I'm new around here and I've been hunting for a 4.2 XK for a few months now. Researching on this forum has helped me a great deal. I've ran into a few nice cars but nothing quite fit the bill until I found an 08' black on black, a little under 30k miles, 2 owner clean Carfax (service records seemed to stop at 18K miles), owner asking $20k. Talked to the gentleman and was told the car is a 9.9/10 for mechanical/cosmetics, for under 30k miles that's to be expected (or so I thought). Extremely excited, I made the 5 hour drive to see the car, exterior is beautiful, all components in the engine bay was very clean and consistent with the mileage. The first let down for me was the owner was not able to start the car at first, it needed a jump and I was told the Wal Mart battery was 3 years old (figures).

I felt a good bit of vibration during the test drive, it may have been the old tires or worn bushings or a combination of the two. This was surprising to me as the last few XKs (original bushings 50% life tires) with higher mileage drove a good bit smoother. The cruise control did not work, got a message from the car saying it is "unavailable". There was also a good amount of water leaking into the passenger foot well, I'm surprise to see this issue on a lower mileage car and both the top/floor carpets are damp, this has been happening and seems to be ignored.

After getting back from the test drive I plugged in my code scanner, got a transmission code P0500-00 stating the speed sensor malfunction (I'm guessing this is why the cruise control didn't work), 3 other codes dealing with the SRS airbags, a code for faulty restraint system (seat belts I assume?). Seeing the airbag related codes I decided to look up to find the headliner extremely wrinkly, not sure if this is normal since the other 4 XKs I've looked at had nice/smooth headliners. I decided to check the oil to find that the oil level was over an inch below the "low" dot, it was also extremely dirty, nearly black. At this point I've pretty much lost all interest in the car, I tried to tell the owner the issues I've found and he did not seem to care and shrugged it off. This went from a car that I had assumed was pampered and cared for by an enthusiast from speaking to the owner initially to a car that I felt was mistreated.

I just felt that for that much money/mileage, the car shouldn't have this many issues and deserved better treatment/care. I may have been expecting too much but what made me nervous was the condition/level of the oil. With this being a timing chain car, good oil condition/level is important to engine health/longevity. I could only assume that instead of the required nearly 8 quarts of oil, this XK was at a quick lube place and they put the usual 5 quarts like most cars and not bother to check the level, seemed consistent for where the oil level was at. Also the SRS codes could have stemmed from the weak battery but I wasn't willing to take a chance. The owner lived nearly 100 from the closest Jaguar Dealer/Mechanic that could do a PPI, I wish the circumstances allowed me to have this done before making the drive but here we are. What do you guys think? Am I expecting too much for that price range? And was it reasonable for me to be wary of the issues I saw?

 

I paid $20k 4 years ago for my 07 XKR with 50.5k miles. Only cosmetic issues were clouded headlight housings, curb rash on wheels and the dash shrinkage. I paid the nice high end detail place $450 for the wheels and headlights and they’re still great. I bought a mount low mileage used dash on eBay for $700 and put IT in.

In 4 years and 28k miles it’s been great with me doing stuff like tires, a fuel pump, a coolant tank, VVT solenoid, repairing a headlight motor, replacing a power steering pump, all fluids and such. Basically the car was sold honestly with minor cosmetic faults, then I had standard 10-15yo car stuff happen and maintenance.

i wouldn’t pay the price you were offered for a base XK with problems and **** poor maintenance. Maybe on an R, but hard nope on that deal.

 

I wouldn't consider buying the car you describe unless it can be bought for a sufficiently low price to spend the savings on bring it up to snuff.

 

At that age, it would be expected the headliner would’ve failed and all the bushings need replacing. Codes don’t mean much without a proper diagnosis. Oil may not matter other than possibly an indication it wasn’t filled properly, hadn’t been checked in a long time or a leak. The color doesn’t mean anything without analysis.

 

I agree with you on the codes. The engine is bone dry on the bottom no drips, for it to be 2 quarts low on oil it would be a fairly substantial oil leak. You say oil may not matter and mention it possibly wasn't filled properly, to me this would matter quite a bit as insufficient lubrication can not be good for an engine. It is also the first time I've heard that the color of the oil doesn't mean anything without analysis, because my understanding of oil color is pretty black and white, amber would suggest clean/new oil and dark brown or black suggests dirty/old oil. Is dark/black oil considered ok for these cars?

