Good morning, i am currently in s.carolina considering the purchase of a 1991 xjs v-12 coupe. The vehicle runs well, but it idles at 1000 r.p.m. I have a few concerns about the car. The brakes work fine, but the abs light illuminates everytime i applied the brakes. The oil pressure gauge seems to read lower than normal. The speedometer works irradically. The car is immaculate. Odometer reads 76,000. I realize these vehicles are very sophiscated, and i know so issues are common and not too expensive. I am ready to tackle some issues, just don't want to be buying a total money pit. I would appreciate all the knowledge and input this forum can offer. By the way, the seller started at 84oo.00 dollars, and he has offered it to me for 6800.00 dollars. Thank you and have a nice day.

 

Care to share a photo?

The idle problem is manageable - lots of fiddly links and such to the two throttle bodies,,,, then an AAV that might be sticking. Once you get it good and hot,,, like really up to temperature,,, it will probably fall... You might have to open the AAV (the AAV is a gizmo on the driver's side water rail that has a bulb in it similar to a thermostat - when the bulb heats via water temp it closes a cylinder controlled passage that blocks the added air into the intakes)

Everything you named is, manageable. I haven't dealt at all with abs so others will chime in...

Oil pressures are notorious-ly low on v12s... I was just goofing around with my 1990 Convertible and the oil pressure hovers way low, even when hitting the gas... It definitely comes up and down though.

Have you driven it?

Unless the guy really really knows these kinds of cars you can keeeeeep talk'n him. Keep naming these issues. He'll come down on the price... I would say do it

 

Hi Stan61

Is you Car Pre-Facelift

Does it have the Teves MK1V Master Cylinder Actuator

In any event still not Cheap enough IMO as the problems that you mentioned could make it a difficult sell although the Fix could be easy, which all depends on the cause of the problem and how hard it is to sleuth out

Which the Seller may not know or they would have Fixed her by now, as such I wouldn't go more than $4,000

There is always another XJS and though many of us including me have done so, sometimes it really never pays to fall in love with the very first one that you see

 

Is this the same one you looked at back on the 6th of Feb. If so - it is calling for you as you have not managed to talk yourself out of it. When I saw mine on the inter webs, I could not stay away from looking at it.

So bear in mind - it is a 1991 which means it is almost 30 years old, has a lot of electrical's in it that may or may not be suspect, along with all the other things that will be required when you purchase a 30 year old car.

The abs - quite a few threads about this issue so depending on what is wrong (as OB has said) - could be easy - or a headache.

What is your plan? - if your plan is to buy the car and drive - then I would think no (to any 30+ year old car) - if you want a car to get your fingers dirty and learn - then i would say yes

Cheers
Steve

 

To buy or not? Here is how to decide. If you plan on having someone else get it to perfection, please don’t buy it. You will put a mechanics kid through college and still not be happy.
If you want to and have a great set of tools ( not a lot of Metric) and are willing to buy more, that’s a good indicator that you might be happy.
Let’s talk about patience and persistence. Jaguars taught me those traits because I wanted to learn and refused to quit. I also was trim and willing to work my hands into places that weren’t easy. I’m very glad I did in retrospect.

 

Oh shoot,,,, is being TRIM a requirement??? I thought people had been talking about FUELING, all this time. No wonder those bran flakes and green veggies I sprinkled over the intakes didn't have the desired effect!!!!

 

I can no longer crawl under the dash and reach up to fix things. That basketball that has become my tummy prevents me from doing a lot of things I did a few years ago.

 

A word of caution, if the speedometer doesn't work correctly, then the odometer reading won't be correct either. Depending on how long the speedo has been on the fritz, the car could have quite a few more miles on it.

 

Mine has a genuine 13000k's on the clock. but it only goes to 99 999, and the little plastic cog that spins the odometer is broken. But it only has 13000 on it. (From the service records - it had 13000k's on the clock back in 2012)

Cheers

 

Hello JayJagJay, thank you for the response. I am so appreciative for this forum, all the members have been so informative and pleasant to talk with. The only photos I have access to are on the marketplace site on facebook for South Carolina, Myrtle beach. I have agreed to a purchase price, and should have the car Monday or Tuesday. I have driven the car a few times, took it on the freeway the other day, what an experience! The car ran great, the front end is tight and the car handles like no other car I have driven. I didn't want to give him the car back. Everything works as it should, the air is cold, the brakes were fine. I will try to post some pictures when I get it to where I'm staying. I'm working on getting it plated so I can drive it in S. Carolina until I head north in May. And again, I really do appreciate all the knowledge and advice provided by the members of this forum. I hope I can contribute someday with information that will assist other members with these exceptional vehicles.

 

Uh oh!!! Did I mention I don't know anything about these cars, lol? Grant, Jag, Greg, Doug... Help! Tell him I don't really know nuthin...

I can only imagine and I am jealous jealous jealous. I got mine some years ago, and between it, and 3 others now,,, a Porsche and two Jags in the 97-2006 XK family,,, I haven't gotten mine to where yours already is...

I have had a few longer jaunts,,, but that was with fairly rummbly exhausts and some other stuff to sort out, like an entirely new interior...

Brother! Welcome to the cool journey. All Incan say is that in my experience,,, even if it's just for reason of release and mental health, it's so worth it to get dirty in the process of learning about, reviving and maintaining what I think is a really really awesome machine and bit of engineering...

Here's mine.