Sorry I've not introduced myself before. I've been helped in a few respects with my XK8 and added comments to the threads that have helped me.

I live in Stone in Staffordshire (UK) and have always fancied owning a modern classic. Something older was out of the question as I only have a (substantial) carport and no garage, I simply did not want to see my baby rot away before my eyes. I fancied an XJS but eventually settled on an XK8 and I'm so glad I did! It's my 'fun' car- my wife and myself already have our own 'daily drivers'.

I bought my XK8 coupé in March this year. It's a late 2003 (2004 MY) 4.2 in Pacific Blue with cream leather. My son who used to be a software engineer for Jaguar tells me that it was one of Jaguar's own dealer demo fleet. It came with a lot of history, dealer stamps right up until last year. It had covered 111k miles from new and I've put another 1000 miles on it since then, 300 over the last few days on a trip from home to my caravan in mid-Wales and back which was just blissful driving! As I surged through the Plynlimon pass on the A44 last night, flicking it through bends as if it was on rails I knew I'd made a good decision!

It wasn't without problems, needed some TLC as it had rather more patina than desirable, sorted by a very good local valeter at reasonable cost. The aircon needed a regas which I had done inexpensively thanks to a Groupon offer. The 'no sport mode with flashing lights' problem manifested itself early on, but was cured with a little dismantling and some switch cleaner. A lot of dash illumination lights were out, and thanks to this forum I've been able to replace those. The head restraints were stuck in the down position, once again thanks to helpful folk in here I sorted them, it cost me 90 minutes' work and the princely sum of £3 for bits.

In a previous life I was a police traffic cop and drove XJ6 patrol cars on the motorway for a living, always loved Jags, so have had the advantage of the driver training to enjoy a car like this to the full. I've driven a lot of cars in my life but this one is an absolute cracker, even with the mileage it drives and handles as if it left the factory last week!

In the next few months I'm intending to treat it to a gearbox fluid change, although the gearbox is silky smooth at the moment, but it seems like a reasonable precaution. Most of all though I'm going to ENJOY it, and hopefully share my experiences in here, and give and receive help too. Thanks for all the help I've had so far.
Regards to all
Nick

 

Welcome.

 

Hello, Nick,
Congratulations on your 'new' Jaguar!
It doesn't seem out of order for a 13 year old car to need the things yours does. Then you'll get many Tens of Thousands more miles of trouble free driving I'm sure.

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome to the forum Nick,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

I can see you've already found your way to the XK8/XKR forum so there's no need for a link to it from me. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the UK & Eire Region forum by following this link UK & Eire - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Here she is....

 

And a Fine looking specimen she is too!
(';')

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Nick,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

Welcome aboard Nick.