1987 Jaguar XJ40 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Not much has gone wrong with the car in my ownership.

Headlights failed, central locking has packed up and a wheel bearing is grumbling.

However, almost everything is wrong with the car which was there when I bought it.

Since I paid only £400 for the car, I can't complain really.

It drinks petrol like it's going out of fashion, but is VERY comfortable and quiet. £400 is a stupid price to pay for a car like this. I come from the school of thought which says that you should buy big, old cars for very little and then get rid of them when they're beginning to be trouble.

I think mine will get to that stage soon. I have had over a years reliable use out of it and it has never refused to start. I have even braved a few long journeys in it and it never felt anything less than a £50000 new car on those trips.

I think it looks very cool. It's a bit beaten up so it looks a bit gangster-chic; something that the Krays' henchmen would be driving around in today.

Think I will get a recent Rover 820 next, like I had last time. Great car and oh so cheap. On my budget (£1500 amazingly!!!) I can get a quite recent, nice condition model. Will have to serve me for longer than a year through!!!

When I examine how much motoring has cost me in the last ten years and look at the sort of cars I've been driving, I can only laugh when I see the amount of money people write off in depreciation and maintenance bills for comparatively much more mundane metal!!!

I had a Rover 820se (I think it was bad) 40k miles and trouble,.

The battery must stay connected to maintain the charge to the computer, if it is disconnected for a short time Rover have to set it back up for about 70 pounds, but the wires harden with age and break easily causing a fault often. I think the car was the worst I ever had, I regret the day I first got into one. I have an xj40, one of the best cars I have had, reliable, and good looking.

I have been driving cars and trucks for over 25 years,I have lost count of the vehicles I have owned, my last lot of cars have been jaguars, over the last few years I have owned series 1 daimler soveriegns to v12 xjs, 3.6xjs.two xj40,s.

My latest is a 1989 jaguar soveriegn 3.6 xj40, apart from central locking and air-con playing up, it runs perfect, if looked after they will run for ever, apart from keeping on top of the rust, I would not own anything, but a jaguar now

I just aquired a 1989 XJ40 with 192,000 k's and it is a gem. It was fastidiously maintained and hence, looks and performs as new. The only trouble I got, is envy from colleagues and mates. All for the price of 10 grand Australian.

I have a 1987 xj40 3.6, apart from failure of door

handels it has been a very reliable car.

We travel regular to france & spain, no problem!

Water leak in the boot? check the petrol fuel

gaiter for blockage & rubber failuer.

The french love LE JAGUAR!

I had a dark red 2.9 manual which I picked up for beer money and looked alright from a distance. One of the bearings failed at 90mph on a leading motorway, with predictably unpleasant consequences. The one I replaced it with was included a hub set-up from a later car, so the handbrake could never be re-activated. Eventually I found some halfwit to part-exchange it with, and on the drive over to their premises almost every instrument stopped working. I drove off with a 4.2 Daimler Sovereign, which was an infinitely nicer car both to look at and to drive. The XJ40 was slow and uneconomical in 2.9 guise. Avoid!