Finally joined the club
#1
01-06-2017, 07:07 PM
Finally joined the club
I've owned an x350 for the last two years and have fallen in love with Jaguars. We decided to get a second one because it has been such an exceptional car. After a solid 2+ months looking around at anywhere from a lumped series 2 to getting a second x350, I began looking again at x100's and decided I really wanted one. The problem is, here in Boise, they hardly ever come up for sale, so I knew I'd be travelling to get one.
After searching Craigslist everywhere from Seattle to San Diego to Dallas, I narrowed it down to 2 and finally chose a 2006 because it was a one owner with a packet of maintenance records from the dealer, along with a recent service from an indy totalling 2400 dollars. The mileage was higher than what I originally wanted (100,000), and it does need a couple of small repairs (convertible top won't go down, and the driver's seat won't recline, fairly common items to break from what I've read), but I feel I got a decent enough deal on it to cover the repair costs. I purchased a ticket and flew down to Los Angeles.
The interior is a bit more worn than I'd like, but really just in the arm rest area. The body is in immaculate condition...I didn't see a chip or anything in the paint. Honestly, I didnt even take it on a test drive based on the condition and the seller's character. I felt I was getting an honest deal at a fair price.
After the transaction I began the 1,000+ mile trip back. Long story short, the car was a recently deceased family member's, so they didn't have an attachment to it but also didn't know a whole lot of the history either. Well, there was one other problem with it that neither me nor the seller knew about, he being in sunny southern California...the heater doesn't work. Now that is not a problem down there, but when you are living through the hardest winter the Boise area has seen in a long while (snow fall and cold temps), a heater is pretty important. Unfortunately I didn't find out until about an hour north of Las Vegas, when I needed it. So for the last 8 hours of the trip, I drove the car on snow and ice laden roads in the middle of the night, with the temperature ranging from -7 to -15 degrees fahrenheit, with the coldest being -20 degrees. The heated seat and the small blankets I had with me sure helped. I was actually impressed with how well the top insulated and kept the air out, but I couldn't stop cold air from venting inside, especially around my feet. I finally arrived back home at 3AM.
Needless to say, my body was chilled to the bone. My feet took the brunt of it, and took a long hot shower to warm up...I could hardly walk on them and thought I'd gotten frostbite, but that fortunately was not the case.
Funny enough, when I went to start it today, after running a bit it began to spew steam and coolant from an upper resorvoir hose connector. Apparently the mechanic hadn't reattached the hose clamp, so it was a quick fix and I topped off the coolant. I was just glad that didn't happen on the trip home as I was totally unprepared due to flying on a plane...I typically always carry a tool kit, extra water, etc on long car trips. I checked the engine temp gauge and it was barely up to operating temp, though I know the gauges aren't that accurate. It didn't lose much coolant regardless, and with the frigid outside temperature, I am not too concerned. It did however throw a "restricted perfomance" on the dash along with something like "limiter not available" upon the next start up. I plugged in the VCM and read the DTC's and the dash cleared.
For my comparison thoughts, the x100's suspension is noticeably firmer than the x350's, giving it a sportier feel in turns and less floaty. The noise was impressively low in the XK, almost as quiet as the XJ. I've never owned a convertible so I thought it would be noisier and colder with the top up. The overall thoughtfulness of design I think is better in the XJ. I think the center console, dash, and wood accents in the XJ are nicer to look at. And what is up with the XK's windshield wipers being so high? On the XJ they are neatly tucked away. Stepping over the door sill is a bit high on the XK, which is understandable given the type of car, especially while ducking in the with the top up. But the actual seating position isn't bad, as it doesn't feel like you're sitting on the floor. Also, the XJ will downshift more frequently while driving it at freeway speeds and you step on it to pass. The XK does not downshift nearly as much at those higher speeds, I'm guessing due to the better areodynamics so less strain on the drivetrain. I don't know if the rearend is geared different...?
I don't really have any decent pictures yet, and the car is filthy from the drive back as it is near zero degrees again today.
