Hi, being the very happy owner of a 2008 XKR when I heard of an XF SV8 going reasonably cheaply and very local I was interested. Don't know much about the SV8 other than they were made for only a year and in relatively small numbers (400 or so) It has the saggy headlining many Xf get, the leather on the dash has shrunk and wrinkled and some of the air vents only rotate if they feel like it. This aside it runs very well, has a great body and paint and good service history but is there anything else I should look for before purchase? As a rare vehicle I'd have thought they would demand a premium but they seem really cheap for the performance and specification on offer, a classic in waiting or were the later cars just so much better?
Cheers Ian

 

A couple of things I have experienced with mine; first thing was the transmission and engine oil cooler hoses in front of the engine were all weeping from the crimp connections; age related and not an expensive repair but access is very difficult. A bigger issue was the coolant hoses; they are something of a time-bomb and one in particular runs underneath the supercharger; to change this hose (mine leaked) requires removal of the supercharger which is a major task; others with LHD cars have managed it with the engine insitu but mine is RHD- as I presume is yours- and i found it necessitated removal of the engine and transmission to access. These jobs are do-able if you are reasonably skilled and well equipped but will quickly turn your SV8 into a very expensive car if you are paying someone else to do them.
Even having had to do some major jobs like this, I love the car, coming up 3 years of ownership and thoroughly enjoy it.

 

What do you mean by SV8? I don't think that was an official designation. The V8 SC model was made for many years alongside the XFR model, and many of us on here have them. The 4.2 V8 was just one year (2009) then it was the 5.0 V8 after that.

 

Hi Britcar, The SV8 was made by Jaguars special vehicles division as a stopgap to offer a performance saloon whilst the XFR 5.0 was being developed. It's certainly a model derivation here in the UK, not sure if it made it to the rest of the world.
This is an interesting test on the car.
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Ah yes. That's the 4.2SC. In the USA they branded as XF Supercharged (or XF SC) and XFR for the two specs. It was a 2009 model year in the US (many of which were made in 2008 given the strange US model designations that often launch in spring/summer for next calendar year!)

They used the older 4.2 V8 with supercharger for the first model year then swapped over to the 5.0 SC. It wasn't made by the SVO team - was just the higher trim of standard production.

The 5.0 suffers from timing chain guide wear over time. 4.2 seems less prone to that. Both v reliable otherwise. Both have plastic pipes in the cooling system that go brittle and crack after too many heat cycles (like many cars these days) and water pumps seem to fail fast too

The 4.2 models seem to have an issue with the rear diff where the seals start leaking and replacing the seals is only a temporary fix. Only seems to be some cars so if it hasn't done it by now maybe you are ok

For what it's worth the description doesn't make it sound like the most cared for car. They suffer the leather shrinkage in the dash but to also have sagging headliner, rotary vents broken etc isn't a great sign

Overall I think they are pretty reliable. I have the 2010 XF SC (the 5.0 V8 version). I've had it over 10 years now, daily driven and still goes perfectly. No serious issues - typical maintenance for the most part

But - how cheaply is cheaply? And how much do you care about those cosmetics which will be pricey to fix. Remember it might be cheap to buy now, but it still has repair costs of a high end luxury car. Could your budget stretch to a 2014/15 which is a lot newer?

 

Mechanically I have to say the car is in really good condition and had Main Dealer servicing for most of it's life. It's currently on 115k miles so no issues there. Much as I'd like a later car I was never a great fan of the 5.0 engine and reports of expensive timing gear failure would put me off. The 4.2 engine is a very common lump even here in the UK and 2nd hand units are easily available, plus running an XKR is quite expensive as it is without another supercharged toy on the drive. I've negotiated £4.5 K for the car which seems about right considering the dash and headlining issue which should be an easy fix, seems absurdly cheap considering the performance on offer but I guess high fuel prices will drive down the prices of less fuel efficient vehicles.

 

Good advice but I don't see if you can DIY the repairs?
This is the key to Jaguar ownership!

If not it will be an expensive used car to own.
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Are you saying this applies to the SV8 specifically , or just Jags in general , or just "luxury cars" in general ?
I have an SV8 and it is no more expensive to run overall than any of my other performance cars.
I do very much agree with you , it is always cheaper with any car to do the work yourself if that is within your skill level. OP has owned other Jags

 

I totally agree, SV8 is a superb car and just FYI these cars cost at least three times (in Australia) what you are looking to pay for this car. Wish I was in UK I would buy three of them !!