Hi, I want to get a 2000 XK8 (I have a 2000 Mercedes SLK). I know NOTHING about Jags. If you could tell me what to look for(bad & good) it would be greatly appreciated. I would prefer a hard top. Every time I put the top down on my SLK I hold my breath(but thats another story).
I'm looking at a 2000 w/ 100,000 miles. It is a one owner, by the guy selling it. I haven't seen it yet, but he sent pics. He says he has all service and repair records. The only thing he says is wrong is the sensors for the traction control( light comes on). Suppose to $90.00 apiece.
Tell me ALL THE BAD STUFF!!!!! And ALL THE GOOD STUFF!!!!
Thanks for your help!! Hope to be an owner soon!!!!!!!!!...Monty.

 

This is so common a question that it should be a sticky.

I will hit the high spots and let you search the forum for the many discussions on this subject.

If the car is still running good and doesn't have oil in the breather tube you are probably ok with the Nikasil issue. Search that for the whole story.

Check for transmission maintainence. Jaguar proclaimed the trans 'sealed for life'. What they didn't say is that 'life' is 100k miles unless the fluid is changed.

Unless replaced, the cams' timing chain plastic tensioners are a terminal issue with the engine. Even if replaced there is a good chance that plastic went back in. Verify that metal bodied tensioners are in place of plan on doing it immediately after purchase.

You mention a preference for a coupe but did not clearly state that the car under discussion was one. Convertibles will have had the hydraulic lines to the top latch replaced at least once by now, perhaps twice.

Look for signs in the repair records for overheating, water pump, therostat, thermostat tower replacement.

Check all the electronics before driving off. Both seat operation, memory, radio, CD, windows especially rear.

All 3 keys, 2 fobs, books, all tools under spare.

Good luck! You will really enjoy the car especially if you can do some of your own wrenching. On a 100k mile car relatively minor problems can ruin the experience. Parts and service can get expensive.

 

On a 2000, I would get the VIN Number and call Jaguar USA customer service and ask them to verify if the car is Nikasil or Steel lined. Frankly, I don't think this is a huge deal. If the car made it to 100,000 with Nikasil, the Nikasil is probably a non-issue and you may actually be better off with Nikasil at this point than steel.

I will caution you that repairs are EXPENSIVE. I am a newbie owner myself. I just picked up my 2001 XK8 convertible last saturday. My hydraulic hoses on me the first time I tried to drop the roof. Just one of those crazy things. 12 hours to repair and 400 for the new lines. My dealer covered the costs, but that was a bit of a shocker. Frankly, I think you're better off going for an '03 or later, with the 4.2 and 6 speed ZF transmission or look for a car with lower mileage--unless the guy is giving the car away and you can build ing 6,000 or more in repairs over the next year or so. That was my original plan until I found an 01 in the color combo I wanted with 18,000 miles on it. Even if you go for an '01, I think you're better off. The timing belt tensioners are Gen 2--still not as good as the all metal tensions on the '03 and later cars, but I have yet to hear of a castrophic engine failure caused by the timing chain tensioners on the 01 and 02 4.0 liters. Maybe someone on the board can correct me if I am wrong.

My jag tech (he's an independent that only works on british cars, Jags, Astons, Rolls, Bentley and vintage MG/Triumph etc) likes the 01 and 02. He things they worked out most of the earlier kinks on the 4.0 and you can get them for a relative bargain compared to the '03 or later cars (check out the price difference between the '02 and '03 online and you'll see what I mean).

Good luck with your choice and let us know how it goes.

 

I bought a '00 very cheap with 106k miles because I was aware of $10k of dealer repairs backed up. What I didn't know was that the car had a new dealer installed transmission and a dealer rebuilt front end . . . and a new battery. Nikasil engine compression test was at new car specs.

I wrenched everything right for about $1000 and had a great car. The deals are out there but a 9 year old Jaguar needs a home where the owner enjoys working on it. I am sure you have spent some time in the MB dealer and know what I mean.

On the positive side: This is a really great car from a technical, handling, power, and ego perspective. Go for it!

 

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, I know how DEALERS are. I try to do a lot of the work myself. I got a list of questions to ask from the FORUM. And here is what he said:

This is a COUPE w/ NAV.

1) Throttle was replaced by DEALER a few months ago. Still under warranty.
2) No transmission problems.
3) Never over heated. No leaks. Nothing blown.
4)His engine does not have NIKASIL cylinders.
5) No front wheel bearing problems
6) Front suspension in great shape. New tires.
7) ABS light on. Says its the FRONT WHEEL SENSOR HARNESS.
8) Will get CAM CHAIN TENSIONERS checked b/4 I buy.

What do you think?

 

The wheel sensor harness is a common and easy fix if that is what the issue is. A sensor also is not a real big deal.