 

Emphasis on “may not”. When I say color doesn’t matter without analysis I mean there’s no way to know the condition just by looking at it.

I’ve done my own oil changes on multiple vehicles anywhere from 1K miles to 15K miles. At 1K miles the oil was quite dark but not black, at 5K miles extremely dark and at 15K miles almost black BUT all were perfectly fine as in no issues with the oil or the engines other than ever increasing amounts of carbon build up.

The fact the engine exterior was dry is good. Oil level also no indicator of anything conclusive without documentation. As I said was it not filed enough? Is it burning oil? How long has it been since it was changed? Unless there was coolant in the oil what you saw really means nothing. You could drain and measure the amount of oil to know what was really in there.

Regardless unless you’re an experienced mechanic, any vehicle you consider purchasing should be inspected by a competent specialist.

 

I'm with you on the oil colour, dark/black oil is filthy oil. Low on oil is never good!

 

On the OTHER hand, it IS a fifteen (or so) year-old car.

 

Sounds like you figured out why the car's service records stopped ~10K miles ago - the owner apparently didn't care and drove it into the ground in those miles. It's a shame.

 

hmmm…. my ’07 headliner is original and perfect. And she has never leaked into the passenger well.
With those codes its a crap shoot.
yeah, If I were in the market, I might consider it if appropriately priced. But she will need some attention.

 

Paid $27k ( Canadian) for mine 3-1/2 years ago with about 50000 miles on it. No history but car looked nearly perfect , top was like new ran great and still does. Changed the plugs just because and did an oil change . Have put about 10000 miles on it still runs great. If it doesn't feel right usually it isn't in my books.

 

You're quite fortunate, despite low mileage and garage kept, none of my Jags and Rovers had fabric interior trim last more than 6 years. Despite air conditioning, Florida's humidity melts the foam backing on all of the fabrics including headliners, visors, pillars, etc.

 

For these types of cars I think it is better to shop in Canada as they are mostly garage kept, have lower miles and not exposed to the heat as mentioned above.

 

I don't always follow my own advice, but the time to make a careful decision is before you buy. Why buy a car with many known problems when there will probably be a better car later? These are not 2,500 dollar cars, find one that you feel is well taken care of, usually cars like Jags are pampered by their enthusiast owners. I just bought a 16 year old car last month, and I had to adjust my expectations a bit. But the car was immaculately clean with no leaks or bodges. There were a few minor scratches and a minor ding. Hold out for a better car. This is one of the problems of going to look at a car a few hours away, you don't want to go home empty handed. I bought my car six hours away in L.A. and I told my Wife if it isn't what I want then we'll turn around and go home. Good Luck with the hunt.

 

I was lucky, Fall of 2020 I found a 2010 XK Convert. for $22k out the door at my Cadillac Dealer, had 50,600 miles on it, good top, near spotless exterior, good CarFAX. Tires were less than 2 years old and recently had new brakes.
I did the 50k/10 year maintenance including a new battery. Only problem I"ve had was through my neglect I let it set too long without a battery maintainer and the battery was stone cold dead, since then my CTECH gets plugged in if it's going to set for more than a few days.
Also had to change my TPM's, just got sick of the low tire warning showing up when there was nothing wrong.
This is my second summer with it, just a pleasure to drive.

 

I just bought an '08 XKR this month. Closer to 90K miles, and less than $20K. Exterior is a 9.9, interior is a 9.95, seriously. Almost zero wear on the black seats, no wear on the armrest or steering wheel, dash and headliner are like new.

The seller forgot to mention a chip in the windshield, needing rear brakes and rotors, and needing rear control arms (according to his mechanic). He told me that the turning headlight had been replaced with a non-turning, so that dash light was blinking all the time. He also said that his mechanic had eliminated the duckbill problem, and the car smells like new inside. None of these issues need to be addressed right away, and there were NO engine, electrical, or driveability issues during the 600 mile drive home.

To me, black oil is for diesel engines, not for cars, but I change at 5,000, not longer. For the seller to omit such obvious things to you is screaming deception, so run away before you find all the rest of the problems. Also, a seller that is shown things he didn't divulge should adjust the price, not shrug.