Advice on buying used XK8
 

Hey folks, new member here, sorry for the long post in advance :D

As the title says, I'm hunting for a used XK8. After years of driving Japanese cars I want to get into something different, and the XK8 caught my eye with its looks and relatively good performance to price ratio.
For additional context, I'm based in south-central Europe and importing from other EU countries is unfortunately not a viable option as I'd have to pay 5-6 thousand euros on emissions tax so I am stuck with buying locally.
That being said, this would be my second car and I would do 10-15k miles per year doing longer trips.

I've been doing a fair bit of research lately about the things to look out for when buying used XK8. I read https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk8-xkr-x100-17/buyers-guide-116221/ and a few other threads. I have experience with used car buys but would love any info or advice from Jaguar enthusiasts :)

I came across a 2002 coupe, with a 4.0 engine with approx. 120k miles.

I uploaded some photos here:
https://pasteboard.co/msmtYWPbQlgT.png
https://pasteboard.co/Xyl9y6GELYvW.png
https://pasteboard.co/biHLBdgtAmIU.png

I am planning to check the car in person this week. The owner got it via trade-in, drove ~100 miles and it has been sitting for almost a year now. Maintenance history is mostly unknown until I see the car in person (as there are some papers that came with it). It's currently deregistered so I will not be able to do a test drive or take it to a mechanic for inspection.

I read a lot about the dreaded timing chain tensioner issue. From what I understood, as this is a 2002 it could have metal tensioners. I know that the only way to be sure is to remove the timing chain cover and visually inspect it but not sure if I can do that while seeing the car first time.
What gives me hope is that the car has driven almost 120k miles, so I suppose the chain tensioner has either been replaced or it had metal tensioners from the factory (I might be wrong of course).

Given all of the info above, I'm sure that everyone's first instinct would be to walk away from the car, but I am still willing to give it a chance. As with any other used car purchase, I'm well aware it can turn out to be a good purchase or a terrible money pit. The car is currently priced at 11 000 euros and I want to use all of the above info as a bargaining chip. I would budget another 1-2k for basic maintenance, such as changing fluids, filters and replacing any other worn out items, including the timing chain components if needed.

120k miles is not a small number at all and I am mostly interested on what things to pay attention given the age and the mileage. The transmission and potential rust are worrying.

- If the transmission fluid has never been replaced, are any issues expected at this stage and can it be remedied by changing the fluid?
- What is the expected lifespan of the transmission used with the 4.0 engine?
- Are there any other electrical/misc. things unique to Jaguar that I should pay special attention to when checking the car?
- What do you think would be a reasonable price to offer for an XK8 in this condition with a largely unknown service history? I want to reduce the price but not lowball the owner at the same time...

Thank you for the tips in advance!

You will get lots of opinions on this. For me, having documented maintenance is non-negotiable. Oral history (even if offered) tends to be “overly optimistic” and unreliable. Depending on the climate it has been exposed to, rust could be a significant issue. For a used vehicle that you apparently can neither test drive nor get a PPI, I would keep looking.

RUST

I concur.. you can’t drive the car. You can’t have a meaningful examination..You might as well rake €10,000 and throw it in a fire.

agree on a price if the current owners will get the car roadworthy 1st.
My 2002 XKR had 116,000 miles on it when the cam chain tensioners died (under previous ownership). It can happen to this car too.

if the current owners won’t get the car road worthy, then walk away and keep looking.


Z

A few observations

• PO somewhere along the line was more interested in appearance than maintenance
• The front shock mounts are shot
• Unless it's had an older front bumper fitted, it's older than MY2002. The VIN will tell you

Camber looks wrong
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...93bad4fef5.jpg

and +1 on all the above replies

Bottom line: Its value is so far away from what the owner wants, I doubt you could reach an agreement. It's about €8-9,000 overpriced IMO as it stands.

In my opinion, as it stands the car is worth around half the amount that the owner is asking for.

I would check that the engine runs perfectly and run in up and down the drive a few times to check the gearbox. Look very carefully for rust. If it runs well and is relatively rust free, offer half what he is asking for. If he rejects the offer, walk away.

Richard

Those look to me like AI photos, which is why the camber looks odd, but the whole car looks not quite right. Any chance this is a scam seller?

