Aloha Guys,

So I'm here to get your opinion on this XKR I'm looking at. I'm guessing you'll say it's priced too high..and I would agree, but living in Hawaii the pickings are very thin.

The car is a 2001, convertible, 81K miles.

Let's start with the problems:

The paint isn't great (clearcoat getting eaten away on bonnet and rear deck due to Hawaii's conditions). No signs of crash damage.
Car is currently idling rough, but unless the dealer fixes this there's no way I'm a buyer.
Car is missing front badge
The car's radiator is leaking, but again this is going to be fully repaired by a new radiator - or no way I'm buying.
The onboard computer screen is a bit wonky - but I really don't plan to ever use it. It works but there's some scratches on the plastic screen.

The engine bay is clean - no leaks seen nor old leaks.
Carfax report shows car has had regular service at Jaguar of Honolulu. It also shows that many of this car's issues have been replaced. The tensioner pulleys have been replaced. The water pump has been replaced. The O2 sensor and the thermostat have been replaced. The timing belt has been replaced. New brake pads and rotors 2 years ago (5,000 miles ago). Wheel alignment done in 2014.

Right now I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer - radiator and rough idle must be fixed 100%. The car also needed a new PZero tire.

So currently the asking price from a dealer (so that means I can get 2.9% financing) is $15,900. They will ship it to Kauai for free (so that's $400 savings), plus do the work described. I can get a pretty comprehensive service plan for 3 years for only $2150 and I've verified that mechanics here on Kauai will accept this plan. The plan does cover the entire drivetrain, all engine components, blower, transmission, suspension, ECU, etc.

I'm guessing the car would be worth about $13k on the mainland, but it would cost $1100 to ship it over, so we're back to about the same price. I'm willing to spend a bit more than "fair value" to get the service plan and the financing - but I could still be walking into a trap (or just a bad deal) - so I'm looking for some comments from you knowledgeable guys to see what your take on this is. Thanks in advance for any advice or comments you have.

 

Got a link to any pics?

So far it reads like a potential money pit. Really hard to know for sure without more to go on.

 

With a radiator leak and idling rough the car may have overheated. If it did and got hot enough the valve seats in the head may have dropped. I would want a compression test before I bought it. Don't let them do the test and say it is OK. Tell them you want it in writing the compression of each cylinder.

Here is one SF bay area to compare

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/5963584963.html

 

Hi again,

rothwell -
I wasn't sure I could add images, but looks like I can. Here's 3 pictures and if these upload I might try uploading a small movie so you can hear the rough idle.

Bobroy - I agree with you on the compression test. I'll ask for that.

Again many thanks for your insights...



Shot of the car



Engine looks OK - someone added this R-Performance intake



stone damage on front

 

Also I got out the full carfax report and here's everything that was done...

Evaporative emissions vent purge valve replaced
Fuel filler cap replaced
Tail light assembly replaced
Drive belt tensioner replaced
Front brake pads replaced
Front brake rotor(s) replaced
Thermostat replaced
Lower control arm bushings replaced
Engine mount(s) replaced
Automatic transmission pan replaced
Drive belt(s) replaced
Water pump replaced
Rear brake pads replaced
Rear brake rotor(s) replaced
Headlight bulb(s) replaced
Oxygen sensor replaced
Sway bar bushing(s) replaced

Plus there was documented service done by Jaguar at all the correct service intervals. So I'd say that even though the car seems a bit rough, it does appear to have been taken care of pretty well.

Hope that sheds a little more light on the topic...

 

Aloha Kauai1800, I'm on Maui but travel to Oahu almost weekly. Will be over tomorrow and may have some free time. Willing to look at the Jag and give you an unbiased second opinion if you like. What dealer is it at?

I agree the Jags available in Hawaii are few and far between. I bought my 03 XK8 from CA sight unseen but it had full records and I did have a friend test drive it.

Agree with others, a leaking radiator and rough idle are worrisome. If the car overheated you could be in for a bag of problems down the road. The asking price is way to high even for Hawaii. Likely all the front end rubber components will need to be replaced and as you know shipping adds 25 to 35 % on top of cost for parts in Hawaii. I replaced everything except the coil springs on my 03 when I got it for around $900 doing the work myself.

Did you drive the car? These are Grand Touring cars, even the XKR, and do not handle like a sports car. I had never driven a XK8 when I got mine, I understood it was not a sports car but was still disappointed in the handling. I've gotten use to it and love owning it but a curvy road carver it's not. I came from a Miata so it is probably not a fair expectation.

You mention buying an extended warranty, this leads me to believe you are not willing or able to work on the car yourself. If this is the case I recommend against the purchase. Even with the warranty you will not be happy. While these are dependable cars they do have a lot of "little" issues that can drive you mad and without first hand knowledge acquired by doing your own work the aggravation along with making payments would be less than desirable to me.

Anyway good luck with your decision...

 

Dallas Craiglist: '06 with 116K for $11,000

Palm Springs: 2000 with 78K miles been for sale for months for $11.5K

$17K ($15K + warranty) is low mile '06 money.

