Indecisive: 1998 XK8 Coupe or 2005 XK8 Convertible
 

I'm having issues deciding which car to buy, I'm respectfully requesting your feedback.

1. 1998 XK8 coupe with 43k miles. Seller which is the 2nd owner (75 yr. old collector) asking price $12k. The next owner wil have to replace the tentioners as a precaution. Gorgeous and in excellent condition. Dark blue exterior and ivory interior.

2. 2005 XK8 convertible with 72k miles. The current owner is 3rd owner, he wants $10k. The car was rear ended during his ownership, trunk lid and bumper professionally replaced and repaired. No frame damage and title is clean. Silver exterior and black interior.

Thank you in advance for your input.

I'm no expert compared to many on here, but my 2 cents: With the '98, besides the tensioners, you have to consider this car has the older 4.0 Nikasil engine, which you can read about on the forum if you aren't familiar with it. Also, maintenance records are crucial with any car, especially the older car. With age, you'll have to look at replacing hoses, etc that dry out. I'm sure some other members who are more mechanically inclined than myself can go into detail here. But generally speaking, even with good service, more things wear out with age. Finally, regardless of condition. $12k is overpriced for a '98 I think.

With the '05, you are simply getting a more modern car with more options and the revised body style, if that maters to you. Most of the issues with these cars were fixed by 05-06. Again, look for maintenance records. With the accident, does he have pre-repair photos? That way you can judge the extent of the damage yourself. I'd say a PPI is a must here to get a second opinion of the quality/extent of repairs. Now, I have an '05 so I'm biased. Also, my daily driver for 6 years was in an accident before I purchased it and never gave me any problems.
So that doesn't scare me away assuming you can ensure the damage wasn't extensive and the repairs are high quality

So, without knowing the service history of the cars, I'd have to go for the '05. Unless you could get a decent reduction in price on the '98.

Any photos available?

We can all tell a lot more about them by seeing the condition.

Graham

:icon_that:Lots of stuff to fix on the '98 and not worth it, unless it's going in climate controlled storage for some future sucker (collector). Get it for $5k, drive till it breaks and then part it out. Then again, you can fall in love and economics be damned.:icon_toast:

Keep looking. I regularly see good examples on Craigslist which are priced way below what I paid & what I'd expect these cars to go for.

Also IMHO do not get hung up on miles. A low mile car (any make) which has just been sitting idle will need repairs just as much or more as a high mile car which has been cared for.

Convertible. Every time.

You can easily get a 1998 in nice condition for under $10k. Pass on this one, it is priced too high. The '05 would be a good car assuming the repairs were quality as noted by others.

You didn't even mention the coupe vs. convertible issue. That is a matter of taste.

It is easy to turn into a 15 year old when looking for a Jag to buy. You fall in love with whichever one is in front of you and want them all when you get home. Be patient, The right car is out there.

Send pictures. They help.

Jagmoto,
Sounds like an easy decision to me.
I would go with the 05 convertible for several reasons.
Being an 05, as mentioned by 01Silverstone, many of the minor and major issues you will find in the 1998 have been improved or eliminated. (I own a 98 convertible)
I would think that living where you do that a convertible would be nice since you could go topless for most of the year.
And lastly, the price. If the 05 is available for $10K, you most likely can negotiate down to maybe $7500 or $8000.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Best of luck, and I know you'll enjoy whatever Jag you decide on.
Dave B.

05'
 

I had a 1998 8 for about a year and sold it for the '04 R I ended up with. It was far cheaper than chasing the '98's issues (and it had gone through the tensioners and a full tranny rebuild before I bought it) and it was a ton quicker. The '04-'06 series had a massive number of fixes done to the car and will likely be a ton less trouble. My 6 cents.

My 2 cents votes for the '05 vert. The '98 is priced too high, but more importantly, the '05 addressed many of the more expensive repairs, one of which, the secondary tensioners, you will still have to do almost immediately to the '98. So, the real cost of the '98 is considerably more.

wait around fro an xkr supercharged and put a smile on your face every time you sit in it

I'm with tberg and many others, and I drive a coupe and prefer it for this particular series of car (vert too floppy for me).

