Hi everyone. My name is Jeff Green and I wanted to say Hello and thank everyone who has posted here and shared their knowledge.

I just bought a 2002 Jaguar XKR Convertible with 63,000 miles! It is Anthracite Gray with Cashmere interior. I will be picking it up this weekend in Dallas, TX. I bought it over the Internet, something I only felt comfortable doing after reading all the great information this forum had to offer.

This will be my third car, for use as a Summer vehicle as I drive my VW Touareg in the winter. The winters in Des Moines, IA can be brutal on a car.

Thanks to the info from these forums, I was able to determine the service background on the vehicle and negotiate what I believe to be a very fair price. I look forward to the drive back from Texas with the top down!

I had considered a Porsche 911 Carrera Convertible, but after driving it, I was not impressed with the ride and noise level. I had driven an XK8 convertible a few years back and remembered I liked it a lot. So, by my logic I will like the XKR even more. More Power!

Thanks again for the great forums and I look forward to contributing what I can.

Here are a couple of pics I copied from the Dealer's website.

 

Welcome Jeff,
My name's Ted Geldberg, and I'm also a new member, having purchased a 2002 XKR a few months ago with 62,000 miles. I hadn't really considered an alternative, I had seen my car on ebay, made an offer that was not good enough to meet the reserve, and then the seller emailed me that he would accept the offer. I was able to drive up (a few hours from my house) and see that the car was in beautiful condition (except for the rims), had a full service history with all work done at the local Jaguar dealership, and was fun to drive. I wrote the check, dropped off the rental car around the corner, and drove home with my dk red on black convertible. I have a few other sports cars but not one that I would drive on a daily basis, so I've really enjoyed driving this car in the southern California sunshine with the top down nearly every day since I've owned it (about 8 months, I guess). I certainly have my likes and dislikes which I'm sure you'll discover on your own. I can tell you that I was a little put off by how much steering wheel jitter as well as bottoming out there was in the suspension, so I came to this forum to look up how to make it better, and I ended up replacing front bushings with polyurethane aftermarket ones, and I replaced the shocks, and the difference was enormous. There is still some cowl shake, but I guess having not owned a convertible before, that is to be expected. The likes, however, certainly outweigh the dislikes, things like the smooth, effortless power, decent handling, comfortability, and stunning looks as well as the incredibly low price for which these cars can be had. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to have been able to purchase a few of the cars that I always was attracted to growing up (and that I could afford) and that I considered classic automobiles. These include a 1958 Corvette, a 1968 Pontiac GTO, a 1978 Datsun 280Z (I'm the original owner), a 1972 De Tomaso Pantera (one of the most beautiful car designs ever), and the XKR which I believe to be a classic Jaguar body (in the XKE sense). I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine over the past few months. Just beware, the green slime shower seems (from either leaking hydraulic hoses or the actuator) to eventually get to every owner, it's already happened to me. Good luck.
Ted

 

Thanks Ted. I am with you on covertibles. The XKR will be my 14th convertible.

I am looking forward to having a touring car and honestly (don't tell my wife) one that I may need to tinker with every now and again.

I love my VW Touareg and my Wife's Infiniti QX56, but they aren't the kind of vehicle you can tinker with or really upgrade.

My last convertible was my 2005 Chevy SSR, which I loved. I liked it's unique styling and powerful V8, but alas, it was my daily driver and rear wheel drive cars with 400HP and 450 ft/lbs of torque don't do well in the winter here in Iowa. I totalled it in Dec of '09. The SSR did it's job and I was not hurt, I am a believer in lots of steel. It was sad to see it go.

I bought the Touareg because I wanted a comfy 4 wheel drive car (with a 320 HP V8). But a sunroof is not the same. So I decided to buy another convertible for the summers and now I am only days away from getting the XKR.

We almost bought a 2006 XK8 Convertible a couple of years ago for my wife, but she decided she wanted the Infiniti QX56 instead. She hauls around our daughter and her friends all the time, so probably the right choice. But I knew she liked the XK8, so no complaints when I decided on the XKR.

