I am going to look at a 2002 XKR and since I've never owned a Jaguar I had some questions I hoped someone could help me with. I have owned 2 Corvettes in the past (89 and 03).

1. How will it compare to the Corvette? Mainly compared to the 03.
2. I'm 6' about 250. Will I fit comfortably?
3. What's the longevity before major repairs? This one has 76,000 miles on it and according to the Carfax it has been serviced at the local Jaguar dealer in the city it is in.
4. How are they for daily drivers? I have a 4 wheel drive pickup for snow so I the worst I would drive it in would be rain.
5. Are they pretty easy to work on? Are parts expensive or hard to find. I was use to the "Corvette tax" when I owned them. I do my own oil changes and minor repairs.
6. Any ideas how insurance would compare to a Vette? I'm 53 and have an excellent driving record.

Anyway, thanks in advance and If you think of anything else I should be aware of when looking at it, please let me know.

 

I'm not a long time owner, but I'll take stab at answering. In the past 14 months I've driven the '02 XKR about 22,000 miles. No breakdowns. I've several roundtrips of 1000 + miles.

1) I drove a lot of the C-4 / C-5 Corvettes when looking for a car 15 al little over a year ago. I liked the XKR much better, The Corvette might have been a little quicker, but the ride in the Corvette's was horrible in comparison.

2) This questions requires me to be un-diplomatic. No, you will not fit in total comfort. I'm 6'1'' and weigh 165.. If I was 200 lbs. that would be about the most size that I think would be comfortable behind the steering wheel.

3) Don't buy the car unless it's had the cam chain tensioners replaced, all of them. And the water pump too while you are at it. Or get a $5,000 reduction in price if those repairs have not been done. I'd want to see the receipt if a claim is made the repairs were done.

4) My XKR is my only car. I think it's as reliable as any 20 year old car.

5) Parts and labor are going to be higher with the XKR. The forum is a great resource for learning how-to do many repairs.

6) No idea on the insurance.

good luck with your purchase, whatever it may be.

Z

 

Not sure what condition your car is in, but Zray above has covered the main issues.

For my 1999 XK8, it’s a daily driver in the desert climate of Bahrain. It’s a fabulous grand tourer to spend hours driving. It hasn’t let me down but needs TLC.

Pay especial attention to Z’s point 3) above on the tensioners. It’s a major job but do-able for a home hobby mechanic good with spanners 🔧 . If not deduct cost from buying price.

I would add a few other considerations.
1. Not sure if the car you’re considering is supercharged, as this complication makes some simple engine work a bit more difficult due to access. If chain tensioners are upgraded metal bodied, the AJ-V8 engine is very reliable if serviced regularly.
2. Check transmission during test drive. Has previous owner at least changed the ATF?
3. You’ve mentioned other cars, so you’ll appreciate that this AJ-V8 won’t give great MPG, but gives best fuel efficiency for long distance trips not city driving
4. Car is hard on front suspension and all parts readily available. Some Ford parts fit which makes for cheaper maintenance
5.Centre Cup holders aren’t very good... is an understatement
6. Put the car on a battery tender/maintainer as it’s really picky on good battery voltage. Best if you have a garage.

To finish I would say this Car is a real head turner with performance, driverability, and a perfect grand tourer. You’ll need to check car history and have a garage.

 

Welcome to the forum rconkin,

I'll leave it to US members to comment on comparison with the Corvette and likely insurance costs.

76K miles should not be a problem. Only very low or very high mileage would worry me. Dealer servicing history is a big plus.

The last XK8/XKR's are approaching fourteeen years old and I think it's fair to say that most purchased by our members don't start out as reliable daily drivers. There's almost always something the PO has overlooked that needs attention but, once these items are attended to, they make a pleasurable daily driver.

Check the FAQ's at the top of the threads for regular issues. These can be summarised as:

1. tensioners
2. cooling system
3. transmission - fluid and filter changes do not appear in the service schedules but do extend service life

Parts (other than trim items) are not hard to find but prices can often cause a sharp intake of breath!

Ensure any Jaguar you are considering has a fully set of keys (2 x Black Master + 1 x Green Valet) and remotes (2) and spend time checking everything works. Minor electrical faults may appear insignificant but can prove costly to repair.

I hope you fit and the vehicle checks out but with any used Jaguar, if in doubt walk away.

