A friend has a 2000 XKR coupe he's owned from new. He wants to offload it, and claims to have a vague offer for $9K for it. It's only done 26k miles from new and is visually in mint condition. It's a very early chassis number (58?) and he's had a lot of issues on it over the years (incl new supercharger). It hasn't been driven in a while, but is garaged. Apparently, it's throwing codes, he remembers "reduced engine performance" being one of them. Question is, should I make him an offer for it? Anything above $9K would secure it, but I haven't even looked at Kelly blue book yet. Having just killed myself replacing all the coolant system pipes/hoses/pump etc in my wife's XF, I know what a beech these things are to work on.

He's disabled but is going to get AAA to put a battery in it, I intend to go over there with my OBD scanner and see what's going on once that happens.

It is a gorgeous BRG color and I would really like it, but have no idea if that is a good idea! Please advise!

 

Buy it fast, 26,000 mile one owner XKR for anything under $15,000 is a steal in my opinion. Even reasonable over that, and coupe is even rarer. I'm very jealous, enjoy!

edit: Obviously it'll need money but won't any XK8/XKR? It is so rare to see low mile cars like this and they never sell for prices this low. I think the blue book for my car is $2-4k, not really accurate from what I see near me. Even if you need to put a fair amount of money into it it'll be a incredibly rare find.

 

Take it for a test ride to the nearest Auto Zone and have the codes read. Come back and post them so we can advise what problems you are going to have to deal with. Low mileage doesn't equate to good condition. The cat likes being driven and coughs up hair ***** from sitting around the shed.

 

Thanks.
Looks like Kelley blue book is only $9K for one presumably that isn't coughing up codes. As I mentioned, I do have a good OBD scanner (Innova) and will be having a look once he gets a battery. I have a picture:

 

Unless he has documentation that shows the timing tensioners (and water pump) have been upgraded with the improved parts, then I would pass on the $9,000 offer. Those two items alone could cost you $5,000 to $7,000 to replace depending on any collateral damage caused when the timing chains let go.

to put in perspective, Nearly 3 years ago my ‘02 XKR cost me $7,900 and it had those 2 known issues already recently repaired, which cost the cars seller a cool $6,000,

So you see, you want to be the guy who owns the car after the repairs have been done, not the guy that paid $9,000, then are faced with a big repair bill.

I’m not a fan of low mileage cars that have spent more time sitting than driving. 50+ years in the transportation business has taught me that all cars deteriorate when not used. That goes double for cars that have
any extra level of complexity such as the XK’s.


Z

p



Z

 

A lot of people on the forum have just replaced the secondary, upper tensioners - which are $200 or so in parts. Even doing all the timing chains, guides and tensioners is well below the numbers zray is quoting, which sounds like he had a new engine.

Start with a new battery and see what codes you get when it's been driven.

 

XK8 Coupes in the US are vastly outnumbered by Convertibles and try finding another one owner 2000 XKR. That's a very rarified provenance.

Expect tensioners as already mentioned. Also cooling hoses and probably suspension bushes. Low mileage doesn't stop rubber ageing.

Graham

 

the $$$ numbers I mention are what a shop charged my cat’s previous owner when he was driving the car and the tensioners failed, resulting in extensive collateral damage.. Not a brand new engine, but extensive top end damage..

I still contend it’s better to purchase a car that has already had the issue(s) fixed than to buy a low mileage car and think you are safe to drive it just because the mileage is low..

Think ticking time bomb


what good does it is do for a car’s condition for it to be a “one owner” if that “one owner” neglects it ?

Better to find a coupe that has been driven enough for the bugs to have been worked out than to get a low mileage one owner car & then be on the hook $$ wise when it starts to fall apart .

I’ve owned my ‘02 coupe for nearly 1,000 days, and it’s been driven each of those days. Zero down time for repairs. Give me a 100,000 mile well sorted car any day over a cream puff that’s never been tested by usage.

Numerous garage queens have passed
thru shops I’ve been associated with over the decades. The decay from sitting has always been much much worse than the owners anticipated


Z

 

I would jump on it personally(I love coupes and British Racing Green) even knowing it may need the tensioner update ; maybe he will come down on the price as a result. FWIW I bought a 2002 XKR 3 years ago with 30k miles and haven't had any issues, but my engine was produced after the tensioner update.

 

No-one is suggesting the tensioners don't need to be done.

You should buy a car based on its overall condition and whether it's the model/colour you want. Having to get the tensioners changed is a bargaining point on the price, not a reason to avoid it. Once the tensioners/chains are changed the engine will be just as reliable/unreliable as any other, with the added bonus that they are brand new.

 

I'd buy it. If you are even moderately skilled with wrenches the timing chain guide and tensioner fix is not a huge deal. Less than $1000.00 in parts. With that mileage the chains will be fine, I left the original chains on mine at 50K miles.

