looking at an 08 XK-R with 169K miles... is that bad news? It appears to be in perfect condition but... Are there many regular issues with these cars that I should be aware of?

I currently have a 2005 S-Type 4.2 that had basically all of the apparently normal problems but I only found that out after I bought it... Trying to avoid that this time around.

What should I look for if I go to check out the XK-R so I don't find it out when it's too late???

Cameron

 

It would have to be spectacularly cheap. Leak down, compression check. Trans fluid condition check. Diff oil check. Bearings/ball joints/bushings/tie rods, U joints. Everything that wears.

 

$10,900

 

Yeah, I hear you on the general wear items. Do these have the front main bearing wear issue like the older 4.2 or the cracking coolant bottle or trans cable coming lose, AC solenoid sticking & taking out the AC control box or any other interesting known common failures?

 

First, read Rancher50's 'Green Turtle' thread. His car had about 50K fewer miles than the one you are looking at.

I have had quite a few Jags. Some with more than 170K miles. There is a little more information that I would need to give an informed answer:
1. What are you going to do with the car? Daily driver or weekend fun extra car?

2. Are you going to do the repair and service on the car yourself or will you take it in to a shop?

If you will be depending on it as your daily driver and you will be taking it to someone else for service I would not touch it if it was free.

I do all the service and repairs myself. If I was considering it I would see what repair and service records are available for the car. If there are no records and without seeing the car I would assume the following imminent repairs will be necessary and the part costs:
1. all the suspension parts will need replacement ~$3000
2. transmission fluid has never been replaced and the transmission is suspect - $2000 to $4000
3. water pump and misc cooling stuff, belts, hoses ~$500
4. tires ?? ~ $1000
5 battery $100
6. brakes $200+
7. catalytic converters (California) $1000
8. A/C service $1000
9. stuff I missed $2000

You could easily have over $10K in parts if you do the labor yourself. After inspecting the car there could easily be more things needing repair. If you are going to pay someone to do the labor, double the part cost to include labor. Look at the asking price and what a car with 70K miles would cost. Is this a good deal? If yes, buy it and be prepared to fix all the above stuff. Maybe you will be lucky and not all of it will need fixing. My estimates could be low as well.

If there are service records deduct the above items accordingly. If by chance it has had regular service at a dealership it could be a good deal IF the price is right. Bear in mind it is going to be difficult to sell now and more so when you want to sell it.

I personally would not spend $300 on a pre-purchase inspection on that car. If there is not a service history on it a dealer will tell you that it needs between $10K and $20K in repairs. I already told you that for free.

 

or....... maybe it's a good one and will last another 50-100k miles with nothing done to it. For only ten grand, it wouldn't hurt too bad if it went TU after a couple years. Even then, probably good for a LOT of parts. Or maybe even a Coyote swap.

 

wow, great reply David!!! I can typically do all the work myself. It would be a daily driver but I do have another vehicle. This would be my 4th jag so I'm somewhat familiar with their desire for attention... lol I'll pull the carfax & see if it was properly serviced/maintained for sure & what was done as I'm well aware of the high cost of parts for these vehicles. Yeah, resale will be difficult I'm sure but if I can drive it a couple years & even lose 1/2 which would be $5K that's not bad for what would surely be a fun car. If I got a lower mile one for $20K it would probably lose the full $10K that this one costs so...

Thanks again for the very thorough reply & I'll check that other thread as well. So it seems like you are not saying there are any chronic problems with these though so that's good, just general wear. Yeah, I'm familial with the feel & need for bearings, bushings, suspension parts etc so I can probably tell some of that with a test drive

 

Great looking car. I would give the seller $10 bucks for gas and tell him you want to leave it on for a 90 minutes. If there are any gremlins....they will show themselves.

 

Yeah Michael, I hear you on that & feel the same. it's at a used dealer. I'd like to Take it out for an hour or 2 & put it through the wringer & see what it turns out

 

Bottom line, it looks like a nice car. If you are not afraid to get your hands dirty it could be a great car. You just need to go into it with your eyes open and realize that it will probably need some TLC. I am on my 13th Jag now. Some new off the dealers lot and some REAL dogs. I knew they were dogs when I bought them. If you are lucky you will find about 1/2 the things wrong when you test drive it.

I have had six V8 Jags. Never had a problem with the internal engine mechanical stuff. After the 4.0 Nikasil and timing chain tensioner problems I think the engines were pretty solid. My biggest concern would be the transmission. Two of the five Jags I owned with the ZF transmission had transmission problems. (My 02 XJR had a Mercedes transmission.) I had a 97 XK8 that I bought right AFTER the transmission was replaced @ 70K miles. I had an 05 XK8 that had transmission problems with only 12,000 miles on it that Jaguar did repair under warranty. My brother in law liked my XK8s so much he bought an 02 with 75K miles. The ZF transmission crapped out on it after he owned if for three months.

Good luck!

 

wow, the trans eh. I have an 05 Stype 4.2 right now that had a whole variety of random issues. Had an old 94 xj12 that I loved to death, that thing would idle straight up hill & I burried the needle at 160mph+ many times... a dog off the line though, like 10 seconds, once it's on the highway it was a different story. I'm told it had a modified chevy trans... It sure felt like it. In sport mode it had that chevy muscle car kick down but the v12 sounded like a jet engine & all the clicks & buzzes made it feel like quite a machine... lol if it didn't get 8mpg & eat oil like it was fuel (thing took 12 quarts...OMG) I'd probably still be driving it today hahahaha

 

pulled the carfax, looks like it was dealer service all the way to 125K miles so that's promising

 

looks like it was going back & forth from Cali to Kentucky hence the miles

 

I have had three V12 XJSs. Jag used the Chevy TH400 transmissions behind their V12s. Great cars. Lousy gas mileage though.

 

I would offer the seller no more than $5,000 for it. I seriously doubt a dealer would have any more than that invested in it. It will be a very tough sell for them at $10K. JMHO

 

I saw that car earlier this week. I was thinking of posting it in another thread.

I also thought I saw that it has an accident on its record. I'd want to see pictures of the damage, or else I would not buy. As they weren't included in the listing, I personally moved on.

However, since you're closer; it might be worth it for you. If I do recall correctly on accident history; make sure you find before pictures of the damage. Front end damage I would live with, rear end damage I would pass.

 

this car is better shape than many cars with 100k miles.
there are some that look like they have been used as brothels.
this one was really cared for.

 

If the bottom end looks anything like the top I'd buy it. Do your homework , put it on a lift and look under it. Check the Vin # and see if you can find the dealer who sold/serviced it.

 

I can tell by the pics of the interior that car was well cared for. It should have way more abuse then that. Looks like the steering wheel was redone. The dashboard is not even bubbled up.

 

Great candidate for the manual conversion.