Recently sold my '96 XJ6. I'm looking at an extremely clean 1987 XK8 Coupe at a dealer in Portland. The asking price is only $5900, and the cars seems nice, however she has 165,000 miles, and I've heard horror stories on the 4.0 V8. No service records, but I'm thinking to have gone that far, the problems should have been attended to. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated, as I'm retired and have only my Social Security, but have always loved Jaguars. I guess if she broke I could still just enjoy looking at her. Thanks, Mike

 

Welcome to the forum Mike!

Even well cared for cars of this age and mileage are going to involve on-going maintenance and repair expenses and any of the premium marques are going to be be more expensive than the low priced spread.

Few, if any, owners take care of all the little issues just before selling a car. Usually, the number of backed up issues become overwhelming and initiate the sales process. There is a previous owned buyer's check list for the XK8/R at the top of the forum in the FAQ sticky. Use it well.

I would encourage you to especially check all the electrical operations; everything from light bulbs to seat operation. All can be incredibility expensive.

One final thought:

These cars are best owned by hobby mechanics.

 

+1.
Because if it isn't your hobby when you buy it, it will be.

Great cars, but if you can't do some of the maintenance yourself, it will get expensive.

 

I'm sure you mean a 1997, right?
Vector

 

Yes! It's a 1997. Maybe too much for my ability and limited means. Thanks Mike.

 

If you're not mechanically inclined, the 03's and newer are great. They still have a couple of issues, the biggest being the green shower, but other than that, have all the important issues already corrected in production. The newer years on this body style are much nicer as well. So a '97 might be too much for you to take on, the newer '03+ will give you mostly trouble-free reliability.

 

Thanks!! I wish I could afford a newer one. Oh well, there two nice looking XJ 6's, an '83. and an '87 that I might jump on, or an '82 XJS with 82k. I really appreciate the sound avice, Mike.

 

Mike,

Extending the warning about XK8's being "best owned by hobby mechanics", the XJS is often best owned by semi-professional welders.

Check the XJS - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum XJS section for known issues before even inspecting a potential purchase, let alone committing to buy.

Great cars but the gleaming bodywork often hides some horrendous corrosion. Find one that's had all the issues resolved and you'll have one of the best Jaguars ever built.

Graham

 

.... "often best owned by semi-professional welders"....

Love it!