Hello,
I know this topic comes up often but I hope that all of you will humour me a bit.

I have been reading the forums in advance of a possible Jaguar purchase as a daily driver. I generally don't put a lot of mileage on a vehicle and mostly drive around my suburb and stores with a fairly regular trip to and from the airport. I average less than a 100 miles a week but do on occasion take a road trip of about 400-500 miles round trip.

I originally was looking at a Mitsubishi 300GT VR4 but after stumbling upon a few XK8's and XKR's on eBay I am now confident I would rather have a Jaguar and a convertible to boot.

There seems to be a lot of pre-2003 XK8's available at reasonable prices but after reading these forums I am not certain I should consider anything prior to 2003. The grey area between 2001 and 2003 on 4.0l where the Nikisil liners where replaced seems an option though.

My first choice would be a 2003-2005 followed by a post Nikisil 2001-2003 and ruling out all Nikisil 2001's and earlier, unless the price was ridiculous and passed a Jaguar dealer inspection. I am reluctant to take a gift horse and throw a saddle on it.

I would really appreciate any input and advice to help. Consider that I am looking to possibly purchase by the end of the summer so I can take my time to find something.

Thanks

 

Appears that you have done some research but the Nikasil issue is pretty much over. The majority opinion seems to be that a good Nikasil engine will outlast a steel sleeved one but there are about a thousand other things that get older along with the engine.

With that said you are correct to look for the latest model year and lowest mileage car you choose to spend your money on.

 

You are correct that the design issues with the XK8/R were all addressed by 2003, plus, the 2003 on XKs have the 4.2 vs. 4.0 liter engine. However, the later 2002 XKs also had most of these problems resolved (engines made after Aug. 2001 had the 3rd generation tensioners) and it is my understanding that the Nikasil issue was never really an issue in the US, as we never used the type of gas that caused the corrosion problem ( interesting article on this issue http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...uar-nikasil-v8). Regardless, if you are careful and have the car inspected, you should be fine with any MY.


Mark

 

As a side note... 1996 - 1998 convertibles seem to have the older, better hydraulic hoses for the top operation. The fluid may need to be flushed/changed, but for me it's a better option.

 

Quartzeye,
While the plastic tensioner issue was certainly addressed in the 2003 and later cars, it should not be the only factor considered. If you look at an earlier car, just make sure that it has already been done or factor in somewhere between $1000-$1500 to have someone do it if you won't be doing it yourself. The XKR's 5 speed Mercedes sourced transmission of the pre-2003 cars is probably a stouter unit than the 6 speed ZF unit of the later model XKR, so there are trade-offs in terms of problems.

I am closing in on 150,000 miles on my 2002 XKR. It looks like a new car, it runs phenomenally strong, and yes, I've had to fix all of the common problems that have plagued XK8 and XKR owners such as the tensioners, convertible hydraulic lines and actuators, suspension bushings, transmission solenoids...but it's better now than it was when I got it with 62,000 miles as it's fully sorted now.

I also like the rounded rockers and the three piece grill of the earlier cars (XKR).

My advice would be to buy the lowest mileage car you can afford, but more importantly buy the car with the most complete (and verifiable) service history. You needn't limit yourself to 2003-2006 cars. I find the 2001-2002 cars the most attractive as they had the upgraded tail and fog lights that modernized the look slightly from the earlier ones.

Good luck in your search.