Help me learn about XK8
 

Considering purchasing a used Jaguar XK8 convertible. Love the looks but that is about all I know.
Looking at getting a 97 to 05 and want to spend around 7 to 10 K.
What should I look for?
Is there a "bad" year?
Any particular problems with the convertible?

What threads should I read and what other sites are available for information?
Who is the "GO TO" repair person in Northern California?
Am I being stupid?

Thanks
Roger

Wow. You have opened a proverbial Pandora's box with that question! But, you have come to the right place! Yo need to search around this site, paying attention to the first few entries or threads. All of your questions, and many you didn't know to ask will be answered there! In a nutshell: Fantastic cars. Comfortable, fun to drive, great attention getters, good fuel economy, lots of bang for the buck. There are certain engine issues through 2001. Basically, the newer the better. The 97-2002 cars have a 4.0 v8. 2003 and on have a 4.2 v8 in which many of these issues were rectified. Same for the transmissions. There is a shift drum issue in the older non-supercharged ZF transmissions, which was changed in 2003 to a better ZF trans. The supercharged cars have a Mercedes trans. Convertible top cars have issues. Hydraulic leaks mostly. They are awesome cars, but there is a reason that used prices are low. When you are looking, please see that the owner has all their documentation for repairs. The key is to buy one that has already had its issues repaired! By the way, they arent too terribly difficult to work on if you have that skill. And there is an abundance of help available from this forums members. Best forum on the web; seriously! Kevin

Roger,
You're not being stupid. I have a 2002 convertible and a 2010 Coupe, and I enjoy both. I have put 90,000 miles on my 2002 in the past 5 years that I've owned it, on top of the 62,000 that were on it when I bought it in Northern California. So, even at 150,000 miles, it is my daily driver.

I like the looks of the 2001-2003 cars a little more than the 2005-6 cars, rounded rockers like the XKE vs. a squared off sill. Also, the front fog lights and rear taillights were different and a bit more attractive starting in 2001.

If you buy a pre-2003 car, meaning a 4.0L vs. 4.2L engine, it is imperative to have the secondary tensioners replaced immediately. Or verify that the previous owner had them replaced. They were plastic, are prone to cracking and falling apart, and almost inevitably lead to catastrophic engine failure. If they have not been done, and unless you're going to replace them yourself, figure about an additional $800-1500 into your purchase price (varies depending on if you're changing all gaskets, primary tensioners, and timing chains).

On the convertibles, unless the original hydraulic hoses have been replaced, you will get the dreaded "green" shower of hydraulic fluid. So probably another $1200 parts and labor unless you can get owner to verify that they have been replaced.

The transmission is another source of potential expense. I would change trans fluid and filter upon purchase. Up til and including 2002, XK8/XKR had 5spd/after 2003-2006 6 spd. The XK8's were ZF sourced throughout the model range, while the XKR through 2002 had a Mercedes sourced tranny (in my opinion, a better, stouter unit than the ZF).

Front end bushings and shock mount bushings will need replacing.

The more complete the service history, the more you can confidently know that your car will last a very long time. Don't buy a car with little or no history, it will haunt you.

The various idiot lights like the ABS/Traction control warning will come and go and drive you nuts, but will not affect the driving experience. Same with airbag sensor light.....

But, at the end of the day, you will have a wonderful, classically beautiful automobile that you will want to keep forever for about $10K. It's a joke.
I drive my 2002 every day, top down about 360 days a year, and I still love it. There is never a single day, not one, that someone doesn't comment on how beautiful it is. It is a classic design that will look good 50 years from now.

An XK8/R is one of the best looking cars on the road and an excellent choice for a poor man's Lux GT cruizer.

The only thing an XK8/R owner needs is the skills to do your own work or the skills to earn a lot of cash to pay someone else to do the work.

But for the cost of a 97 to 06, anywhere between 6K and 20K, it's the cheapest and best GT car out there.

