Still in the market for my first Jag. What are your thoughts on these two options:

1. 2000 Carnival Red, tan interior XK8. 40,000 miles. Owner asking $12,900. Stunning, but expensive. The owner doesn't know if the tensioners have been replaced. There's another huge expense right off the bat to get done. Essentially it's a great low-mileage car that is going to need work right off the bat on top of being expensive.

2. 1997 black on black XK8. 101,000 miles. All maintenance records (including tensioners). Asking $8900. Not thrilled about the black interior, but this car looks amazing in black paint. Good pricepoint, could probably talk him down a bit.

My question is, is it worth it to spend and extra 50% to get a low mileage version, but will most likely need major preventative engine work?

 

Here is my recommendation. I think your choice is based on the following:
a. Which one do you like more? (This is the critical one!)
b. How much do you want to spend to purchase the car?
c. Can you do the work yourself?
d. Condition of the cars.

You don't mention if they are both coupe's or convertibles, or one of each. The fact that you mention the red car as "stunning" tells me that would be the one you like more. If you can fix the car yourself, then it seems the red one would be best, but it is more expensive.

On the other hand, having a full maintenance record, and the option to het a little break on the price is also nice. More money to do other things. The black interior is not that bad - mine is black!

Back to the "major preventative" engine work. (I will get some comments on this!) My car has 86k miles, and I still have the original tensioners. My car was purchased new and serviced at the same Jag dealer, and they know my car. Since the prior owner took extremely good care of the car, they did not think that this is really urgent to replace, but I will have it replaced in the next few months in any case with some other small items. I can do some maintenance, but I will leave this for the experts.

So, it all depends what you want to do. I would however recommend having a reputable Jag dealer or person have a second look at it before you buy. That may save you more money than the price.

Good luck!!

 

Thanks. Both are coups. My ideal color combo would be black and tan. Although I love the red with tan combo as well, it's a lot more expensive and will probably require another $1000+ to do the tensioners (just in case). I want to keep the total price around $10K. I assume the red one can be talked down a bit since it's been on auto trader for quite a while.

It is very frustrating trying to find a nice coupe.

 

Those prices are high, IMO.

 

The decision is ultimately yours but here are my thoughts. You didn't mention if service records were available for the 2000 - only that the owner did not know if tensioners were replaced so there is no true comparison. Thus, 40000 miles on a 2000 as opposed to 101000 on a car 3 years older - which one looks better - paint not blistering, interior worn/torn? $12900 not a bad price if condition supports and if you offer less - the worst that could happen is the owner say no. I would be wondering what may start to fail on the much older car before I worried about the newer one. What has been replaced on the 1997 aside from the tensioners? There may be more ready to fail at any time just due to age and normal wear and tear. If you can do some repairs yourself - helps with costs overall, but as mentioned above have a mechanic look at both cars.

 

The prices seemed high to me as well so I did some research (I have dealer access to KBB and Manheim. Retail user values may differ):

2001 XK8 COUPE
KBB wholesale: $6054 + $6625 for miles = $12679
KBB retail: $9089 + $6625 for miles = $15714

MANHEIM
-Philadelphia - 64928 mi sold for $10100 on 6/5/12 Condition: Average
-Houston - 77172 mi sold for $10400 on 9/11/12 Condition: Above Average

1998 XK8 COUPE
KBB wholesale: $4218 + $2200 for miles = $6418
KBB retail: $7053 + $2200 for miles = $9253

MANHEIM
-Atlanta - 103,000 mi sold for $7900 on 6/16/12 White Condition: Average
-Southern Cal - 114,000 mi sold for $4500 Gold Condition: Average

Didn't realize that the coupes had such a strong retention value. In the past dealers did not factor in add for low miles into the wholesale price. But with the used car market going strong, mileage add is factored in on low mileage cars in exceptional condition. Having said that I don't think that dealers will factor in the whole $6625 for low mileage add. More like $2k to $3k, depending on the overall condition. Carnival Red was not a huge seller in its day and anything red with an exception of a Ferrari badge is more difficult to sell. Since the asking price on the Carnival Red is not that far out, I'd say the color could be one of the selling obstacles. I paid $860 for secondary tensioners R&R and oil change. I'd say $10k for this car should be a very good buy. You should be able to get close to that with the seller factoring in the length of time the car is on the market and the tensioner R&R. Even if Carnival Red is your favorite color, don't let the buyer know that and use it as negotiation point as well.

