Hi all

I am about to purchase a 2004 XKR that I test drove yesterday.

I did more than 60 checks but before buying it I think that other owners advice would be of great help.

It is a very rare, in Italy, 2005 model (vin A41000] with 86.000 miles on it (or 134.000 km) which are sort of ok for a car with almost 20 years.

I tested several cars in the last month and I think this rides beautifully.obviously has some faults (condensation in the lamps, passenger seat electric board not working, front bumper need repaint etc).

But has a lot of pros: it is a first paint, original plate, few owners (two not considering the dealers), suspensions works well, brakes do not fade.

Unfortunately the owner made a lot of works with his own mechanic which means that there are nor many invoices.

There are a couple of things I thought that are worth to check with all the experts and XKR owners in the forum.

First is the abrasions I see in the engine (never washed btw): I red that these indicate the fact that the driver pushed the car a lot but apart from that are these indicator of other problems?

The fact that the shock absorber caps are missing means that he was not particularly careful in the way he kept the car, but could have caused problems?

I saw some grease under the differential: the mechanic that serviced the car told me that these transudations are just normal in a car of almost 20 years. Is that true? I saw that also in other XK that I checked.

During the test drive an alert of low coolant appeared: we filled and went away. The car was not making smoke nor bad smell came out of the engine.

I spotted a wet tube in the front of the car: not sure what it was.

I am posting some pics of what I saw, just in case someone would be so kind to help.
Any further advice btw will be more than appreciated.
thank you in advance













Francesco

 

looking at the pics - the upper shock mounts are in dire need of replacement. The blemishes on top of the supercharger are wear spots from the hood - you will see corresponding marks on the hood liner. I'm sure others will have additional comments but definite negotiating points for reduced price

 

My XKR is the same age as that one and has 76k miles. My differential is completely dry. There is no seepage from it. I agree with Steve, that car needs new shock mounts. The wear spots on the supercharger charge coolers are said to be an indicator of failed motor mounts. The one on the cover that says V8 looks like if some kind of acidic liquid was spilled on it. If they haven't been replaced, check to see if the motor has excessive movement when you put a load on it.

Headlamp condensation is normal. Jaguar issued a TSB that involves installing a breather T-piece tube on the side to remedy this. For the passenger seat, I recommend first checking the passenger fuse box on the side of the dash (open the door) and see if there is a blown fuse. If that doesn't work, swap the seat control module that's under the seat over to the driver's seat to check if the problem migrates to that seat.

While mine does have the shock absorber caps I have read some speculation that some cars were randomly never shipped with them. Although it may not have any clunks at the moment, I suggest putting the car on the lift and checking for play in ball joints, control arm bushes, tie-rods, sway bar links, and sway bar bushes. Check for brake pad and rotor thickness. If it's the Brembo's, parts are expensive. Also, check for rust around the floorboards, rear-wheel arches, and side sills.

Coolant should be orange "Dex-cool". Check for the cooling system hoses condition.

Oh one more thing, make sure that the interior is mostly intact. Anything regarding the interior is outrageously expensive and much of it is NLA. If it's a convertible, search on the forum about "green shower" and read up on that. If everything checks out, then it sounds like a good buy.

 

Il_gazza, If you haven't done it already, check out the "Sticky Notes" section at the top of this X100 forum; click into "XK8 Bible" and find/download the latest version of Gary Remortel's amazing bible that's he's painstakingly put together. Version "L" is the latest that I know of. It has everything you need to be aware of, especially the normal preventative maintenance items that need to have already been done, or that you'll need to factor into your offer price. The mileage noted for end-of-life items is very accurate, but replacing these items early will definitely enhance your enjoyment of operating the car. Preventative maintenance is always cheaper than repairs, (especially the inconvenience factor of an out-of-town breakdown).

Agreed; upper shock mounts are definitely in need of replacement; inspect and also think about replacing the struts if they're showing any signs of leaking, to avoid another tear down. The rear end leak is significant and may require a complete rear end teardown to replace a seal; consider the price of that plus replacing the rear wheel bearings and anti-roll bar bushings while you've got the entire rear end down. Maybe even the rear struts and shock mounts. Not trying to scare you off; I've been restoring a my 2005 barn-find XK8 and find that this is just part of owning a 15-20 year automobile. As long as the body, frame, and engine are sound, you shouldn't have to replace restoration parts again for the next 80,000-100,000 miles. If there are no verifiable records, consider that nothing has ever been replaced and bid accordingly. If you do most of your own work, a quick search for a specific problem is very likely to uncover the same issue that someone in the forum has experienced and solved, and has provided detailed instructions on to how to repair/replace many parts. And everyone here is delighted to help tackle a newly discovered challenge. These cars can be a demanding mistress, but the pleasure of driving them and the compliments you'll receive helps immensely.

 

thanks very much appreciated!

 

Hi,
thanks for advice: starting from the bottom. Interior are in very good condition. Actually the best part are the paint, the body (no accidents) and the interiors (only a small cigarette mark on the left upright upholstery, that I noticed in several cars though).
Thanks specially for the differential advice: I saw these problems in a couple of cars and they keep telling is totally normal but I think that every leakage even minimal is not that normal.Motor mounts should be fine.
But all in all we have decided that he brings the car to me rather than I collecting the car so a Jaguar specialist will inspect the car. If we agree on the price then I will purchase it, otherwife I will reimburse the travel cost.

