I'm going to purchase an 1996-2000 XK8 convertible soon. What are the potential problems to look for when buying? Chains & guides are the obvious but isn't there something about liner coatings and diff problems?

What are the really expensive things to repair just in case I buy a duff one.

Most have done more then 100k miles but I'm sure they will do a lot more. from most of the sales pictures I have seen body rot does not seem to be a big problem.

I'm in West Norfolk UK if anybody has seen a good one for sale.

 

Welcome.

Take a look at the stickies at the top of the forum, in particular:

XK8 & XKR 'HOW TO' / DIY Repair & Maintenance Links / Facts & Data

The first 2 or 3 links in there should give you a go idea of what to look for and/or avoid.

Best of luck in your search!

 

The sticky list is all encompassing and should really be used as a checklist. Show up with that list on a clip board and watch the seller sweat.

The most common . . . and potentially expensive things that get overlooked are all the features of the car such as seat and steering wheel movement and associated memory functions, AC and radio operation and all the associated lighting. Cars are best inspected in the daylight but that masks all the bulbs burned out in the interior. Operate the top several times to ensure that all that complicated mechanisms work without leaks. Check the top hydraulic pump reservoir is at the proper level. The rams can leak without any initial outward signs.

Really blow the seller's mind and check for the tow eye.

. . . and I have long recommended that these high end cars of a dozen years ago are best owned by hobby mechanics.

 

Treat yourself to this book :
Use this forum for lots of VERY helpful and knowledgeable advice - and UK cars do suffer from rust - sills, wheelarches and floor panels in particular.
Also - be realistic about how practical you are. You will be buying an awful lot of car for fairly little money (about one tenth of the original cost) but these cars are complex, particularly on the electrics, and if you need a garage every time a fuse blows, you could be looking at a very expensive vehicle to maintain.
If you are familiar with the Haynes Manuals and their "spanner ability ratings" - then I think you need to be happy with "3 spanner" jobs as a minimum unless you have deep pockets. There's lots of "5 spanner blokes" on this forum who are amazingly helpful and give generously of their time and expertise. I would put myself somewhere between 3 & 4 and feel able to cope with most jobs that are likely to arise. (Hope that's not tempting fate - fingers crossed !!)

 

Also check your bank account to make sure that the parts needed for repair are well within budget. Your goals determine the expense; i.e., does it matter if everything works, or is it ok just to have it move down the road. Proper care and feeding does have a cost, as it does with any older car. Glad I'm not an older Porsche or Ferrari owner.

 

Front wheel bearings are under sized in MY97-99 (76mm?). Mine wore out after less than 25K miles. I upgraded to 80mm bearings, but you need a new hub assy (upright)... everything else bolts on.

If I had this to do all over again, I'd get the 2000 up; preferably 2003 up.

 

But don't think that the 2003 onwards cars are trouble free, this is what I have changed in the last 18 months on Kim's car which looked great and drove great on the forecourt.

Oil cooler
Rear hub carrier bearing
Differential pinion seal
Rust repair in rear wing
Rust repair round boot key hole
Rear shock bush
New Aerial
Coolant expansion tank
Complete front end bush ball joint suspension wheel bearing rebuild
Welding to repair rust on inner wing behind sub frame
Welding to repair rust on front cross member X brace fixing points
Various dash bulb repairs
Door/glass rattle repair
Reverse sensor repair/repaint
Front end rear wheel arch repair and repaint.
Headlamp fixing point repair
Alien headlamp washer repair
Fog lamp fixing point repair
New cam cover seals
Heater pump repair
Lambda sensor replacemnt
Transmission oil change
Differential oil top up.
Steering rack boot.
A-pillar external trim replacement
Various exterior trim Dorchester Grey pint touch ups
Replaced charcoal canister bracket
Welded on new stud for front mud guard
Repaired/repainted strut brace
Repainted front strut tower and fuse box mounting.
Fitted new wheel arch access panel
Repaired and repainted rust in wheel well
Repaired wiring to dead boot lid button.

That lot would probably have been £10k to get done at a jag dealership, more than the car cost.

Still to fix

Left chromatic side mirror
Seat belt airbag sensor intermittent warning
Seat rattle repair
Day light sensor for automatic lights
Rust repair to other wing

 

Jaguar and 'trouble-free" should never be used in the same sentence.

 

If your reasonably technical and you've narrowed the car down take a obdc scanner and plug it in.. if you don't have one borrow one, I used the bluetooth adapter with Torque and was he surprised, fortunately for me I wasn't nothing was posted (doesn't mean they didn't clear them and nothing came up in the test drive cycle) and it's been clean the past few months