I've recently come across a 2002 XK8 in my area that's selling for a pretty good deal. I'm a new member but I gotta say after lurking around the forums for a while love the "at home" feel it has.

I looked at the checklists for what to look for before buying, but now was just wondering about the price in regards to what needs fixing.

1 From what I saw the driver side seat module was on the floor under the seat since they're apparently trying to repair it because both front seats don't recline back up (full laid back position).

2 The window on the driver's side comes all the way down when you pull on the handle and has trouble fitting right to close the door (goes up too much or stays down an inch.

3 The paneling on the inside from the passenger door is loose. Need to give it more of a push to close the door. I recall the airbag light on the passenger side was on as well.

Other than that I found that it was taken to a Jaguar dealer last month which also mentioned that the reverse sensors go erratic at time.
The car may have been a rental up to now. No mechanical issues came up on that dealership inspection form. Car has a few small scratches around but no dents/dings.

Was $12,000 and now $10,000 with 90,000 miles. Good deal or should I look somewhere else? Thanks!!

 

Seems like I don't know how to properly insert pics yet, so here's the link off of my flickr stream!

2002 Jaguar XK8 - a set on Flickr

 

You didn't comment on your interest and capability of working on the car yourself but from the detail exam I would assume that is the situation.

As usual, the elephant in the room is the tensioners and yes, early '02 cars still had the plastic tensioners. Look for the manufacture date on the drive door 'B' column. After August '01 you should be good.

The car is now 10 years old, 90k miles and will have issues but what you have described is very repairable. Surly the current owner knows that they are never going to be able to sell the car with the seats fully reclined and inoperable. Assuming the paint and leather are in good or better shape I would think that is a very fair price but you might try a low ball because of the seats. If the issue is the control module, which is most likely, they are usually available for about $100. Another low ball if you find a assembly date prior to August.

And welcome to the forum! I predict that you will be back.

Good luck!

 

Those wheels are vile.

 

Looks like a good fixer with little work to be done to it. I'd try to get a lower price for the repair parts you know of now

 

The airbag light is normal. I forget exactly what causes it to come on, but I think if my wife is riding in the passenger seat and she leans for a few seconds the light comes on. It doesn't indicate there's a problem, it just indicates that the airbag is temporarily disabled.

The door panel is an easy easy easy fix. You just need s few of these little friction fittings. They are a couple of bucks each at the dealership. Worst case, just assume that everyone one of them needs to be replaced. That'll cost you maybe $30.

If you know how to use a soldering iron you might be able to repair the seat modules yourself. It's a common problem. There are instructions in the FAQ sticky thread I believe. If the problem is more severe, you can buy replacement modules for $100 or so as test point said.

The timing chain pensioners--er, Tensionsers is the biggest potential issue. I'm pretty handy but I don't know if I'd buy a car with plastic tensioners. That's a lot of work or money to replace them, and you don't want to risk not replacing them.

I don't like chrome wheels, but those aren't too bad as far as chrome wheels go. However, when I see wheels like that for some reason I assume the prior owner cared more about appearance than maintenance. I also wonder if those wheels actually fit the car. Jag has a very specific bolt pattern and offset, and clearly the offset on those wheels is incorrect. Either that or the previous owner installed spacers. If the bolt pattern is close but not quite right you might have some vibration when driving, and no amount of balancing will fix it. The wheels won't center properly on the lugs.

And why the hell do people buy wide rims and then put skinny tires on them? I just don't get it. The tread width should at least be as wide as the rim width. I think it looks stupid for the rim to be sticking out an inch past the tread with sidewall angled in towards the tread. In the last picture you can see that the rim is so much wider than the tire that you can't even see the sidewall of the tire on the back wheel. If I was the potential buyer, I'd deduct $1200 from the asking price to replace those tires.








Maintenance records on this car would be critical to my decision on whether or not to buy it.

 

I purchased my "experienced" '02 XK8 with 90k on it about 3 months ago. I was able to get the purchase number down from 12k to 10k because of some minor issues and overall I love this car!

Test point asked the key question: What is your interest and capability of working on the car yourself? I have been a mechanic for years and combining that with this awesome forum has worked well for my "new" baby.

Best of luck!

 

And to copy and paste the pictures from flickr you have to click on the picture so you see a black background all around it. On that screen you'll see something in the top right corner that says "view all sizes". Click on that, then click the size of the picture you want to paste into the thread. Then right click on the pic, copy the url for the image, then paste it into the thread using the little icon with the mountains and sun.

 

I agree with the above responses. The wheels are hideous. The tires are way under size. Another thing to consider is finding a 2003 model. They have a larger 4.2 Liter Engine and a 6 Speed Transmission.

