So heres the deal. I have been wanting a Jag forever they are basically my dream car and I'm in a position to get one and I'm VERY excited but a little afraid also.
for the last 6 years or so I have floated out the idea of owning a jaguar to people I know and the thing I hear the most often is "you will be sorry" I have yet to hear a good thing about them. However I am stubborn and have not given up my dream.
So now Im turning to you people in hopes that I can get some feedback.
Now on to the important stuff! I found a blue convertible 1997 XK8 with 108K miles on, the list price is 9,995.
Now I got the CarFax, which was a waste of time since it didn't really tell me anything more that the car has had 6 owners, there are some recalls on this model and I know what they are, but I don't know if they were dealt with.
I think what the dealer wants is a little high but, I currently drive a 2007 Jeep Compass and it is paid off. Based on the value of my car I should be able to make an even swap for the Jag with nothing out of pocket out the door. I totally understand that there will be issues with things breaking on a 13 year old car and used at that but am I setting my self up for heartache or what.
I really want this car in a bad way but my responsible side is telling me I'll be throwing away an almost brand new car for someone's 13 year old headache! HELP!

 

Just my thoughts,keep the Jeep,save up the Money to buy a used XK8 or XKR as Hobby car,not transportation.
My mentor always said that in not the cost to buy a Jaguar,it the cost to own one.

 

The first thing you need to do is research. Scour these forums and you'll develop a list of issues/questions that are important to the car.

Next, you need to figure out which kind of role it will play in your life. Is it your only mode of transportation? Is it a toy for holidays? Is it a weekend warrior?

I looked for a "Jag" for four or five year prior to buying one yesterday. I made up a list of criteria I was looking for and the prices. Each time I found an add, I went through my list, if it met the major points but missed the minor ones, I moved it to the next list. At one point this year I had a list of 23 cars to look at. Narrowed it to 7, then 3 and finally 1. The car I bought isn't my first, or second colour choice, but the price and the guy I dealt with more than made up for it.

You can read the tail end of my adventure here. There's a ton of good information in there. It outlines most of my steps and a lot of my thoughts (with viewpoints thrown in from many people).

Do you have any pictures of the car?
Do you have a link for the add?

Just some food for thought.

Jared

 

U2Boo - I second both posts above. It took me about 3 months actually actively looking for the right car - and more than that researching and considering a Jag ownership.

I also spend at least $130+ paying for a pre-purchase inspection from afar on a car that I did not end up buying. It's far less amt than what Jared spent on his journey - but the point is, along the way you may need to consider spending some $$, not for the car, but for your search process.

Use this link as well - it's one of the the most valuable resource during my vetting process:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=29800

I use mine mostly for weekend fun - I have my paid off 05 Accord for daily driver. I also have at least 2 choices of decent and reputable independent shops nearby, plus the local Jag dealer where I can always count on to perform works - since I am not mechanically inclined. I also keep a regular deposit as my repair pool - if you will - for rainy days purpose. The TCO for XKs are completely different from an Accord or a Camry.

With all that said - don't be discouraged though. I've owned my XKR for only several months now - but it has been extremely rewarding. I mentioned on other posts that I considered a CLK55 AMG - even made an offer for one - but I can't be happier ending up with an XKR.

Good luck - and we're here as sounding board - always!

Bob

 

I like the additional advice that was given by Bob and Jared.The hunt for the right car is part of the fun of buying one. Take your time and read about models and MY to see what are the week spots and then you can ask questions of the seller before commiting to a buy.Find out from other local owners or on this forum in the regional section for the best shop or dealer in your area to do a prebuy inspection.
Once you buy the car start to do the simple manitenance your self and get comfortable with it,part of the fun of ownership is keeping it in top shape.
The other thing I do is set aside $200. per month for maintenance and repairs I keep a $2000. balance in the Jag account and any money over the 2K is spent on fun stuff ie wind screen,floor mats,speakers,tires,muffler mobifications, etc.
Last of all,have a daily driver and save the Jag for Fun,plus you won't be stressed out if the Jag has some needed downtime.

 

All of the above is good advice - particularly when buying an older car with 100K+ miles on the clock. I bought my '98 XK8 coupe new at the end of '97 and it has had very few problems (knock on woodgrain) and the ones I had were resolved under the original and/or extended warranty. Since '95 Jaguar has been building reliable, solid cars.
Almost 13 years later it has only 38K miles and runs beautifully (no, it's not for sale). I have not found the car to be any more problematic than the several Jeep Grand Cherokee's I've owned over the same period. That being said, if you have a lengthy daily commute and no other car to use as a daily driver, I would hesitate to recommend ANY 13 year old car as your primary transportation.