 

please excuse my less than clear post. What I should of pointed out, is that there more choices out there in the marketplace than just the one car the OP has referenced.

when I was doing my car search I found about 20 coupes to choose from in the USA in my price range Some did not have the known issues fixed, some did have repair records indicating that these troubling issues were fixed.

So while it certainly bears pointing out, as you have done, that one should not neglect dealing with the tensioner issue should one buy a car that is running on borrowed time. However, with not much effort, one can find cars where the issue has already been addressed. In my view, those cars should rise to the top of a “must buy” list.


Z

 

Well it certainly makes sense to buy the car that needs the least work, everything else being equal. When I bought my car I knew exactly what spec I wanted, right down to the wheels and colour of the dashboard, so when I found that car I jumped on it.

If he has plenty of choice it makes sense to get the best one he can find, but I thought that coupes were relatively rare in the US?

 

I believe that depends on how wide a search net that one chooses to cast. My search was nation-wide, to the extent of calling & emailing Jaguar clubs in other states and asking my contact info be mentioned at their meetings, as well as the traditional online car sources.

Since many people drive these cars seasonally, I found there are more cars to choose from in the winter months. I guess folks get tired of seeing their car in the garage 24/7 and decide to turn it into $$$.

Example: I bought mine on January 2 and the seller was in snowy Iowa. I hopped in a rental SUV and drove the 450 miles as fast as possible given the icy conditions. My test drive was on a snow packed Des Moines Iowa street. After we made the deal the owner drove me to Walmart where I bought 4 bags of sand to put in the trunk and weigh the rear end down , then made my way back to Oklahoma (with a mile wide grin the whole way.)

point being, if one looks hard enough, there can be a surprising number of choices, the hassle of buying a car that is some distance away will fade in importance as the joy of ownership grows.


Z

 

Lots of food for thought, thanks everyone.
I suppose partly, I want to do my friend a favor since he is unable to drive the car any more. I don't NEED another car.

As to wrenching, I am decent. I just replaced 14 hoses and pipes and the water pump and while I was there cleaned all the inlet valves on my wife's 2011 XF. I debated doing the timing tensioner fix on the XF as well, (49k mi)) but with the VVT I think it's a bigger deal than on a S/C engine. Also, the size of the timing chain is an unknown on an 011 5.0 motor until you pull it apart, there are two options, 6.35 and 8mm pitch from memory.
However, replacing that rear heater crossover was one of the most miserable jobs I've done on a car and I'm in no hurry to do it again.
It's a beautiful car though. Hmmmmmmm

 

I wouldn't think the timing chain tensioners on an XF would be an issue, or even on the later XKs for that matter. But, on a 2000, they are for sure a known issue that will need to be addressed. If you don't mind working on cars and have the tools, it might be a great car for you. IMHO, one owner cars with low mileage tend to be more neglected than cars that
have had multiple owners and been driven regularly. In my case anyway, I will buy a used car and spare little expense to bring it back up to snuff within the first couple of months. After a
while and some of the thrill fades, it's a little harder to get up the motivation to give it the attention (sort of like a marriage !).

 

Surprisingly, given that it was a decade+ later, timing chain tensioners ARE an issue on XFs. It's a well documented issue amongst XF owners and frankly it should be an embarrassment to Jaguar that they still have a tensioner issue on essentially the same engine after nearly 20 years!

 

A 26K mile garage queen is going to be in better condition than most and without a doubt worth more than a better maintained car with 2x or 3x the mileage, it's just that simple. Secondary cam chain tensioner is an $80 job, no reason to ever touch the primary chain unless you can hear it rattle.

I'd be flipping this thing right away.

Not the same engine at all, very different from the 4.2\4.0 family which is a lot easier to work on, especially without the sardine can XF engine bay. BMW did the same mistakes when they designed the N63 engine, despite a long history of V8 chain guide problems in the 90s (those cars don't even have a crank sprocket lmao).

 

I picked up a 2001 XKR convertible with 66,000 miles. It had codes coming up. It was the coil packs. I replaced all and also the spark plugs and did a hard reset. I've had it out for a couple of hundred mile drives without issue. I did find that there was water getting into the spark plug/coil pack wells. I ran a bead of silicone at the top seam of the covers
. The water comes from the louvers and drips directly on the well covers. The well covers don't really seat well after many heat cycles.

 

lol. Seems like every car has that miserable job that’s just a little to pricey to turn over to your favorite mechanic, but the pain fades, thank goodness.

Z

PS. From the minute I decided to go an XKR search, this forum has been a constant source of knowledge and reassurance for me, & unlike many other online automotive forums , the members are nearly always very willing to perform complex repairs and everyone pitches in with constructive advice. I don’t know if there is an awareness how special this forum is.