Hi guys, I am new to this forum.
I am in the process of maybe buying a 1998 XK8 Convertible.
This would be my first Jaguar. I have been doing some reading on this
forum but like all other forums you only read the bad things about the
different models.
Can you all give me some advise as to what to look for as far as problems
that are common to this model.
I am concerned about the leaking Hydro cable for the top latch. Is that a
common problem and does it happen quite often?
What other items should I be aware of? It has 79500 miles on it, but
is owned by a female lawyer and was purchased for her by her Car dealership
owning brother who said he had it carfaxed check as well as maint
records. Its looks are immaculate inside and out.
So what do you guys think?
AL

 

Welcome, in fact for the sake of you get more responses off our XK Owners I am moving your thread into the XK Forum instead

 

Welcome to the forum and I hope the purchase works out for you.

You are right, no one logs on to say that they never had a problem with their cars. On the other hand, the early XK8s had a number of issues that were beyond expectations for a car of it's reputed quality.

The largest one, Nikasil cylinder lining, has just about gone away. The problem cars have already died. If it is still running and the breather hose is not full of oil it is probably ok. Look through the maintenance records for:

Cam chain tensioner replacement - must have been done or must do.

Throttle body replacement - early recall that should be verified.

Water pump/thermostat/thermostat tower - Early pumps surly have all been changed by now. Plastic impellers broke off. If unknown all three should be changed.

Front end/wheel bearing rebuild - sooner or later. Look for irregular tread wear.

Transmission service - verification or drain/refill as a condition of sale. Don't accept 'sealed for life'. Life is less than 100k miles.

Top latch hoses. On two cars mine failed 3 times on an average of every 4 years.

Lots of other little things that may or may not fail. But on a Jaguar there are few 'little' things at the dealer. Understand that dealer and independent repair is going to be more expensive than at the Ford or Chevy dealer.

Search around and educate yourself on the issues. You will feel better knowing what to expect on a worst case basis.

The XK8 is a classic car that you will love so don't miss the chance to own one.

 

thanks for typing that up test, you're a trooper on this common inquiry.

Ago, you could be looking at quite an investment in your first couple years of ownership if the top two (in my opinion) have not been repaired - convertible hydraulic hoses and the secondary chain tensioners that test-point mentioned. You're looking at big $$ if those go on you, or if you choose to be proactive and do it yourself.

Transmissions on those earlier cars won't last forever either. Used cars are a gamble, care to roll the dice on this one? Only you can give the nod.

Read the xk8 section, lots of good info there.

 

Rules to go by!
If you think you are getting a deal, think again!

If you get the car and you are betting it will not give you any trouble, remember you are gambling!

If you can barely afford to get the car, maintenance and parts are expensive!

If the mileage is low or high just remember, seldom do you see anyone on the forum mention mileage and that is because it really does not matter with these cars.

We can only give you things to look for and hope the ones we skip do not appear as a problem. The rewards of this car are self pleasing. If you want it and can afford it and you are mechanically able to take on a few projects go for it!

Gus

 

I would also add that the early cars are best owned by hobby mechanics. If you love working on cars you have a great deal of enjoyment ahead. Also, if you do your own work they can be maintained very inexpensively.

I did my own tensioners for less than $150, $1000+ at the dealer. Parts for the hydraulic hose replacement are less than $300, $1200+ at the dealer. A transmission control module that was $2050 at the dealer parts counter was found used at an auto recycler for $90 shipped.

 

Thanks guys for the great replies. I have read the forum for a couple
of days and I am so so so! I am gonna check the car out Friday and
really give it the look over. I have done a Carfax and no maint other
then reg service was done. Nothing about the top latch (hoses) or
tensioners, or any recalls done for that matter. Its got 79xxx miles
on it and is owned by a Female Lawyer (Yeah???) and she has had it
6 yrs and says no problems what so ever with it. That doesn't mean I
won't get them all at once, once I buy it, but I am tempted and will really check it out.

Will dealers do any recalls that where posted even thou the car
is over or out of warranty?

Thanks again guys for the come back!!!

