Hello all.

My wife and I (well more I) decided we needed a grand tourer for road trips when we visit family in the states. We live down in the USVI. I've had a love for Jaguars for as long as I've been a car geek (or petrol head as we say back in NZ). After months of research and allowing for budget we've settled on an 07 XK convertible with 79k on the clock in silver/black interior. The current owner says she's in good condition, fully serviced, and ready for a cross country trip. We're buying sight-unseen and then will embark on a road trip from Chicago, via St. Louis, via Nashville, to Atlanta where she will be stored in underground comfort pending our future road trips. Purchase is pending a test drive by a family member in Chicago, but should all be wrapped up in a week. We'll then fly up to meet the newest member of family.

Some may say we're crazy, but life is short and you have to find joy in living. The XK will be our excuse for more frequent visits with friends and family on the mainland, as well as road trip adventures. Yes I'm placing a lot of trust in the seller, but he seems to be a kindred spirit car guy so I expect all will be ok. There are no guarantees in life. I had lusted after XKR's but pricing still seems to be just out of reach. The XK should be just fine for us, as long as we pack light I was torn between a coupe and a convertible. The coupe looks sexy and there was a cheap silver one for sale in Chicago right now, but with over 100k miles, and the guy I spoke with at the dealer didn't follow through on sending me pics and was less than convincing about it's condition. We can only hope the convertible we've chosen (private sale) all goes thru ok.

I've owned all sorts of cars in the past and currently have an '03 land rover discovery. I perform my own maintenance/repairs and keep her running smoothly, so I'm not a neophyte when it comes to 'challenging' vehicles. The XK will be a little different because I won't have tools or space to do it myself. I'll be looking for somewhere in ATL (preferably near midtown/buckhead) for reasonably priced services.

Wish us luck!

 

Welcome, good luck, and get some pictures up!

 

Wow like that outlook, I just bought the same year and color scheme but an xkr, would like to take it to the keys this winter for a two week vacay but must say I am a little apprehensive given the age. Good luck on the car and your road trip!

 

I won't post pics until it's a done deal - but if you were curious I'm sure you could find a silver 07 convert listed on auto trader just north of Chicago

 

Mine is an 08 now with 62K on it and I never have a second thought about driving it anywhere. It is my daily driver and I put nearly 20K on it per year.

You will love it!

Welcome.

 

Sounds like a fun plan. There at least two Jaguar dealers not far from there and at least one independent specialist in case you need a quick look over before hitting the road.

 

Thanks. It recently had some service work and an inspection at Golz Motors. Is that the independent you're referring too? I'm confident all is well. The seller has been very responsive and would have told me if the inspection showed any issues. I believe in good karma.

 

I couldn't resist, took a peak. It does look like a very nice convertible, at a reasonable price. If something does go south with that one. I've been posting about this 2007 XKR coupe in a few posts around here. It would be about a 3 hour drive north of Chicago to go see it, but seems to have a lot of what you want. I have no affiliation with the owner, and haven't even seen it in person, but when it popped up in a craigslist search I thought it looked like a good deal.

 

Thanks for the info.. With 135k miles, it's a little higher than I'm looking for and I just couldn't do those wheels - but a nice price. There is a nicer black 07 XKR coupe in Houston asking just under 13 with 80k. I had tried contacting the owner before committing to the XK but the guy never got back to me. I was concerned it might have been flood damaged at that price but didn't get a chance to find out. I've been looking for quite a while and chasing many white whales . I've also leaned a bit more toward convertibles,. having many past soft tops including a 70's buick, 80's jeep, miata, vette, 500sl, 350z … yep, I'm a petrol head for sure.

 

I'm with you on the wheels, I wish it had stock ones. And there were some other dings against it, but thought I'd share. If the Houston one is the one I'm thinking of, be thankful they never got back to you. If it was a North Houston dealer, we had a member here almost buy it, but just a few too many oddities both with the car and the dealership. Either way, hope it works out, and you can enjoy the road tripping. I'm on my first soft top, a 2003 X-100 XKR, and I'm still not sure about it yet. But part of that is I haven't been able to drive it much with the top down yet. I just got it a little over a month ago, and the weather hasn't been great yet, plus my temp tag is in the rear window. So I'm waiting to see if I fall in love with the top down, or if next time (if there is a next time) I'll look for a coup.

 

I was initially looking at the 03+ x-100 XKR's, reminiscent of the e-type in style, but at 6'2 the ones I looked at years ago weren't a great fit. I sat in an 07 XK a couple of years ago and thought it a better fit.

And it's true, once you go topless.... That perfect weather day cruising a windy road with the top down and you'll never look back. I had convertibles when living in St. Louis and would drive top down in the winter on nice days with the heater on and windows up. Great feeling.

 

Headroom and ingress is a LOT easier on the X150. I think the earlier XK8s are easier to get in and out of than the later and sportier seated later variants too.

I'm 5'10" and although I fit fine in my X100, its all around easier in my X150, and my dad who is your height finds the X150 SIGNIFICANTLY easier.

 

I read a comment in another thread that surprised me. Author said the XK convertible has more headroom than the XK coupe. I guess I dodged a bullet there

 

Don't think you'll be dissapointed with your choice at all, and you'll find the Chicago to Atlanta trip to be a breeze! Our first XK vert was tested with a similar trip (in reverse order) but we found that when we got to Chicago we needed more "test" driving, winding up in Idaho! Yes, the car is that comfortable!

If you intend to store the vehicle periods of time it would be wise to install a battery maintainer (CTEK is best in my book), that way it will be ready to go for your next tour.

 

This is a bad idea with any car brand and has non-zero chance to ruin your trip. At the very least do a per-purchase inspection (PPI) at your own expense. Ask current owner to take it to a local Jaguar dealership and have them do PPI.

 

Golz is good too. There is, or at least was, a Jaguar specific shop on US41 years ago. I never went there but saw it when passing by. Maybe somebody from the area has more information.

 

I bought my car sight unseen and even sent cash 2 weeks before I showed up.
Just like all the professional car buyers across the world do. And how the best cars are sold, especially the unicorns.
Its all about knowing what you are buying.
In fact, if you need to do a PPI you are most likely not getting the best car out there.

 

Reverend Sam just spent an entire day and two plane fares to find out that the XKR he wanted was a POS.

 

Yes, I was disappointed when I read that. Talk about a waste. It is a used car dealer which are never to be trusted.

 

This is just pure nonsense, as you are retroactively trying to justify your own poor discipline. As a individual buying a used car you are taking huge risk by trusting sellers (private or otherwise).

Also, again, you are confusing XKs with multi-million dollar exotics, that are bought sight-unseen because owners can afford to. On the price spectrum of all cars for sale, XK is closer to used Corolla than say Ferrari F40i.