After a few months of searching, I have a 2003 XK8 in the exact configuration that I want sitting my garage

Thanks for all the help & advice guys, this forum has been of great assistance!

I took a couple quick pictures when it arrived, but they were out of focus. I'll take some more soon, maybe after it gets detailed.

It's Midnight Black metallic with a Dove Grey interior, 19" Apollo wheels (soon to be swapped with chromed Atlas wheels), has the 3 center gauges with chrome rings instead of the satnav, and even included a windscreen behind the front seats. The service records are impeccable, so although it has a few more miles than I was originally looking for (51k) I am very confident that it's been well maintained. Frankly I'm more pleased with these service records & 51k miles than I would have been with a 30k mile vehicle having an unknown service history.

Unfortunately, the car got here before the attorney who was handling the transaction could send me the title & bill of sale, so for now it needs to sit in the garage.

One question for you experts - how long do the batteries in these cars typically last? I took a quick peek at it and it looks old, although I didn't notice a date, or for that matter the manufacturer. The info is probably there I was simply in a hurry getting things moved around & giving the car a quick inspection. For all I know it may be the original battery as I have service records going back to ~2007 and haven't seen a receipt for it.

 

Congrats! just as heads up; I may know someone looking to score some Apollo wheels...

 

Thanks, I'll probably just keep the Apollo's as spares though. They're a little scuffed up from rubbing on a curb or something. Other than that & a few very light scratches in the paint which should easily rub out, the car looks to be in great shape.

 

NO!!!!!

I mean, GREAT! That's awesome!

But about the wheels: NO!!!! Those are the best looking of all of the wheels! Why would you swap them out for some blingy chrome wheels?

That's just my opinion, though, and we all know what they say about opinions.

 

heh, well I do like the Apollo's, and actually I had second thoughts about replacing them; until I set the Atlas wheels next to the car. If it was any other color, I'd be more tempted to stick with the natural finish, but chrome on metallic black looks nice to me.

if you scroll down on California Chrome Wheel & Tire you'll find some Apollo's in both standard and black chrome, they do look nice.

 

I agree with Sam: if you must change, don't go for chrome wheels!

 

OhioXK, here's my two cents on chrome wheels. I hope no one takes this the wrong way. This is obviously just one man's opinion, and everyone has a right to their own opinion. Your's may be different from mine.

Whenever I see a car with chrome wheels I automatically assume the car belongs to some ghetto kid from the hood. To me, chrome wheels are synonymous with spinners, fuzzy dice, stick-on fender vents, and purple paint-jobs. This isn't a racial, thing, it's about classy versus tacky. At one time chrome was considered classy. But those days ended way back in the 1970's. Most "luxury" cars have very little chrome on them these days. Most people, me included, equate chrome with "bling". Bling is at the tacky end of the tacky/classy spectrum. Jaguars exude classiness. Adding chrome wheels just makes the car look like it was bought cheap and then someone added the chrome to attract attention.

Wheels are supposed to compliment the car. Flashy chrome wheels draw the viewer's attention away from the lines of the car. They detract from the viewing experience. It's like adding spice to food. I like a little garlic on my steak, but I don't want the steak flavor to be overpowered by the garlic.

 

Agree!!!

 

Rev,
I'm with you on that! We own these cars because they are a bit different from the pack.

 

Amen, Rev!

 

What can I say, I like the chrome It can be done right, or done wrong as you've described. These are just factory wheels, and having seen them on a black XK8 already, I don't consider them tacky or "bling" at all: http://www.ecarlist.com/showroom/995/photos/762954#05

On a car with a brighter color, they probably wouldn't look right. My daily driver is a bright red color, and the wheels are a sort of a frosted aluminum finish. I've seen those same wheels in a more shiny polished aluminum, and it doesn't look quite right on a red car.

The Apollo wheels are so much bulkier than the Atlas, I think I'd actually prefer them in black chrome rather than the factory finish, which would make them stand out less. They'd probably stand out too much in bright chrome. The Atlas wheels however have much narrower spokes, and can take the chrome without making it look like a funhouse mirror.

Just my two cents

 

Hm, the more that I think about it, I'm glad that this has been brought up.

I like the chrome Atlas wheels on that triple-black XK8 linked above, that's why I bought them. However, my car isn't triple-black, it has a dove grey interior, which will already serve as a highlight on the car. The grey stands out alot on a black car. With the top down, it might be too distracting to introduce a finish which would stand out even more than the interior & tonneau cover.

Maybe after I take a few pics I'll paste some different wheels on the image in photoshop & see what they look like.

 

 

I'm afraid that I am also in the not to my taste crowd.

Those wheels in the pictures, drag my eye to the wheels and not the car.

That's not to say I am against personalizing the car to your tastes, I happen to think that Ghostrider's XKR is gorgeous.

 

Let me answer your batt question. There might be a punch date on the batt,should be on the label, also the date codes are melted into the side of the batt, but you would need to know how to read it, any parts store can read the CCA of the batt is a good way of knowing, But, if its around 5 years old start thinking about swapping it and don`t get cheap with it, Big CCA if you live and drive in the cold and snow, Find out about how much reserve power is in the batt,more the better, just in case the alt goes out, the car will run on the reserve power to get you down the road,

 

Silver Apollos on black is a gorgeous combo!!

 

I like chrome also, just looks good. You all think too much.

Just make sure you do one of the fixes to the hydraulic top with the new car.

 

I think the black chrome wheels would look good on the black metallic car.

 

Black chrome might be OK. I don't think I've ever seen it in real life. In the pics I've seen it's much more subtle than bright chrome.

 

Grats! And we're STILL waiting on pictures!