1. A few Days ago a patch of Ice claimed my 97 XK8. Bounced of a couple of Trees and dropped 15' in the Creek, I walked away from it. They are build like Tanks, Car totaled and I had only a couple of bruises. Sad, I just done a lot of restoration work. My Wife drives my 04 XKR and I can't drive a lesser Car than my Wife, especially since it's my car Over the last year I learned a lot about XK8/R. So I'm looking for a 4.2l XKR 05-06 Coupe preferably, does any one have one for Sale or leads in the Western Part of the US (will go to east Coast for a great Deal). The Insurance Adjuster is coming by in the next couple of Days and I have to figure out if I want to keep the Wreck. There are no fluid leaks so the Drive Train is probably OK but the Engine was using 1 Qt of Oil per 2k miles with 87k driven. All Body Panels and the Front Suspension are mangled. The Throttle Body was just rebuild by ASI. Are there any XK8 out with bad Drive Trains and good Body's? Is it worth for me to Part out the Car and sell them.? You all have a save Drive and a great Day!

 

Sorry to here your misfortune Mendo ,

Hope all goes well for you and good luck with the search for a replacement

NikasilNik

 

My gosh Hardy, I am so sorry to hear the news.

I am just glad you walked away. Good luck finding your new ride!

 

Bummer Mendo...sounds like you have the "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" attitude. Good for you. Glad you're alright. Can't answer your questions but if you have the space you know what some of these parts are worth (ie throttle body). I would seriously consider hanging on to the car for parts and sell them if the insurance cost to you is low enough to warrant it. I personally don't have the space so I would throw in the towel.

An additional thought though...think hard before accepting whatever offer the insurance gives you for reimbursement and a price to buy your wrecked car back. With very little effort many people get more than they are initially offered. It is commonly a negotiation. Assuming few claims from you in the past, they probably want to keep you as a client and they sure don't want to keep your wrecked car: its expensive for them to sell it.

 

Sorry to hear about the accident but good to know you walked away with only bruises.

Hope the insurance is straighforward and you get a sensible settlement.

Good luck in the search for a replacement.

Graham

 

glad you were able to walk away but unfortunate for the car.

 

Excellent choice, sir

 

Glad you walked away and to hear confirmation of how well these things are built! Great that you're getting another one.

I still want a late-model coupe (with Sepangs) as well...

 

Any landing you walk away from is a good landing lol. Seriously glad you were not hurt.
You said you landed in a creek as long as the motor didn't suck up water then the motor should be fine. Parting out the car could take awhile plus your time and space to store the car and parts. You'll also run into costs to pack and ship parts if you ebay it. Hope that helps.

 

Chris,

The three-piece Sepang is a beautiful looking wheel (both Frog's XKR and my XK8 have them) but examine any potential purchase very carefully.

The stainless steel 'beauty' rings are easily damaged and it's becoming increasingly difficult to source replacements. The rings are around £200 (equivalent to $325) each in the UK and I'd expect US cost to be similar.

Checking tyre pressures becomes a half hour session because a blanking screw has to be removed and a valve extender screwed in to be able to attach a pressure gauge or air hose.

Graham

 

Happy to hear that you survived without much damage to you!

Unfortunately, I found myself in the same situation 4 years ago with a car totaled that I had spent a lot of money on bringing back from the grave side. I got a good settlement partially by having nearly $11k in receipts for work done to the car over the previous two years mostly by the previous owner. My solution was to adopt the attitude that this was an opportunity to upgrade to a better car. With the settlement and $900 got a two year newer car with 60k fewer miles.

The earlier comment on low ball offers is valid. It is not uncommon to receive an offer of 80% of what replacement cost would be. If you feel that you are getting one of those efforts ask to speak to the adjuster's supervisor. If you are still unhappy with the results ask for assistance from your state's insurance commissioner. Ultimately, an insurance company is required to operate in good faith to provide a fair market value settlement.

I evaluated parting out my car also. The insurance company offered to sell it back to me for $3000 which research indicated to be the average salvage value of a XK8 at the time. Due to the significant increase in used car values over the last couple years you might want to do your own current research. It was obvious that the car was worth a lot more than that parted out but that is why salvage yards make a good return on their investment. My wife's uncle owned one and did very well with it. The problem with parting it yourself is that you need a place to store it for months, preferably indoors. Even if I had doubled my $3000 it simply would not been worth it. There was some spousal input into that decision.

Good luck!