I think they just used some AI editor to blur the plates (it's not like I can do much with the plate number anyway) and all of the pictures are taken from a strange angle.

There was also https://pasteboard.co/GKaaPxFP3gBZ.png and https://pasteboard.co/1SfLvDxaHEiT.png which don't look like they have any AI applied to them. The owner is a real person, I talked to them on the phone and they agreed to let me see the car in person so I'll be able to verify that at least :D

re camber, it looks like the car is on lowered springs, to me it looks lower than other stock XK8 vehicles.

Another strange thing is, the registration certificate says it has a 4.2, but the engine definitely doesn't look like a 4.2, and the VIN code ends with A28049. Based on https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-dates-193888/ it indeed is a 2002 model, but a 4.0. My best guess is, someone made a mistake when the car was registered first time in the country. Owner said it's not an import, I could probably verify that with VIN but I don't want to spend my money on a carfax just yet.

Actually, scratch that, I just took another look at the registration certificate and the first time it was registered in the country was 2013, so it most certainly IS an import.

Based on the shady history and all of the advice above (thanks to everyone who commented!) I will check the car and use it as a learning opportunity. If the engine, transmission and rust condition checks out I will offer no more than half of the asked price.

I realize you may not be located in a “target-rich” environment for used XK8s. If this car was indeed a “trade-in”, the current owner would be even less likely to know answers to my most pertinent questions. And I have SO many questions…

Some modifications like a lowered suspension suggest tinkering with the car’s original geometry and engineering, and can present additional challenges.

Yes, we have very little XK8s available here. Cars with big engines are not very common due to expensive fuel and lower purchasing power and they are always overinflated in price. Actually there are many Jaguars listed for sale but 75 percent of them are diesels

I'm considering to expand my search to lower-priced 1997-1998 models from abroad as in that case import fees would be around 3.5 thousand euros. However, even on mobile.de or autoscout prices wildly differ in anywhere from 10 to 25+ thousand euros for old 4.0 models, which blows my mind when I compare it to the prices in the UK...

Greetings [addicted],

You mention being prepared to go earlier . . . but have you considered going later? The upgrades of 4.2Lengine, 6HP26 auto, are just the beginning of so many improvements that came on later X100s. I don't say this to denigrate the earlier models. I have owned both and my experience reinforces the excellent advice to "buy the very best you can afford".

I regret my comments will sound like a wet blanket but this car has too many unanswerable questions.
As others have said . . . BEWARE any and all cars with uncertain service history, or assume it has never seen a workshop!

Even doing all the work yourself, the cost of correcting issues of powertrain, suspension, steering, brakes etc can add up to become crippling . . . and that's if you can find the parts! For example, check out if you can even find a re-manufactured engine or auto in your area. Even suspension bushes, links, ball joints and steering parts are costly and sometimes hard to find. Then, do it all again for the IRS.

The body looks good, but dig deep because body and trim issues are big spend items. Any lifting of clearcoat or paint fading is big bucks, especially if metallic finishes. A small rooftop ding on my mate's FHC involved an entire respray once repaired and, being metallic 2 pack, required a "blend pack" at over AU$500 per C-pillar. That simple ding from a small tree branch, popped out in a flash, but the paint job cost AU$3,500 and he celebrated by getting the sagging roof lining done for another AU$2,300 . . . that's an expensive cosmetic fix totally nearly AU$6,000 (about 4,000 euros?). A rusty floor or sills can make that look a bargain!

The biggest warning sign for me is that this car has been allowed to wallow and become unregistered. Jaguars thrive on being used regularly . . . and maintained rigorously. If it has been rendered so unworthy of attention by current owner, it's safe to assume that this is a money-pit to be avoided.

But wait . . . there's good news too! It took us 3 years to find the XK8 of our dreams and it was worth the wait.

Cheers and best wishes.
:icon_beerchug:

^^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^^^

i agree, just for entertainment purposes, I’d like to hear why the car has been abandoned for so long. Like, “….the owner was in a coma for 9 years and was accidentally disconnected from life support just last week….” or maybe “….the owner lost his keys for 9 years and they just turned up in the sofa cushion….”

Theres a story there somewhere if the owner is brave enough to come clean with it.

Z

Thanks for all the advice!

