Woah. 522 closed.

 

Guys, I have to back out too. Got clients in town, at least I get to see the Seattle Symphony as part of that. I will try to come out in the morning to say hello though. Have fun guys!

 

It looks like 522 detours north on Highway nine. You catch Hwy 2 out of Snohomish, and take it he's right down to Monroe. It doesn't take much extra time.

 

Enjoy

 

Hey! Dares ma car! (Thanks for the great shots Ken!)

What an exhausting day!
Weather was on our side once we climbed out of the fog on our eastern trek.
And who-da thunk all roads would be in repair on a Saturday?

Great to see you all again!

 

Hey wanted to chime in - Sorry for inappropriate driving today. Thanks for taking good care of me Rahtok. All is well in my world. Hope I didn't ruin anyones day.

 

Looks great, wish I could have joined! :-)

 

Hey man, the only ruined day was yours, and we're worried about you. How are you doing physically? I know emotionally you must really be hit by the damage to such a beautiful car. If any of us can help in any way, just let us know. We are a brotherhood and you're one of us.

 

You're welcome -- glad things are OK on your side. Keep us abreast on what's going on and if we can be of help, let us know.

 

We were all young bucks once.
When you get old and grey like me, you will find that the safe road travelled is far more important than the destination.
The latter undoubtably will always come with the former.
Glad you are well……..stay in touch and always keep the shiny side up.

 

Appreciate that. Physically I'm alright. I'm on some painkillers, have a car to drive, and I'll be taking a couple days off work. I'm looking at some other Jags already. 2009 XKR in Portland. I'll be back in a few months behind the wheel of a fresh kitty. XF Supercharged is calling my name as well.

 

Sounds like you were "bit" in more ways than one! So, so, so glad you're OK!

 

Oh I've got the Jagitus. I'll be back... you mark my words. Appreciate all you guys being there for me.

 

Update:
Car was deemed official "total loss" by towing company. Released it to be salvaged today. If anyone wants the lot it will be sent to feel free to PM me. The wood and passenger seat (black) were unharmed.

Drove an XF supercharged and a few other cars (M3, 650i, CL63) today and I will be buying another Jaguar. If anyone has some advice on choosing a new one, I'd love some help.

G

 

Total Loss is by far the best considering the extent of visible damage...

I hope you remain with Jags, but wanted to comment on one thing I noticed when talking to you..... Your interest in mods.....
I too am a mod-o-holic, and I have to say, the Jag is my first car where my mod-itch could never be scratched.

Past cars like my Audi, Galant VR4, or even my gross little Honda Civic commuter, have entire web sites dedicate to going from mild to wild depending one your likes and budget.
With Jaguar, you get what you buy, and enjoy what you get...
My Audi was $7K into mods and climbing, with each one bringing me a little more smiles to the mile than the last one before we parted ways in a similar fashion as you and your XK (sniff).
(Keep in mind my Audi went to the shop 8 times in a year and a half as well, so it was not all sunshine and roses.)
Still my point is the Jag will never be a modders car. Just shy of cryo rotors, performance brake pads, and LED lights, they don't have a lot of support out there.

I drove the XF V6 superchared several months back as a service loaner, and had to admit 2 things..... I really... really..... really liked the car..... And... I'm not sure I'm quite ready to plunge that far away from my love of high performance. Well, until I sat in the XF-R on the showroom floor.... 4 usable doors and 500+HP! I could see many smiles coming from that ride! (sadly way out of my budget... sigh).

Anyhow just wanted to clarify your interest in mods, because in truth there really are none for a Jag of this era. Don't bite thinking there are!

Peace!
Vince

 

Vince thanks for the reply. I was only talking mods because I just SO wanted the performance of the XKR. I'm not mod-happy regularly. I am looking at XKRs that WILL scratch that itch. I didn't drive an XFR, but even the 400 something HP of the XF supercharged didn't do it for me. I just fell in love with the XK and it was just too soon... I wasn't done with it.

GREAT STORY:

So I was shopping for XKs. I found one on Autotrader: 2008 celestial black XK.. with a modded exhaust. I contacted the guy via text, and before he responded, I decided there were too many similarities. I checked the VINs...and found out that it was an old posting for my car! I talked to the guy for about a half hour, described the fate of his car. He told me all the things he had done to the car. He was a real estate agent in Bellevue. Had to sell the car in a divorce.

I'll be back behind the wheel of an XK/XKR in a matter of weeks, with a new respect for cars. (which I learned are not toys, despite all of the shiny buttons) Per Rahtok's suggestions on the way back (thanks again Rahtok, you really saved my skin. I seriously owe you one) I'll be keeping my antics at the track, and I'll plan to take some driving lessons.

I'll look forward to cruising with you guys again soon. I'll bring some common sense and responsibility this time. Hope I didn't make a terrible first impression on you all. I'm really not THAT big of an idiot.

G

 

I was thinking that for one of our gatherings next year we should all meet for a track day with instructors. It's been a long time since I've done that, and I could use a refresher. I planned on going once a year, but you know, life. Plus this car has over twice the power as the last one I tracked, so I'd love to see the difference! I'll check the Pacific Raceways schedule and see if we can set something up. Or does somebody recommend The Ridge? Has anyone any experience with Proformance instructors?

Loud, you should check out the 2010+ models. The newer 5.0 L engine makes a big difference, with the XK driving much like the 4.2L XKR. The 5.0 XKR is a beast. It gives you that push-you-back-in-your-seat feeling we're all searching for.

 

The 2010+ aren't quite in my price range, I can't even seem to find one with high miles in my price range (70-80k+) so I'm going with the 2009 XKR most likely. The 2010+ are sweet though. I'll be doing a track day soon.

This is most likely what I'll be picking up:

2009 Jaguar XKR , $31,995 - Cars.com

 

I wanted to agree with Muddy on this. Before you spend 32K on a 2009 or earlier 4.2 liter XKR, please take a close look at 2010 or 2011 5.0 liter XK's. The "base" naturally aspirated 5.0 cars will have near identical performance (while getting much better mileage, the direct injected engine is truly that much better in every way) for about the same price, all in a newer model. Please bear in mind that any of these we are talking about will be substantially more powerful than your last one, and therefore will bite harder and faster when punishing the driver for any errors.

 

Not that I hate to say "That's good that it was declared a loss" but... that's good. Man, I can't imagine what they'd have to do to bring that back.

And... I have done both Pacific Raceways and The Ridge. I really like the Proformance guys. Don Kitch is a good guy -- we should really do that. I doubt we'd have enough cars to rent the whole track, but I'm sure that we could all get in on a day and glom on to another. Those are almost certainly going to be a weekday though, so we'd need to plan on it enough in advance to put in for time off.

Maybe we should put that in another thread though...