Well I want to thank everyone for the help and giving advice. You really did help ease my worries a little bit and.. some of you did talk me into the XKR.. it does ride a bit different and the power is.. well I didn't floor it or do anything crazy but it definitely feels different. I'm trying to hold back running the engine with power until I get the fluids and things checked out. I did look at multiple XK's and I almost drove to Colorado to look at a 06' XK8 with 42K miles that I was sold on but I got stuck on a local 05' XKR here in Salt Lake.. the price was a bit high and I was hoping to get a 06' just for having a newer car buuuuuuuuuuuuut... this car had only 25,780 miles on it and part of it's life was in southern Utah where it doesn't snow. The Carfax was clean with some service history. The 06' had some carfax history of some electrical issues.. and coolant (that was scaring me LOL). I'll be honest the hint of blue top also wasn't my favorite but what's funny is the camera picks up the blue top but I can barely see it so maybe I'm going color blind. I didn't know that was an option!

thought about it, debated....burned a lot of logs upstairs thinking about it - got a pre purchase inspection done at the local Jaguar dealership here. They said the car was super clean and no problems so I jumped on the XKR this morning. What a RELIEF! I've done nothing but browse and search on this site and look at youtube vidoes trying to research everything I could and I'm STILL learning

Anyway just brought home a car that needs some washing detailing, polishing, waxing which I plan on doing tomorrow! Should be fun I might need another bottle of scratch x or two because there are some good ones Hopefully nobody here was trying to get it. The sales staff told me there was a customer coming in from Oregon to look at it but I swooped in and got it before they did get into town.. (Sorry!) and another customer almost bought the car for his wife but they bailed out of the deal because 'he couldn't fit in the seats'.





There are some small bits I need to figure out. I don't really care a whole lot for the mesh grill and I wish I had the old style with the E-type grille. I'm more of a traditionalist old school... so I'm researching how to do that. Not sure if I can do it but I'll try, i'm sure the parts are super expensive. Also there's almost a worn through patch on the leather portion on the Ricaro seats on the drivers side that I'm going to have to deal with and figure out how to protect and repair that..that will wear through.. which by the way those seats are nice.. hard to get in and out with the bolsters but they are nice . Oh and the brakes.. they grab.. strong.. I like it

And of course there's some paint chips all over so I'll have to get some touchup paint from aftermarket or the dealership and my plan is to get a clear bra put on the front and a light tint on the windows not sure about doing the rear though.. I guess it would look weird not doing it but hopefully the window tint guy can maaaybe do that without causing damage so I'll have to research that as well.. maybe I'll just leave it original.. we'll see.. the floor mats are a little worn out.. need to get a good rear license plate frame.. good stuff it's going to be fun! Lots to do! :

And lastly I'm going to change the coolant and diff fluids and such since heck I might just do the transmission fluid because it's been 10 years sitting in the car.. I'm worried with low mileage the coolant hasn't been done at all.. I read in the manual that it should be done every 5 years and I'm guessing it hasn't been done..I wonder if some wealthy person would think about these things and I just don't think they would.... and the brake fluid every 2 years so I for sure have a list of to-do's

Lastly.. I noticed and I'm not sure if this is normal or not - but after I got home and spent some time staring at the car (hours..amazed I did it..) I noticed that supercharger stays pretty warm and hot for a long time like hours after! Holy smokes this engine puts off heat.. makes sense with power but I'm worried a little bit about washing the car and getting water through those vents! I don't want to shock cool the engine with water so instead of doing my normal routine power wand wash I'm thinking maybe I should just hand wash it?.. any advice on that? Hate to see water going straight down right on a hot engine through the vents.. just try to avoid spray or handwash the car I guess?



anyway thanks guys I'm happy.. praying I don't have something blow up - I declined their 4 year $4K warranty but I'm looking at others. Debating there.





Also shout out to Frankc - holy smokes I got about 80% through your thread but I admire you ability to attack rust and dirt and junk that builds up. I also have an OCD for a clean engine and car so I'll be taking notes on what you did. But I loved your thread and your passion to keep your car in tip top shape. And to '1 of 19' BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
I know maybe not this bland but.. I kind of like the chrome bar so I'm going to try and figure this out..

 

Welcome to our addiction. Excellent choice, that color rocks, you will not regret the R.

 

Looks gorgeous. When I got my car, it had been "detailed". After I had it for a couple of weeks, it was really detailed, top treated, clay-barred and tech-waxed. Lots of fun. Check into the convertible top mods like Gus' pressure reducing valve. I did that as a proactive measure.

 

Looks good Matthew.

 

Nice buy Matthew, When I originally started looking for mine I was looking at XK8's. After test driving a XKR I bought mine off of the internet flew to to Dallas and pick it up. Drove a 1000 miles back and was convinced it was the right move, that was seven years ago. I haven't regretted it since.

 

Beautiful car, Matthew. I doubt you'll regret your decision.

I too prefer the look of the splitter vane over the mesh grille, although most go the other way. You may well be able to source one from someone who has done the opposite swop.

Enjoy!

Mike

 

Congratulations! A fine colour choice!

 

Nice find and low miles to boot! Also the Recaro's are rare so you scored well.

Doug

 

Looks great! You're going to have a blast!

Mike

 

You are going to have so much fun with this kitty. Mine, same year, but black on black. Stunning to look at - I get you spending hours doing just that - and your choice of the R vs 8 is one you will not regret. I owned a '97 XK8 before this 2005 XKR, and the driving difference is significant. No offense to the owners of the normally aspirated engine, both are amazing grand touring automobiles. Get out and drive!

 

Beautiful car, congratulations! With as little mileage as it has on it, it's just a baby. I made the decision to get my 2010 coupe so that I could extend the life of my 2002 convertible (after all it has 160,000 miles on it) by alternating between the coupe and the convertible every few days. I love looking at my 2002 even after years of ownership and over 100K of my driving it. They are gorgeous automobiles. Take good care of her and enjoy the hell out of her.

 

gorgeous car - excellent color!!

 

I have 190+K miles on my XKR (110K miles on the engine). The only significant complication I've found with the SC version is changing out the two coolant hoses that run beneath the SC (aka, the Valley Hoses). It's a bit more of an ordeal to replace those hoses on the XKR than on the NA version. And you have another belt, idler and tensioner pulleys to deal with (no biggie really) and a BUNCH of extra hoses to the intercoolers. The SC unit itself has been bullet proof.

The car is flat-out the best GT I've ever owned. I have the lowered, sport suspension with 18" wheels. The handling and ride are nicely "firm", but not harsh. Highway miles simply disappear beneath the bonnet. The coupe is pretty quiet at speed. It is an absolute pleasure to drive.

The Stability Control System keeps you from totally "losing it" in the snow, but you can still slide her around for fun. Turn off the Stability Control and find out just how well you drive backwards and sideways! - lol. Although I love my car, I don't think the SC version is necessarily the be-all, end-all though. I think I could probably be quite happy with the NA version as well.

Considering how many highway miles I've put on her, I am very happy to have bought the Coupe vs. the Rag Top.

 

Yeah I just did that all weekend I have wax all over my shirt and my eyes are dust dry from all the waxing lol..

Thanks for the heads up on the gus pressure reducing valve. That's a super high priority.. fact I'm afraid to even tough the top functions until I do that :/ that's an expensive repair!

But thank you

 

Thanks! You know it's funny.. the car actually sold a few days before I got to the car.. a wifey bought the car and the husband couldn't fit in it. Kind of funny but I'm a skinny guy and even I have a hard time getting in and out lol.. so yeah the recaro's seats are deep. Anyway thank you