I have owned my 2003 XK8 convertible for about 2 years now. Me being the information hound I am as well as a forum supporter since I bought this car has made this journey worthwhile to say the least.

Sure, like many, I have had the occasional hiccups owning this car but,if you truly appreciate this car and what it takes to own one it all makes sense.

Are they for everyone? Hell no! We are a rare breed friends that see the joy of owing something special (different) than what everyone else drives.

In short, don't get discouraged owning these rare treasures they are worth it and why we decided at some point "this car is for me".

Like many, I have owned a bunch of cars over the years. However, I have never enjoyed owning any car more than my Jag.

Stiff upper lip!
Enjoy life any chance you get!

Cheers!

Andrew

 

BTW. Wife and I had to attend an affair last summer for her niece that was getting married.We took the Jag for the 70 mile trip (one way). It was a summers night on the parkway heading home with the top down. My wife, at one point said it's like a dream. I agreed and loved the ride home.....

 

I have little confidence when I start my Jag up, or when I am going someplace more than 1/2 hour away. It has only broken down on me once and i was able to limp home, but the car is soooo sensitive to so many things....battery, smog/obd issues, electrics, top leaks, overheating, trans issues....yet...yet...it is a nice car to drive, not like anything i have ever had before, handles well, returns an honest 18.4 mpg or more, and has a petina and style nothing can match. I got smitten, did not expect it.

 

Can't agree more! I hate having to select or push a button I don't have to fearing it won't work (more troubleshooting). But, you have to admit when it works it works really better than anything I have ever owned.

 

I have driven my XK8 from Bellingham Washington to Detroit Michigan. From Michigan to Omaha, Nebraska. The from Nebraska to Marinnette Wisconson.

Finished a contract there and Headed to Las Vegas, Nevada. Since arriving in Vegas I have made several 5 hour each way trips to San Diego and back. Not once have I had a problem.

I listen to its quirky sounds and when it is trying to cough up a hair ball I get right on it. I have never hesitated to drive it anywhere. Now at 113,000 miles on the clock I will head into the garage to take care of a couple of noises this week.

 

avern1

You are the man! I just need to let it go and drive when the car tells me to. Have spoken to a few of the previous owners and they all agreed my car is a keeper. Guess I need to spread my wings a bit.

Cheers!

Andrew

 

This may or may not make xk100 owners uneasy:
In my former life I operated an exotic car repair service and loved it. Now at 70 I live a quiet life in the Texas hill country and must say that I probably enjoy this old car (2005-124K-xk8-convertible) more than any other I have ever owned. I love the looks, I'm satisfied with the ride and handling and I've found that the power is almost all I can handle on the hill country back roads. On the highways or trying to close a gap it isn't quite where I'd like the power quotient to be...but otherwise it's a winner.
I had quite a few fault messages my first 6 months of ownership and ran around with my tail between my legs then...it happened. I had been noticing a clicking sound from the left rear, purchased a wheel bearing but waited until I really needed to get dirty. Well, one sunny day with no error messages I went through a turn, heard a single click and immediately had several error messages. I pulled over, shut it off and restarted...no messages...life was good, went through another turn same occurrence. Several days later I yanked the rear wheel bearing out and replaced it making certain that everything was up to snuff. No more clicking and...not one fault message in the past 14 months 4,500 miles!
some of the previous messages I received included:
abs fault then led to
no dsc then
no cruise then
tranny making weird downshifts between 15~25 miles per hour then
the abs applying the brakes occasionally then
gear box fault then
combinations of all of the above.

What a nice car it is to drive when things work properly.
BTW, the rear bearings were so worn that I had 10~15 mm of 12-6 movement. The tip off was that when I went into a turn I would hear the click, click, click and that was followed by a no abs fault message. It looks as if the reluctor was actually moving out of the range of the sensor. This caused the software to make some weird assumptions and hence the messages along with strange behaviors.Enjoy the car for what it is.

wj

 

drive drive drive !!!

after 50+ years, off and on, in the vintage automotive and vintage motorcycle service industry I've come away from it all with a few universal observations. One stands above the rest; vehicles that are driven infrequently have many more problems than those that see daily duty. It may seem counterintuitive that piling on the miles helps reliability, but thats exactly what is happening. The most reliable vehicles I've bought or serviced were always the ones that get used with regularity.

I don't know all the engineering reasons that cause a seldom used vehicle to deteriorate, but I know from my own experience that cosmetically beautiful cars that never leave the garage will take 2 years of fixing to make the garage queens reliable.

Z

 

I bought a cosmetically and mechanically less than stellar 2000 XKR 3+ years ago. I have diddled and fiddled and brought nearly every issue up to snuff. It's been fun all the way.

I live in northwestern Oregon, with wet, cold and otherwise less than encouraging climatic conditions 8 months out of the year. But I never put the Jag into winter sleep as many seem to do. I also believe that the best way to keep a vehicle running well, is to run it well.

 

^^ Agreed. Driving all of our vehicles on a regular basis keeps them in better physical condition, which keeps me from having to frequently repair them in our current 95-degree temperatures, which keeps me in a much more pleasant state of mind....

 

Vern,

Finished a contract - it sounds more like someone has a contract out on you and you're staying one jump ahead. Good to hear the Jaguar is keeping you safe.

Graham

 

As my 2004 XK8 approaches 200,000 kms. I find I am once again getting a bit of Jag anxiety when it comes to a long trip. I have just decided to brush it off as there is nothing magic about the number. My wife and I just returned from a 3000 km. trip to Myrtle Beach and back with no issues, and just this weekend did a 600 km. round trip trouble free. I keep reminding myself that I got this car for a hobby, part of the fun is the working on her. I have followed this forum daily and done all of the regular maintenance items that I have found here. I am into my fourth year with this car and never see anything on the road that I wish I was driving instead. I live in Canada so the lady goes away for the winter but for the 6 months of nice weather she is my daily driver.

 

Have to agree with many of the posts above. I do not consider my car a garage queen but, I don't drive it as much as I should (my bad).Even before moving to South Carolina when I lived up north in horrible long winters I tried to never let my car sit for too long. Starting it regularly and sneaking out for a drive on a dry day I believe helps a great deal.

Thought of an analogy that I think sums up owning a Jag. It kinda like having an affair with a dangerous woman (lol). You know you're taking a chance every time you get together for a ride but, you keep going back. You enjoy the ride, the thrill you get from it and refuse to listen to your peers. However, deep down you know you're going to have to fix problems down the road. Aww, you only live once! hahhahaa

Wow, don't know where that came from but, it kinda make sense.

BTW: don't send this post to my wife!

Cheers!

Andrew

 

Some of the posts made me laugh in a good way. I've had my XKR for 4 years now, it's a 2003 and it's such a fun car to drive. I have 80,000 miles on mine, and it sit's in the garage most of the late fall to early spring. People comment all the time on what a beautiful car it is. This is my first Jaguar, and I see and appreciate the passion from other owners. I am hoping for a few months after I replace the front springs, shocks and mounts next week, and currently trying to install this brake light switch, I can enjoy the rest of my summer. This site has been a life saver for me, and a thanks to all the experts who have patience with the less knowledgeable.

 

Just this week I surpassed putting 50000 miles on my 2004 XK8.

So total is about 88K miles now. I think I have had this one almost 5 years.

It has been on many trips of more than 1000 miles and has never failed me. In turn I take good care of it.

Always gets 27+ MPG highway 22+ average. Would not think twice about leaving for a long trip at any time.