Hi all,
I am a long time Jag fan, just sold an '06 Super V8 after owning it for 2 years and taking it from 30k to 55k miles.

I have come across a potentially interesting car/project and thought some feedback might be in order from the crew here.

2004 xkr, one owner, sunbelt state, 9k original miles; body 9/10 interior 10/10; no check engine lights runs great etc.

now the interesting part - sat in a garage about a mile from the ocean, and undercarriage has some rust / corrosion - I am attaching pics

it is being sold by a family member, clean car fax, original paperwork in matching name, window sticker at $88k, etc - has original tires on it that are cracked and no longer safe

I have been offered it for $3k, and have a reputable guy w/ a lift standing by to work on the bottom side to treat and paint / stop parts of the rust

it does not have air suspension which for me is a big plus

I think it is a great opportunity to have some fun, and worse case I can roll it through the auction or donate it if ridiculously big bills come up - I had a warranty on my super v8 and that one ate up (at their expense) literally $20k in 2 years, but a good chunk of that was air suspension related and other reasonable time/wear bits such as control arms & bushings, and of course a lot of other things from clock spring, AC, body control module, MAF, etc etc

the car has been dealer maintained and started and runs w/no warning lights, all lights check and go out on startup, and runs and drives well

here are some pics.....

thanks for any input here

 

In my opinion the rust will give you headaches in the future. I think it's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when. The ocean or salt is not the real problem. Salt is only bad with water. I think Hawaii is pretty humid, isn't it?

At any rate, just by looking at the photos I can see rust seems to have contaminated the car. I seem to be able to see rust in cracks, screws and gaps. This is normally a sign that it's rotting underneath. As a teenager I worked at a bodyshop and cars that looked like that were a telling sign of eminent rust problems or downright horror underneath.

Having said that, as you said it could be a fun project. It all depends on what you are looking for, how much time you have and how much money you are willing to spend.

I'm looking for a X100 myself at the moment and seeing these pictures would not make me drive out of town to look at it, even for only 3,000. If it was "next door", sure. I would check it out. I would buy a car without an engine and transmission before I would one with that type of impregnated rust. But I'm judging by the pictures only. You have seen it in person so you have a much better overview. I just thought I would share my experience as I have quite good experience with rust in cars. Or should we say quite bad experience?

 

thanks for the reply, I am on the fence about it and had some of your same thoughts - I have had projects before but never involving rust

I have decided no a couple of times, and then I look at it again and think......maybe and then yes! we'll see

 

My opinion for what its worth. 3k for car. To bring it back up to good condition another 3-6K. Total spend 6-9K. Result being you have a car in good to excellent condition.

If you went out and bought what you think is a car in good condition already it will cost (I am in England so not too sure of your prices) 6-9k however you would be VERY lucky if you get a car without rust problems etc somewhere.

So basically buy a rusty car and do it up or buy a not so rusty car and do it up.
In the end you will end up spending around the same money however the 3K car you know the work will be done rather than the other car being surprised by the work needed when you find it. Hope you can follow that!

I too started off with a car that was cheaper, certainly not cheap, and used the money I saved to do it up to get a car I am happy with. An additional benefit of doing this is that you get to know your car very very well. I literally know my car down to individual nuts and bolts, still learning though!

Take a look Franks XKR Story. May take you a few days to read!

 

See, this the problem. With rust you can never know the extensiveness of the problem. Not until you totally strip the car apart.


JaegerJag, only you can decide. Are you a gambler? Follow your heart.

 

There is no (Jaguar) air suspensions on out cars, only shocks with electrically controlled rebound. This car seem to have that option, as you can see wiring coming off the top of the shocks.

On a larger point, try and get a car with problem areas you are comfortable dealing with. Some folks are comfortable with mechanical and/or electrical work, others are comfortable with interior/top/leather work, etc. A car with problem areas that others have to work on gets your project to be very expensive real quick.