As far as the car purchase and the freezing excapade, the moral of the story is...when you chase after a cat, make sure she's hot.
Here's the only pic I have for now...
After searching Craigslist everywhere from Seattle to San Diego to Dallas, I narrowed it down to 2 and finally chose a 2006 because it was a one owner with a packet of maintenance records from the dealer, along with a recent service from an indy totalling 2400 dollars. The mileage was higher than what I originally wanted (100,000), and it does need a couple of small repairs (convertible top won't go down, and the driver's seat won't recline, fairly common items to break from what I've read), but I feel I got a decent enough deal on it to cover the repair costs. I purchased a ticket and flew down to Los Angeles.
The interior is a bit more worn than I'd like, but really just in the arm rest area. The body is in immaculate condition...I didn't see a chip or anything in the paint. Honestly, I didnt even take it on a test drive based on the condition and the seller's character. I felt I was getting an honest deal at a fair price.
After the transaction I began the 1,000+ mile trip back. Long story short, the car was a recently deceased family member's, so they didn't have an attachment to it but also didn't know a whole lot of the history either. Well, there was one other problem with it that neither me nor the seller knew about, he being in sunny southern California...the heater doesn't work. Now that is not a problem down there, but when you are living through the hardest winter the Boise area has seen in a long while (snow fall and cold temps), a heater is pretty important. Unfortunately I didn't find out until about an hour north of Las Vegas, when I needed it. So for the last 8 hours of the trip, I drove the car on snow and ice laden roads in the middle of the night, with the temperature ranging from -7 to -15 degrees fahrenheit, with the coldest being -20 degrees. The heated seat and the small blankets I had with me sure helped. I was actually impressed with how well the top insulated and kept the air out, but I couldn't stop cold air from venting inside, especially around my feet. I finally arrived back home at 3AM.
Needless to say, my body was chilled to the bone. My feet took the brunt of it, and took a long hot shower to warm up...I could hardly walk on them and thought I'd gotten frostbite, but that fortunately was not the case.
Funny enough, when I went to start it today, after running a bit it began to spew steam and coolant from an upper resorvoir hose connector. Apparently the mechanic hadn't reattached the hose clamp, so it was a quick fix and I topped off the coolant. I was just glad that didn't happen on the trip home as I was totally unprepared due to flying on a plane...I typically always carry a tool kit, extra water, etc on long car trips. I checked the engine temp gauge and it was barely up to operating temp, though I know the gauges aren't that accurate. It didn't lose much coolant regardless, and with the frigid outside temperature, I am not too concerned. It did however throw a "restricted perfomance" on the dash along with something like "limiter not available" upon the next start up. I plugged in the VCM and read the DTC's and the dash cleared.
For my comparison thoughts, the x100's suspension is noticeably firmer than the x350's, giving it a sportier feel in turns and less floaty. The noise was impressively low in the XK, almost as quiet as the XJ. I've never owned a convertible so I thought it would be noisier and colder with the top up. The overall thoughtfulness of design I think is better in the XJ. I think the center console, dash, and wood accents in the XJ are nicer to look at. And what is up with the XK's windshield wipers being so high? On the XJ they are neatly tucked away. Stepping over the door sill is a bit high on the XK, which is understandable given the type of car, especially while ducking in the with the top up. But the actual seating position isn't bad, as it doesn't feel like you're sitting on the floor. Also, the XJ will downshift more frequently while driving it at freeway speeds and you step on it to pass. The XK does not downshift nearly as much at those higher speeds, I'm guessing due to the better areodynamics so less strain on the drivetrain. I don't know if the rearend is geared different...?
I don't really have any decent pictures yet, and the car is filthy from the drive back as it is near zero degrees again today.
As far as the car purchase and the freezing excapade, the moral of the story is...when you chase after a cat, make sure she's hot.
Here's the only pic I have for now...
