Hello friends, as some of you know I own a 2000 Xj8, which I had been slowly but surely fixing for a bit over a year now and being active on here asking for and giving advice (mostly asking).

Today, I lost the car in an accident.

I was driving home around 47 mph when a semi truck pulled out in the middle of the road, causing me to swerve onto oncoming traffic and hit a curb at around the same speed. For some reason my rear brakes locked entirely causing me to completely lose traction in the rear, spinning out of control and slamming the right side of the car against the curb and a telephone pole. She's not totaled, but from what I could tell before the tow truck took her was the front and rear wheels were totally broken, the rear brake disc shattered, brake fluid everywhere, and, worst of all, the rear wheel hub was broken at almost the half point near the axle.

I don't know if the insurance will cover repairs, but for now it seems like the story with my x308 is over. I don't know if I will be fixing her up or selling her. If the insurance decides the semi driver was at fault I may have a chance at fixing her or I might just buy a new car. I want to thank each and every one of you here for absolutely all of the support, advice, and even criticism you have provided for free this past year. Some of you helped me multiple times and on different issues. I am very grateful. Thank you again, I hope to return to this forum in a few years, maybe a couple when I have more financial stability and support to be able to afford a better xj8 or xjr. Thanks again. Goodbye my dear friends.

 

Glad you survived - sad, but intact. It could have ended so much worse.

 

Well eric, the LA area is absolutely crazy as far as driving is concerned. I worked
in that area several years ago, and can only imagine how bad it is today. I am just
happy that it caused you no physical damage, although the mental distress of losing
a beautiful car is nothing to be minimized. I am glad she kept you safe.

 

Thank you. Yeah it has been insane lately. I have nearly been crashed into multiple times while working in the past month. I will be assessing the damage to the jag and praying it is not too much to fix. I may keep her, I have grown quite sentimentally attached to her, something I didn't much realize until after seeing her wrecked. Thanks again.

 

Maybe best to let the insurance help you buy another. They are available and you have much experience and knowledge of what to be concerned . . .

 

sorry to hear that. glad you are fine.

I crashed my XJR100 9 years ago front ended the right side. Technically repairable but I ended up removing all of the XKR100 exclusive parts and scraped the car. still bleeding in my heart.

I still own another XJR.

so just buy another when you have a chance and come back to this group. things/people come and go...in life

 

Eric, personal trauma will make most people see things differently. Assess and make decisions carefully. Sounds like you made it out ok and that’s what counts the most.

 

Very sad to hear that. It would be devastated, had it happened to me. I love my Jags and loosing any of them would be traumatic.

Allow me to make a remark, which might be helpful in regards of fixing this one or buying a new one...
If I see it correctly in your avatar, your XJ8 is black!?
We'd never buy a black, gray or silver Jag., as those are all kind of camouflage-colours on the tarmac: Others might not see you...
So, if yours is black, better keep it as spare parts and buy one in Jaguar-Green metallic, Mistral Blue metallic, golden or red...

 

My brother's wife once bought a one year old minivan that gave them enough problems that it probably should have been bought back by the manufacturer as a lemon. After a couple of years of agony, they tried to trade it in but because of its history, no dealer would give them anything for it at all. They tried selling it themselves, but they owed way more money on it than anybody would pay. They thought they were stuck with it but lucked out when it got rear-ended on the freeway. The insurance company gave them book value without even blinking. At today's labor rates and parts prices, it doesn't take very much damage to consider an X308 to be a total loss but after reading your recent repair sagas, that would probably be your best outcome anyway as the old Jaguar would still have the same problems, plus more problems triggered by the accident. Sounds like the insurance will decide in your favor and all you'll have to decide is whether to buy another X308 or just hopefully you haven't been spooked enough to buy something made in Japan next time.

 

From pdupler: hopefully you haven't been spooked enough to buy something made in Japan next time.

I don't think that anyone will disagree that Toyota makes the most reliable cars. However, Toyota does not seen to have the funds to pay for designers. Their cars look like crap. The shabbiest looking car ever by Toyota is the "Century", which is the most ugly Toyota, and their only V12. Looks like Toyota has the philosophy: The better the car, that uglier is has to be....

But if you are after a car, which has Style, then Jaguar is a very good option.

Back to Eric's dilemma:
Here is a youtube video I watched recently:

You Tube

Yes, it is in German, but you can go to settings (under the youtube clip), select "subtitles and automatic translation. The English subtitles are pretty good.
The title of that clip translates to: "The used car trap - the dirty business with wrecked cars"
It tells the story of most luxury cars, which got wrecked i the USA will not be re-registered in the USA, but sold as scrap to overseas buyers, BECAUSE any car with an accident history will be very difficult to find an insurer again in the USA. That is something to consider, when you want to decide what to do with your XJ8.

I mentioned above the problem with black, gray and silver cars. Here is an idea to build up on this: If you find a cheap, good XJ8 again, which is black again, there is still the option of a total repaint, and I would suggest there are only 2 colours, which are really magically beautiful:
1. Jaguar metallic racing green, code: HGZ
2. Mazda Soul Red, code: 46V
If I were to completely paint a Jag, it would be in Soul Red. I already have bought a few liters of that paint, and when I find the time, I'll spray-paint our white Ford Fairlane with it. White is not a "unsafe" colour, but plain ugly and boring, Hence, that Fairlane needs to be repainted.

Back to the video clip: In a nut shell: Dangerous US car wrecks are being sold overseas, hammered back together by incompetent back-yard idiots in Eastern Europe, then shipped to mainly Germany and that unsafe scrap is then sold for an arm and a leg (i.e. horrendous prices) to unsuspecting customers with the pre-existing damage mention, but played down. Those cars are death-traps

 

Thank you all for your kind replies, they mean a lot and thank you for the advice. I will certainly heed to it. As of now it appears the insurance will be on my side but I don't know for certain. In the meantime, this seems to be the most serious damage to the Jag. I can't figure out what part it is but it is totally broken.

Rear right suspension system break

As you all can see the car is touching the ground there.

 

Hi Eric, you might give Jaguar Heaven a call, geographically not too far from you (Stockton, CA), I've had good experiences in the past. You may need some related parts but the fractured piece is the hub carrier.

 

Good that ix identified the part already, because I would just view it as "the farmer" in: A man accidentally drove over a chicken near a farm. The man takes the chicken and brings it to the farmer to apologise. But the farmer said: "It's not one of my chicken. My chicken aren't that flat."

 

Thanks!

 

True Hahaha

 

This looks a simple fix Eric, the hub carrier. A used replacement can be fitted. No.8 in the image

 

Do you think I can do it myself with a few tools?

 

Of course, not a complex job yet a tedious one, and you'll need a fair array of tools. At this stage you should be critical of damage assessment, which may necessitate further disassembly to better understand everything you need (i.e. axle shaft, etc). IF damage is limited to a hub carrier, and you snag a complete donor assembly you may be in fair shape.

 

There are hundreds of shops in SoCal that can do this job. . . spend a dime or two to have it done right and save your raised blood pressure, broken knuckles, and sore muscles for something really critical . . . IMHO!

 

It's probably not a job beyond your ability, however it would probably be worth
your while to have it done professionally to assure the clearances and torques
are all per standard and greater peace of mind for you.