My 12 year old daughter was a tad disappointed, apparently, she liked the 911 convertible. Mostly because the kids at school thought it was cool, at least that is my guess. She says she likes the Jag too. I think she knows that she will get my car as a hand me down in 4 years when she starts driving, so the Porsche would have been pretty cool.

Little does she know that she will most likely get the Infiniti QX56. 6000 lbs of steel and 11 airbags of protection make a Daddy feel more secure.

Anyway, needless to say I am excited to get the Jag. My first car was a 1971 Triumph Spitfire, so I have always loved British roadsters.

 

Welcome to the forum Jeff,

14 convertibles? You are enjoyng that sunshine!
The car looks great, enjoy the drive home.

 

Hey Jeff,
My wife's opinion of what a car should be is also to wrap a school bus sized amount of steel around our kids (who are now all in their twenties). Therefore, we have a Buick Enclave and a Chrysler Pacifica (probably the best car I have ever owned) to act as battering rams. 14 convertibles? What did you do, buy one every year since you started driving? That's impressive. How many of them do you still have? And what are/were they? My first car way back when, was a new 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator in banana yellow with black stripes. Wish I had kept it.

 

My first car was a 1971 Triumph Spitfire, so I was hooked on convertibles from the start. I lived in Texas back then.

So in order, here they are.

1971 Triumph Spitfire
1988 Suzuki Samurai (Soft Top)
1973 Triumph Spitfire
1992 Geo Tracker (Soft Top)
1984 Chevrolet Corvette (Technically a Coupe, but the top came off)
1993 Chevrolet Corvette
1994 Chevrolet Corvette
1992 Chrysler LeBaron
1994 Chrysler Lebaron
1997 Saab 9 Convertible
1980 Triumph TR7
2004 Chevrolet SSR
2005 Chevrolet SSR
2002 Jag XKR (pick up this weekend)

In addition to the 14 convertibles I have had 17 other cars. I do count my Wife's cars too, since I paid for them and drive them. ;-) Oh and 5 different motorcycles.

I am a car nut, what can I say.

 

Sharp looking car! Welcome to the site.

 

Looks just like my new 2002 XKR, except it only has 33,000 miles on it now. original owner used it as a fair weather car and had moved on to newer toys the last few years. garage kept and in great shape. Wasn't looking for one but the opertunity presented itself for a good deal. First convertible.

 

Nice car. I just purchased an 06 XKR Victory Edition today from a Cadillac dealer in Arkansas. Got a good price, found a mechanic for an inspection and I hope to see it soon. Not exciting color - silver with charcoal interior and the carbon fiber dash. I've posted on the forum if anyone wants to trade their wood for the carbon fiber - I may have someone in California interested. My 2000 XK8 was flooded this spring along with my 76 Silver Shadow, 74 Eldorado convertible, 67 Imperial Convertible, 66 T Bird Landau Q code, 67 Imperical Crown and 75 Fleetwood. All totaled.

James Walker

 

Hello and welcome to jaguarforums.com. I know that you are anxious to get started and we are anxious to meet you and talk about your car. We have a baseline / criteria that must be met before full access can be granted. Please enjoy the forum and be patient once the baseline has been satisfied full access will be granted. Please continue to post and accept my welcome to the forum.

Oh one other thing you need to put your car details in your signature. I am speaking of the Year, Make & Model. Without it you may not get the input you are looking for.

Please take a moment and read the information provided to you explaining the rules. Be patient and enjoy the site.

 

Thanks. Signature updated.

 

Thank You!

 

Wow, you had some great cars, especially those older Imperials. Were any of them salvageable?
Ted

 

Hi Jeff welcome aboard, great to have you with us.

Nice intro with lots of info.....thanks
Some car collection you have had there...wow
Gotta share some pics in the other rides section when you can....

Great site here with some top people and above all friendly and helpful, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I've upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the sites features.