The following users liked this post:
GGG (01-07-2017)
#2
01-06-2017, 08:06 PM
Senior Member
Welcome to the club! - I love the color! And the wheels.. (I'm a bit jealous you have the nicer wheels..)
I can't imagine driving that car around without heat, it's been so cold here in Utah and I've been scared to death to drive the car with the road conditions with snow.. that had to be miserable
Totally agree with you on the wipers, I wish there was a kit that could use lower profile blades and arms, why a $80K+ car had wipers like that I don't know.... getting into the car and out can be a challenge but it is a sexy looking car.
I also agree on the gearing.. I was driving up the canyon one day and the car just seemed like it wanted to stay in a higher gear which felt like the engine was lugging.. I used the "J" gate and kept the engine at a higher rev.. I'm not sure if your experience is the same but maybe a future transmission flush depending on the miles.. I'm debating doing mine.
Congrads on your purchase! Good choice! - keep an eye out on the coolant and change it out asap unless you have already.. or least inspect and find out why the heater core is clogged or what the story is there... the engine puts out a ton of heat so there's no reason for the heater not to be working but if it's clogged I would suspect the coolant is bad..
ANYWAY Good job! Looks very pretty!
I can't imagine driving that car around without heat, it's been so cold here in Utah and I've been scared to death to drive the car with the road conditions with snow.. that had to be miserable
Totally agree with you on the wipers, I wish there was a kit that could use lower profile blades and arms, why a $80K+ car had wipers like that I don't know.... getting into the car and out can be a challenge but it is a sexy looking car.
I also agree on the gearing.. I was driving up the canyon one day and the car just seemed like it wanted to stay in a higher gear which felt like the engine was lugging.. I used the "J" gate and kept the engine at a higher rev.. I'm not sure if your experience is the same but maybe a future transmission flush depending on the miles.. I'm debating doing mine.
Congrads on your purchase! Good choice! - keep an eye out on the coolant and change it out asap unless you have already.. or least inspect and find out why the heater core is clogged or what the story is there... the engine puts out a ton of heat so there's no reason for the heater not to be working but if it's clogged I would suspect the coolant is bad..
ANYWAY Good job! Looks very pretty!
#3
01-06-2017, 09:02 PM
Thanks!
It was definately a cold trip! In hindsight I should have come through your town, but instead I cut straight up through the middle of Nevada. The roads weren't cleared the greatest, and it was only a two lane highway. I thought it would save some time but it took two hours longer than it should have. I always run snow tires in the winter but seeing I just bought the car, running whatever tires he had on it proved to be daunting. It was a little hairy at times.
The kicker was when the windows and windshield began to ice up on the inside as well as the outside. It took a bit to clear that. My bottle of Gatorade in the passenger seat froze solid enough I couldn't drink it. I also had to stop at a couple of gas stations on the way up just to warm up a bit. That was in between taking off one shoe and sitting on that foot to soak up any body warmth and heat from the lukewarm heated seats, then changing the the other foot 10 mins later. Not the safest but what else do you do? Staying the night somewhere would have been useless as the next two days are the same temp anyways. While changing positions to warm the other foot, I managed to bump the key and turn the car off twice during the trip while at highways speeds. Key placement is something that slightly annoys me on both the XJ and XK. Putting the ignition anywhere besides where your knee is would have been a good idea.
Yeah I suspect the heater core is clogged as all it blew was very cold air. I believe if it's the auxilliary pump it will blow cold air from certain vents but not from others. On second thought, upon checking what the indy (British car specialist) replaced, one of the things was a new thermostat assembly, upper/lower radiator hoses, and a system bleed. I have read a thermostat installed backwards can cause no heat. What are the odds a shop specializing in British cars installed the thermostat backwards?
I also plan on doing a tranny flush, when it gets warm enough anyways.
You've got a beautiful colored XK too! That's the same color as our XJ.