 

Keep the Jeep. If you are in So. California, just save a while longer, XK8's are not scarce down here. You'll find something else soon. Check ocpabi.com from time to time, (got mine there) they have them often, and at reasonable prices.

Wheeble.

 

Ditto what everyone said above. Plus, $10K for a 97 with 108K miles seems pretty steep to me. I bought a 2003 with only 71K miles for only $4K more. That's six model-years later with 37,000 fewer miles, plus the newer Ford engine without the nikasil cylinders or plastic timing chain tensioners for only $4000 more. If the engine on the car you're looking at still has the plastic tensioners, you could end up spending more than $4000 repairing the engine when a tensioner breaks.

Also, I don't think you should buy it to be a daily driver. The Jeep is going to be much more dependable, and that's really what you need for a daily driver. Find a better deal on an XK8, then buy it cheap and use it as a weekend toy.

 

Great advice from all. I bought my 99 for 16k, and I felt it was worth paying a premium for the condition she came in and the low 48k miles. And I've been looking for one for years. It's just a weekend car and I tinker with it in the garage, so keep your Jeep for daily driving. I use our 05 Trailblazer as the daily driver.

As a side note, there is a certain "cool" factor with these cars. Relatively rare, beautiful lines. I recently drove 1500 miles round trip to NJ (in the Trailblazer), and only saw 2 XK8's the whole way. They were convertibles. So if you want a head turner, this will do it. Good luck in your search.

 

Mine's a daily driver, i just expect (and budget) to spend a little more on it in maintenance than having two cars to care for...at least not yet.

 

Matt,
You spend more on stereo equipment for your Jaguar then most of us spend on a daily driver!!

 

I swore after buying my last Model A Ford that I'd never buy another vehicle sight-unseen. My intention was to take my time and look slowly and carefully for my next car (which didn't start out as looking for a Jag) and to actually spend the cash to take a look at it first before buying (as a $500 plane ticket would have been MUCH cheaper than the $7000 I invested in the Model A...that looked good in the photos!)

Unfortunately for me, I found an XKR of a style with only 30 produced...and jumped on it, problems and all. When was I going to find another? And yes, even now, I'm still happy with my decision...but it was really a once-off decision...I will probably never buy (or have a chance to again) so I jumped when I had the chance. Probably not a good idea, but one that happens so rarely that it was worth the jump...once.

So I'm with the other folks in saying that you should take your time and find a good one that has things done "right" on it. Like people have said before, Jags are expensive to fix (that's one of the reasons I got rid of my S-Type a couple of years back) and I'm also lucky that I have other vehicles that I can use to get to work if all else fails (thank goodness for good in-laws and a wife!)

Just my two cents...Dave

 

Thanks everyone for all the input! I have decided to pass on the car I was looking at and to keep looking. I had a long chat with my neighbor, he rebuilds cars as a hobby and he also gave me a lot of food for thought on the matter!
Between my husband and myself we have two cars and four motorcycles, so if I bought a Jaguar it would be my primary vehicle, we have plenty of weekend toys. If it needed repair, or a day off I'd just pull out one of the bikes.
I work 4 days a week and my commute is 13 miles. My husbands is even less.
I like the idea of having an account with repair money in it, I think thats prudent with any older car.
So I'm gonna keep looking and keep you all posted!

 

Once you get beyond about 7-8 years old, and high miles, the condition of the car becomes paramount, not whether it has fancy paintwork and wheels, sexy leather interior etc etc. Lots of owners seem to totally neglect their cars, and expect them to run forever without any attention. You just have to make sure you don't buy these guys cars !!

So you have to tread very carefully, and check the service records and repairs that have been done, so you know what you might be letting yourself in for. Over 10 years you will not usually be able to get any sort of warranty. A long test run is mandatory, not just a 5 minute spin round the block !

However assuming you get the right car at the right price, as a daily driver, why not ? Just be aware that as the miles build up, the wearing parts eventually wear out, and the cost of fixing them is related to the price of the car when it was new, not what you paid. This is normal for all cars.

 

Good advice from all. After a few years of research and lot's of looking my strategy was to get an '03 or later with high mileage. The 2003 MY and after will give you a greater sense of security (financially) as all of the major bugs were worked out by then. These cars don't like to sit unused so a higher mileage car means it's been used as a daily driver...this also pretty much insures that anything that has gone wrong has been fixed. I bought an 03 with 80K miles on it in 2007 and have had no problems with it. The 03 and 04 is a fairly high demand MY as evidenced by the lack of these cars availalbe for sale due to all the positive changes made internally with few changes externally, thus keeping the beautiful lines and styling of the 97 to 04 XK8's. Best of luck to you, enjoy the search and keep on reading about these awesome cars in this forum.