Originally Posted by dsd

All,

We hear so much on this forum about waiting for the right car and what to expect from an X100. The language is usually pay up front for a better car than addressing expensive issues later-- especially if you plan on outsourcing the work.

This is common among all car brands and very sound advice. We rarely get to hear from people who know this, yet don't follow the advice. It is embarrassing and frustrating and generally people don't care to share this pain.

Well, I will share my XKR story and expose my faults for others as a public service.

Dear reader, please do not think me inexperienced or this won't happen to you. I have owned 4 Jaguars, 3 Ferrari's, and a Maserati. I am familiar with high end, high strung, high maintenance cars, and the implications of automotive neglect. I am not, however, immune to hubris.

I owned a 1997 XK8 convertible when it was essentially new. Of all the cars I have owned, this is the only car my wife ever really liked and missed. We now have 2 kids and we wanted to get a 2+2 convertible as a fun car for her (July 2016). I suggested a Maserati GranCabrio, as it has real back seats, but she was not keen on spending that much money and kind of liked the idea of an X100. They trade for little money and are really cool/good cars. My kids fit in the back (and have a few years of doing so), so we started looking for a car.

I set my sights on a 2003+ for the 6 speed and 4.2 engine, with the hopes of finding an XKR. I set a budget of $17,000.

I was pretty open regarding the options, with the exception of no black or white cars. I really did not want a car that was in an accident or had issues. I was open to high miles (100k+) and understood expected interior condition of cars of that usage.

Being a car guy, I called my contacts and none of them really worked on/sold Jaguars of that vintage, so it was off to internet hunting. This is clearly the most fun part. 2003+ X100's are not too common, but they are available. Eliminating black and white really narrowed the field. After searching for a bit I came across a classified ad here for a 2003 XKR in Zircon Blue with (109k). Car appeared very clean (with expected interior) and my wife like the car/wheel combo. The asking price was $14,000 but $12,000 was agreed upon.

Normally, at this point I would have insisted on a Pre Purchase Inspection from a place I chose. However, my thought was $12k is not much of a risk and that leaves me $5k for fixes. Ran a carfax and it was clean. Hubris.

So, I flew my daughter and I out from DC to OH to drive the car home (we planned to stop overnight halfway). Upon seeing the car, it looked well represented. Very clean outside appearance, interior as expected. A few things that I did not know about were disclosed on my arrival. Nothing earth shattering (coolant light on but coolant level is fine). After a test drive, it was clear the brakes needed a flush and the rear end needed new shocks. Not too scary, so we proceeded to drive home.

The drive home was relatively drama free. The brakes and rear end were clearly top on my list and I made a small laundry list of items I wanted addressed.

As soon as I made it home, I made an appointment with a respected independant Jaguar specialist togo over the car. My thought was lets address the issues and bring it back to a known baseline of service.

Long story short, $8,000 later and I should be good to go. My logic was ok, a little over budget but I'm at a known good state.

After that service, car drives great. Brakes and rear end clearly resolved and all good, so we finally get the car home in my garage. It is clear the car was in an accident. Well repaired but the evidence is indisputable-- caution on CarFax especially on cars pre 2010.

Then the leaking starts to become apparent. Well, the car is 13 years old and hoses deteriorate. So I replace a few hoses myself but the leaks keep coming. The hoses that needed replacing are really labor intensive and I just don't have the time and hands to do a job to my standards plus I have a good relationship with the local dealer so I bring it there and let them sort it out.

After several dealer trips and about $10,000 we have addressed all the leaks except one from the Transmission Bell Housing. This a local transmission specialist is addressing for ~$2500.

End result is I am $30,000 into a $15,000 car with a worn interior and 109k+ miles and I still have a feint gas smell after startup even after new purge valve. Clearly, in hindsight I wish I had not bought this particular car, instead I wish I had waited for an example and done my due diligence.

The good news is I have a very sound mechanical XKR that should need little but ongoing maintenance (knock on wood). Yes, I am a perfectionist when it comes to my cars. Yes, I could have saved around $5,000 by using other service centers, a bunch more if I really wanted to tear the car down myself and do the work. Parts alone were still very pricey.

If you made it this far in the story, that you for letting me share this. My goal is not to scare someone off but when one is debating between a $12,000 and $18,000 car, that difference can disappear very fast. As these cars are worth relatively little, deferred maintenance or shortcuts is to be expected This is something we see somewhat in the exotic community, but less of as the stakes are much higher (take a shortcut ruin a $50k engine is less of an ROI) and I made all the classic mistakes of buying an older high line car.

TL;DR: Do your homework, have the means to take care of issues, get a PPI, or expect to write large checks like I did.

Best,
dsd