1996 Jaguar XJ12 Problems:

Can’t adjust either of the front seats. Acts like there is no power to them
When either turn signal is activated, the CHECK BULB light illuminates on the dash, though it appears the blinkers are working.


Driver door inside handle broke, needs replacement
Both front seats needs to be reupholstered or replaced
Center console lid needs to be replaced/upholstered
Driver side window will not operate when door is not closed. Normal?
Trunk open light is illuminated on dash, though trunk is closed (the trunk did take a nice slam to get the latch to seat. Is the sensor not liking the latch or something else?
Turned car off, after locking doors, heard the security system arm, but then it kicked on a fan in the engine bay. Probably why the battery was dead before the test drive.
Can’t adjust mirrors with switch, acts like no power. The control itself looks like a piece was supposed to be on top, possibly just needs the switch replaced.

96,000 miles
$3200

 

I would have to say run away. Unless, the paint/body is in perfect condition (and I mean perfect). I'm sure you could fix all of the issues, and have a very nice car for $5200-6200.

An issue would very much be what else is wrong with it? It seems like it's been neglected a good bit, so it probably has other issues. Everything seems fine with the car, and easy enough to fix/replace, but I'd be worried about the fan kicking on.

Now that I think about of it, if you've got some spare money for the fixes, go for it.

 

I guess it depends on how badly you want it. Everything is fixable with $$$$$. Figure the price of the car plus the repairs and see if that is what you want to pay for one. You could keep looking if that is the particular model you have been wanting. I know it is hard to turn away from a car you have been looking for, but don't let the heat of the moment blind you to what is really there. Like Tophat said, the car may have been neglected and what you can't see could be worse. Good luck with your decision-----Scott

 

I would do an estimate of all the repairs and work then I would reduce the price to to the seller by the total amount of the estimate. My friend, I use to be in the car sales business here is my first rule when you buy a car: fall in love with the price then fall in love with car. One more thing, if that engine breaks down there are very, very few parts available at a fair price. Most of the time the only person thats going to know there is a v12 under the hood is you, everyone is going look at it as standard 4.0 JAG. I believe one of the reasons the miles are reasonable, the car stayed broke down alot. Before you make that move I would think real hard about putting any money into a rare v12 hard to get parts JAG.

 

Body is good, clear coat has came off on parts of the paint. Would have car repainted if I was to pick it up.

Neglect is exactly what this car has encountered. I drove it approx 30 miles, sport mode and the traction control does function correctly or feels like it does. Car has plenty of power. Was running for approx 2 hours.

NADA value of the vehicle is approx $7500, I'd figured 3 grand should take care of any repairs, of course as long as nothing major went wrong.

From my reading, the V12 is quite reliable. The car had been sitting for 6+ months. After we hooked up a battery pack, it fired right up and didn't seem to have a rough idle or miss during the driving.

An interesting thing to me was that on the passenger side dash, there was a Jaguar 4.0 Liter emblem. I can't imagine that the car was originally an XJ6 and then the previous owner swapped a V12 into it along with the emblem on the rear of the car, was this just how they all came? It was odd to me that the emblem was for the smaller engine version of the vehicle...perhaps the original emblem was damaged and they replaced it with the 4.0 liter?

Do I want to be 7 grand into an XJ12 or are there better deals to be had? From my searching it seems that these cars are quite rare.

Are all "X300" parts compatible with the XJ12? Was the engine the only difference between the versions?

Are these cars crazy difficult to work on? I have the service manual as well as wiring diagrams, I'm assuming that most of the issues it has are electrical.

The fan kicking on after the car was turned off is the most annoying, as that means the battery will be dead every morning until that's resolved. Does that sound like all wiring or potentially a bad module? Are parts going to be a nightmare to find for this car?

I'm interested in these vehicles because I've always been a fan of them, and looking to replace my 04 turbo GTO as a daily driver

 

Add $3000-$5000 for a nice paint job.

Much safer, cheaper, and easier to keep looking. A nice one will come along. There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Jag.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug's late sentence is not to be sneezed out , in as much as you have a low price for a ride maintenance would be nightmare . Being V12 you will have a poorer MPG compared to AJL6 engine .
I was told that V12 engines don't like congested city driving due to some overheating problems (I still think this sounds fishy to me as least for 6.0 V12 engines )

 

The V12 does have overheating issues, and I've heard that the temp gauge isn't always %100 accurate. If that V12 engine seizes, you have a very nice, very expensive lawn ornament.

In addition to getting the paint, and other issues fixed, you'd want to have someone check out the rear differential because those can be a headache.

With regards to the 4.0 Litre badge. It's on the passenger's air bag? That is defiantly a PO's doing. As long as you've got the V12 rims, V12 on the exterior door chrome, pick-nick tables in the rear, and the box wood inlay on all the wood, and the long wheel base, you've got an Xj12. Obviously, you've also got to have the V12 engine.