I did consider 4.2, but they are even rarer then 4.0 locally. When speaking of importing, the idea of paying thousands of euros only to import the vehicle really hurts, especially when that same money could be used to maintain the car in the next years.

If I'd get a '96 or 97 it could be imported this or next year as a classic vehicle with very little fees. I know that 4.2 is better and more robust, but I'd be willing to sacrifice that for a lower priced 4.0 version. That would still allow me to experience the platform without "breaking the bank".

I briefly checked autodoc where I usually find parts and there seems to be good variety of suspension parts and other components (starter, alternator, etc.) available. I know a local mechanic who can perform all of the simple work for a cheap price and there are several workshops specialized in Jaguar within 2-3 hours of driving so I'm not too concerned.
If need be I can always try finding OEM parts, but is there something I should be concerned about re availability, except the body parts of course?

I guess finding used engine or transmission would be more difficult, but I hope not to buy a vehicle where I need to perform that kind of repair in the next few years :)

Short update, I checked the car in person during the weekend and was able to do a short test drive. The engine and transmission ran very well and the bodywork was quite clean too. There were no traces of rust on the outside, but I could not look at the underbody given how low the car sits to the ground. The car has been sitting since mid-2023. I also did some digging and found an advertisement posted just few months before the car started to sit unused. Current condition is more or less as in those pictures, apart from different exhaust tips. Apparently, current owner is previous owner's ex spouse who inherited the car after a divorce, so that explains some of the backstory about the car :D

Anyway, they were quite firm on the price, lowest they’d go was 9500 with registration included, meaning the actual car price would be ~8900. I insisted on them registering and insuring it before the potential purchase and they agreed to that.

The list of parts I've noticed so far that need to be replaced include: all 4 springs (possibly shocks too); front shock mounts; all 4 discs and pads; 5 year old no-name tires; broken right taillight; missing hood bonnet badge. Additionally, the airbag light is on but I have no idea what the code is as I forgot to bring my scanner.

Other maintenance items such as filters and fluids on top of the aforementioned items already bring the cost of parts alone needed to get the car in a desired state to ~2000 EUR.

Owner also offered to take the 3 day temporary registration so I could find a local Jaguar-specialized workshop to check the car.

I also compared the prices of used XK8s in other EU countries with similar miles and age and the prices seem to be well over 10000 EUR, which bring the cost to ~15k EUR with the import taxes.

Considering all of that I’m currently debating whether I should keep negotiating for this vehicle or just walk away and keep looking for something else.

Any maintenance records? I would consider the repairs you have already found to be only half of what you may ultimately discover. If you decide to proceed further, go back with your scanner. These cars do not do well if parked for long periods. If you have MOT inspections or emissions testing where you live, I would ask the seller to get those first. Sorry to be negative, but it is easy to end up with a money pit purchasing any 25-30 year old vehicle.

They dont have much maintenance records, only the last fluid change. I am well aware of what money pit the car can be so I am being careful and looking into other ads.

After more searching I found another example which is priced very reasonably and has thousands of euros of documented service, including engine timing and transmission rebuild. I am actually seriously thinking of picking this one up but don't want to jump the gun since I'd have to pay another 3500 EUR for import fees. It is an auction car from Germany and the price almost seems too good to be true when compared to other examples to the point where I'm wondering if it was in an accident or something. Bodywork looks really good from the pictures so I'm hoping it's not a "lemon" needing thousands more euros of service

I agree the black coupe at €7100 (plus import fee) may be a bargain. 215000 km with service records indicates it has been driven and maintained. Definitely worth a look. Buying a car sight unseen would give me pause. Can you see it before bidding?

Oh just to clarify, the current owner (used car dealer in Hungary) bought it in an auction in Germany. I could buy it through a regular sale from them, so I can come, take a look at the car, do a test drive, etc. I usually like to inspect the car in person and then sleep on it before deciding whether to buy, but that would be inconvenient in this case as I'd have to do a 14 hour round-trip just to go and see the car. So I could simply travel there with the money, check the car and purchase if everything checks out. If not, worst case I'd lose money for bus tickets and a day's worth of time

That one looks a better bet than the other. The only thing I can see is that the bonnet/hood doesn't quite shut neatly on the left-hand side.May just be the latch adjustment.

Check the wheels - the advert says 17", but I think that style is 18" and staggered (245 front and 255 rear)