Graham

 

I have an 02 XKR as my daily driver. I put over 20,000 miles a year on her and I've only had two 'strandings', both due to failures of hoses. There was of course a fair amount of largely routine maintenance along the way. I would say on whole that it has been more reliable than I expected and on par with other vehicles of its age.

Regarding comfort, the ride on these cars is great but the cabin is not large. I find my knees uncomfortably close to the bottom of the steering column, and I'm not a big guy

 

As a recent purchaser of an 03 XKR I will disagree with Zray a bit on the size issue. I’m about 5’10” and 285 pounds ( trying to get that a bit lower, but it’s where I’m at now) but I have a tall torso, and short legs. The only place the car is a bit tight is the same spot it is for many cars for me, and that is ducking my head far enough to get in. Mine is a convertible, and obviously this is a non issue when the top is down, but so far I’ve been parking it mostly with the top up. Once I’m in, it is not a problem. But I also have not tried for any long drives yet, hope to in the near future. You should know from a test drive how it will fit you.

For me Allstate did price insurance on mine like a sports car, so probably similar to your corvette.

Check it out, see what you think.

 

The most critical aspect of owning one of these cars is the ability to do the majority of your own maintenance and repairs yourself. If you must pay a dealership or even an indie shop to maintain your vehicle for you, your checkbook can be drained in the blink of an eye. Also, note that the lousy plastic tensioners (which can cause catastrophic engine failure when they decide to grenade) are no longer a concern with the 2003-and-newer models. Jaguar fixed that problem by upgrading to the 4.2 litre engine (with metal tensioners) starting with the 2003 model year....

Our 2006 XK8 is my wife's car. At 6-foot-7, 260 pounds, and size 15 feet, it takes a gallon of Wesson Oil to get me to fit into the drivers seat with no headroom, legroom, kneeroom, or footroom. Your height may be okay but your weight may be a challenge....

 

Thanks for the replies. I’ll definitelunch contact the dealership shown as doing services on carfax report. I looked the dimensions up and seems to be very close to the 03 Vette convertible I had on the interior. I’m also going to look at an 07 XK convertible.

 

Just to say I'm 6'6”ish and a more solid than fat 360ish pounds lol, mines a 97 xk8 coupe, and like I say to people, I have no false belief's that I look anywhere near graceful getting in or out of the car, but I sure feel good when I'm in it! I have been using mine as a daily driver (except in the snow) and it's been fine so far. Granted I have only owned it for 7 months or so, but apart from having to re-teach my passenger window every once in a while, I've had no real issues. I will say that some parts will definitely make you look twice to make sure you saw it right, and also be prepared to settle for high dollar used parts for certain things because the parts aren't made anymore! 😓

 

All XKRs are Supercharged.

The big benefit on a 4.0L car of a supercharged engine is getting the FAR better Mercedes 722.6 transmission (relabeled W5A580 in Jaguar speak) and the aluminum thermostat housing from the factory. The supercharger really only complicates a few jobs, and not enough to where I'd ever consider an NA car over a SCed one. I can still do valley hoses on a supercharged car in about 4 - 5 hours, which are basically an every ten year job. In the belt drive area, the supercharger belt system really is only a little in the way, and I can have the SC belt, idler and tensioner off in under a half hour.

Having basically used my 00 XKR Convertible as my primary summer car for 8 years, only driving my other car when I needed more room, I was stranded 3 times. 1 for fuel pump failure. 1 for a coolant tank failing. 1 for a hard coolant hose breaking off in the thermostat housing. I have since replaced EVERY cooling system hose as it is an age thing, and maybe a mileage one now at 19 and 110k.

I'm 5'10" and lighter, 6' is really at the top of the height range. My dad is 6'2" and maybe 220 and he barely fits and entry is not graceful. My 07 XKR Coupe is much easier for him to get in and out of, and he actually has solid headroom without the headliner giving him a noogie.

Compared to a C5?

The quality of materials is SIGNIFICANTLY higher, especially where you touch in the interior. You could get a C5 Vette in FRC trim OTD under 40k, and it shows.

Performance will be close, but depending on gearing and transmission, the Vette may be slightly faster. Fuel economy is no contest, the Vette will get on average 5-8mpg MORE than the XKR.