It was definately a cold trip! In hindsight I should have come through your town, but instead I cut straight up through the middle of Nevada. The roads weren't cleared the greatest, and it was only a two lane highway. I thought it would save some time but it took two hours longer than it should have. I always run snow tires in the winter but seeing I just bought the car, running whatever tires he had on it proved to be daunting. It was a little hairy at times.
The kicker was when the windows and windshield began to ice up on the inside as well as the outside. It took a bit to clear that. My bottle of Gatorade in the passenger seat froze solid enough I couldn't drink it. I also had to stop at a couple of gas stations on the way up just to warm up a bit. That was in between taking off one shoe and sitting on that foot to soak up any body warmth and heat from the lukewarm heated seats, then changing the the other foot 10 mins later. Not the safest but what else do you do? Staying the night somewhere would have been useless as the next two days are the same temp anyways. While changing positions to warm the other foot, I managed to bump the key and turn the car off twice during the trip while at highways speeds. Key placement is something that slightly annoys me on both the XJ and XK. Putting the ignition anywhere besides where your knee is would have been a good idea.
Yeah I suspect the heater core is clogged as all it blew was very cold air. I believe if it's the auxilliary pump it will blow cold air from certain vents but not from others. On second thought, upon checking what the indy (British car specialist) replaced, one of the things was a new thermostat assembly, upper/lower radiator hoses, and a system bleed. I have read a thermostat installed backwards can cause no heat. What are the odds a shop specializing in British cars installed the thermostat backwards?
I also plan on doing a tranny flush, when it gets warm enough anyways.
You've got a beautiful colored XK too! That's the same color as our XJ.
Last edited by chillyphilly; 01-06-2017 at 11:22 PM.
#4
01-06-2017, 10:11 PM
Veteran Member
#6
01-07-2017, 12:10 AM
Wow, what a saga! I feel your pain, driving all that way with no heat in snow country! Driving in snow is hair-raising enough with a functioning heater. You have suffered for your passion and must now find a suitable name for your XK8, perhaps "Elsa" (from the kid's animated movie "Frozen")!
The wheels on your vert look like the same I have on my 2006 coupé. I fancy that they look like a splayed bunch of bananas.
I think it would be nice to have an XJ8 to go along with my XK8 but at least my daughter has an XJ8 VdP and we do occasionally get the two cats together.
Cheers,
Granville
The wheels on your vert look like the same I have on my 2006 coupé. I fancy that they look like a splayed bunch of bananas.
I think it would be nice to have an XJ8 to go along with my XK8 but at least my daughter has an XJ8 VdP and we do occasionally get the two cats together.
Cheers,
Granville
#7
01-07-2017, 01:59 AM
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#8
01-07-2017, 10:05 AM
Veteran Member
You got more ***** then me! Driving a 10 year old car you know nothing about 1K miles through the night in freezing temps/snow on street tires with no heat is the kind of thing you hear about on the news. Man found frozen in the desert after car break down and getting lost looking for help.
Good luck with the XK8 they are great to on and not that difficult to work on.
Good luck with the XK8 they are great to on and not that difficult to work on.
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Anthony8858 (01-12-2017)
#9
01-07-2017, 06:51 PM
Thanks for the warm welcome to this side of the forum!
150FHC, I think my daughters would love the name Elsa for the car, seeing as one of them just had a "Frozen" themed birthday party today. It is the most played movie/soundtrack in our house by far. And thanks for the imagery, I now cannot look at my wheels without thinking about bananas. :/
Jandreu, I don't think it has as much to do with ***** as just being crazy. And don't think I didn't think about those news headlines while driving. It didn't help that the battery died in my cellular device towards the end of the trip, so my wife had no contact and no way to track me. Ofcourse I didn't tell her it didn't have heat, which would have only caused her more worry.
150FHC, I think my daughters would love the name Elsa for the car, seeing as one of them just had a "Frozen" themed birthday party today. It is the most played movie/soundtrack in our house by far. And thanks for the imagery, I now cannot look at my wheels without thinking about bananas. :/
Jandreu, I don't think it has as much to do with ***** as just being crazy. And don't think I didn't think about those news headlines while driving. It didn't help that the battery died in my cellular device towards the end of the trip, so my wife had no contact and no way to track me. Ofcourse I didn't tell her it didn't have heat, which would have only caused her more worry.
