Hi, thanks for making me welcome. Since mid October 2024 I have been loving my xk8. It really is in pristine condition; driven back and forth from S CA to Idaho by a snowbird until 2019 it was in a climate controlled garage until my purchase. It was his good weather car. I have all service records from both the CA or Boise Jag/exotic dealers. At 59,500 miles I feel I am driving a solid car. I use this car for the fun weekend drives with the top down in the CA sun. I had a very good mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection and the deep-module scan (if that is the right phrase?) came back with one error code that also appears on the dash with the amber light saying check rear lights and cruise not available (I have seen this code discussed in the forum and will do a search). The lights are always on fine; breaks/backup/tail lights. So two questions if you will:
I know to expect the unexpected but what do you all have for advice on living with my jag. I'm ready to hear bad news and good stories about these lovely cars.
If I go ahead and have this mechanic "install brake light switch $70 switch $260 labor and change the power steering fluid $66.00 all the other fluids are level and look clean as new) is this a reasonable set of recommendations? Other things to check? He did have the convertible latch green shower in the 3rd year and the dealer fixed all the damage to the top.
Finally, the previous owner was a stickler and the records show he was 90% on top of scheduled maintenance. I will also have the tensioners looked at (I think the 2003 4.2 was the first year with metal ones).

Thanks people, I love your comments and sanity!

 

Congratulations on finding this beautiful car! Unless you plan to drive it frequently, invest in a quality battery charger/conditioner. A majority of codes that suddenly appear on an otherwise well-running XK8/R can be traced to low voltage state from the battery.

 

Another remote possibility could be the rear lamp switch grounds need cleaning. There ar a few threads regarding the OEM lamps fixture failing to ground and causing. The fix was to add a pigtail from lamp to car body to insure a ground.. The brake light switch fix using the fishing or monofilament line is an easy fix if you have flexible help.

 

You might also check each of the bulbs/sockets in the both rear taillights for a loose connection/wire or corrosion.

 

Congrats on the good find. Your 4.2 won't have any tensioner concerns like the 4.0 had.

$260 is a ridiculous amount just to change the brake light switch. Takes maybe 60 mins first time, 20 minutes if you have done it before.

Post some pics!

 

Welcome to the party pal (lol). I have yet to see any vehicle that looks better than the X100 generation of these cars. I have owned my 2005 since 2008 and it had about 16,000 miles when I took possession--now has about 63,000 miles. I have gone through all of the theoretically worst well-known hassles (convertible hoses, convertible pump, upper shock mounts, quarter window regulators, brake pedal switch, etc) but it is the smaller niggling things that are a pita (antenna replacement, broken wire in body-to-boot harness for the button that opens the boot) and of course the warning lights. I have just gotten to the point where I accept the fact that some stupid warning light or weird behavior can occur at any time on any given day. These include dsc/abs system message, brake light/cruise control message, and most annoyingly occasional inabliity to manually shift gears along with Sport Mode not working. I think for these latter things it all comes down to the battery. While I drive a decent amount and charge the battery with my CTEK pretty often, I think it is time for a new battery since this one is 6+ years old. I found one "trick" that seems to lessen the error messages. If I turn the key to the first position and keep it there a few seconds while the car goes through the System Checks and then start the car, it seems better than if I just quickly fully turn the key to start the car, The other thing I fear is the difficulty of getting parts for the car but this would be a similar problem for any 20-year old vehicle.

 

Congrats on the purchase. Even if you are not mechanically inclined you should try to fix things like this on your own unless money is not an issue. Either on this forum or on YouTube almost everything has been addressed. Forum members will be glad to help. You have a beautiful 22 year old car with a lot of plastic parts that will break if you look at them too long.

 

I’m certainly subscribing to this thread since I too just acquired a 2003 XK8 vert with 60,000 miles late last year!

Finding parts is certainly a challenge. I was getting a trickle of a leak from the right valve cover and it was dripping and burning on the hot manifold. A headache causing stench. Finding that part was tough and eventually found something from a different model using the same engine.

Which brings me to my point. When looking for parts, don’t limit your quest to just your model or year. Jag was notorious for calling the same part something different from year to year and they did use some parts in other future cars.

This forum is a wealth of knowledge and the folks here are incredible. Don’t be afraid to ask the silly or obvious question.