Hello everyone
I am thinking of buying XK8 '97 model. Price is very attractive. It has alcantara interior and BBS wheels.
Exterior picture shows it is missing side turn signal. Also It does not have Jaguar emblem.

You can see it here - https://www.myauto.ge/en/detail/26988753

What do you think? Do you think it is worth to buy this car even if it has got some problems? It will be my first car. It is not very often that car like that is for sale in my country.
Thanks

 

And it has got fake XK-R badge for some reason.

 

Welcome to the forum Giorgus,

The first consideration should be who is going to maintain and repair the vehicle. If you cannot or do not want to learn the skills to do this yourself, it could be a very expensive purchase. Expertise costs a lot even in countries where Jaguars are plentiful.

Check the https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ts-data-29800/ thread for regular probems with early XK8's. Plastic tensioners, cooling system and transmissions must have attention to avoid costly breakdowns or repairs.

I can understand the attraction if Jaguars are not often for sale in Georgia. However, if the price is very attractive, it may mean there's some big problem the present owner is trying to hide. It needs a thorough and careful inspection.

Graham

 

This is not a reasonable choice for a first car. Obtaining parts in Georgia is liable to be very difficult and expensive. It's likely the car was not well maintained or it wouldn't be that inexpensive.

 

Timing tensioners and tranny rebuild would be my first 2 questions. Then pretty much standard used 20 year old car things.

 

Thank you guys.
I think you are right Graham, maybe it has some problems which will be very expensive to fix. And as RJ237 said, this is not a reasonable choice for a first car.
But my desire to own Jaguar car, does not end here. I want to buy X-Type. There are a lot of them in Georgia and I can find parts easily.
Thanks for your help. You have really great community here. People are very friendly and helpful. I hope to become Jaguar owner and member of this amazing community soon.

 

I have a 97 XK8 Convertible and every day I walk out and look at it and it brings a smile to my face. Love the car. Over the years I have spent many dollars repairing, and refinishing to take care of it. I have never regretted a dime of the expenditure. If its what you want go for it. You will figure out what is necessary and find a way to do it.

 

Vern, if he were located in the states or Britain I would agree, but in Georgia it's got to be a lot harder to find used parts and expensive to always use new, if they're even available.

 

Aaar Giorgus . . . tell me you haven't walked away. I hear all the good advice, especially about the 4.0L timing gear . . . super critical. OTOH, for other parts like a missing bumper located turn light . . . these days, the world is your shop!

Yes, I am 110% in agreement with Vern . . . and probably for the same illogical, financially hazardous, purely passionate and impossible to justify reasons . . . I walk to my car, stop, gaze in amazement, wondering why it looks like it's doing 200Kph when I know it's standing still.

The world is full of good sensible advice . . . I often espouse it myself . . . but, this is maybe your once in a lifetime opportunity to live life on the edge. The XK8 will do that for you . . . but, by comparison, IMHO and I mean no offense, the X-Type is a mere *****. Now that I'm into my 70s, I can be a bit outrageous and often get away with it . . . also, I have owned more than a few cars, and not many can deliver the styling and performance of an XK8/R . . . the Jaguar that can keep you young forever!

Go for it and all our best wishes,

Ken

 

As a project car this might be fun but you wouldn't want it as a daily driver until it was sorted. One of my first cars was a 1964 XKE and it nearly broke me and that is a far easier car to fix than most newer generation cars like this one (and, by that time, I actually had reasonably strong skills and ended up working for a while in a Jag shop mostly to pay off my Jag bills). The X-Type is a very different car and I don't mean in a good way. But unless you have strong car maintenance skills I'd really recommend something like a newer Honda or Toyota as your first primary car. Trust me there are really few things more expensive than a cheap luxury car.

 

Hey Ken. XK8/R has been my dream GT car since 2000, when I first saw it in NFS game. But I think I will wait for a better opportunity, because this XK8 has some problems and it be very expensive to repair and turn this XK8 into my dream GT car (Yes it looks nice but I want to drive it daily and it work mechanically well) . I am currently looking for a small car to work on my driving skills and save money for well maintained XK8.

Thanks enderle. I think I will buy small, reliable car for this time.

 

Can you expand your Jaguar search outside Georgia to any of the other LHD European countries or would importing one be too difficult?

Graham

 

I'd pass.

 

It will be expensive. It's big engine makes it expensive to import in my country.