 

I mean no disrespect but Carfax is at times not worth the paper it is printed on! I had 2 cars both were involved in accidents and both Carfax did not reflect either repair. I disclosed this information when I sold the one and the other was a surprise to me. Take the car to someone you trust and have them look it over. Just remember “Garbage in garbage out”. If an event is not put into the Carfax “D” base YOU will never see it!

Gus

 

Thanks Gus

I'll have to have the car checked out...

 

The throttle body replacement is set to expire this Fall sometime. It is the most serious recall (Service Action) on the car and applied to only certain VIN ranges.
See this link: http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/jag...5634594-1.html

Any dealer can pull a report called 'Direct Dealer Warranty - Claim History List'. It is all the warranty work done but in a very abbreviated format. It only lists the date of service, miles and the principal part number replaced. You then have to go to the parts counter and have them look them up. They may claim privacy but this report has no owner information and they are telling you that they just do not want to.

One comment about CarFax; they only report what has been reported to them and specifically include that in their disclaimer. I inspected a car that had a perfectly clean report but it was obvious that the entire rear end sheet metal had been rebuilt and not all that well.

Hope we have not discouraged you completely. It is best to know what you are getting into.

 

You may not hear what you want to hear and no one should pull any punches. This is part of being an informed consumer!

Good Luck!
Gus

 

We are often asked what should I look for in the purchasing of an xk8? And we respond with many items over and over and over again. What do you think the chances are of putting all of our resources together on one post that could help everyone? I feel this post is the beginning and should continue and added to the FAQ quick links. If you feel the same way, add to the list.

Gus

 

Al,

Some of the general rules of any car purchase applies especially to these cars.
1. None are perfect.
2. Take your time in operating the miscellaneous gadgets and features. Operate each control in each of the ways it can be. THIS IS REALLY A GOOD IDEA!!!
3. Take some time driving without anyone talking to you to listen carefully to the different noises and identify source to extent you can.

Special to this car:
4. Look to see if the engine was replaced as part of the make good on the Nikasil issue. Some were. If you have one, you may get a better deal as the price bears the "black eye" but the engine will be of lower mileage and of a more maintenece free design (still check out chan tensioners independent of this issue).
5. A few small items but do not change a deal on a car you love over them:
a. Motorized mirrors and head rests often do not work properly.
b. Cup holder often fails. Jagtech Ohio offers fix. When operational it works better to distribute contents of cup(s) over back seat before hand as that is where contents will end up when under heavy acceleration - this is normal. You can also dump it in your lap or the passengers lap if you plan to turn first. Either action saves a step and comes as less of a surprise.
c. You may find a slight cramp just to each side of your mouth as there is a pretty good grin factor when you drive it.

Good luck on your choice!
-Steven (1avguy)

 

Gus, I have wanted to do this for quite some time. It is a large venture, if done correctly as a sticky with many links and facts. One day... perhaps.

 

Matt, where is JagTech? Unlike him not to participate.

 

Gus, I think he's taking a break. Can ya blame the guy?

 

I too just purchase my first Jag Xk, a 2000 model in pristine condition. Same problem as most, can not find out if the cam tensioners have been changed or the water pump and transmission issues addressed. Are there any tell tale signs that will give you a hint of wether these items have been addressed. Great forum

 

Last October I purchased a '99 with 93K miles. It is the same color and trim as yours. Not being a die-hard backyard mechanic (although I do take on some projects), I purchased a two year, 24K miles service contract (yes, for $3,000).
After only 5 months I've got more than half the money back (or at least my service guy got the money back). Valve and timing chain cover gaskets, power steering cooler assembly replaced due to a leak, the fuel pump went out and one of the starter wires had to be replaced. These are all kind of 'normal' things that happen but fortunately I didn't have to shell out any extra bucks. BTW, the starter wire corrosion should have been caught at the pre-purchase inspection but it is very hard to see and even harder to get at to replace - check yours. This car was from Southern California (not the coast) so one wouldn't normally expect a corrosion problem - never hurts to double check.
It's my opinion a good service contract on one of these vehicles is probably worth it. The operative word here is 'good'. Read the fine print, understand what it covers and more importantly, what it does not cover. Call the company that administers the contract,find out what their limits are. No contract will pay through the nose for a covered repair if it is unreasonable. For example, my particular administrator uses the MSRP listed on Parts.com as the max price they'll pay for a part. Find out what your recourse is if the administrator goes belly up. My contract is backed by a second insurance company and then (by state law) by the selling dealer. Of course both backups could go belly up as well - that's the risk we take - buyer beware.
Best of luck - you'll love the car no matter what!
beg3yrs

