Hi gang. Finally introducing myself since I'm going to be pulling the trigger on my first Jag, an XK8. this week. I've been lurking on this forum for about 6 months now trying to soak up enough to know what I'm looking for and looking at. I just wanted to thank the collective for the knowledge base that has helped me in the search.

While I've looked at a number of cars--including a couple of S-types-- I've actually settled on a '97. Yeah, I know, haven't I actually learned anything in 6 months? Of course the price point caught my attention but it seems I've found one that has been a road car, well cared for, and most problem spots already corrected (tensioners, water pump, transmission). There are a few items to fix including the tilt wheel, but, no show stoppers (in my mind). I figure that'll keep me entertained this winter and let me get my feet wet learning to work on these cats. Looking forward to that as I'm an old piston head from way back.

My wife is calling this my Jag Experiment. Acceptable since I figure this gives me a car to get used to while I look for that "perfect low mileage" '03-'06 and swap into that in a year or so. This will be my commuter making the "slog" as we call it between Portland and Seattle every week and I'm really looking forward to getting out of the Suzuki econo box I'm riding in now.

Blue skies, Mike

 

Welcome aboard!

I did the same thing, lurked for months and then bought what I thought was a clunker to fix up only to find that all the big stuff had been done. New transmission, tensioners, rebuilt front end, new starter, new fuel pump, new water pump.

Previous owner had over $11k of work done in the previous 18 months. Select Edition warranty expired then the top failed and that ended the misery.

There are some real deals out there if you are patient.

 

Hey Mike,
Good luck with her! They do have their warts as do all cars, but overall, they put a lot of smiles on your face!
Brian

 

Mike,

Our wives must be related. She refers to my purchase last year of my 2005 XKR as "Doug's Folly". This is partly because she agreed to my buying a used Jaguar in return for my agreeing to sell my Corvette that she had been complaining about for 14 years now. Little did either of us think that the Corvette would still be here (I really don't mind but she does) but it has been impossible to sell a "toy" in this economic climate. Hence, my now having essentially 2 toys is known as Doug's Folly.

Doug

 

Welcome Mike, can't wait to see some pics of the car in the near future!

 

Atta boy, Mike. I did kind of the same thing. Researched, read all the bad stuff but got inspired by the occasional good point. I came to realize that a lot of posts were about problems but few among us take the time to start threads of why we like our Jags and what problems we AREN'T having. Knock wood. Waited for the right one (that took almost a year) and pulled the trigger. With the Jag repair fund still fairly untouched after three years. Knock wood again. I have no regrets and more self indulgent grins than I imagined.

 

I bought a '98 after a lengthy search and got a pretty good deal. I took my 86 year old next door neighbor for a ride a week after I bought it. he loved it and 4 days later he bought a 2000 XK8 like new with just 18,000 miles on it and paid $14500. Now he cruises around with his 90 year old girlfriend with the top down. You never know when the deals will pop up.

 

It can go either way. I bought a 2002XKR with 50k on it this year for $13000.00. It sounded like an awesome deal but everything that goes wrong with these cars plagued me right after I bought it. I have done the tensioners, headrests, both seat modules, abs, hydraulic hoses for the top, differential, 2 different coolant leaks, tilt and reach motors etc. I trully love this car and I think I finally won its respect, for it now runs flawlessly. lots of knocking on wood. I did however get to know these creatures rather well as a side effect and the respect is mutual.

 

Shot a quick picture this morning..
Already getting a feel for some of the nuances; some I hope are normal, some not so much.. P-)
Serendipitous post today on resetting the window controls.

 

Welcome to the forums , congrats and enjouy your XK

 

Welcome Mike,

There are a bunch of great guys on this forum and if and when you have a problem,most likely someone out there will be able to help.The Jags put a smile on my face everytime I get behind the wheel.

 

Okay, that window reset thing worked. Chalk up another one for the Jag Forum.

 

On the good side, I've had my '97 since late '98 and have not put 1 unplanned nickel into it. Flawless record.

 

As a new owner of an older XK8, very good to hear... - mileage?

 

Congrats on the purchase! I did just the opposite....I bought the car, then did the research here on the forum. It is true that the forum can make you paranoid about buying one, but once you realize that most of what you see here are only the problems, you realize the Jags are really not that bad; at least that's how it struck me. I got lucky and picked up a 2002 Jaguar XKR-100 almost a year ago. I knew it would be expensive to repair and bought an extended warranty, but not from the dealer. So far, I haven't had to use it. I have just over 8000 miles on the car and have gotten countless double takes from almost everyone who sees it. The only problems I have had are a few times the infamous ABS warning with loss of traction control. etc. Usually once I shut the car off and start it again, the warning is gone. One time, the motor went into "Limp Home" mode with no warning or apparent reason. I pulled over, shut it off, waited about 2 minutes and restarted. No problems since then...about 6 weeks ago. I think you're gonna' love the Jag...I know I love mine!