The one item I add (since tberg covered much as do the Stickies in the forum) are these cars come and go on the market, I looked for about a year, missed a couple by inches and I was looking Nation wide. If you purchase you want to get what you like, ie Paint color and Interior, you said you want a conv that's great, are you set on a XK8 or would you like a extra 100hp and buy a XKR? Cali probably has many XK8, There were a number here (NY region) but pricing was way high, I ended up 1 year ago in Naples Fla with a 02/xkr/triple black with 44k miles, we drove it back to NY. So if your willing to expand your search your chances of finding a good deal increase as the radius of miles does, then again you might find one the next town over! Good luck on your search it's a big part of the fun becoming a XK owner.

get 2003 or newer as stated, a lot of issues had been fixed in the 03 and up, problem will be getting a nice one at the price points you want to buy in at, aint ganna happen. 97-2002 you have a lot of issues that could bite you in the ass. if you get one don't get one that has NO maint history for you to look at. You will find them at the price point you are looking at but you are looking at a high chance of getting stuck with a turd. With these cars, maint hist is a must I think. And as said, be able to turn a wrench so you can do some of the more basic repairs yourself. Finally have spare cash for fixing the car. They are cool looking but are one of the more costly and most prone to repair issue cars I have owned, and I have owned over 50 cars in my life.

I did a ton of research before I even started looking seriously for one to actually buy. I also had to convince myself that at age 60 I was still able and willing to do as much of the needed work myself as I can. I then looked at and inquired about more than 20 of them in my search. I realized early on that I could not afford an '03 or newer and likely wouldn't be able to anytime in the near future so that left me with looking for an older one that may need all or much of the work needed to correct the flaws the early ones come with.
First thing I found - Nearly all the low priced ones had "Salvage" or "Rebuild" titles. That makes them hard to get full insurance coverage on and also many banks wont loan on them. The loan part didn't apply to me as being on disability its almost impossible to get a loan anyways so I had to get one with my limited cash settlement from my Alfa Spider being totaled. Having a non-clean title can also make the car harder to sell later if you decided you don't really want it later. Also with a Salvage title car you have the added distraction of wondering if whatever work was done to get it back on the road was done right. I decided to stick with only a clear title car with a clean Carfax report. That really limited the choices in my price range. After 4 months of looking I finally found the one that now owns me. Its a '97 BRG/Tan XK8 with 97k miles. It was from an estate and had been sitting a while but at least it was stored inside a climate controlled area. I paid $5000 for it and now have almost $7k in it and still have to do the tensioners and other smaller things. But out of 20 of them this was head and shoulders the best one for the money I could afford. Thats not to say you wont find a better one cheaper but while I was looking at them that was all that was out there I could find. I'm sure some people have gotten some screaming deals but that never happens to me. Thats why I stop looking after I buy because the week after I buy something a better/cheaper one always comes up when its to late.
Good luck in your search and do a lot of research so you know what you are getting into.


Dave

Great information here. I am doing a lot of research and really deciding on what I can afford. the 2003 and above seem like the proper way to go but a lot more expensive.
If I can find and older one with the tensioners and roof hydraulics done it may work.
Thanks for all the advice and keep it coming, I am learning a lot.
Roger

No matter what you get especially if its going to be a daily driver like mine budget at least $2k above the purchase price to fix all the things you WILL find wrong with it right off once you get it home. For me some of it was stuff that kept it from passing VA state inspection so the repairs had to be done to make it legal.


Dave

97 with those miles and the timing chain issues have not been fixed???? Dude you are sitting on a ticking time bomb. I think everyone here would agree that repair should be your NEXT repair.
But as he stated stay away from the rebuilt crap, headaches waiting for a head to have them in. Nothing is wrong with owning a 97-2002, just shop carefully for them. Know what you need to know about the cars, ask the right questions of the owner, if they trip on their tongue trying to explain stuff or do not have paper work I would walk.

Its on the list but have no money to deal with it as yet. The tensioners were replaced at 57k miles by the dealer under warranty according to dealer records when it bent 2 exhaust valves. That was done on Feb 2002 It may or may not have the new tensioners so I have to pull the covers yet and see whats there. I do plan on doing that in the next week or so. So worst case it has old style tensioners with 40k miles which still isn't a good thing though slightly better than them having 97k miles.



Dave

Roger, When I was looking for my XK8 here in AZ, I figured I would find a great local car... considering our climate. What I did find was tha the sun and heat here leave these cars in pretty tough condition! The plastics and leather take a hard hit. Especially the leather. So, that being said, when you are shopping around the US for a car, I would recommend that it come from a more tepid and humid climate to ensure the best possible condition. Like all their parts, none come cheaply! Including trim and upholstery! You are in an ideal state for that! In fact, I found my car in Carlsbad. My boss found his Jag in SoCal, a customer found one in Orange County, etc. The leather in my car is near perfect with 101,000 miles. The AZ cars locally were trashed with 50,000. Really.