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more reliable than Dammit's Volvo/Porsche
I think when comparing 20 year old vehicles level of reliability the Volvo and the Porsche don't come out badly at all, they require stuff to be done- although not very much now- but so will any car of this age and mileage. If you buy a mid nineties car don't kid yourself that you'll escape the requirement to extensively service and fix.
Dammit-
Not serious. It's actually pretty hard to gauge what people mean by very reliable, it's all relative. I have spoken to the owner of an '88 XJ-S which put me right off.
I'd always thought even slightly older Volvos/Porsches would be more reliable than that and that's probably a wake up call too. I like the idea of owning various cars but not sure I really have the time/money/inclination really for anything fun :(
I hope your Porsche requires less time/money/inclination in the near future.
Fox
http://www.kwecars.com/about-kwe/
If I was spending the money you're looking at spending I'd call KWE, get them to find me the perfect XJ-S for me (or hunt it down myself) then get them to do their re-engineer and restore it on it. It would be much cooler than a DB9.
That said, most XJ-S owners seem to reckon that if you look after them properly and drive them regularly they are considerably more reliable than Dammit's Volvo/Porsche, as long as you don't mind minor hiccups.