For the rust, the mechanical parts are not necessarily terrifying. The whole rear subframe comes off and I suppose could be restored (sandblasting, primed, painted, etc). The exhaust could be replaced with stainless steel ($$$), etc. My superficial understanding is that the major weakness area in the coupe is the seam area under the driver/passenger doors. Something to do with 2 layers of metal allowing for a gap. I believe the convertible design is a bit different there. Some have that area so far compromised that doors seem to sag, when in reality the whole unibody is compromised. Our UK members seem to be well versed in rust challenges. In short, it's not for everyone...

 

2004 XKR $3K - really?
The common rot areas are well documented on this forum and elsewhere. I see some surface rust on the rear subframe & front suspension brace, and around the floor pan needs a closer look, but - provided it hasn't been flooded - nothing horrendous.

Have a trusted advisor review the underbody and go from there.
Be aware it will still need all the 'perishables' replacing despite the low mileage.



I think so too.


Even if it doesn't work out you'd likely get $50 on the bay just for the alternator air scoop

 

$3K US is a GREAT price for a 2004. Check out Auto Trader and you will see them for $10,000+ more than that. I'd say , get it up on a ramp and have a really good look. If the rust is superficial you may just be able to give it a good treatment with Rustcheck. If it's more than superficial you can do a LOT of work for $5-$6K and STILL have a cheap XK8

 

That rust looks like the typical Florida, California car salt spray + fog rust you get from parking the car in a carport less than 10 miles from the coast, instead of a garage.


That takes many years to eat painted body panels, unlike road salt rust.

 

JaegarJag, Since the top speed limit in Hawaii is 55 mph and most days in Oahu or Maui you would be lucky to run over 55 for any distance, for a $3k investment, plus shipping and tires, you could have the perfect cruiser for Kalakaua Ave.

 

The set of wheels alone is probably worth $3K.

The sad thing that mystifies me is how the the one owner of this car would have it sitting almost unused during the 14 years of ownership--pity.

Doug

 

Are you kidding us? Poke around the floor pan with a sharp screwdriver and see if there is any rust-through. If not, you just have surface rust that can be treated, painted and rust-proofed. There are no codes? What you seem to have is a low miles XKR $3,000.00 bargain! Then you can sell it for $13,000.00 and invest the profits. My car with 95,000 miles in New England winters has about the same appearance underneath and I have not bothered to repaint any of it. The exhaust is mostly S/S and still in great shape.

 

While you are waiting for all these answers as what you should do....Someone might be writing a check for it now! You are Kidding! $3,000.00....Come on...so what if it rust-out in what 5 or 10 years.......It only cost $3,000.00!!!

Go Buy It!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

thanks for all the input - title in hand, done deal! I took it out on the freeway it drives great - having the rust correction work done this weekend and putting new tires on and off she goes

cheers,

 

congrats--looking forward to your pictures of car with Hawaii background.

 

as soon as the fresh tires are on there will be (tire) smoke signals coming off this island! thanks again for the great feedback and comments, I will try and visit this excellent forum more regularly

 

Congrats on your "new" Jag! You can hardly go wrong and in any case should have lots of fun along the way. I look forward to hearing how you get along.

 

thanks - I have had plenty of nice cars including a '03 svt cobra mustang w/455 rwhp/500 tq and I was very impressed with this car, despite taking it easy due to very marginal tires...........
it was also fun getting the original window sticker and 3 sets of keys with the car, 14 years later and $84k off of msrp ha ha I am getting ready to break out the check book when needed

 

Congratulations. It seems you might turn out to be a very lucky man. Enjoy it!

 

When it goes in for tyres, have a good look at the inside of the rims. They will need cleaning for a thorough inspection.

I had a 2005 XK8 4.2-S on Sepangs which spent the first six years in Ayr on the west coast of Scotland next to the Atlantic Ocean. It had some surface rust on the underside but not as extensive as your photos. However, the insides of the front wheel rims were badly corroding. They had to be stripped, repaired and refinished. The rears were affected too but not as much.

The car was fitted with aluminium Brembo brake calipers which also needed refurbishing where significant areas of the surface had just turned to powder.

Graham