While we admit to being biased, there are many sound reasons for investing in a classic – even for daily driving – as opposed to a new or modern car. Here goes!

Reliability: Modern cars (by which I mean anything after 2000) are very complicated, which results in less reliability – and more expensive repairs. While modern cars are usually built to higher quality standards, the sheer complexity means there are many thousands more things to go wrong – and they do! An E Type has essentially no electronics apart from the radio. An XJS has some electronics – most of it quite simple and easy to fix. The XK8 onwards has a plethora of electronics modules, and if any of them fail the engine is likely to go into limp home mode, or stop, or fail to start. New cars have a smorgasbord of electronics – much of it pretty pointless – all of which will go

Now is a good time to have your classic Jaguar rust-protected since there are at least some periods in the UK when it’s not raining, and the car is nice and dry underneath. KWE has been rust treating Jaguars for 20 years and we really know the weak and vulnerable points. We offer two aspects. One is underbody protection renewal where we remove any loose old underseal, rust-convert any rusted areas, then apply a modern underbody coating (aka underseal).

The second aspect is protection of the internal cavities which can get water inside them and cause the metal rot from the inside to the outside. These include the doors, sills, rear valances, chassis sections and bonnet & boot channels. We drill holes where necessary (and plug afterwards) and inject a high quality rust protection fluid.

While no one can guarantee that rust will never appear again, we know from long term trials (23 years in

We are seeing a sharp increase in faulty ABS units in the 1988 – 1995 cars. The symptoms are a sharp swerve to left or right upon moderate to hard braking.

KWE has been commissioned to upgrade a Series 3 V12 E Etype engine to full KWE electronic fuel injection and ignition, with coil per cylinder electronic spark distribution, similar to the XJ 305 V12 Saloons. The main engine will remain as the flat-head 5.3 block and heads, but will have XJS inlet manifolds, modified air filter boxes, and various coolant plumbing changes.

In the days before modern very bright lamps, the standard Halogen filament lamps were entirely adequate since one’s eyes dark-adapted (got more sensitive in the dark), and the relatively dim headlamp light gave sufficient illumination.

When choosing a classic car to cherish we think one needs to consider the following:

• Heart factor – do you, would you, love it?
• Performance & Comfort – do you want the road-racer feel, the comfortable old classic, or something in-between?
• Wow factor – how many heads do you want to turn?
• Useability
• Reliability
• Long or short distances?
• Cost to buy, cost to maintain
• Appreciating value?

The XJS is easy to love. The looks are unique, so if you like individuality the XJS wins. The interior is sensible and, well, classic. No array of confusing knobs and buttons, yet you have everything you need – air conditioning, good brakes, tough engines, and the most comfortable seats ever!

The XJS is pretty fast if you want it to be. 140+ (if you’re in Germany…), 0-60 under 8 seconds, and manual gearbox conversions are straightforward if you want to stir some gears. But its big