I recently bought a 94 VDP for my wife. Jags are kind of a picky car
electrically. The longer they set, the more problems they have. Any elect.
problem you have probably can be fixed by cleaning or resoldering the
offending connection. Don't buy any major elect. parts before all the
connections to it have been cleaned. Also, the "light out" warning is very
sensitive. I had an intermittent warning for about 2 weeks before the bulb
finally went bad (bout drove me nuts looking for a bad bulb).
 Get a Haynes manual and be prepared to learn as you go. These things
aren't rocket science, so don't get intimidated. The hardest thing I've had
to do should've been the easiest: valve cover gaskets are ill fitting and
thin. I went through 2 before I realized you can't really get the
recommended torque on them. It didn't help that the bottom edge of the valve
cover was torqued flat to the point of being sharp.
 Overall it's a fair ride. My wife lets me drive it to church and it's her
daily driver.
Hope this helps. Have fun with it.
Joe

Don't be skeptical because of the mileage.  Often times people who had the
money to buy these cars new were NOT the type of people to go on extended
driving excursions.  It is not rare to see a Jag with this kind of mileage.
Normal for this year is about 93,000.    1000 miles in the past year with
the current owner IS a bit strange however.  Find out why!!  In my own case,
I have only put 1000 miles on my '88 because I drive my '67 all the time and
I only drive the '88 to keep the battery charged for when the kids come
home.

There are a number of things you need to look for.  Excessive oil near the
distributor means a weakening head gasket although this should not be as
common a problem on the '94 as the '88.  MAKE sure you get to start the car
FIRST THING after it sat for 24 hours.  There  may be a small "puff" of blue
smoke at start-up.  This is fairly normal with this age car and nothing to
worry about.  If there is a LOT of smoke on start-up that goes away  - it is
a different story. Again possible impending head gasket.

Start the car and see if there are warning lights on. Most XJ40s had
electrical gremlins of one sort or another.
Drive the car at 50-60 MPH and see how it handles.  Listen for a roar or
whine from the rear for possible bearing problems.  Look under the car for
leaks -- it IS a Jaguar after all!!

Does the system blow out heat??  Do BOTH fans work??  Do both fans work on
HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW?  There is a fuse box on both foot well sides. The
cover has a chart for which fuse controls the fans. Simply turn on the
blowers and then pull one of the fuses.  The blower on the opposite side
should still operate. Flip sides and check the second blower on all three
speeds.

With the blowers operating on heat,  switch it to A/C.  The air should start
to blow out of the center vents which it does not do with the heat.  IF the
air came out of the center with heat OR does NOT come out of the center with
A/C, you have a control/computer problem.  The next thing to check would be
the A/C compressor to see if the clutch kicks in.

Finally, BEFORE you go and do all this to the car read the following manual:
http://www.jag-lovers.org/ebooks/bookindex.php?Vbook=xj40   It is written by
XJ40 owners like us for potential owners like you (and us) to troubleshoot
these cars.

The XJ40 is a GREAT Jaguar.  My '88 has 210,000 miles on the clock and I
expect to take it at least another 100,000+.  All 3 of my kids drove the car
their Senior year in High School because it is a Jag AND because it has been
so reliable and dependable.  It is also a solid car so I had less fear of
them being in an accident and getting hurt.

A regular 1994 XJ40 should run under $5,000 for a good to excellent
condition one.  Check the prices on Ebay to see what they are fetching. I
paid $1900 for my '88  5 years ago  and it STILL looks great -- although the
paint is finally getting tired.

Good Luck
Webserve

If the big cat runs smoothly and all the features and functions work
well then you are in business.......
There is a great jaguar forum you should visit....... it's called
Jag-lovers.org.............. google it.
You will find an extensive breath of knowledge and help there.......
check out the XJ40 forum.......

As for the A/C the blower motor may be at fault.........  if so it is
usually the relay.......... a $7 item.........
The advise on electrical connections is good........... don't fall for
mechanics telling you that you miust spend a fortune...... check the
forum first

If you have any questions I will be happy to help you.........
good luck