2005 has a faster downshifting transmission. Then remove the rear mufflers and put in some small pipes with decent types. Voila, you got sound.

Also, my decision to go with an XKR came late in the process after I lost out on two 2003+ black coupes. I found an inexpensive 2002 one but paid all of it back in additional maintenance as the well intentioned prior owner missed some key maintenance items.

The power of the XKR is addicting. I finally got my muscle car experience, with a vastly improved interior

+1 to all that!

01Silverstone. I didn't factor in the Nikasil engine, I was just focused onthe tensioners and tranny issues. I guess the only precaution with Nikasil isto avoid it and it will be tedious to check the compression pressure of eachcylinder but ideally it should be done regardless Nikasil or steel. Nopre-repair photos to gauge how extensive the damages were but I'll remove thetruck's interior cover and inspect the repair, and repair documents.Maintenance records are always good to have.

GGG-Graham. My cell memory got corrupted before retrieving them. I'll shootphotos on my next visit hoping he will have it still.

Mike66, Mr. Feathers, Jag#4-Mike, Rob Enderle, tberg. Perhaps I got carriedaway by the moment when I saw the coupe. Pristine condition and low miles couldalso mean, making expensive memorable repairs as the miles go up. Now back toreality, that car is overpriced along with the other issues with '98's. I needto do more research just like what did when we purchased our first Jag XJ8. Iwill definitely consider 05-06 with newer 4.2 engine and a stronger 6 speedtranny.

Are the 05-06 bodies made of aluminum?

Smoggyx100 & Jag#4-Mike. I am not a ragtop person hence my quest for acoupe. Subjectively, side by side the coupe looks better when vert's top is up.Drop the vert's top - the convertible is drop dead gorgeous.

Dave B. He was initially asking $11k on the ad. I got an email from him ifi'm still interested, my reply asking for his bottom price - he really wants$10k. There might me room for further nogotiations if less buyers areinquiring.

dodgerjames & weisberg. The only supercharged we drove was S Type R -SUPER FUN. Our normally aspirated 4.0 XJ8 is powerful enough for our drivingneeds. The XJ8 puts a smile on our faces even before getting in it. Imaginehaving XKR - both of us will have a Joker face before and after the ride. I'mhesitant to get them due to another system on the engine to worry about downthe road. The same thing I feel about the vert top system - hydrolics andhoses. But would like to experience a vert, we never had one before.

Bad Catitude. I concur.

Thank you so much for your time, prompt/candid replies and sharing yourexperience.

Supercharger doesn't decrease reliability according to many sources; the design is robust enough to handle it. Not sure if early models will be more valuable down the road i.e; 3.8 E-types vs. 4.2. Doubt it, especially while we're alive. Haven't driven an R coupe, so can't advise, but would probably trade my car in for one if I was single.:icon_toast:

IMHO go with 04 and younger. They are a completely different product. The 4.2 with 6 speed box in the later models are far superior. I have an 01 XK8 and an 04 XJ8. I never thought the XJ would be more fun to drive but so far it is!

If I was single I wouldn't trade it in, I'd just buy another to keep it company. :icon_headbang:

05 vert.

Not many of us here have settled on the coupe vs. vert- we still want both!

Remember, the older XKR trans is the strongest. AMG product. Nikisil shouldn't be much in the vernacular here anymore. It's said that those still around and running strong are now even stronger mills than the 4.2 that replaced it. Mine is rocking at 127k.

2002 and older XKR has the stout Mercedes 5 speed transmission.
HOWEVER
2002 and older XK8 has the mediocre ZF 5 speed. Not faster shifting and less reliable.

Mechanics here in Denver commented after I ended up with an early XKR, not an early XK8 as planned, that they forgot to mention that ZF 5 speed required replacement in several models they saw. One place here in Denver has worked on 100+ Jag transmissions and they concur.

So any XKR = transmission not a concern
XK8 = stick to 2003-2006 and avoid earlier.

Everyone rightly talked about the timing chains issues 2002 and earlier, but few warnings about that ZF 5 speed in the XK8 models. I just got lucky on that as none of the mechanics I interviewed in advance said anything.