 

its beautiful but the guy i bought it from has changed everything to make it look like a 2005 xkr now there is no place to put license plate in front and i am not driling a hole in the kit is there any oother options

 

Agoguen,

Follow the advice that you have received here and do your research. I think I read almost every single post in this forum before I bought my 2002 XKR Convertible. That being said, look around and make sure you are getting the car you want. I searched for almost two months. I wanted a specific color, Anthracite Grey with Cashmere interior. I bought the car in TX. I live in Iowa. I flew down, inspected it, drove it (3.5 hours to inspect and test drive) and then bought it and drove it back.

Use cars.com or autotrader.com and don't be afraid to buy a car out of state. If you do buy at a distance, pay to have it inspected. Also, I was able to get the warranty repair history from my local Jaguar dealer by giving him the VIN.

I took a check list with me to inspect the car, one that I made using the ideas from this site and a few others. I have attached it. It does not cover everything, but I was satisfied with it.

I also had the ability to connect my laptop to the car to check for fault codes and to get information from the computer in real time. I drove the car for 1.5 hours around Dallas with the computer connected to make sure it was running well and to listen for problems.

Mind you, I bought my car from a dealer that specializes in high end vehicles and was very accommodating. That being said, any dealer or person that would frown on a thorough test drive and inspection is most likely hiding something.

Also, the more you look at other vehicles, the better feel you will get for the fair market value of the car. Don't be afraid to spend a little money to go get the car you want. It cost me $375 to fly to Dallas plus the cost of food and gas to drive back. Not a lot of money and I got the car I wanted.

Also, there are almost never any XK8 or XKR's for sale in Iowa and when they are, they are overpriced. So, I saved money buying out of state.

Also, is this going to be your daily driver? If you have to repair it, do you have a backup vehicle? I concur that it would help if you can do some repairs yourself as it will keep the costs down for you and will be more fun too.

I bought my 2002 XKR as a summer fun car, as I will not drive it in the winter. It is not my primary vehicle. If it was, I would have bought the lowest mileage 2006 I could find.

That being said, when I bought it two weeks ago, it had 63,000 miles; it was in excellent mechanical condition; it was in excellent cosmetic condition (just a few chips that had been touched up); I had access to the service history from the dealer it was purchased at; and most of all, it was the color combination I wanted. I made numerous calls to the dealer discussing all of my concerns and negotiated the price to what I was comfortable with. They were asking $18,995 for it. KBB was $21,500, so they were asking a fair price. I managed to talk them down to $18,000 even. So, with cashiers check in hand, I flew to Dallas.

After the inspection and test drive, I had the following concerns.

1. The cigarette lighter port did not work.
2. The rear speakers had almost no sound.
3. There were some scratches on the trunk lid that they did not report to me.

I pointed these flaws out and they agreed to take another $200 off. I was happy with that.

So, I paid $17,800 for the car plus $375 for plane ticket and about $100 for food and gas for the trip home. A bargain for such an awesome car in such great condition.

It turned out that the cigarette lighter works, it just required me to position my charger just right to get it to work. hehe

The rear speakers are fine, apparently on the XKR Convertible, they are only subwoofers and the subwoofer volume was turned all the way down. hehe

The scratches on the trunk lid were some kind of white crud that came off with a clay bar. hehe

So, they took off $200 for nothing. But they did make their customer happy, so that is something.

By the way, the dealer was E-CarOne.com | Pre-owned Dealer | Carrollton, Texas .

Good luck with your purchase and welcome to the forums.

Here is what my car looked like at the dealer.