Although, finding a 2003 Coupe at a low price might take some time.

In any case, the members of this Forum can provide a enormous amount of help if you want to fix or repair problems with the XK8-XKR.

 

Eurojazzer: If I were you, I would save up alittle more money and seek a 4.2 liter 2003 or newer model. and those wheels ... dude who owned that car? Surely all of his taste was in his mouth..

 

Thanks for all the responses! Yes, the first thing that caught my eye on the car were the wheels, and not in a good way.

I think in regards to the airbag light it's a proximity thing about whether or not it'll deploy at full power or at all.
The seats might just need to have the printed circuit soldered, but since it's both seats I'm not so sure. I'll aim to lowball him on that and the plastic tensioners issue. The timing belt was another one of my worries, as well as some stuff I heard about the throttle body. I'd be replacing a lot of these parts out just for peace of mind if I buy the car, so I might be able to get lower on that.

Seeing as how the tires don't fit so well on the rims I'm going to assume he doesn't have spacers or got something that just barely works. It used to be a rental car, so from that I'm hoping it had regular maintenance. Finally bought by small dealer at auction.

I'll be working on the car mostly on my own, but if I get in to deep I can always take it to my mechanic. Jaguar inclined mechanics I'm not so aware of in my area so I'll definitely be coming back to the forums. For the time being I'll test drive the car and look for some '03s. Thanks for the warm welcome!

 

...sorry to add to the rim-bashing...but I would not trust the prior owners ability to properly maintain the car if he voluntarily chose to violate it with those rims.

I would wait and find a less bling-bling example.

 

Well I went to try it out today but the dealership was closed. Conveniently though the other XK8 coupe I was looking at (same year and everything except better rims) went down from $13,480 to $10,900. I'll call it fate

 

I bought a nearly flawless 2002 XKR convertible about a year ago with 62K miles on it for $15,300 with a full service record from the local Jaguar dealership (I bought it from a private party). The leather was in excellent shape as was the top. The only flaws were the original rims were very badly scraped (which I have since had refinished and they look like new $600) and there was a scratch that was hand painted over on the rear quarter panel of the passenger side (I had the whole panel repainted for $300). The first car you commented about and that had the pictures, seemed to be overpriced for the amount of things that needed repair. I hope the second car offers better value. Don't be timid in negotiating, I made an offer that was not accepted on the first day, but I received an email on the second day, saying they would take it. Outside of the dreaded green fluid rainshower and a half dozen subsequent leaks (first hoses, then actuator, then fittings), I have enjoyed a year of great driving experience. There are a lot of good cars out there, be patient and get what you want.
Ted

 

Checked in today and the second jag just got sold. Looks like I'm back low balling for that first one. Only other option is a 2001 Silver coupe with 136,000 and a check engine light issue that's apparently caused by the ECM not sending a signal to the engine for the last 3 years. That one's $8,000, but I'm going to try to low ball this black jag for $8,500 and get it for around $9,000. Still too much?

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false
Depending on how the test drive goes, I'll take tberg's advice and just be patient till the right one comes up.

 

For those of you who are searching for an XK8 or XKR, you may want to check out the Fort Myers/Naples area of Florida. While visiting clients in the area during the past four months I have seen at least five 8/Rs sitting on car lots along route 41 and these were in addition to what the two local Jag dealers have. Three of them were convertibles and two were coupes. I am very satisfied with my current 2005 XKR coupe so I have not stopped and checked out any of the cars. The Fort Myers/Naples area of Florida is a center of gravity for both "new and old money" and they like Jaguars. Another thing to keep in mind is that a Florida car will likely not have been driven in extreme winter conditions or where there has been undesirable air pollution. Most of the Florida XK8/RS I have looked at over the past ten years have been very clean and pampered examples and the prices have been quite competitive when compared to the rest of the country. Something to think about.

 

I absolutely love the silver coupes. The check engine light is bothersome, and the mileage is an issue, but not a major one if the car has been taken care of. I'm almost tempted to buy that one, except my wife would leave me. Put some lowering springs on that one (not too low) and the Mina Gallery body kit and you would have one badass looking ride.

 

I'm starting to look at the silver coupe now if the seller ever gets back to me. Test drove the black one and honestly too many issues. The wheels aren't the right size, previous owner didn't use spacers, a few sensor issue, left speaker issue and strong smell of gas from the air conditioner after you add gas to the car for a good while. Dealer also lied to me about a few things and another seller and even added a cute little show about giving the keys to his employee and telling him to wash the car for the next guy after I got back. The guy was such a bad actor that I was surprised they actually did it. Now I'm down to a really good condition gold one, or a high mileage silver one.

Here's to hopefully finding the right jag!

 

Looks Good