 

Hi
the XK8 bible is fantastic and I already downloaded it immediatley!
I am not that techical though so definetely I will need help of a mechanic.
These cars are super expensive here in Italy (and in Europe in general) as they are very rare but in consideration of the amount of work needed I will start from the price of a very well mantained car and reduce it accordingly.for all the works.needed.
I suspect he did really only ordinary mantainance and never replaced a sikngle thing

 

Is that correct? sureley failed mounts would lower the engine which would move it away from the hood, mine has these marks as did all the other xkr's I looked at.

 

The failed mounts allow the engine to tilt and twist forwards and back when you accelerate and let off the gas. It’s an indication that the car had failed engine mounts for some time. Remember that the clearance between the supercharger and the hood is very minimal. The first mounts to fail is always the left mount. Thus the engine will tend to tilt forwards and twist to the left under load. If someone replaced the mounts already the wear spots will still be there. You could paint the charge coolers and supercharger if you want to eliminate the wear spots.

 

I red in a couple of books that the two marks are ok if they are within a diameter of 2cm while they are sign of a “sporty” use if they are 5cm or more.
what worries me the most is actually the abrasion under the V8 sign. Never saw that before in any of the XKR.

 

If you use a degreaser and a stiff Nylon wire brush you can get the same result. I think it's just the result of a spill or attempt at cleaning.

 

Motor mounts are easy to diagnose. Start the car, open the hood (bonnet) and watch the engine as somebody else steps on the brake and puts the car in forward, neutral, reverse, neutral, repeat. If the engine does not move the mounts are fine. Movement is obvious.

Good idea to get a PPI (pre purchase inspection) from a dealer. If you are lucky they can run the VIN and tell you if any dealer in their network did work on that machine. IMHO 2004 is a sweet spot for this model. Unfortunately the passenger seat module is made of unobtanium, no new inventory left anywhere, and the used boxes you can by have some sort of failure; I swapped mine out and went from good seat heat and no motion to good motion and no seat heat.

 

Hey Guy's!

The XKR has 85,000 Miles on it....It's a 2005....The Motor Mounts are Bad and need replacing....The Front Shock Mounts are getting Bad ....Some of the 2004 & 2005 's didn't come with the little Plastic Stock Covers....so what? It's a 2005, 15 or 16 years old and looks like it has had reasonable care...that's as far as the Engine Compartment goes....If the Body and Interior look as good as what we have been shown...It's probably in pretty good shape with 85,000 Miles....What does the rest of the Car look like? Tires and Wheels? Are they 20"s and if so which Wheel is it? Is the car an "R"? Does everything still work? Has it been hit? Does it come with a Bottle of fine Italian Wine?

I don't see anything that would scare me off unless it is the cost.....or the Brand of the Winne.............

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

 

Agreed. There is nothing stopping me from buying this car. But, he could negotiate the cost of the shocks and motor mounts into the price.

 

Hi Billy,
regarding your questions:
The car is first paint, black, never hit (measured with a feeler gauge 0,18 micron overall 0,38 only in one point). Needs repaint just the front bumper due to scratches in the lower part as the car is low. Paint and Trim codes: Pef Leg (midnight and warm charcoal)
Tires are 80% on the front 60% on the rear
Interiors are in good shape
Wheels are perfect but are 18 not 20, the standard ones
It is obviously an R
everything works properly exception made for the Sat Nav that sometimes does not read the CD
hood works properly but a check to avoid green shower is mandatory so I am considering to change the pipes and the oil in any case
Shock absorbers work properly
Gear works properly, smooth
Brake compartment is fine: it was slow in responding at the beginning of the road test but much better after a couple of hard braking. I am considering with the mechanic to change pipes and oil.
brake discs are fine at least for another 10k miles (2 brake pads set so to say)
passenger seat needs a new board as the one used now definitely died (after a first repair)
all the rest works fine including AC, Radio etc
Price... er... it is good for the European standards, crazy If compared with the States. I have considered importing a USA car but the procedures and the costs are so high that I just abandoned the idea. It took one month to have all the info and between shipping, import taxes, car review by a state approved organization etc you have to add €14.000 circa on top of each car...
wine is mandatory! Being the car in Treviso the best choice is a Valdobbiadene Prosecco superiore docg Asciutto Rive Colbertaldo Vigneto Giardino 2018 :-)

 

It would help if you sent some photos of the Car! You've sent enough of the Engine Compartment.....Looks like an XKR...but none of the Body....None of the Wheels...Can tell much about what a car looks like without Photos.....Also, why do you say that It's an "R"?

Billy Clyde

 

I would add that my '03 XKR w/27K miles also had those same marks on the intake plenum covers and I don't think the motor mounts were bad. I just assumed that it was due to close hood clearances.

I would also suggest to our potential buyer that there are more and more parts on these cars that can no longer be obtained new from Jaguar. As I was fixing mine, I discovered this more and more often, which can be quite frustrating.

 

I think he is referring to the ditterance between an xk8 and xkr, not xkr-r

wj

 

WJ,

I'm amazed @ some of the questions and assumptions some of the Guys come up with....These Cars are really a mystery to some of them.. It's good that they ask!

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch

 

Mr. BimmerGuy,

The clearance between the Intercoolers and the Hood is pretty close but anytime you see those "Marks" it means the Engine is moving more than it should.....As to the Jaguar Parts, you will find that most of the Parts for these Cars will be harder and harder to get as time passes...As Jaguar is no longer Jaguar but TATA Motors and they don't really care about any Jaguar that is pre-2007.....Several of the newer Dealers have stop servicing or carrying Parts for any Jaguar that is pre-2007.

I noticed that you have lined-through your X100 "R" cabriolet....Does that mean you no longer the proud Owner of that Car?

Billy Clyde @ Cinco Ranch .