Hey all, just thought I'd post an update. I recently brought my car to the body shop to have some rust patched up before the winter and apparently the car is so rotted out that the its basically totaled. I planned on keeping this car forever but I guess that's not going to work out...My guy said that he would have to take out all the seats and drop the transmission just to get to it all.

 

THAT is a super bummer...

 

That's terrible. I'm from NJ too, can you tell us which shop you used ?

 

Sure it's Lee's Body and Bear in Franklin (Sussex nj). He runs a very honest business

 

What the shop found pretty much squares with the rust repairs owners on the forum in the UK have had to do. Rust behind the X-Member can't really be repaired without dropping the crossmember out of the car, which means the motor/trans might as well come out.


That sucks, but some DIY guy out there surely would tackle this, so the car still has value.

 

Thanks kay, I'll file that for future ref.. I've been without my XK8 for coming up on 3. Weeks now I hope you get yours back fast, I understand..

John

 

Well I hope I figure something out, there really aren't any other cars out there that I could realistically afford that are as nice to look at and plus I've already dropped close to $6k into it the 11 months I've owned the car.

 

Hi KayScotts,
Sad to hear, and it can be a tough decision.

What you've described sounds like the floor pan rot which can be repaired relatively easily? Other known bad spots such as rear subframe mounts and behind the engine crossmember have been successfully repaired by several other forum members.

Do you have the full extent of what needs to be done, and can you perhaps do the repairs in stages to soften the blows? It's too pretty a car, although I do get that most of us don't have bottomless pockets.

I know I can''t see what your trusted tech can, but I've seen some pretty scary pictures here and elsewhere - and some impressive resolutions.

Good luck,
Mike

 

Ouch!

Sorry to hear it.

A huge amount of labour involved in fixing advanced rust (see threads by RaceDiagnostics) so it's either DIY or big $$'s to a shop.

Graham

 

If you have to pay someone to fix it, it would be cheaper in the long run to take a vacation to Florida or Texas and pick up a rust free car.

The car + the Vacation will be cheaper than difference in selling your car rusty and having to pay someone to fix the rust. You can swap the "good parts" from your car onto the new Texas/Florida car, before sending the rusty one to someone with a welder, skills and time on their hands.

 

Wow! Really makes me appreciate living in California.

 

So there IS a plus side.

Graham

 

Just because you buy a car from Texas does not mean it will be rust free. I remember when all the people from Michigan were moving here in the 1980s because there were actually Jobs here. We called 'em 'blue-taggers' because they had blue license plates and they brought their 'rust buckets' with them!!!!

Same thing is happening now. People are moving here from all over because we have Jobs and bringing the rust with them.

I'll bet they trade in the rusty ones for the cars that have been here all along.

When I worked at the dealer and saw a rusty Jaguar I usually could find out where the car had been by removing the center console and finding business cards or envelopes with the former location info.

Due Diligence!!!!!!

bob

 

Sorting out the rust on the front chassis arms does require removal of the from cross member but to take out the engine/gearbox is a bit like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. I've done of the major rust area repairs myself, both floor pans, seatbelt anchor points,both front chassis legs, both front longitudinal beams around the cross member anchor, both rear longitudinal beams over the rear axle, both rear cills ,rear wheel arches, rear wings at the 12 -3/9 o'clock positions, the lower rear wings, rear bumper hangers and finally the part of the rear wing below the rear light cluster. Nothing that cant be done by the DIYer with reasonable MIG welding skills. The proper repair panels can be expensive but some of the repairs are just from stock 1-2mm sheet. However to get all of this professionally done is way too expensive and this is why the XK8 is not a classic. With a true classic ,the value of the car cold absorb these repair costs quite easily, with an XK8 it just means going to the scrap yard. You never find classics in a scrap yard

 

The most beautiful woman in the world still has people that won't put up with her crap.

There is a huge junkyard of truly classic cars in Sanger, TX. Nobody is in a big hurry drag them out and restore them because just recreating the chrome trim on some would cost $100K. The ability to financially break even rebuilding a car from nothing is a pretty poor definition of a "classic car".

 

Was not aware that the XK8 was so prone to rusting out, so when we bought our 2003 a few months ago we really lucked out.
By doing a check on it's history, it appears it spent most of it 40K miles in Florida, then was moved up to New England.
A quick check at the selling dealer did not show any rust, and the engine compartment looked like new.
Upon getting the car home and up on the lift, there is not the least bit of rust anywhere, and the door sills, pillar area and hinges look like the car just came out of the showroom. Looks like this car has never seen salt, and while we are the custodian, it never will.
Aside from the usual weak points i.e. changing the upper shock mounts and sway bar bushings, I think we are very fortunate according to what I've been reading on the forum.
Guess it really makes sense to buy a low mileage, southern car.


Jack

 

'There is a huge junkyard of truly classic cars in Sanger, TX. Nobody is in a big hurry drag them out and restore them because just recreating the chrome trim on some would cost $100K.'
so they are effectively in storage and are not scrap. if they were XK8's they would be kept for a month for parts then crushed , that is the difference

 

I couldn't agree more...

 

And all the way down in very southern Texas (Kingsville, Corpus, etc.) they use something called Caliche, in lieu of gravel, as a substrate for their roads. Caliche is kinda just ground up sea shells; high in Calcium Carbonate. It has a pH that is slightly basic. So although this stuff isn't nearly as bad as your everyday NaCl road salt when it comes to promoting corrosion, it "is" present 365 days a year. I've had cars suffer huge corrosion problems after being there a couple of years (of course, those were a Fiat and a Triumph). Personally, I'd be very cautious checking out Texas cars for rust. When it finally hits, it seems to hit everywhere.

 

My wife's 2006 XK8 started life in Beverly Hills, California and then moved to Jacksonville, Florida. We purchased it in February 2012 at 36,000 miles. It is her daily driver and is now approaching 107,000 miles....

My 2005 S-Type came from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We purchased it in December 2008 at 18,000 miles. It is my daily driver and is now approaching 98,000 miles....

I did my due diligence and it has thus far paid off. No rust issues on either vehicle as of yet....