Hello fellow enthusiasts,

We live just east of Toronto, and I'm now working full-time on our waterfront retirement home near Bobcaygeon. I've added a second large garage to accomodate two track cars...and a future garage queen! My first car was a 1970 XKE roadster which I adored for 8 years, followed by a number of special interest cars, and over the last 10 years I've spent a lot of time experiencing great north american race tracks in my '94 Supra twin turbo and '93 MR2 T. I'm shifting interest in that to the joys of pampering a stunning vehicle again...and that brings me to why I'm here!

I recently spent a week in Naples Florida where I perused dealers with Aston, Jaguar, Maserati, Porsche and Mercedes. I'd had mostly interest in Aston and Jaguar, and found in side by side comparison I definitely preferred the Jaguar. While I thought it would be a 2 seater, I found the elegant 4 doors from all of these brands very appealing, with the standouts being the XK convertible and XF. My past enjoyment of high performance driving made the R versions of particular interest, and I've been flip flopping between the roadster and the 4 door.

I've spent the last couple of days reading threads in the XK and XF forums to learn more about the cars, and see others have struggled with which model to choose as well, but I've pretty much decided to sacrifice any thought of practicality and go for whichever I lust for most! It's hard to imagine that anything could be lusted after more than a topless XK/XKR...but I'm giving both equal consideration at this point, and have yet to drive either. I would definitely purchase a use low mileage model.

My only real concern after reading many threads here is the whole area of reliability, particularly with the closest dealer being almost 2 hours away. Many seem to hinge their ownership on having a warranty in place, but I've kept my current "special" vehicles for more than a decade after their 6 year warranties expired, and would expect to do the same with the next one. I know poor reliability would ruin the joys of ownership for me, so I'll be looking to your enthusiastic membership for wisdom!

Bruce

 

Well Bruce, with your track background I'm sure you have the skills to do most of the maintenance these cars require. Mine has a few little quirks, but the longer I own it the more I love it. Welcome be to the forum. And don't be afraid of the cars. They are more dependable than most cars from the 70's and 80's. If you're looking for ultra-dependability, buy a Camry. If you're looking for something that you love to drive, then buy a Jag.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Hi Bruce-

Welcome to the group. There's lots of us Canadians here, a disproportionately high number it seems.

Bobcaygeon, huh? One of our favourite places, a very cool area to live in or retire to. If you're into snowmobiling, ask some of the senior local club members if they knew my uncle Gord Campbell, he was very active up till just a few years ago.

We're still in the search stage for retirement property and the Kawarthas is very high on our list, possibly down towards Lindsay. We just finished a week long houseboat tour further east along the Rideau system doing a waterside search for properties there, slim pickings I'm afraid at least in our price bracket. Will most likely do a houseboat tour of your area in the spring for the same reasons.

As to reliability of the cars, it's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. The dark days of Joseph Lucas and British Leyland are long gone. Jags are generally just as reliable as any Japanese or German car, if not more so. The combined knowledge of the guys and gals here have gotten many people up and running with almost any issue that does pop up.

I'm negotiating with my princess as to a possible addition of an XK to the fleet, my hope is I won't have to let something else go to make room.

 

Hi Bruce and welcome aboard, great to have you here with us at JF.
Nice intro thanks for sharing, pics next would be good!

Some great guys here, top techs, good info and more than a few laughs here n there, so jump in and enjoy......

manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the site.......enjoy your time here

Btw Mikey....The name Campbell just rocks

 

Thanks guys. Solid advice on the Camry Sam, and that goes double for Toyota's version of the XK-R Coupe pictured here if I can make it work.... That was taken at Watkin's Glen, and I've driven (not trailered) it to distant tracks like Road America, Virginia International and Road Atlanta. Upped the boost from 11 to 17 for a little over 400 hp/tq at the wheels and it's been dead reliable on the track. I'd be considering the XK-R Coupe if the proportions and layout weren't so similar.

The Kawarthas are pretty nice Mikey, and I'd be happy to show you ours when you do that trip. I think I put my email is in my profile but I can't access it yet to check. I'd prefer not to tinker much, but it's good to know there's help out there...and I did pour an extra thick garage floor to handle a lift just in case

Bruce

 

Welcome to the forum Bruce,

Great intro, good luck with your car search.

 

Thanks Jim and Norri. Here's a couple more pics as requested, of the '93 MR2 T. This one is with my wife doing a Porsche Driver Ed course at Mosport coming down turn 2. Jackie Stewart says this is one of the 10 most dangerous corners in all of motorsports today...she's never been on the track since

and at Watkin's Glen with aero pkg being chased by psycho M3

and a short on-track video shot from a friend's E30 track car demonstrating the acceleration of a turbo upgrade I did. I had to keep slowing down to stay within camera view (it's hard to be humble when you're THAT quick!!!).
One Lap of Calabogie Motorsports Park Oct '06 - YouTube
The inconsiderate Elise owner that tried to ruin my video was promptly shown the benefits of forced induction once the filmed lap was completed

Bruce

 

Seriously can't go wrong with an XK/XKR, just pure sex, welcome aboard Bruce!

 

I've been really enjoying your forum, soaking up knowledge, and we've set this Saturday aside to test drive both XKR and XKF, along with the Infiniti G37X that my had been considering purchasing. Trading up from a Camry to an Infiniti is one this...but if she went Camry to XF I'd be

Bruce