www.jec.org.uk

I am thinking of buying a late XJS. Does anybody know the 1996 (N reg) XJS for sale on Autotrader N331RGB looks worth saving regards Richard

Hi Richard,
Pictures can look nice....that car is a 'carbon-copy' of my car before the start of my rebuild from 2021 to 20?? . Great colour and wheels, but not a great fan of the rear spoiler.
I can not see much history in the adverts description apart from 3 owners and 62000,so just 'run-in'.
There has been lots of info and articles in the JEC about these later cars ref; Darren's fantastic rebuild of his Flamenco Red car. You are in the best club.

Mainly, if you have no experience with XJS's, you really need a XJS specialist to look it over.
I am not too sure if Clarkes Restorations who are a hour from Horsham offer this service. They have very good cars and buy a few from dry US states etc.
If you buy it, do you have the experience and tools to work on it yourself or can you entrust in a good Jag specialist?
These cars can run away with costs dramatically.
A large history file and long ownership can go a long way (not always though.)
Even though these late cars were 40% galvanized at the factory....30 years hence has past and even these late facelift cars can now be rotting badly in the UK climate. I can vouch for this, as I am rebuilding mine now (welding all finished) and discovered quite a few unseen rust areas, underneath things you only see once you take it apart in certain places, but probably not as bad as a 1977 XJS, similar age to your old car.
How would the top windscreens scuttles be?...has it had a fresh coat of paint in this spot or anywhere else?... questions I would ask.
You really need photographic evidence of any metalwork carried out .
If you get a good one, they are great classic cars as you probably already know. I think prices are more realistic now and getting rare on the roads now.
Good luck in your potential XJS purchase.
Kind regards.

Thanks Nick, Twist or Stick, the other car I am looking at is K11MCB in next weeks Mathewsons car auction lot 856 a 1993 XJS 5.3 V12, at a much lower price, (giving more spare £ to spend over winter) regards Richard

Yes....saw that also on Matthewson's YouTube...blue I think.
I think those 1st facelift cars (1991-93) suffered even worst for rust than the late facelifts, but looks good on the post...as Derek says..." a bit of weekend work."
Probably £5000-£8000? compared to the 1996 6.0 at £16,000.
Good luck.

Nice-looking car and low mileage Although it has done only a few thousand in the last 9 years, so you want to examine it really carefully. Also others have already commented on the potential corrosion issues. You really have to examine all the known XJS places very, very thoroughly. If you're not au fait with XJSs, drop me a line and I'll tell you what to look for,

Although registered in Feb 1996, the car wasn't built in 1996. Its difficult to see from the limited exterior photos, but I THINK it could be a 1994 car. If you get me the VIN, I'll tell you exactly when it was built.

Good luck

Paul

Thank you for your advise. We did in the end buy a low milage 1989 V12 Convertible Auto. so see you at future shows, regards Richard