Hi Guys and Gals,

In a quandary. I love driving my XK but she just hit 100k. I already changed the water pump, thermostats and housing, lower control arms, expansion tank, fuel rail pressure sensor and vacuum hose. ABS light is on, oh well; dash is wrinkled, and SAS light is on but is throwing no codes.

I would like your opinion on whether it’s time to dump it. It’s got 100k and I’m sure it was driven pretty hard over the years. I’m not sure what’s next on the repair list but I worry about the rear end and tranny. I imagine those item would exceed the actual value.

Just writing this, I think I actually have my answer. Ugh! Thanks for reading.

 

191,000 miles running strong and just took 2nd place in the Championship category at JCNA sanctioned concours.

 

I sold two XKRs in the past, each after 100k km at the end of the 3-year warranty.
I never had any problems and today I regret that I didn’t keep the second one (fully loaded, botanical green, walnut veneers, inside color caramel, if I recall correctly).
My conclusion, so I’d think twice before dropping her. Time value likely to go up in the future, and even then: what is money, unless you really need it?

 

They ain't m\king them any more so look after it & it'll hold it's value

 

It was time to 'dump' it at 99K miles. Now it's topped 100K you can relax until the next psychological barrier at 150K.

Jaguars need more regular attention than many other marques but if the big ticket items of paint and trim are good, tackle repairs as they occur and continue to enjoy driving it.

Graham

 

Bushings (and delicate control arms) are a maintenance item like brakes and fluid changes, in my mind.
As are thermostats.

Glad you’re keeping up with the maintenance. With an ABS light on I’d be negotiating a much better price, no matter what the asking price.
(that wouldn’t pass a safety here). Not to mention, if there is a light… there is a code.

And I’m always driving contestant replacement cars… and none feel as comfortable to me. I’m at ~160,000 kms. And she feels like an old pair of quality leather gloves or my beloved bespoke dress shoes.

Though I clearly enjoy her:

Yes, there are stone chips in the paint. But she’s not the hairdresser’s car.
Yes, at the price of fuel perhaps I should souce an electric or hybrid. But that wouldn’t sound or rumble as nicely.
Yes, she’s not as performant as some of the cars I’ve driven. But at a measured 475 bhp at the wheels, is there really a legitimate complaint here??
But she doesn’t have that gawdawful full dash, made in ch… toy screen…. and the screen is very nicely integrated into the dash… unlike the ‘ stuck on approach ‘ found on even very expensive cars. Really, that’s the best those designers could come up with??
And EVERYWHERE I go, she’s a conversation starter. Life’s too short to not have new friends.
And lastly, my son loves driving her. And that alone makes me happy.

I’m not up for the regret. I’m keeping mine.

 

Don't know if you're following, but my thoughts:
You have two decisions: one practical, one emotional.
The practical one is easy: sell. Why? We are still in an inflated market for these cars. That will change-- in my opinion, sooner than people think. Your car will never be worth more than it is today, now, as you read this. In addition to the reality of your car aging and losing value as you drive it, there's the much more important factor of the inflated prices for used cars right now which is a market I have never seen and will evaporate quickly..
Second: you have a 15 year old, low production car. Forget repair costs-- simply sourcing parts for the car is going to become more difficult, as is finding competent people to do the work who really know these cars..
One of the reasons this is a great forum is that it's filled with guys who can do everything short of an engine rebuild (or, in some cases, they can do that...) on their own. Are you that person? Can you break apart and McGyver a re-wire on an adaptive headlight? Can you pull the touchscreen and replace it with one off an XF that you bought on Ebay because Jaguar simply doesn't make the replacement for the XK anymore (and you're sure you bought the right one)?
These cars cannot be compared to an old Mercedes, which had the initial production numbers to justify the "old Mercedes guys" in every mid-sized citiy in the US that could work on the car. I had a 2010 XKR, and I think it was in a tough age spot where the truly "old Jaguar guys" didn't quite understand the electronics, and the dealers were no longer able to service it.

But, to the emotional decision, here's the funny thing: if you love the car, none of that matters. You'll make it work. God knows I loved my car.

My issue was I'm a "one-car" guy, and I was getting to the point where, much as I loved the car, I had to do a hard cost-benefit analysis of owning it. I had am amazing warranty that included replacement transportation so when they had it for a week to replace an AC compressor, I was driving a new I-Pace ,on the house, the entire time. Since it was my only car, I needed that. Now that the warranty's gone, it just isn't viable for me any more.

Yes, there will always be folks like TBerg who've had 150,000+ worry free miles with their XK's, and God love them.

All I can say are three things:
1) I lost my car to theft-- but still, I was having your conversation with myself. I don't know how much longer it would have lasted as my daily-driver car. Not long, I'm afraid.
2) I miss it all the time.
3) But, when I think about buying one - ESPECIALLY now, in this market -- I think about the $$ involved when the parts begin to fail. And they will. And I'm looking at F-Types. Which I don't like, but at least they're supported.