Hey guys,
This is my first post in the x308 section. I spent a LONG time in the S-Type section, and more recently in the X350 section.
I own a small wholesale dealer in southern New Jersey. 90% of my business is done at the dealer auctions, and I have only recently started to retail a few hand picked examples of my inventory. This particular car came to me via being traded in at a new car dealer, and I got a call regarding it because I have the word out that if you come across Jags, give me a call.
I have had all kinds of cars, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Porsche, you name it I’ve had it. Yet at heart I am a Jaguar fan. . I daily drive an x350 chassis XJR. I've been here for a LONG time, and I have TONS of references, and a lot of you guys may know me. I am trying to figure out where to price / value this car. I'm half tempted to keep it as a daily driver / beater.
I love Jaguars especially the older ones that have a timeless sense of style. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than an older Jaguar in immaculate condition. Here we have a perfect of example of that. A 1998 XJ8 In such immaculate condition that you have to see it to believe it. I recently sold a 1996 XJS, and I thought that car was perfect, but this one is even nicer.
I'm trying to figure out a fair value / asking price for the car.... I just don't know the x308 market well enough, so who better to ask then x308 owners.
This is a 1998 XJ8, finished in champagne and trimmed in immaculate Oatmeal Leather. It has been driven only 87300 miles during its charmed life. That’s only 6200 Miles per year!!! This is a two owner car which was purchased by the owner before me on 11/20/2000 for 33800 + tax, the car had 13k miles at the time. I have the original bill of sale from that day.
Everything works as it should, and the interior is in immaculate condition. Please see the pictures to understand. The ONLY sign of wear in interior of this car is a slight crack on the front passenger door wood trim. The dashboard, electronics, everything are in absolutely perfect condition
The car runs wonderfully, and drives, accelerates, shifts, and stops as if it were new. This car is an absolute pleasure to drive. Silky smooth, prestigious and powerful...
The exterior is in equally immaculate condition. No rust. The only things worth mentioning are a slight, almost imperceptible except from the right angle indentation (sort of a crease) in the rear quarter panel on the passenger side. If you’re looking at the car, unless I told you where it was, you would have a hard time finding it, but I am that particular about my cars. The car also has a tiny bit (size of a dime) touch up paint spot on the trunk lid. As well as about a 3” area of touch up paint to cover some chips on the passenger rear wheel well arch.
The car rides on a matched set of cooper touring radials with 80%+ tread. The full size spare is intact with matching jaguar rim, and Pirelli tire with very good tread.
Now, most older Jaguars you see especially ones for sale, are generally poorly maintained. Because frankly they are owned by people who either don’t have the means or desire to maintain them. When the car starts giving them problems, they decide it’s not for them, and sell it off. This is one of those rare cases where the previous owner not only took great pride in ownership, but was unbelievably diligent in maintaining this car. I have a stack of service records an inch think that document all of the comprehensive service and maintenance history that this car has enjoyed. Like I said every service record from November of 2000 until now goes with the car!!!! This jaguar was covered by the factory warranty, and then was sold as certified pre-owned, and covered under the jaguar select edition warranty. After the expiration of the warranty, it was serviced by an independent Jaguar Specialist. Like I said all documentation is there, and if you give me a call I will sit down with you on the phone and go through everything with you. (PM me for contact info).
So what do you guys think, what's a fair price? What should I be asking for the car? Oh and if you're interested, don't be shy! I'd MUCH rather have this one go to an enthusiast, rather than a typical buyer who's just going to run it into the ground...

Here's a ton of pics of the car. Keep in mind it has been raining here for two days, and this car has barely dried off from the rain at this point. It has NOT been detailed, or slathered in armor all.



















Touch up paint on trunk:












Touch Up paint on wheel wheel:





No check engine lights or issues - notice engine running:








Bill of sale from 11/20/2000 at 13k miles and all records forward to present:


One keyless remote, which works fine, and two keys.


Take care,

George

 

Has any engine work been done on this car? This is a first-year X308, and had a number of bugs that were gradually worked out over the next couple of years or so. Some of the bugs are annoying, some potentially fatal. A big driver on the value is whether they have been repaired or not.

Does this car have a replacement engine in it? Many of that vintage do, as they have so-called "nikasil" engines which are prone to potential serious wear issues. The next most serious issue has to do with camshaft secondary drive chain tensioners. The ones from 1998 were made of plastic, and when they crack and fail (which many do), then the camshaft jumps a tooth or two, and a valve gets pushed down into a piston. Messy and expensive! Then after that, there are issues with coolant pump failure, and lesser things.

So value depends greatly on whether any of these things have been tended to.

 

Seems to be all original. I went through the provided service history, and the car seems to be remarkably trouble free so far. 95% of the stuff is regular maintnenance and wear items. Could this car really have been THIS trouble free??

I had the car on the lift earlier, and everything is dry underneath. No leaks at present. Runs and drives strong. i've heard the Nikasil Block horror stories, especially in the BMW world... But I have YET to see an actual northeast car with a replaced motor. I wonder if our 93 octane fuel mattered...

