My Wife has found an XK8 that she likes, so we're going to take a look at it tomorrow. I've found a fair bit of information here, and in the FAQ, but it all seems to be from 7-8 years ago, so i was wondering how these cars have aged.

Is the drivetrain pretty reliable past 100,000 miles? past 150k? Are there electrical gremlins? transmissions issues?
What should i look closely at?

The seller says he hays all the maintenance records, so i'll be looking for frequent oil changes, and a recent transmission fluid replacement, are there any red flags that i might miss in here?

i love that there's a large DIY community here, and i'm sure i'll get some use out of it.

Thanks Guys, and don't tell my wife, but i'm pretty excited too.

 

Welcome to the forum XK8 WIdow,

Transmission fluid changes at 60-70k miles are known to extend the life of the unit. We have some XK8/XKR owing members with over 200k miles on their vehicles so the terminal limit hasn't yet been hit!

Maintenance in on a 12k Miles OR 12 Months basis - whichever comes sooner. Use this frequency to assess the efficacy of the service history.

If you're not familiar with the model, spend some time with the Owner's Handbook going through all the switches and settings. Seemingly minor electrical faults can sometimes be expensive to rectify.

Trim items are often NLA (No Longer Available),. Factor any missing or damaged items into the negotiation.

The vehicle was supplied with 2 x Master Keys (black headed); 1 x Valet Key (green headed) and 2 x Remote Fobs. Fobs are relatively easy and cheap to obtain but replacement keys can cost over $100 to cut and programme.

I hope it passes inspection and you are soon back as a Jaguar owner.

Graham

 

Good God man, you have the rarest of all things - permission from your other half. What are you waiting for, seize the opportunity before it passes!

Good luck, they are a lovely car to have and drive, parts are available and reasonable if you use Google and this forum is outstanding at helping with any issues.

 

I have nearly 150k miles on my blue cat and she is still going strong. I had to rebuild the transmission at ~140k miles, but I have the more troublesome 5-speed. The 2006 you are looking at will have the 6-speed which is a more robust unit.

Suspension and cooling issues are the thing to watch for. The front suspension bushes tend to wear quickly. Remember, this is an 11 year old car. Check the top motor mounts as this is often the first sign of deterioration.

Coolant hoses, thermostat and coolant tank leaks can be issues. Look (and smell) for leaks in the engine bay. Many leaks never make it to the ground as the coolant is evaporated by engine heat. But you should be able to see discoloration.

The 2006 has all the final upgrades mechanically so that eliminates many of the common issues you may have read about on the forum.

Good Luck!

 

Looked at it, good service history, some little things here and there, but made an offer and the guy took it.
some things I'll have to look at, the ride was a little rough, and there seemed like a lot of camber on the wheels, I'm guessing this is the shock top mounts? The bushings I could see under hood fell apart when I touched them.
​​​​​​The power antenna works, but makes a loud clicking sound after retracting, seems like it doesn't know when to stop.
nothing in the service history relating to top hoses either, so I'll take a closer look at those.
Neither headrest works, not a huge issue, but I like things to work, so I'll have to look into that
brakes squeel, new rotors, pads have life of them, but guy has new pads too, so I'll likely throw those on this weekend with some copper grease and call it good.
​​​​​​Transmission was recently serviced too.

one thing, the driver's door, when you open it the window doesnt quite open fast enough, and if you just pull the handle the window will bounce up and down. If anyone has any thoughts on that I'm all ears

Hoping to get a lot of use before any major issues, but I'm not worried if they do

Thanks for the help and kind words everyone!

 

Good to hear the inspection and the deal worked out.

With a squeal after new pads etc, it's possible the caliper(s) are sticking on the Guide Pins instead of sliding freely.

The door window issue is a regular. Usually a failing or sticking microswitch in the Door Latch.

Graham

 

How many miles does it have? Time to post some pics!!

Ken

 

Is this the one you bought?

 

Sounds like a bit of a "fixer upper".

 

Yep, that's the one. Notice no pics from the passenger side, lol

Definitely a few projects, that's for sure, but the last car I bought I did the timing belt and water pump about a month after I got it, and now I'm bored with it because it runs too well, so I like a bit of a project, lol

 

What was wrong with the passenger side of the car?

Doug

 

It's got a pretty good scrape all along the sill, and the front corner, like it was ran along a curb. It's not too noticable, and some sanding and paint will fix it up.

 

XK8 WIdow, I'm the same way with cars. Once there's nothing left to do, I tend to get bored with them.

I don't know if you noticed, but the car you bought is a Victory Edition. I bought my VE in So Cal and it was not advertised as such...I didn't see it mentioned in your ad, either.

Here's the Jaguar brochure with more information:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...rochure-1-.pdf

 

I was wondering why it had chrome rims, when I thought they were discontinued.
they're peeling a little, and the center caps are worn, but the hood badge still looks good, and the paint looks great in person, other than the 3rd brake light housing.

Did these come with a mesh front grill?

 

No, you have the correct front grille. I believe mesh grilles are more for the XKR's, or some add them on as an aftermarket add on.

The Victory Edition typically came loaded with all the features (navigation, HID headlights, etc) and had special badging (hood and sill plates), upgraded wheels, better leather, matching leather steering wheel and shift knob, elm wood veneer (in your case), bluetooth, and power folding mirrors (activated by pulling straight back on the mirror adjustment knob inside), to name a few.

 

That's amazing. He tried unsuccessfully to sell it three times on eBay (reserve price not met) and didn't even mention this damage. That's an excellent way of getting negative feedback and at the moment he has zero seller feedback credentials. 'Guy sounds like a jerk.

 

Oh wow, yeah if I won it on ebay, then saw it I'd definitely be upset, but I saw it first, and made an offer. I guess he never mentioned the trunk either, which he said he never noticed until I pointed it out. It's very bent on one corner.

Are there replacement steering wheels anywhere? This one has a few years of sun damage and wear on it. I guess if it's a limited edition leather wheel chances are slimmer

 

Here's a recent thread where a member got his restored. Looks pretty good. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ration-183192/