Advice please. I have been offered a 2004 Jaguar XK8 4.2 with 83,000 miles. 5 previous owners. Asking £3750. Has almost a FSH and had an MOT failure in 2021 for corroded floor pan which has been repaired. No advisories since then. Headlining is coming loose and a few rust bubbles in right front fender and right rear arch behind the wheel. Otherwise in good nick. My questions are: Is this worth it, considering rust repairs required and new roof lining? Will probably give it a full and proper service. Any recommendations as to who would be best to repair both roof lining and bodywork and estimated cost, if possible?

Any pointers would be appreciated and what else to look for before I pull the trigger?

Thanks in advance.......... I have until Sunday to decide!!

Cheers
Mike

 

Rust. Warning: you know the car failed MOT in the past for a rust issue. You can see some evidence of rust in the right wheel openings. And remember…what you can see is almost 99% only “the tip of the iceberg.” If you have problems with rust it can be quite expensive to remedy if you have to pay a specialist. Also; a “full-service” along with a new set of tires will likely set you back a few quid! So, just keep these things in mind.

Best,
Brian W.

 

It depends on what you want. Do you want a reliable, stylish, I-don't-care-about-door-dings-or-road-rash kind of car or a car that you would want to enter in a car show? The cost difference from one to the other is staggering.

 

its easier to turn a show car into a ding-ding car than is to turn a ding-ding car into a show car.

I will say it’s been stone cold fact that all the garage queen / show cars I’ve purchased in the last 55 years took a good two years of repairing and 10,000 miles of daily use before they could be considered reliable and road worthy.

people refuse to understand that a car that’s low mileage is an “untested” car, and cannot be relied upon to be road worthy until it’s had some miles put on it to see what breaks or fails.

Something always does.

Z

 

Thanks. I was really wondering if the asking price was realistic for the stated condition. I am not after a showpiece but more a car to enjoy but that is not an old banger and art least looks and drives good with the odd ding etc. I don't want to buy a rust bucket/project as I don't have the inclination to hassle with those bills !!

Thanks

 

Rust is a cancer that you're going to be chasing forever if the original pans are already gone. That's an expensive and unsightly problem that will ruin you XK8 experience.
Do some quick cost calculations on rust repair in your area. Add time the car is unavailable. Likely its better to find a clean car and spend the money up front. There are good cars to be found at reasonable prices.

 

If you put the registration # into the UK gov site, it will give you MOT history back to its first one:
https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

...which may show further information.

Sadly, these cars can look amazing even when the underside is dissolving. Rusty floor pans, coupled with what else you've found, will almost certainly mean issues elsewhere. These are potentially the worst trouble areas:

• Drop legs where the rear A-frame meets the body.
• Sills in front of the rear wheel.
• Chassis legs behind the front crossbeam
• Transmission tunnel.
• Front seat belt lower mounting

 

The front wings (not sure what a fender is) on these cars just unbolt, so you could just find a good wing from a scrap car and swap it. The rear wings will have to be repaired on the car. Forum rust expert RaceDiagnostics has replaced most of his car, eg:-

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...h-rust-289035/

For me, I would only buy a rusty XK8 as a parts car, given how many good cars there are out there for sale..

 

Yeah you need to put the car on a lift & thoroughly inspect it for rust (& mechanical while you're under it).