I'd not go for the 98 for several reasons. The price is high. Athough a white XK8 sold for $7900 at a Manheim auction in Atlanta, the one in Southern Cal with just a few more miles went for almost half the price. The original engine had nikasil linings unless engine was replaced. I'd definitely check.

Final recommendation - spend extra $ and have a local Jaguar mechanic do a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI). You can get the seller to cover part of it in the negotiation process. I did. Good luck. Great cars. Too bad I need a full time 4 seater...

 

Well, the red one sold today. Still a bit concerned about buying a car with 100,000 miles on it. One of the problems is that I can only find about 4 or 5 coups in all of LA, Orange County and San Diego. And the ones that are out there have a lot of miles.

Like people have said in other threads, just be patient.

 

Dear Notopm3,
Why don't you head up to visit your brother and pick up my car for a couple of hours. Then make your decision. I obviously like the Carnival Red color the best, however I prefer the black interior (and in my case the black convertible top). Light colored Jag interiors show cracking and dirt in the leather prematurely. The black simply wears better and looks fresher. Having made my preferences known, I would also add that for the prices you're looking at you should be able to purchase an 'R' model. And once you've driven the XKR vs. XK8, I believe you'll want the higher horsepower model. You've got my number, give me a call, drive up for two hours, and spend some time behind the wheel of my car without pressure, then make your decision. Plus, do not buy a car without service history and know that if tensioners have not been done, it will be something you need to do immediately. It's not deferred maintenance, it's absolutely required maintenance.

 

Coupes were not nearly as big as sellers as the Convertibles, especially in Southern Cal.

Here's something I came across:

Classic Car Auctions

Low miles, one owner. This is a consigned car so you have a good chance to contact the owner, directly or through the auction house. KBB wholesale is $7184 + $6575 for mile add. At $10k-$11k you should be fine. At that price range you will be no more than $12k + tax, title & license including the 5% buyer's fee.

 

This is a very generous offer. I'd definitely take him up on it.

I've driven some XK8s before, and I felt they didn't have enough power. I've said before that I was in the car rocking back and forth saying "More POWA" like Jeremy Clarkson.

And if we're talking pre-03 XK8/Rs, the XKR has the Mercedes W5A580/722.6 transmission, which in my experience is less problematic than the ZF 5HP24(A drum issues) in the XK8. XKRs also have aluminum thermostat housings, so you're good there too. The forced induction system is robust in that there really aren't common issues with the supercharger or intercooler. Between the driving experience and the better reliability (my perception), I'd definitely buy an XKR over an XK8. That's not even considering that I like the grill, hood louvres and double five wheels that come with the XKR.

I've got about 10 years of DIY experience working with my dad on everything from Japanese Motorcycles, to lawn mower engines, to Italian exotics and everything else. My dad has about 50 years working on prewar classics to econoboxes and everything in between. That said, on any car I buy worth more than about $4k, I like to pay for a shop to do a prepurchase inspection. Even just another set of eyes can see stuff. The shop is also interested in finding as much stuff wrong as possible for a possible repair bill if you do buy the car. I've walked away from one car because of what a PPI found that I didnt; I viewed that PPI as $150 well spent.

 

It's better to wait for the car you want than rush into a purchase. When I was looking for mine I asked the sales manager at a big dealership in socal (Bauer) if he took in a car I wanted in trade would he call me. The dealers know where the cars are.

 

I just haven't had time to make it up to LA. I am still in between jobs right now and spend most of the day job hunting. And to be honest, I am starting to waffle a bit on the XK8. My main concern is the lack of a back seat (I have two tall kids) and reliability (I can't have this in the shop all the time with a new job). My original intent was to get an SUV or a truck...then I saw the XK8. I want one badly, but it's not the best family decision right now.

On the XK8 vs. XKR issue...I don't want or need the extra power. I test drove a 2011 M3 yesterday. That was frightening. I love the V8 rumble, but that much power is dangerous. I know the XKR is not even close to a new M3's HP, but I'm not looking for a bad-*** sports car. I think the basic XK8 would be perfect for my driving style.

I'm still about a month from pulling the trigger on any vehicle, so I have time to consider all factors.