Greetings,

I have been bitten by the Jag bug again, the first time was when I was living in Great Britain 35 years ago.

Here is the scoop, I have test driven this 2001 XK8, 15k, tripple black. 2001 Jaguar XK-Series For Sale in Denver, CO - CarGurus

It ran great, looked great everything worked. I planned the PPI at an Indy shop and started some negotiation. In the short term another guy took it for a test drive and while out on the road the top started leaking and the dreaded green shower gushed out from above.

I have researched the cost to fix and what is involved, granted I don't know if it is the latch, the hoses or the rams. Could be any combination of failure.

This car is at a Hyundai dealer they took in trade and I am sure they don't want to fix this they just want to get rid of it now. Should I start to bargain with them and try to get it wholesale and fix the top or should I be patient and keep shopping?

I have many questions about this but lets start here and the discussion can evolve.

Thanks for your input.
Griff

 

use it as a negotiating point for a much better price - say 1800 off asking just for the top hydraulics issues.


Look at all the hydraulic hoses - if the outer coating is starting to flake off - then all need replaced (roughly $600 for a complete set of hoses) from Cabriolet Hydraulics or Topsonline. Topsonline will rebuild the RAMS - not sure cost but you can find them with a quick search. Having someone install - about a 6 to 8 hour job @ $100/hour


But you are looking at a 15 year old car that was driven roughly 1000 miles/year - I would be concerned with seals/hoses, etc. These cars are much better when they have been driven and maintained

 

not sure when you test drove it - today's price is down to 13K; KBB shows suggested of $10K but fair price between 8 - 9500. Kelley Blue Book so plenty of negotiating room

 

Are you practical - can you do stuff yourself ??


If so, negotiate around $10k. If you're going to rely on someone else to fix the problem(s), then walk away.


There will be lots of other jobs that will require attention due to age and relative lack of regular use - most are straightforward and there's a wealth of knowledge here to support you, but - bottom line - you need to be handy with a wrench OR a chequebook !

 

The car gods may be telling you to keep looking. ha ha ha

 

I'll not comment on value as it's totally different from over here BUT for a 15 year old Jaguar you need to be able to fix things yourself or be prepared to spend a lot of money with a specialist.

Graham

 

Even with the low miles I'd say $8K would be top dollar with the hose issues. As time marches on finding a low mile car is getting harder and harder to do. While low mileage does not nessarly equal a better car it certainly doesn't hurt and will help any potential resale down the road.

Doing the work yourself figure $900 for hoses and Rams rebuild, may not need the Rams but eventually it will, as the car as not been used much plan on another $1 to $2 K for hoses, front suspension, etc.. Anything rubber should be closely inspected.

If you can't or don't want to learn the car and work on it yourself, walk away. Paying to keep this car on the road will be expensive.

 

Totally agree here. If you can't do some repairs yourself, even stretch yourself to do things that you would think you never could do, you kinda have to have deep pockets to own these cars. That said if this car is the nice car it is outside of this current issue I would tell the dealer I will buy it but I know what it costs to fix and you appear not to want to fix it, how about you kill X amount off the price for me then, if they won't walk away I guess.

 

griff,

I also live in Denver and in February bought a 2002 xk8 with low miles. Second day of driving I got the green shower and after much research I decided to replace the hoses myself. Once you tear everything apart it would be foolish not to have the latch and cylinders redone by Top Hydraulies in Oregon. They charge 1,000 dollars for the rebuild and all the hoses. I'm not a mechanic so it took me about three days total to remove and replace everything. Thank goodness for this forum and all the tips I would have never tried this job. If you decide to buy the car and need some advice on the repair, please let me know.

Butch

 

The dealer started at 12k, I offered 10k all in including tax. They were mulling it over when the leak occurred. Then communication stopped on their end and I was letting them stew because we got a terrible storm here in Colorado and I knew no one was buying a convertible in all the snow.

Griff

 

The nose looks a little low. Pull the Caps on the Shock towers and look for crumbling foam - Another $600 off the price if the orange foam is crumbling.