#10
01-07-2017, 07:03 PM
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Summerville, South Carolina
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#11
01-07-2017, 10:31 PM
#12
01-07-2017, 11:14 PM
#13
01-08-2017, 07:18 PM
Ha the name definately is appropriate now.
So I just found out a neat little surprise about the car that neither me nor the seller knew about. It is a Victory Edition. I didn't know anything about that edition until I came across it on the forum in the last couple of days. I noticed the car had extra features, like HID lights, navigation, bluetooth phone, 19 inch wheels, etc. I also learned from the manual how to work the power folding mirrors I didn't even know it was equipped with. It has the checkered emblem up front and checkered door sills. Funny enough, I almost didn't buy it because it had a leather steering wheel and shift knob, and I originally wanted wood. Little did I know those were standard features on this model. It came in a color other than the standard 4 for the edition, which I've read could be done.
Here's a couple of links from the forum on the Victory Editions...
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...dition-166146/
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...erences-56713/
And here's a link to the Jaguar brochure:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...k-brochure.pdf
Anyone know how many of these were made?
EDIT: If this article is correct, there were 1,050 Victory Editions made for the US market.
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z...K-Victory.aspx
So I just found out a neat little surprise about the car that neither me nor the seller knew about. It is a Victory Edition. I didn't know anything about that edition until I came across it on the forum in the last couple of days. I noticed the car had extra features, like HID lights, navigation, bluetooth phone, 19 inch wheels, etc. I also learned from the manual how to work the power folding mirrors I didn't even know it was equipped with. It has the checkered emblem up front and checkered door sills. Funny enough, I almost didn't buy it because it had a leather steering wheel and shift knob, and I originally wanted wood. Little did I know those were standard features on this model. It came in a color other than the standard 4 for the edition, which I've read could be done.
Here's a couple of links from the forum on the Victory Editions...
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...dition-166146/
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...erences-56713/
And here's a link to the Jaguar brochure:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...k-brochure.pdf
Anyone know how many of these were made?
EDIT: If this article is correct, there were 1,050 Victory Editions made for the US market.
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z...K-Victory.aspx
Last edited by chillyphilly; 01-08-2017 at 07:54 PM.
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#14
01-08-2017, 07:37 PM
Senior Member
#15
01-08-2017, 07:43 PM
The following 2 users liked this post by chillyphilly:
150FHC (01-09-2017),
Matthew Chidester (01-08-2017)
#16
01-08-2017, 07:47 PM
Senior Member
#18
01-09-2017, 01:28 AM
Seriously, be grateful that you have an all leather wheel. I find the shiny-plastic wood not very comfortable so I wear stringback gloves if I'm driving far. I have never quite understood the appeal of the steering wheels that are mixed wood and leather. A bit too glitzy for my taste. I prefer the looks of the old, traditional, all-wood, with a low sheen, like a Nardi wheel I had years ago, but much prefer the feel of an all leather wheel. Oddly, the nicest leather wheel I've had is the stock wheel in my 2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 4x4 pickup!
#19
01-09-2017, 10:12 AM
Yes I do like the look of the wood, but would agree the feel of the leather is far better. The wood wheel on our XJ gets pretty cold, especially with the winters here, but to be honest I typically grip the leather portion when I'm driving. The old wooden wheels have always looked better to me, too.
What gets me the most on these modern auto steering wheels are the out of proportion center sections to house the airbag. I understand why they need to be that size, but the dainty center of the older wheels along with longer spokes looked much better, IMO.
What gets me the most on these modern auto steering wheels are the out of proportion center sections to house the airbag. I understand why they need to be that size, but the dainty center of the older wheels along with longer spokes looked much better, IMO.
#20
01-12-2017, 04:35 AM
Senior Member