My wife and I got hooked on Jaguars when we bought a used 1986 XJ6. I always was smitten with the look of the Jags, especially the XKE, and thought I was getting a great deal on this car even though it wasn't an XKE (like I could afford one of them back then). It had a little valve tap and having been an American car mechanic and totally ignorant of Jags, I figured it was no big deal. After 6 months or so one of the valve assemblies fell into the cylinder as my wife was pulling out of a toll booth on the way to work. It was towed to a Jag dealer and we were told it needed a new engine. At that time I couldn't afford the 3 grand they said it would cost. I explored several options and ended up getting totally ripped off by a "foreign car" repair shop. The "good" used engine they put in had no oil pressure at idle. After I stopped payment on the AMEX card I used to pay for it he replaced the crankshaft bearings and had the nerve (stupidity?) to show me the old ones to me. They were completely scored to the point that this engine had to have been run without oil pressure for a long time. It still had no oil pressure afterward and I ended up giving the car away and it killed me to watch it rust away behind this guy's house.

So, when our finances improved, we went out looking and we were able to get a 2 year old 1998 VDP. I was the first to drive it and when my wife asked what is was like I said it rides like a Jag. She totally understood. This year I was able to buy a 2000 XK8 with only 50000 miles on it. They are both in the shop now for minor stuff and are ready to pick up tomorrow morning. I didn't even ask what the cost was going to be. Why do we do this to ourselves?