Hi all,

I have been looking for a car upgrade for a few months at around the 20k mark and settled on a xkr (seems by far the best car for the money).

I test drove one last weekend and absolutely loved it a 2008 coupe however im hoping to hold out and get a convertible as thats what i really want.

Wondering what they are like as a daily driver and what i should be looking out for when helping to make my descision on what one to go for? or isit a case of when one comes up that fits my personal taste (and isnt obviously a wrongun) just go for it as they seem so few and far between?

Thanks for any help and advice.

Aaron

 

Good luck with your search, I had a quick look on Pistonheads 16 cars from 19k to 25k, my advice would be to go for the best car with lowest mileage regardless of a coupe or convertible. Coupes offer better value.
Cheers

 

You need to decide a few things before you buy. I guess the 1st is whether you want a coupe or a convertible. The 2nd then would be an XK or XKR. Then it would be mileage followed by color. When i looked it was around 3 to 1 coupes over convert's. This gave me a smaller field to pick from but after a 6 month search I found what I wanted. As for a daily driver I believe these cars will not be a problem. Good luck

 

Makes for an excellent daily driver. I waited for close to a year for the right color low mileage coupe. It's worth the wait to get exactly what you want.

 

Thanks for the replys guys, ideally id like a convertible but they push the budget abit more and as yous say theres not many about so im not against a coupe if ones too good to turn down.

The 1 i test drove was low milage but it had a rusty gas strut on the boot lid on one side (worried me about leaking) also had a dodgy bonnet latch (wouldnt close on one side) probably only needed a slight adjustment though? so wast to worried about that but it lookied like where stuff had been put in the back or people had gotten in and out alot somethings caught the interior trim just where the door pillar is and had taken chunks out of the rear door card sections on both sides this really put me off it as i imagine it would be rather costly to repair? is this a common issue on the edges? because it really let the interior down for me as you could see the white foam thats underneath the outer trim.

 

I don't believe it to be a typical problem, more likely that the previous owner used the back seats for carrying something with abrasive edges. Generally its an unused area.

My car is a daily driver because I wouldn't want to drive anything else!

Cheers
Mike

 

If you want a convertible you will not be satisfied with a coupe. Although I like the lines of the coupe I wanted my last fun car to be a convertible. As I mentioned I could have had any XK or XKR in any trim and any color and any mileage if I wanted a coupe. Under the skin they are all the same so if you want to ride with the top down you will never be happy with a coupe. Just my opinion.

 

 

I'm afriad you will have to play the waiting game, if you are serious about a convertible then don't get a coupe! I was determined to have a convertible to a spec of my own liking, it was a tiresome search. I did briefly consider a coupe and looked at a coupe but I would have regretted buying one now that I have the convertible I started out for. Don't get me wrong the coupe is a brilliant car if that's what you're looking for. I am in the north of Scotland and in addition to having to wait I had the added hassle of having to travel for the right car. Just hold out, you will know the right car when it comes along. Good luck!

 

I suggest finding a friendly used car dealer and ask them to watch the auctions for you. They will be able to see cars you can't see from the retail side.

I purchased my 2007 XK convert last May for $22,900. It's a 55000 mile one owner, in pretty good shape. BRG with tan interior, just what I wanted. It's my daily driver, and it's very comfortable and reliable so far.

 

Thanks for the replys, its appreciated!

I have contacted a couple of dealers to help me find one and the main dealer, im going to a jaguar specialests dealer at the weekend to look at a couple (they have xks xkrs coupes an convertibles so i can make a decent comparrison and decide exactly what i want) and if they dont have one in the colour/trim spec im after i shall ask them to keep a eye out for me.

Glad to hear the interior damage isnt a common issue aswell!

 

Owners generally love them and the cars are in short supply so not as cheap as some would like.

Any faults are probably covered already on this forum, with fixes.

If an auto, as I expect, plan to change the fluid + related parts.

 

I wanted a fun car that would take me back to those carefree days when I was in my early twenties, 40 plus years ago, driving an MG Midget but with the added bonus of a big V8 burbling away and endless power. Anything other than an XKR convertible would have been a compromise and difficult for me to justify to myself but more importantly, my wife, spending (for me) what was a huge amount of money on a once in a lifetime event, and my retirement bonus!

