No, this is not true - the problem fuels are a distant memory.

 

What bladerunner said. The Nikasil is not a problem. It was a problem back in the day across the pond because some of the fuels had high sulfur content. That has long since changed. The plastic tensioners + guides are the main issue on early cars. They were updated to metal in later iterations (as they should have been from the start). Newer models also have the mercedes 6 speed auto (which doesn't suffer from the A-drum failure that the ZF 5-speed in early cars often have).

As the owner of a very early car, I'll be the first to say there are many reasons that it's better to buy a later car, but the Nikasil isn't really one of them, imo.

 

Enjoy - glad your early car has worked out. Whatever year, it's an XK8. Chain tensioners are the elephant in the closet. Many lawsuits against Jaguar for bad design. On the 5 speed, sounds like a high pressure regulator is one reason the A-drum fails. Lower pressure aftermarket unit (Transgo) sounds like good preventative maintenance. Not that expensive. Keep things simple and do the install when changing trans fluid. Has anyone done this? Results?

"Lifetime" trans fluid doesn't make sense. Have an 04 Lexus LS430. Did the change at 100k. It was a PIA to get the level right but shifts were pretty much invisible after that. Interesting that TF does expand and contract based on temperature. Western MA in the fall is a great time to drive.