Used Car of the Day: 1996 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Scanning the used-car forums today, I saw several of the usual Volkswagen offerings -- and then I found this 1996 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas.


It seems to have a few flaws -- a non-running sunroof motor, worn interior leather, and a currently non-functioning radio. Oh, and a dent on the rear.

The car is factory with new tires and new lighting, and if you can get that radio working, it's Harman Kardon. The battery is also new, and the seller says the A/C blows cold.

So here we have a Jaguar from the 1990s that's aged well, is apparently in good condition and needs only a few things, and hasn't been modified.

If this tickles your fancy, the seller wants $5,900.

[Images: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 33 comments
  • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Aug 28, 2023

    I really fancy a '95-97 X300, just not this example (also possibly a post-Nikasil MY02-03 X308).

  • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Aug 28, 2023

    Such beautiful cars. Such testy mechanicals and electricals. I'm surprised someone didn't work out a drive train/wiring harness swap to make them more reliable in their post-warranty years.


    • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Aug 29, 2023

      The MY95-97 X300 with AJ16 and X308s built after July 25th, 2000 to 2003 are the most reliable as they get in this period. Supposedly the MY05+ 4.2 V8 (AJ34) X350s and X150s are pretty solid.


  • Lou_BC How Do You Find Tunes on the Road? I don't. I have Spotify with several thousand songs on it. Or I dig out my old IPOD with 3x that number. Off is also a good option. I don't like tunes when travelling the backcountry. I like to hear and feel what my machine is doing.
  • Lou_BC Needs one valve? Replacing all the valves isn't much more work. Oh and a fresh top end means death to an old bottom end. So... complete rebuild. Around $1,800 US for a reman. Then you have installation. Hard pass. My CJ5 is calling. LOL
  • Cprescott I don't. I have Satellite radio or I use that old fashioned radio in the car for free.
  • Cprescott How about just building cars that people can afford and sell in volume. There are companies who manage to sell over 100,000 cars each year but you gave up, Ford. There are those of us who were loyal Ford buyers who will never buy one again because you are cowards and stopped building cars.
  • Lou_BC I just viewed a list of top 10 "American made" vehicles. There wasn't a single vehicle represented from Ford, GM, or Jeep/Ram/Dodge. Tesla had 4 vehicles in top 10. "Japanese " brands were the other top 6.
Next