 

Good point on the diff. And....96k miles is about the point where suspension bushings and shocks might be needing replacement. Not a trivial repair on these cars.

The market is very low on used Jags these days. I'm sure a MUCH better example could be found for not-all-that-much-more money.

Cheers
DD

 

I would agree...if I was shopping for an ordinary family/transporation car.

If a person has their heart set on a used Jag I think finding the right car is more important than finding the right price. I'm not suggesting a person be stupid about paying more. Quite the opposite, in fact. The cost of bringing an "average" example up-to-snuff is almost guaranteed to be more...sometimes MUCH more....than waiting for a premium car to come along and paying the higher initial price.

Given a choice between a ratty XJ12 for $3200 or a mint XJ12 for $7000, I'll take the $7000 car any day of the week and smile all the way home. In actuality, you can probably find a mint car for less than that nowadays.

If you wanna save money AND have a Jaguar that will make you happy rather then bleed you dry and frustrate the bejesus out of you, pony up for a really nice one that has been cherished and pampered.

Jags are (and always have been) so inexpensive on the used car market that it doesn't make sense to shop based on price alone or shop at the bottom end of the market.

Just my 2-cents :-)

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks. That's my biggest thing on these cars. It's why I had to run away from my Xj40, and why I was so cautious buying my current X300 (although I've already had one side of diff bearings taken car of). I know to a certain extent, I'll begin to sound like a broken record talking about the diff, but it is very important.

 

The diff went out on my XJR at about 70k miles...pretty disappointing. I drive rather hard but, still, disappointing.

The older Jags had diffs that you couldn't beat to death if you tried. Only running low on oil would hurt 'em it seems.

Cheers
DD

 

hi,the air bag door says 4.0,i really doubt it left the factory that way. its possable that at some time in its life the air bags were blown[wrecked],and thats all they could find to replace it with..steve

 

My car doesn't read 4.0 on the air bag door, and it's the 4.0. I do believe the Xj12 says V12 on the air bag door. Run a car fax, and an accident in the history should come up. Ask the owner with any/all of the car's records. If you think the car's been botched, then run!

 

Speaking of 4.0 liter badge ,in all the V12 models you should see a V12 badge around the wood veneer , it should be located down the air vents .

Edit :



That was I meant , please take a look at that ride you should see a V12 script like this picture above , that would tell ya the truth whether it is an original V12 or not


And grill inserts for V12 are not chrome looking just different than XJ6 and Sovereign ,see the image it's XJ12

(Unless it is a Daimler Double Six or VDP 12 )

 

It does have the V12 on the passenger wood side dash, as well as a V12 motor under the hood. Maybe a previous owner thought sticking a JAGUAR emblem in the middle would add 15 HP. Or its been wrecked. Carfax does not show anything that would indicate that happening, nor does the body of the car appear to have been repaired from an accident. But can never know for sure.


Haggled price down to $1800. Still undecided...

In regards to finding replacement parts, are the hard to find parts just related to the engine or the entire car? I was under the impression that the V12 shared much of the same parts as the V6 X300 cars, but I could be wrong.

Are the rear differentials special and hard to find as well? Is there anything I can do on a test drive to determine if the rear diff is on its way out?

As far as engine repairs go, are we talking outrageously difficult to find parts and expensive? I'd read that the engines were designed to be quite reliable as well as rebuildable. What's a good guess on cost of parts on rebuilding that motor? Are new parts available?

 

For the rear diff: You can get a refurbished one for $800-1000 plus loads of time/money to have it installed. You're worried about the bearings going. Lift the rear of the car, and check for wheel play at the 12 and 6 'o clock position. A high end price would be $500 per side to have someone do the bearings. I was lucky, and my indie did mine at $250ish. You can also offer to pay and have the diff oil changed. If there are any large metal shavings in the oil. Small, power bits aren't horrible, but you will need to have the bearings swapped out within 2-5 thousand miles (I wouldn't wait very long).

All parts other than engine are compatible with other X300 cars, some things (like doors), you'll need Xj6L parts. Parts aren't too bad IMHO.

I'm not sure, but I don't believe the 12 cylinder issues have many issues. Cleaning the throttle body may be an issue (not sure, haven't seen a Xj12 engine bay recently). Biggest issues with the 12 cyllie engines are overheating. Once it seizes, you have a massive shiny lawn ornament. I can't give you a price on rebuilding the motor because I've yet to hear of someone doing it and putting it back into the car.

$1800 is awfully tempting. It would make a very nice project at that price.

 

Seems that the worst part about this car is the engine. Is there anything I could do to prevent overheating it? I planned on having all of the radiator hoses and cooling system checked out and such.

 

That's pretty much it, the usual stuff: clean radiator, good fan clutch, good thermostats...all the basics.

If the engine runs well and doesn't presently overheat, it'll probably be the least of your problems. These late V12s are much better than the 70s-80s versions.

If you are looking for a good project car, you've found it !

Cheers
DD