Parts cost is reasonable, but I always thought the Corvette had really reasonable parts costs (I owned a C4 and have worked on friends C5s and C6s). I find the car fairly reasonable to work on and no worse than a Corvette. Jaguar didn't do a whole lot of out there tech or engineering; so no weird hydraulic suspensions, no ultra tech heavy interior, etc; which means it has less weird issues than a same era Mercedes/BMW/Audi.

My insurance is less on my 00 XKR than it was on my 87 Corvette Convertible. The year I owned both, the Jaguar was like a hundred less every six months and that was for a 22yo female with a perfect driving record and no claims; I think I paid like $400 for the XKR.

The C5 Corvette rides pretty decently, and handles well. The XKR rides very well and handles decently, but not as well as the Vette. You're moving to a luxury grand tourer from a sports car. I find the XKR much more liveable as a DD than I found when I've borrowed friends Corvettes; notwithstanding the room under a Corvette hatch.

 

That's actually a fact turned into an incorrect urban Jaguar myth. While its true that all 4.2 cars have the latest tensioners, Jaguar first started fitting them from August 2001 to the 4.0 cars, so if you have an engine built after August 2001, you will have the latest tensioners, 4.0 or 4.2 litre.

If you have an older engine with the previous tensioners, a relatively cheap upgrade is to just do the secondary (upper) tensioners - these are the ones that failure of will kill the engine. IMHO there really is no need to do everything if it is not giving any signs of failing.

 

I'm 6'3" and 190 lbs. I'm tall because I have long legs. I am very comfortable in the Jag. A 'vette will be quicker "off the line" but the Jag ride is infinitely better and merging into traffic passing/overtakeing at highway speed the Jag is flawless. I'm 65 and have driven a LOT of cars. It's the best GT car I have ever driven. Where I live the Jag is cheaper to insure than the Corvette because it has 4 seats (even the though the back ones are useless for anything but groceries )

I drive mine daily and go on long road trips. Last summer on one trip I did almost 6000 miles in one month. No problems. Zero oil or coolant consumption. Mine is the normally aspirated version.

 

^^ Good point above regarding the nearly-useless rear seats. Here in the U.S. they cause the vehicle to be classified as a four-seater for insurance purposes, which drops the rates somewhat for most owners....

 

Dang, they are good for something after all !

 

We are currently paying $399.79 per year for the insurance policy on my wife's 2006 XK8. It is listed as a "pleasure vehicle" and there are no annual mileage maximum limitations. I carry a $500 deductible for full collision coverage, and a $0 deductible for full comprehensive coverage....

 

rconkin,
I have a 2002 XKR convertible which was my daily driver for years before I got my 2010 XKR coupe. I still have my 2002 with over 175,000 miles on her (I bought her with 60,000 miles). First of all, I'm 6'-2" about 220lbs, and I fit well, although your knees can hit the key fob in the ignition on occasion. You must make sure that the secondary tensioners have been upgraded as others have said or you're on borrowed time. I would recommend not test driving any X150 because you'll not be able to enjoy the ride of the X100 afterwards. The X150 platform is so far advanced from the X100 that I can barely stand driving my 2002 any more. I love the look, I love the traditional convertible stack in front of the cavernous trunk, I love the obvious ties to the E type's heritage, but I hate the bowl of jello ride and the ponderous handling. But I couldn't stand the thought of selling mine, so I did a moderate restoration instead. Good luck with your decision.

 

Not disputing that the X-150 has an improved chassis, and better manners than the X-100's, but I think it's a flawed comparison to be comparing a X-100 convertible's handling to that of a X-150 coupe. Even with my eyes closed I can easily differentiate the handling of the X-100 coupe vs. a X-100 convertible. And the same holds true of most, if not all, coupes vs. convertibles of the same model car.. Unless one spends a mountain of cash, a convertible will always have more unwanted flexing than a coupe.


Z

 

I have to disagree with this. I'm 5'11 and 235lb and I fit very comfortably in my 99 coupe.

A test drive will tell you one way or the other.

 

you are 2 inches shorter than I. I based my reply on height as much as weight. Already my head is brushing up against the headliner and my legs are turning on the windshield wipers. My e types had more driver wiggle room than the '02 coupe.

The OP says he's "about 6 feet", That could mean under, or could mean over. No telling. If's he's under, then you have a good point.

Z.

 

As I noted before, I'm 6'3" and about 185 lb. I am tall because I have long legs on an average body. The XK8 is very comfortable for me and I often do LONG drives