Like the top hydraulics, its age and not miles.

 

Thank you for the input. I am mechanical and have a fair amount of tools but by no means an expert, especially on Jags. This forum however has such an amazing amount of information and instructions that I feel I could try and tackle much. I usually can take things apart easily its getting them back together that I worry about.

Thanks Butch, if the purchase is made, I will take you up on the offer, better to have someone who has the knowledge of such repairs at hand.

I was thinking of offering them $7500-$8k but not more. If they take it ok, lets go, but if not, I think I should walk and search.

What is the worry about the "green fluid" on the dash, seats, console? I do not know how much leaked out or where yet. Does everything need to be taken apart and cleaned?

Thank you for your advice, still learning about these cats.
Griff

 

Maybe, I'm looking for divine inspiration, lol!

Griff

 

Griff79,
The fact that the "green shower" occured shouldn't stop you, it occurs in every single X100 convertible at some point. So, at least you'll have it out of the way. More importantly, with only 15K on the car, it is doubtful the secondary tensioners have been replaced, and that is of much greater concern. Everyone dreams of getting a low mileage car that won't require much service, but it's 15 years old and the issues are well known. If you can get it for the price you want, grab it but be prepared to take care of the major issues sooner rather than later.

 

Griff,

The fluid is a type of mineral oil and I didn't have any damage from the spill so I wouldn't worry about that issue. Hope you get it, maybe we can go on a ride through the mountains this summer.

Butch

 

I'd guess that the dealer gave somewhere between $5,500 to $6,300 on it in a trade. Is there a CarFax showing service records? Does it have the gen 3 tensioners? If not, You're going to spend about $1,800 on the tensioner upgrade and another $1,000 or so on the convertible top hoses (cheaper if you can do the work yourself). Check all the belts/hoses, are they original? How about things like brake fluid and antifreeze, ever been changed? I'd offer the dealer $7,500 out the door (taxes, dealer fees and whatever other add-ons they tack on). Bet they don't want to put any more money in to it, just want it off the lot.

 

I'm relatively new to the Jag maintenance world but I've picked up quite a bit of info in that short time . IMO, age and mileage are key indicators of preventive maintenance. The engine, if prior to 2002 needs the plastic tensioner system replaced, plastic impeller water pump replaced and plastic thermostat housing replaced along with assorted hoses, seals, etc...all these issues can be performed by any experienced, competent, well equipped mechanic at a reasonable cost. (the procedures are not "rocket science"...which your Jag dealer would like you to believe). The transmission needs to have its fluid serviced regularly...like most automatics of the era the tranny appears to act up in the 90k-100k mi range. The electronics are quirky, but the controls are modularized and relatively inexpensive used replacements are readily available. The suspension will probably need its rubber components replaced and shock towers reworked around 40-50k mi.
I love my XK8, and in my opinion once you've taken care of initial design flaws you'll have a great running, beautiful automobile. When you sort through the info provided in this forum and others, you'll find that these Jags are as reliable and much more desirable than comparable cars of the era. If you maintain your Jag, change all fluids regularly and have a competent mechanic familiar with the car available, your XK8 should continue to run well for many thousands of miles at a reasonable cost.

 

This car has sat A LOT. If you buy it and start driving it, IT WILL start having mechanical issues, leaky hoses, WP failure, suspension, bla bla. Having been here since 2009 that seems to be the drill for folks that pick up the low to real mile ones. The cars have just sat which is not good from a repair/maint standpoint.

 

Yes this is one BIG concern.

Griff

 

If they take $7,500 and you do the work yourself - top, tensioners, suspension, you will have a heck of nice car that would be hard to duplicate for twice the money in another used car.


I paid $4,500 for my 85K mile '97 (needed full suspension O/H, wheel bearings and brakes, but had tensioners done by previous owner) and I drive it every day and love it.


I bought it to do an LS1/T56 swap, but it drives so nice I don't want to tear it apart.