The transmission is the only thing that concerns me. A fluid change record would be highly desireable. Transmissions are $3500 to $5500 depending on who is doing it.

The tensioners are critical. About $750 at an indy shop, $250 DIY and not a real difficult job. Lots of instructions around. Cam positioning tools available for loan or rent inexpensively.

The engine plant converted to steel sleeves in August, '00 at the beginning of '01 model production. Look at the manufacture date on the driver door 'B' pillar. I suspect that you have Nikasil. That is not a bad thing if the engine compression is good now.

You will get all the help you need on this, and other XK8 forums. If you enjoy working on cars this will be a great experience.

 

This might sound dumb...but, what about changing the oil? On my MERCEDES you had to take it to the dealer($125.00). They suck the oil out from the top of the engine. But you only have to change it every 10,000 miles. Which is good because I drive it very little(5000 miles a year).

 

Even if you didn't log many miles I would never have oil sitting unchanged for more than say 6 months. I have only had my XKR since August and it is the first car I have had in ages that did not come with some kind of idiot light calling for an oil change/tuneup at certain intervals--I find this curious.

Doug

 

Do you need to take it to the DEALER, or can you change it yourself?

 

He has three keys, 2 remotes, books/manuals, service records from JAG dealer, and the spar has never been removed from the trunk. Hows that?

 

I have a 99 XK8, it's a simple and straight forward job to change the engine oil/filter. Anyone can do it on these cars if you have a set of ramps. I use 10-30 synthetic I'm in the desert of So California.

If the car needs tires, I recommend these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....tnum=45WR7EUHP

 

It has new tires. Thanks.

 

Looks like test-point and a few other members have provided you alot of good information royeco. If you could confirm that the transmission has been serviced, at least once by the dealer for fluid/filter change, that would give me some more confidence. If the tensioners have not been replaced, plan on getting that done...and soon. 100k and not broken one yet would have me very worried. Thinking very conservatively, if you have an extra $1-2k set aside after the purchase to do exactly these two things, (low end DIY on the tensioners, high end by dealer on both), the car should serve you well.

As for the wheel sensors, could be just a great deal of brake dust on those fronts. I had a similar issue and a good cleaning fixed it right up. Those jag brakes will dust like nobody's business. New sensors are relatively cheap and harnesses are a fixable item.

Test-point, i am seriously considering making a sticky post for these cars, with all of the most common questions, and links to some older, but valuable posts. It will take some time though.

 

Thanks to everyone!!!!! I'm going to check it out in person this weekend. What would be a fair offer on this car. Kelley Blue Book says around $9500.00 for private party sale in good shape?

 

NEW INFO:
He bought it w/ 82,000 miles on it. And has put around 18,000 on it.
ENGINE LIGHT IS ON.
Will a CODE tell if the TENSIONERS are bad??????????
Can a dealer look up the VIN. and find out what repairs have been done??????????

 

The dealer can print out all the invoices for repairs but only with the approval of the owner(s). They can also produce a warranty repair report that will show all warranty work. That report doesn't have personal information on it, which is the issue with the invoices. It only lists the principal repair part that you will have to look up to estimate what was done. For any indy shop work you will have to rely on the previous owners' paper records.

The tensioners require a visual inspection, pull a valve cover.

The engine light could be the wheel sensors or whatever. A low cost OBDII code reader is not a bad investment for a Jaguar owner.

 

Yea, he told me the ABS/TRACTION control sensor harness needs to be replaced. The original owner had it for 82,000+ plus miles. And had it serviced reg. at a Jag. dealer. If that is true it should come on a CAR FAX...right?

 

CarFax I have little faith in but you can believe all the negative information. No way to tell if all information is posted. I inspected a car with a perfectly clean CarFax report that the car lot proudly displayed and it was very obvious that the entire rear end had been rebuilt and not all that well.

CarFax only reports what is sent to them. They do not do any independent verification. And I have never seen any maintainence or general repair information on one of their reports. Only insurance claim repairs generally get posted reliabably.

Your best bet is to track down the original owner and get him/her to give you a written release on the service/repair documents at the Jaguar dealer. That would be a very valuable thing to have.

 

Still trying to work out a deal w/ the owner. After someone else backed out of a buy. He finally got the CEL read. Codes P1000 and P1647 came up. What do they mean?

 

P1000 means that the codes have been reset and have not completed the required drive cycles to reset before current reading. This will not pass most state inspections.

P1647 from JTIS:
ECM HO2S control malfunction – B bank, upstream – Inhibits B bank upstream HO2S operation
HO2S heater failure
HO2S sensing circuit short circuit to ground or high voltage
HO2S sensing circuit open circuit
ECM failure


That would appear to be an O2 sensor failure on the left side which could have been caused by something else.

Not a clear issue to repair.