For me the coupe is no better than a saloon - how can you enjoy those few days of sunshine that we get here in UK, with a tin roof over your head?

Irrespective of whether you go for a convertible or coupe, don't settle for a tatty condition even if the mileage is low. If the interior has not been cared for then neither will anything else. It's a sign that the car has not been respected. My 2011 has done 56,000 miles but has been well looked after and is a joy to get in to - I would not be so happy if I knew it wasn't in a condition that I really would like it to be in.









Good luck with your search - be patient though, I took six months to find the one that I wanted.

 

The UK buys more convertibles than the rest of Europe, which says something about optimism given the unreliable weather.

I owned two convertibles in England and enjoyed them both, the climate is probably more suitable than here in Australia where you would be attacked by the ultra high UVs all the year around and high heat in the Summer.

The upside of the convertible is the wind in your hair type motoring, I'm not sure what else unless you prefer the look.

The Coupe has more boot space, is lighter hence marginally quicker in acceleration and has one less thing to go wrong. The lower price of the Coupe means you can also generally get more car for your money of the same era.

But for me it is about getting the right car that suits you the best, and the best car for the money.

Convertible or Coupe they are both magnificent vehicles.

 

That's certainly true about the weather. We rarely get days when it is too hot to have the hood down, when you would need the hood up and the a/c on to stay cool and avoid intense UV.

Boot/trunk space is a problem on the convertible. You certainly would struggle to get a bag of golf clubs in there so you would have to use the rear seat space - I don't play golf so I've never tried.

I don't know what Jaguar supplied in 2008 (if that's the year that you're still looking at) by way of a spare wheel or what the options were. My car does not have a spare wheel at all, not even the space saver - instead, I have a repair kit hidden away in the boot with sealant to enable the tyre to be re-inflated in case of a puncture but this would be totally useless for anything more than a minor incident. So I have a large 'well' in my boot where a spare wheel would normally be - I believe Jaguar have a special shaped travel bag that suits this shape. (Run flat tyres were available at one time, as well).

Wear on the canvas fabric can be an issue where the roof folds - mine is showing signs of rubbing but not too serious yet. There is the risk of vandalism, I guess, but that obviously depends on where you choose to park and for how long. I've never had a problem with this or my previous Mercedes SL500 R129 model but it's something to think about.

 

I guess I got really lucky, 2000 XKR that ticked all of the boxes (in the UK).

I found plenty on eBay, when I checked AutoTrader and Exchange & Mart many were also on there, but more on eBay. The ones I went to see were dealer and private sales, with main dealer service histories. You don't have to buy thro' eBay, but it is a good place to look.

Just waiting to pick her up now...

 

My 07 Coupe had a spare wheel. My current 08 Coupe does not just the sealant and reinflate kit so extra space under the boot lining is useful
Cheers

 

I went from a mazda mx5 to the rx8 i drive now and although i personally like the 8 alot more i miss being able to put the roof down especially on a nice day, id have the roof down in the winter aswell! Boot space shouldnt be an issue as the mx5 boot was even smaller and it had no rear seats and i managed with that ok, vandalisim is a slight worry as i expect a replacement roof is abit pricey? but they could just as easily key several panels of a coupe i guess, the Rs seem to be holding their value very well? they have actually gone up in price since i started my search on average.

Whats the general feeling and thoughts on future decreasing or appreciating value /classic appeal of this generation of xkr?

Very nice car marco polo looks lovely! exactly the colour combo i really want black with the cream!

 

I read somewhere that most owners of convertibles (soft or hard-top) rarely if ever drop the top. I myself opened up my XK8 maybe 3 times during cruising in my 2 years of owning it. My friend never dropped down his SL500 when moving.

Cheers,
Wolfy

 

I guess I don't understand the logic of owning a convertible. As I may have mentioned I take my car out maybe 4-5 times a week. My procedure is simple. I start the car and while it is in open loop (1200 rpm) I press the top button and by the time it goes down the idle goes into closed loop at 700 rpm. I back out of the garage and am gone for the day.When I stop to shop or play a round of golf the top goes up until I leave and then it is down again until I get home. I try not to go out in the rain but if I get caught it's not a problem (top goes up). Now about temperature. My top down temp range is 45* to 100* . From 45* to 65* the top is down the windows are up , the steering wheel heater is on and the seat heaters are on. It works for me.