I think i found the car i will put a few bids on! It has been 4 or 5 times on ebay, & the seller has come down, but wants 9,000 the way i read it. Id like to get it down more( we'll see) He says the guides have been done? anybody's guess, But told me that this year didn't have the nikasil problems? is this the case? Also he said it has selves( the way it was stated he believed it was factory) The rest of the car is mint. 113.000 mils, So if it made it this far am out of the woods?

 

If it is a '98 and sleeved, then it probably has a factory replaced engine, from what I have read. The fact that he mentions the tensioners would make me believe that they really have been replaced. Is it a convertible? The hydraulic lines are the only other biggie I can think of right now. If everything else is good and you want the car for that price, I'd bid on it.

 

Any '98 is going to be a Nikasil engine unless it has been replaced. You need to understand that situation!

By guides I assume you mean Cam Chain Tensioners. Original '98 ones must be replaced.

Read the 'I'm buying a .....' post at this link, and all the other links there.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=29800

 

If you can do your own mechanical work, then go for it. If you must pay someone else to work on your car, then you are asking for big problems.

 

...and have little $$ set back for transmission rebuild, as that's almost always a given at that mileage

 

unless the car is really mint (no cracks on the driver seat, note how most people on ebay try to avoid taking a good pic of the driver seat, or the armrest) I'd say 9k is too much. H20boy is right about the transmission. At 113k miles the transmission is overdue. A rebuilt transmission will set you back about 5k (maybe less where you live) and for a total of 14k you can get an 02 with 60k or 70k miles.
I think ebay functions as a 'realty adjustment' for most sellers. I have seen it many times how it takes a seller 3 or 4 auction cycles to readjust the reserve price until someone buys.
Have you looked at the car in person? I'd email the seller an offer and see from there.

 

if you are ok with high milage cars then this might be interesting: a 2000 XKR for $8k

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ctd/1594863430.html

Looks ok, just has 180k miles

 

The 'R' versions DO have a different transmission (mercedes as opposed to the ZF) seems to be less problematic around here, definitely worth consideration

 

I just spent weeks watching ebay and online. $9K for a '98 convertible coupe with 113,000 in it is WAY to high. You can find a coupe or convertible in the 97-98 years with half those miles on it. I looked at virtually ever internet listing and certainly all ebay listings for a couple of weeks. You'll can get a pristine XK8 in the 50K-60K miles range for that price. Its not just the big thinks the miles break. Its all the little things like AC compressor, alternator, power steering pump, window switches - many that have nothing to do with how its cared for, but rather the vibrations that come with usage. (Had a uncle who was a design engineer in Detroit for decades - way up - and more than anything they measure cycles of vibration frequency that is a constant for any vehicle to determine the life of components, now how the car is cared for or driven.)
Just my thoughts. You going way up their in miles for a Jag. You should get a serious price break for it. Convertibles aren't rare in those vintages.

 

...follow up throughts... "love is love" - if you gotta have it, you gotta have it. It really isn't a practical decision. Probably a better analysis would be if it will be your ONLY vehicle and having a vehicle is a must-have, pass it up. Buy your necessity car based upon practically. An XK8, after all, is a toy.

 

well after lots of calls & hagling they just would not take my calls anymore! all i was asking is some varification (paper) that the work they said was done,(over the phone but never in the ebay add), was in fact done? told them i was ready to be ther on the week end if they could produce this. not once did i question there price. then all reasonable comunication stoped. SCAMMERS. but they sold lots of cars& had 100%feedback. I am still looking, but know i want a coup, not ragtop! wheels make a big diff. in the aperance of these cars. IMO.

 

if it wasn't meant to be, don't look back...there's plenty on the market. I too would have asked for paperwork, and if they were honest, knew their cars, they would have saved them for the new buyer.

I too believe wheels on these cars can make alot of difference in appearance. Good luck in your continued search granit!