Being a car guy I always like to look but once I find a car I tend to keep it a while. I've been a long time fan of the XJ40 and when I wasn't really looking I found the one I'm driving.

While I really like the car it's getting up there in the mileage (almost 190,000) and while mechanically sound I started looking again anyway.

Besides the XJ40 I've always liked the XJS and becoming a little more familiar with Jags I thought that if I wanted another older car I wanted to look into an XJS.

About 2 weeks ago one came up for sale locally and it was pushing all the right buttons.

It was a Coupe. I'm not a convertible fan,
though I've had them in the past I'm over it and thought a XJS coupe would make an awesome daily driver.

It was a 94. I like the facelift design and the later cars wouldn't have the motorized seat belts, would have outboard brakes and a few other niceties being slightly more modern.

It was a 4.0. As much as I would love a V12 just for the awesomeness of being a V12 and a 94 would have the 6.0 this would be a daily driver. Even though most of my driving is highway the mileage would suffer and I put miles on my cars. The 12 would be a little more maintenance intensive so the 6 is more desirable for me.

It was Green. Most of the cars I've found out here have just not been in my color wheel. Not that they don't look nice but just not for me.

So as far as the ad went I have a Green 94 XJS coupe with a 4.0 at just over 100k and the guy was asking a reasonable price.

Before I could even look at it my dog had an accident in the yard and off to the vet. $800 later with the prospect of possibly another $1500-2500 my car money just went away.

I decided that though this isn't the time for a new (to me) car I knew I would be upset if I didn't at least go look and drive it to see if this is really a good replacement for my XJ6.

So after multiple calls and texts I make arrangements to go see and drive the car only to show up and find out they just ran it out of gas. No matter I'll get to look it over, sit in it and get a feel for it and see what I think.

Well even without moving out of the driveway I knew it wasn't for me.

This one was a little rougher cosmetically than I would have wanted and while not looking for perfection, mechanical I can fix, cosmetic can be hard to find ( and expensive) especially on a car with low production numbers like an XJS. My XJ6 has been tough at times having only a handful show up in the local yards over the last 4 years and this one needed some difficult looking prices to find. I wasn't looking for perfect but I want decent.

While I liked the seating position and loved the long hood I whacked my head on the roof both times I got in the car. Not so much the cars fault but just not being as flexible as I used to be. Arthritus is a bitch at any age. I'm more of a boot guy and the footwell is a bit snug. It just didn't feel right to me. The seats were shot, the door pulls torn and the panels rough, the center console pretty beat up and the ski slope around the radio was in really bad shape. More neglected worn than just age worn.

Maybe if those things were better I might have felt differently but I guess at this point even though I didn't feel good about that car I still think an XJS just isn't for me.

So back to my 40. I'm going to fix a few odds and ends before summer, like the cooling fans and the right blower fan ( both went out within a week of each other). Get the front glass replaced and with a 40% tint. Get the paint taken care of ( I get a deal though my work), replace the tires and get it detailed and then drive it to 250,000 miles.

TLDR: Joe looked at a XJS,was going to defect to different sub forum and didn't like it, decided to clean up his XJ40 and put a ton more miles on it and stay here.

 

Hey c'mon there Jeh, there's only a few of us left, stick with it!

As you can see in the other thread, I've renewed my vows and bought a parts car to keep my old bus going!!


Larry

 

Wow nice pick there. They are though to find here. The last time I went to the yard to find a few parts it was slim pickings.

 

Congratulations and condolences. I'm happy and sad for you.