I saw on San Francisco Craigslist a 2000 XK8 for $1500. The post says the engine is froze but I have a 99XK8 engine on my shop floor that I was going to put into 99 xj8. It points out that the drivers door has a dent in it but my 97 donor car has a good driver door and is apparently the same color. I don't think it won't be easy for him to sell privately unless somebody else has an engine for it. His price is to high for a recycle yard to want it. If the paint and interior ( except for driver seat as noted) are in good condition I think it might be worth it. He says he is firm on the price but I don't think there would be too many offers for a Jaguar with a frozen engine. Your opinions would be appreciated.

 

You're building a major Jag collection, so why not make an offer below $1000? You don't know what the transmission is like, but that probably doesn't worry you.

If you plan on doing the transplant and flipping it you should be able to see a reasonable profit.

 

Wow you are a talented and ambitious man! I've seen a few very low price XK8s on CL over the last year. Later on, when I get my situation sorted I might give one a try. My only advice is to steer clear of salvage title cars. If you plan on keeping it a long time then it might be okay. WE know that a salvage title on an old depreciated car is not instantly an indicator of a total wreck. The less sophisticated general population buyer is convinced that the car was balled up in a wreck sometime. I bought my old Mustang with a salvage title and a thorough inspection revealed it had just sustained a minor rear bumper ,tail panel collision in the distant past. Still it made resale harder. Both of my current Jags would be "totaled" by being "keyed". That's one reason they are only covered with liability insurance. Good luck, I'm keeping my eyes open for an XK8 coupe, they seem kind of rare around these parts.

 

For that cheap of a price it would even make a nice doorstop

Doug

 

Yes, if it were near me I would offer a grand and see what happens. Firm isn't always FIRM.

 

I called several times with no answer or return call. Sent text asking if car is still for sale this is his response
Yes it is. Three offers so far. Can show today until 5:30pm or Thu 9am-1pm
So I check the add again and he now has the price at $1000 firm. That $ 1500 didn't last for long. Why would he drop the price if he had 3 offers.
I sent him another text asking him about not having no pink slip. If it is lost but registration is in his name no problem. But again no response.
Unless I get some answers I'm going to let this one pass, it just sounds to fishy to me. I need to have a clear title or its just another parts car( I don't need another one of those) or as doorstop as SeismicGuy suggested.
I'll keep my eyes open as I know there will be plenty more.

 

I take what sellers say with a grain of salt as they are trying to get rid of it and not take a bath. Many times I have heard "lots of offers" offers can mean $300. Looks like he found out it isn't worth $1500 and dropped the price. Pink slip isn't a big deal if you can check that he is the owner and title is clean. As a parts car- Easily worth $2K. Also, I seem to have an addiction to Jaguars. I actually have no room for another but am looking at one today or tomorrow....

 

When he sent me a text he mentioned that he was a realtor. The way he worded the text sounds like he is selling a house. I don't have to have it but I'll buy it if its a great deal. DSNYDER I did notice a couple of XK8s in your area. But its has to be a supper deal for me to socal.

 

years ago i had a bad deal on a camaro with no pink slip . after that its no title no deal at any price. if he is willing to go to the d.m.v. with you to get the paper work straight it might be worth it. if not no deal . if you move forward on this good luck with your new ride.all hhe best.

 

If the sellers on the up and up, no problem. His name should be on the registration card. Check his driver's license against the reg. If you both go to the DMV he can apply for a duplicate title and complete the transfer right then and there. I bought an old truck that the owner had owned for over thirty years and had misplaced the title years ago. We both went to AAA and completed the transfer quickly. The seller may be saying that he doesn't have the title to disguise the registration status of the car. If he has not completed transfer since his purchase, or there are any incomplete transfers on file the DMV will charge you transfer fees for each incomplete transfer as well as any late reg fees that are outstanding. If he claims that the car is "off the computer" and will only require a transfer fee and current reg fees he is misleading you. The DMV will charge the last three years registration PLUS penalties. I take the VIN to AAA and have them run a check if I have any questions.

 

Well the gentleman finally contacted me. I went to the Bay Area to check it out. Quite often when I look at some of these cars the paint and interior are in terrible condition. I was very surprised when I saw it. The interior is in was in better condition than my current xk8 that i'm driving now. The front seats were a little worn but not too bad. The rest of the interior was in great condition. Even the cup holder wasn't broke.
The paint was in great condition for its age. It had the dent in the driver door that was mentioned in the ad. The right front bumper had a few scratches but only the bumper would need to be repainted along with driver door.
The driver door handle was broken and the antenna wouldn't go all the way down. I have these items at my shop so those are easy fixes.
As for the engine I didn't try to turn it over because I was already planning to put another engine in it.
He said that the car ran great and one morning a few weeks ago he went to start it and it wouldn't turn over. I'm thinking it's probably the tensioners.
He wanted $1000 for it and I offered $850 and he said yes. So I bought it and will pick it up in the morning.
Question for the forum. How much damage do you think was done to the motor because it never started. Would it be worth my time to remove the cam covers and see the condition of the tensioners and replace them with the chains, or should I just replace the engine.

 

I think I would check the tensioners out and see if in fact the motor is frozen, or whether the starter is locked up, or dead. You could be looking at something simple

 

Thanks Rick. I was kind of thinking that way myself. I just go back to my shop with the car. I was first going to see if the motor will turn manually at the crank bolt. That will give me the idea if it is froze or not. If it is the tensioners do you think much damage was done to the valves or pistons . It never started for them so the only thing turning the motor was the starter.

 

Great buy for $850 bucks!!!! You can probably sell it to some members here for $4000.00 today as she sits because they'll pay $10,000 for salvaged titles xk8 just saying...

Man you got a steal aNd look forward to your success with it.

 

Just tried to manually turn crank. It will go backwards but stops at a certain point going forward. I can hear it when it stops on the left head. I'm thinking the left tensioner failed. The owner told me that the morning of the failure to start it turned over but wouldn't start. Had it towed to shop where he said they almost got it started but if froze on them. I think when the owner tried to start it it had jump one tooth. Then the shop with their attempts to start it it jump another tooth and then it froze. I'm going to remove left cam cover to confirm.

 

I don't think I can sell this one. My wife loves the color and is already planning trips to wine country.

 

Took the cam cover off and look at what I found. Tensioner failed and chain is broken. Still if anybody thinks that by only cranking the motor little damage was done I will do a complete tensioners, chains, and guides replacement. But if the consensus is that too much damage is done I'll do an engine replacement.

 

Doh! Entirely possible that it went into the shop sick and came out with a terminal illness...

I imagine that you could lift the cam and possibly 'feel' if the valves are moving freely, although I wonder what broke the chain? Looks like the tensioner bits got jammed between the chain & sprocket, but in any case it's likely a valve got hit.

The other option is to lift the head - depends on how far you want to dig in to it.

Still a great find.

Mike

 

I think what might of broke the chain was the seat that the chain runs on was under the chain on the intake sprocket. And that put to much stress on the chain and then it broke. Right now the # 5 cylinder exhaust valves are hitting the top of the piston. I haven't taken the spark plug out yet to view the inside with my scope.

 

Now, I like the idea of the 'scope much better than mine

Good luck with what you find. So sad (and unnecessary) to see damage like that.
Mike