It has 147,000 miles, black with tan interior. Car looks good by the pictures and the owner says the car is in good shape. It's about an hour away and going to look at it this afternoon.
What should I look for?
I have read to start the car cold and listen for the secondary tensioners.
Is 147,000 to many miles for a '97?

 

How good are you at mechanical and electrical diagnosis and repair? If you can't afford a more expensive car, you probably can't afford to have someone maintain a Jag and will be doing almost everything yourself. I have a friend who owns a 97 with 127K mi and is in excellent condition. But still, almost every year something goes wrong that requires a thousand or more for diagnosis and repair at a specialist shop.
Read the thread "opinions of a 97 XK8", there are several links to important information on buying one of these middle aged hobby cars.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...997-xk-122781/

 

First, a question to answer your question:

Are you prepared to do any/most of repair projects yourself? That car is 17 years old and has or will have all sorts of issues that are very expensive if you pay someone to do them. These cars should only be owned by hobby mechanics.

The single most important piece(s) of information are the maintenance records.

At the top of this forum is a Sticky with all sorts of information on what to look for. As a start I would get the owners manual out and go through each of the operating features to insure what does and does not work. Drive it, how is the suspension/steering? Check tread wear.

At 140k miles it is a little long in the tooth but if the body/paint/leather is in decent shape perhaps it would make a great toy car but I wouldn't buy it for a daily driver.

Major issues:

Cam chain tensioners
Water pumps on early cars
Suspension parts
Tire wear
Transmission service

 

I think I've scared people away from pre 03 XK8s I'm done with that. That's a smoking deal even if you have to do the problem areas, tensioners,water pump,convertible hoses.
I paid 10999 for my 03. Love this car. Front end pitted,mirror switch don't work,passenger seat switch don't work,clunk in rear suspension. All thinks I can fix. Point is these cars need maintenance and they are CHEAP to buy.
But if you don't work on your vehicles it could get real pricey fast.

 

The 'Opinions of a 1997 XK?' link should be added to the top of the Sticky.

 

150,000 miles on my 2002 XKR, daily driver, looks new, and runs as good as it has ever run. But it will require a budget for fixing things along the way. Pull the valve covers and check the tensioners visually. Don't make a big mistake by not addressing this immediately. Most of the time there is no warning.

 

Thanks all.
I can do most of the work myself.
It would be my 5th Jaguar

 

+1 on all the advice. It will need work at some point as it is 17 years old, when and what type are unpredictable (even a tranny service performed does not mean the tranny can't fail - ask forum member Gus!!!). Read the info in the stickies. The price is great, the body/paint look to be in good shape, I see the normal wear/tear on the driver's seat although center console looks rather pristine for the year, but if everything works when you test drive...................

 

Good advice above.

As you are a seasoned Jaguar owner, you'll have a good understanding of the potential pitfalls with a used example.

The XK8 looks good in the photos and the background suggests the owner can easily afford to have maintained it properly.

It's still worth checking the service history and questioning any gaps. Also spend some time with the Drivers Handbook going through to make sure every control works. Some apparently insignificant electrical malfunctions can prove frighteningly expensive to rectify.

Graham

 

Good price. He probably needs the money to support his boat maintenance.

Hard to tell in the pictures, but the front end appears low. You should be able to get your fist between the tire and the fender. I think the stock height is ~15.75" from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender lip arch.

If so, look at the upper shock mounts from the engine bay. If the shock bolt is off-center or you see the rubber deteriorating, then new mounts are needed. Not expensive if you can DIY.

 

Hmm, makes my 125K mile, Arden (?) body kitted and 20" wheeled '97 look cheap at $2700..... or does it?



K9

 

Geez,just the body kit and wheels cost that. Nice buy.

 

Well, we looked at it Sunday, put my code reader on it and there were 5 codes showing.
The paint needs to be buffed, two paint cracks on the trunk, front bumper had to cracks, wood steering wheel was very worn, top was in great shape except the seals were very bad and had hole in them, speakers in back seat didn't work, left rear tail light was broken also. Guy said he would take $3,500 for it but I still passed...

 

... I'd say that needs at least another grand off it to be viable......


K9

 

Probably the smart move to pass on it. Sounds like a neglected cat that would need more than the usual problem areas to make right.

Keep looking. The right one will find you.

 

buy it and do the ls1 conversion. PERFECT candidate.

 

Sorry, but can you elaborate on the "ls1 conversion" which I'm not familiar with. Thanks.

 

chevy V8. A lot of time and money.

 

Jaguar Specialties

I spoke with the dude at that place over the phone seems the conversion is not all that big a deal. Your costs are in the donor drive line and his unit that allow the LS1 to talk to the jags systems. Last I heard they were working on the LS1 driveline with a 6sp also. But they do have cars out there running around with the conversion. The drive line fits dead nuts in the Jag with no clearance issues, the driveline auto trans fits using the same jag shifter.
I have a 04 GTO with the LS1 if it ever gets wrecked that motor line is coming out and i will do the jag conversion or the Monster Miata conversion.