I am looking at a second car for fun and have my eyes on two but wanted to ask advice.

In the XK am I taking on a lot of hassle if I go for an 03 plate with a cabriolet in comparison to a coupe.

Love them both but wanted to get any thoughts you guys may have.

Cheers

 

Hi Sulley. I think you have the right idea from the start. Go for the, as you said, the 2003+ year plates. They have most of the problems sorted by then. I think we XK8/R owners have all been in this situation. Personally I went looking for a XK8 low mileage etc as I was not too worried about speed etc. Probably a little wary too of pushing the pedal and the car going out of control etc too. However, long story short, I ended up with a 2003 XKR and it was the best move I unintentionally made. Nothing wrong with the XK8 but the XKR is so much fun when you get used to it. So my advice plump for the XKR.

Go for the 3 dial option rather than the ones with Sat Nav. I have seen load of Sat Nav owners regretting it and converting. So save yourself some hassle and start off with the 3 dials.
You usually find the cheaper cars have not very popular alloy wheels. Terrible colour interiors. (Not going to antagonize anyone by saying what colours are terrible, but I have seen some Terracotta interiors) All a question of personal taste.

Take a current owner with you. They should see the car with subjective eyes rather than 'I want one'! eyes.

When you find a good one put the advert up on here. We can often spot stuff a new buyer wont.

Dont be afraid to ask any question, no such thing as a daft or stupid question.

Good luck! Hope you get to join the XKR club.

One last thing. This will give you some idea of what it takes to restore an old XKR to a nice one..........https://www.jaguarforum.com/showthre...l=1#post697823 May take a day or so to read it all. As I said before if you read that link and have questions quote it in the reply but and ask away!

FrankC

 

Hi FrankC

Thanks for coming back.

Three dials is a must and have seen quite a few that age with the satnav that look great but not keen.

I have tried a convertible and the coupe and love both but for practicality and given the weather in scotland think the coupe might be best. Also felt the acoustics internally were better in the coupe.

Good idea on the car and will post some pics tomorrow as going to see one that am really keen on which is BRG and an XKR.

Cheers

 

+1 on Frank's suggestion to take a current owner with you if you can. or at least someone who knows what to look for. Amongst the old favourites you will read about on the forum, the dreaded tinworm is the biggie on UK cars.

You can check the MOT history here:
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

...which may tell you things that the seller won't.

Coupé lines are purer IMO and the shell is more rigid, but yer pays yer money... Look for service history: a fully-stamped book isn't a cast iron guarantee but at least shows someone has made an effort.

Happy hunting!

 

Don't be afraid of higher mileage. In my experience "garage queens" often have problems for just "laying up" all the time. Mine has well over 200,000km on it and is trouble free ( I keep it well maintained )

 

Hi Michael

Was just about to check the mot and glad I did quite a few that are worth checking when I go over.

Cheers

 

Sulley67,

You've done the right thing in looking for a 2003+ coupe as the convertible top in Scotland won't get much use so it's not worth the long term hassle in dealing with the X100's convertible top.

Totally agree with frankc and michaelh's suggestion that you should take a current X100 owner with you to view the car.

I hope you have a garage as storing the car is important, both in terms of avoiding the dreaded rust problems, but you'll also need a modern car battery charger/tender/maintainer. Forum members swear by the Ctek brand. This car needs a fully charged battery, 100% of the time, to avoid many misleading warning messages. Here, even if I'm leaving the car standing for just a weekend, I connect the battery minder.

I presume you'll start the car, check for warning messages, and make sure everything works. Airbag and ABS fault warnings are common (common cause is a low battery) but there is also an easy DIY solder fix on the ABS's PCB. Make sure doors open/close/sit ok as they do tend to sag over time.

Other things to look for are
Engine:
1. Coolant leaks
2. Power steering oil leaks
Interior:
3. seat's head rests work
4. Cabin heater & AC works
5. Dash Instrument cluster bulbs ok

It's now a 16 year old car, so maintenance is expected. It's a fun car both to drive and in the garage. I actually enjoy doing the maintenance myself DIY. Lots of info on this Forum, and very friendly helpful folk who will help you. This Forum will literally save you thousands of GBP in mechanics fees.

Good luck in your search.

 

Cheers

I have a list of things I check and take photos of and then get checked with a mechanic I know before I even think of going to a second visit.

So many things can come up and have missed some really nice motors as they look great on top but underneath is a bit of a state.