All of the work done is nice, but not worth $5K. I don't see ball joints, shock mounts, tie rods or wheel bearings on the list. There is a couple grand if you have to pay someone, and fixing the paint likely won't be cheap.

 

Aloha Jandreu,

Well that's mighty nice offer! The car is being sold via Autoxchange, but it's not located there-it's at a garage off-site. I'll get the address for you. But hell yes I would love someone with experience's opinion on this car. I have made it clear that I'm not willing to pay the $15.9k...maybe more like $13-14k including shipping it over.
As for the extended warranty and me working on the car...yes and no. I do take care of my '64 Volvo 1800 pretty much solo, but I'm not able to handle "big stuff" like transmission work, pulling engine etc. I did build a basket case 6 cylinder, 6 carb 24v DOHC Honda CBX engine once though.. :-)
The extended warranty is because I simply want protection against anything serious that could run $2-4k easy. I actually like tinkering around with smaller things...exhaust, intake, sway bars etc.
I did get to test drive it and I too used to have a track-day Miata that I raced up at Blackhawk Farms and Road America, and you're right, the handling of the XKR was much more GT-like. Kinda vague. As you probably know living on Maui, there's not a lot of "good" road, so except when I venture up to Kokee, it probably won't see a lot of twisty roads. My "reason to own" is mainly because I love the styling, the heritage, and I want a car that has at least airbags and proper seat belts.
Ah cool I just got your PM and I'll give you a call. Thanks again!

 

Considering the money you are spending I would look for a better value like this XK8. Its not an XKR but if styling is all you are concerned with then I would skip the supercharged one and go for better fuel mileage and less maintenance.

One owner 2002 XK8 only 19K miles $15950

 

In my opinion I think they are asking way too much for the car. Try closer to 10,000, or even less. I've never lived in Hawaii so I don't know about the car shortage or price influxes, but regardless, if it costs $1100 to ship one from here, I'd think you would be better doing that, because I wouldn't think it would be quite worth $13000 here. Granted, it's difficult to buy and ship sight unseen.

It appears they have done a fair amount of work on it, but it looks like it may need quite a bit more. I'm not saying the car itself is not worth it, I just don't believe the car is worth that price.

 

Nice forum you got here! So cool to have a 'local' be able to shed some light on the Jag situation out here in the middle of the Pacific. I had a nice chat with Jandreu over on Maui and he might be able to check out the car tomorrow on Oahu if he has time..wow! that's a really helpful!
Also got the price down $2500 - so that's heading in the right direction. No deal without a written compression test and new radiator.
It wasn't looking so good, but I think there's still a chance this might go.
And rothwell that's good advice - the same that my wise gearhead friend Walt gave me - but I've wanted XKR specifically.
Thanks again everyone and I'll keep you posted.

 

FYI, that car has a Mina intake tube.

I can't speak for the HI market, but I would pass on this car. It's a lot of money for the condition, especially being a 4.0. I would look for an '03+ 4.2.

 

I agree with the above comments, generally, and will add that the bad clear coat on the paint is a serious value killer. It would cost a lot to get the paint looking right.

 

There's also this XK8 from a private seller - it looks to be in better shape and has had a lot done to it. I'll give them a call as well.
https://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/cto/5952419148.html

 

Bear in mind that the non-supercharged versions of the 4.0 engine have the ZF gearbox, rather than the beefier Mercedes gearbox which the XKR uses. Just search on here for "gearbox problems" and you will see why that is an important difference on the 4.0 cars.

Other than that the Rs came with a metal thermostat tower as standard, no VVT gear to go wrong and other upgrades, plus the supercharger itself rarely has any problems. All the other weak points of the cars are shared between the two models, so it makes no sense to me to claim that the non-supercharged 4.0 cars are somehow more reliable than the supercharged versions.

 

Too much money for too many miles, not to mention the other stuff you mentioned. I'd skip it.

 

As others have previously advised, get the 4.2 engine. Significant improvements compared to the 4.0. Your wallet will thank you as time goes by....

 

SKIP IT

 

Again thanks for the input. Jadreau from this forum went over and had a look and he felt it "wasn't so bad", especially at $13k. Another good sign was that when he popped in to the garage they were working on the engine and doing the compression tests and radiator replacement (and they had no idea anyone was coming to look it over today). At least they appear to be doing what they said they would.
There's not likely to be another XKR available here any time soon (maybe 1-2 per year in the whole state of Hawaii?) and when you consider it easily costs around $2000+ extra* to fly over to the mainland and ship a car back, we end up around a "decent price". (*you gotta include shipping to the port, shipping to Honolulu, shipping from Honolulu to Kauai, plus r/t airfare, rental car, accommodations for 2 nights etc)
The situation out here really is a lot different and it means we have *very* few choices if you want a particular car. So I'm waiting to hear back once all the work is complete. If everything checks out and tests look ok, I'm inclined to get it. But that doesn't mean I don't think your advice is correct 👍🏼.

 

It is only (your) money, if you have confidence in this garage/dealer, buy it.
Good luck and enyoy yourself!