I have had my "new" 2001 XKR for several months now, and I have gone from 59k-69k miles since then.
Problems I have had so far
- gas cap needed to be replaced

I have done almost a full restoration and started with a diesel-sounding, sun-roasted, deteriorating XKR. New tires, front suspension rebuild, all fluids changed, sanding (and paint soon!), upgraded supercharger pulley and intercooler, belts, battery, brakes, seat, interior plastics, tint, windshield, and much more. All of this while being a daily over a course of several months. It has given me a gas cap code once which was fixed with a new cap.... The car runs, pulls, and drives beautifully. It has never failed me and I even take it drag racing! I will be looking soon for an XK8 to be my new daily so the XKR doesn't rack up so many miles. Just thought I'd share how impressively reliable these cars are when used every day.

 

you might find out how true those words are if-when you stop driving the XKR every day. Driving every day is what these cars respond well to. Left to sit, even for days, and problems inevitably surface.


High mileage doesn’t mean that much on cars over
20 years old. I avoid classic cars that are very
low mileage, as they are uniformly unreliable compared to the same year model with more mileage.

Not to discourage you from getting the XK-8 but they do feel slow compared to the XKR. That may not matter to you. But I find speed / quickness is addictive and I am loathe to transition to
slower vehicles.

To end on a positive note, when you have both cars maybe drive one in the AM and one in the PM.


Z

 

I have had 2 XK8's and 3 XKR's, and I much rather prefer the R. I love to go fast, but the amount of miles the poor R is racking up is definitely alarming. I'd like to hold onto the car for a long time, and drive something a little less rare. If I can find a good R I will go with that, but my budget will be around 3k. Nothing crazy, I've only paid over that for 1 of my 5 previous XK's. The supercharger pulley (exhaust and intake too) is a must if you haven't done it!

 

exactly how many miles are we talking about here that’s enough to be alarming ? Anything under 200,000 currently on the odometer cannot be alarming. You do know that you won’t be wearing out the engine. Death by rust, collision, or unavailability of parts will be the three most likely causes of your cars demise.

my 2002 XKR had 116,000 on it when I purchased it about 7 years ago. Now it has 194,500+.

I know, only a hair over 11,000 miles per year of ownership.

It’s embarrassing to have a daily driver and only be driving it that little. I blame the pandemic. Now that it’s pretty much over, there’s no more excuses;

I should be driving a lot more.

Z

 

I’m not worried about the R breaking, and I still plan to drive it several days a week. I put 3k miles on the poor car a month, and I really hope to have it for 15+ years into the future. The more I can preserve it the better. I might start looking for another xkr in bad condition, and restore that as well!