless there are just too many. But driving it will probably sell you on the car pretty easily! It is a simpler car in a lot of ways compared to the XJ8. It is a very rare car too. You won't see any others on the road.

 

Thanks for the information, things to note for a PPI.

I ask the selling dealer about the existing PPI.

I have no mechanic skill, but will reach out to some local independent Jaguar shops to gauge their interest on working on XJ12s.

The dealer is about 1,000 miles from me, so a test drive prior to purchase really isn't an option.