I transcribed the service history, here is what I have documented proof of:

11/20/2000 - Purchase at 13,593 miles.
11/30/2000 17,376 Miles
Replace cruise control vaccum valve under warranty, No charge.
10/29/2001 24,815 Miles
Oil Change
PA State Inspection $113.26
11/01/2002 31,320 Miles
Oil change
PA State Inspection
New Front Brake Pads and Rotors $435.50
10/11/2003 38,687 Miles
Oil Change
PA State Inspection $135.46
10/13/2004 46,087 Miles
Oil Change
PA state Inspection
Tire Rotation $142.99
6/27/2005 49,645 Miles
Pressure test coolant system
Replace Thermost Housing and Gasket $156.00
10/26/2005 51, 670 Miles
Oil Change
Pa State Inspection $139.76
10/11/2006 56,657 Miles
Oil Change
PA State inspection
4 Dunlop Sport Tires $575.42
10/16/2007 60,647 Miles
Oil Change
Replaced Rear licence plate bulb $127.62
8/05/2008 68,149 Miles
Bleed Brake system and flush fluid
4 Wheel alignment $185.50
10/23/2008 PA State inspection
Oil Change $74.05
10/09.2009 – 80,520 Miles Oil change
4 New Cooper cs4 tires 225/60/16
Front Brake Pads and Rotors
Rear brake Pads and Rotors
Replacement master Cylinder $2238.62
11/19/2009 – 81,608 miles – replacement wheel speed sensor LF Front,
Replaced harness $260.92
5/25/2010 83,509 Miles
Oil Change –
PA State Inspection $140.83
12/16/2010 – 85,682 Miles
Battery Replacement – $77.00
5/24/2011 86,880 Miles
PA State Inspection
Replace Front Turn Signal Bulb $71.55
12/08/2011 87,153 Miles
Replace upper coolant hose
Coolant Flush and Replace Coolant $177.02

Take care,

George

 

Well, if none of the known-failure items have been addressed, I can only say that (despite its clean appearance) I would not buy it, at any price. It is getting up to the mileage where things start to let go. There are many tales of woe on this board, of XJ8s that are wonderful one day, and wounded or dead the next. There are plenty of good examples of later model years (02-03) that come up for sale, that don't have these issues.

Others may have more optimistic opinions, so I hope they chime in. Not a very encouraging answer, I'm sorry to say, but that is my $0.02 worth. Good luck. Your best bet would be to find a buyer who knows all this, and is willing to take on the various fixes himself.

 

Honestly, I'm not worried about selling it. And I appreciate your honesty. I was more worried about finding a proper price to charge / expect. I'm sure if I throw it on ebay, especially at no reserve it will bring a fair price. I bought the car with a very limited knowledge of the x308. I've always liked them, and when they were new I was too young and too poor to afford one.

People have known me for a long time around here, and I always tell it like it is. I will be the first person to admit that cosmetics and the attached repair history (as well as driving the car) made me make the decision to pull the trigger.The car looked, drove, and felt solid. I have an x350 XJR that I drive every day, as well as a couple other cars. Ironically I took this one home, and parked it in front of my house, and when I came out this morning, my neighbor was in his driveway, and was like oh thats such a nice car, and started chatting me up about it. He has NEVER said a word about my XJR lol. My X308 knowlege is very limited, as a matter of fact I have only driven one other one besides this one.

I go through 5-10 cars a week. Mostly trade ins from new car dealers, who have no interest in trying to sell them on their own. A lot of the new car dealers are limiting their exposure to the used car market, to cars only a few years old, or of the brand they sell new. I know of a certain New car Manufacturer that will NOT allow it's Franchised New car dealerships to sell certain competitors makes on the used car section of their lot as part of the franchise agreement. Of these 5-10 cars a week I go through, I maybe give one out 15 a second look, maybe take it home and drive it for a day or two, and decide that it's a nice honest car, and that I would feel comfortable selling it to a member of the general public. Selling at the dealer auctions is a completely different ball game. Dealers expect to have to recondition cars, and dont mind flaws... (or should I say have learned to expect them, and pay accordingly). They always assume the worse. I always sell everything I retail with full disclosure of known flaws, and cosmetic issues. You'd be surprised how far that goes as far as having happy satisfied customers. Hey, if a car is not for you, or you don't feel comfortable buying it, I'd rather you didn't, than buy it, have it possibly blow up and blame me in the back of your mind. Everyone's tolerance for risk is different. And every car is what is is and is as is. I've gotten burned a couple times, it's just the nature of the beast.

Take care,

George

 

The X308 has much nicer lines than the successor.

Look for a 2003 XJR for yourself and dump the X350.

This one, 6 and change?

The only real problem is the secondary tensioners. If it made it this far on a nikasil block, it won't be a problem.

 

Having looked at many of these before I bought my xjr with 45k miles, I would say it is a $5k - $6k vehicle. I too avoided the nikisil engine cars and I would also be worried about the zf tranny at over 80k miles.

 

That car is really mint, definitely a Jersey car! Worth $5-6k IMO.

 

It actually spent it's life in Elkins Park, PA.

I'd happily sell it for $4250. I'd much rather have this one go to an enthusiast or consumer than have it end up on a dealer lot with $6495 stuck to the window. And that's exactly what would happen if I ran this one through the auctions.

Take care,

George