I live in the Kansas City metro area and have been looking to buy a XK8/XKR for nearly 8 months now. The problem that I am having is there are very few to select from and they appear to be more expensive due to the limited selection. I have been keeping an eye on cities close enough to drive to which include Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis and there seem to be more to select from there. So, my question is....is it normal to travel several hundred miles away to purchase a XK8/XKR? If so, how far did you travel?

At this point I am planning on waiting until fall/early winter to purchase hoping I can get a better deal than summer time.

 

From my recent observations, I'd be looking East coast Florida. Economy seems down a bit, same as around Naples on the West Coast. Maybe let Autotrader guide you? Good luck.

 

I live in Cincinnati and flew down to Miami to buy my 01 XKR Coupe. Not many black XKR coupes around. The drive home was awesome!

 

I live in South Central PA and I searched as far as Northern VA, Washington, Baltimore, Philly and Jersey. I finally found mine 50 mi from home. Came from South Jersey and went to Manhiem Auto auction. Pay for a CARFAX if you get serious about one you find.

 

I too have noticed a dramatic difference in the supply of pre-owned XK8/XKR. When I had started shopping around for these in 2008, there were plenty to be found both locally (southern California area) and at further distances at pretty good prices. Although I bought mine in summer 2008, I occasionally continue to check prices just to see what is going on (I tend to do this after buying almost anything--just my bizarre quirk).

Anyway, over the last 6 months or so I have noticed a steady shrinking of available stock for these cars. I guess that is a good thing for those that already own them and I suppose those that do own one of these would rather hold onto them.

Doug

 

I went 1350 miles round trip to replace the XKR coupe that I'd crashed. There aren't many out there, but I finally found one in the Bay Area so I jumped on it. Left at 10:20 AM on SW Air and rolled into Portland a few hours later at midnight. It was a great adventure and I love the car. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

 

I drove around 500 miles round trip...for a car I didn't buy and then got lucky when the perfect car popped up 30 miles away. I paid a bit more due to limited selection, but not any more than if I had a car shipped to me.

 

I went 10 miles

 

By the way, my excursion ended up being only about 3 miles. After all the searching I had done, I accidentally stumbled on a local private party who had not really advertised in the more "typical" sources. It was like karma in that I had uncharacteristically decided to look at the less typical sources and found the car literally almost walking distance away.

Doug

 

A little over 500 miles, from Baton Rouge to Dallas.

 

About 1000 miles. Flew from Baltimore, MD to Jackson, Mississippi. Drove the car home last July to from Jackson, MS to Arlington, VA.

Hired a local inspector in Jackson. He was not a Jaguar expert, and he missed a few minor issues, but in the final analysis, I paid a fair price and I have no regrets.

 

I traveled roughly 1800 miles - flew out from Austin on Friday afternoon to SF, met the owner on Saturday afternoon, finalized the deal and started driving back with 1 night stop-over @ Phoenix, AZ.

Found the '03 XKR conv with 20in wheels - only 39K miles on it - on Craigslist.

 

I put an ad on Craigslist. I got 2 responses in a few weeks and bought one of them 60 miles away in Seattle. It's a 2003 with 55000 miles on it. The previous owner was an attorney who did everything by the book. I paid $20K for it which is maybe too much but I felt it was worth it because of the way the guy had taken care of it. My wife described him as '****'!!!

Buy a 2003 or later!!! They made lots of good changes that year.

 

I used all the online resources I could find last Fall, and searched nation-wide. Found the exact one I wanted 30 miles away! DaleD

 

I had mine shipped from Boca Raton, FL to Atlanta, GA.

 

Jag in KC
If you live in Kansas, Look to Texas. I live in the Illinois Mississippi River area, I left at 7:00 in the morning on a Friday, arrived at Love's Airport in Dallas at 11:00 and drove to Kansas City that night, and got home the next day at 2:00 almost two thousand miles round trip. Got a one owner car literally rust free and eight years old in excellent condition with almost all of the jaguar issues taken care of by the first owner.
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

I drove about 3 hours to Charlotte, NC. I had been looking at several different convertibles for a couple of months, but the first time I drove the XK8 I knew that was what I wanted to buy. I started searching from DC to Atlanta to Florida, and I drove several, but they all had issues of one kind or another. I was getting very pissed at dealers who on the phone promised that the car was in immaculate condition, but then when I drove to their lot the AC didn't work, or the convertible top didn't work or the hood release was broken and I couldn't look at the engine. It seemed like the dealers were hoping for a buyer who would buy the car without giving it a good once-over, and the dealers' cars were all over-priced.

Then one Sunday morning I saw a 2003 XK8 advertised by a private seller in the Charlotte Craigslist for what appeared to be a very reasonable price ($15K). I called the guy up and he told me all about the car. He seemed very straightforward. I thought about it for the day, then Monday morning I called him up and asked if he would take $14K if I drove to Charlotte that day to buy it. He said he would. I bought it about 4:00 PM and put it on a flat-bed car hauler from U-Haul to tow it back to Raleigh. I've only had it for two weeks now, but mechanically it is fine. There have been a couple of minor things I've fixed, but I feel like I got an awesome deal.

My point in all this is just that you shouldn't be in a rush to buy. Wait until you find a really good deal. One will pop up eventually. Read all of the threads on here about the things to watch out for when buying a used Jaguar. And don't make an emotional purchase.

 

About 3.5 years ago I started looking for a 2005 XKR Coupe in Zircon Blue. I wanted the Recaro seats, red Brembos and the handling package. I spoke with several dealers and was told that only a handful were ever sold in that configuration and I was not likely to find one. Well, after almost eight months of searching I found one in New Jersey. I flew up from Sebring, Florida in December of 2007 and the rest is history. I left the dealership just before dark at the beginning of a snowstorm. The car and the GPS got me safely around DC/Baltimore and once on I-95 the drive back to Florida was just very consoling. I had planned to stop for the night around Raleigh, NC but did not step out of the car until I reached Orlando. I have been fortunate to have owned a lot of nice rides in my life but none that ever looked near as stunning nor ever conveyed the same sense of satisfaction when cruising along the open road. These are truly great cars that are destined to be classics and in todays marketplace they are a real bargain.

Enjoy the road ahead.

 

We were quite fortunate in that we found our car just an hour away in San Diego.

 

Found my '99 on ebay, my bid did not meet the reserve, but got a call later from the owner. He was in a bind, and the engine developed a noise, so was offered the car at a very good price(6K). Car was in Texas, and owner said he would drive it out for $300., which was good in case the engine went. The engine noise was minor, and I fixed it for about 12 dollars. I think it was a great buy.