There is a 2005 silver XK8 for sale on E bay. It looks really nice and has low mileage. I am puzzled by the side view that shows a Jaguar medallion where the orange reflector should be. I thought the factory replaced the medallion when the 4.2 was installed for 2003. I searched pics of other 2004s and 5s and never found one with medallions. Any thoughts?

 

Perhaps the owner did the mod I came up with to replace those aesthetically displeasing car zits on the sides.

My 2004 with leaper emblems.

 

I did the same thing with my '03.

I'm fuzzy on this point but I believe the leaper on a red background was the badge originally fitted to XKRs. My background is green. The red background looks great on the red car.

 

On another thread there is discussion of color. Well, OMG right here. That is sooooooooo gorgeous. I like red first and foremost though others are great. With a tan, beige or light gray interior it is just right. When buying used as most of us did I take it, you can't get too fussy about the color. Mine is topaz (I believe) blue.

 

I also changed mine on my 2003 to the green ones. They match the center caps and look tons better than the orange rear side markers.

I purchased my XK8 on Ebay as well and I still can't believe I did that. First time I saw the car it was being lowered in my driveway.

I've done many of the usual suspects as far as maintenance: coolant leaks, water pump, hoses, plastic connectors, coolant recovery tank, thermostat housing, battery, etc...as needed. I don't really count any of these as above and beyond the ordinary of what to expect from these cars.

However, I feel really lucky knowing what I know now. I first joined this forum after my car was delivered and quickly thought to myself, you stupid *** what have you done. I'm an idiot when it comes to researching and overthinking things but, for some reason with the Jag I just knew I wanted one. Almost bought a 2001 but, with a little research I found out about the timing chain tentioners and decided to set my sites on a 2003-2006.

Long story short, If I had to do it over again I would take a road/plane trip to the car and take it to a knowledgeable independent shop and have them give it a through inspection. You would probably have to shell out some money to do this but, it would be way cheaper than finding a major problem or a bunch of soon to be problems after the fact. Because like many high end vehicles they are not cheap to fix and Jaguar parts are extremely pricey even if you are willing to do the work yourself. Also, after the inspection you would more than likely to be able to negotiate the price further.


I got lucky and the car has been a dream come true driving and reliability wise.
Hope this helps and good luck on your search.

 

Sorry, Lunatic I see that you are already well versed on the XK8 being that you own two of them already (my bad). Still, I think you should do a road trip. Good luck!