I got my XK8 in the paint shop getting a deep black glossy paint job with new side/badge emblems and a new black powder coated mesh grille insert. I am gonna surprise my daughter with her first Jag Xk8 after she receives her drivers license and in the very near future. I wish I had a car like this at 16yrs old. Daddy's little girl!

 

Do you know what 16 year-olds do with cars like these?

 

I barely trust myself at 28 with this car I wouldn't give it to a 16 year old unless she was very astute on potential problems before they become expensive problems and is extremely careful. I don't know what is worse, a distracted girl or a leadfoot boy (yes I realize I am stereotyping, but there is more than a grain of truth to it). Now maybe she'll be fine with it and it will treat her well, but I wouldn't take that gamble myself. Not to mention what her peers might do that poor car. I still sometimes fear for my car due to people thinking someone my age and station in life shouldn't have a car like this, I can't imagine what would have happened if I had the car in high school.

 

My daughter is now 37. I wouldn't trust her to behave responsibly TODAY with an XK8. I damn sure wouldn't have trusted her at 16. I don't know your kid, but I know kids in general. Think long and hard before you follow through with your plan....

Good luck to you, and especially to her....

 

to pass your test in the uk you have to be 17years old and the insurance for a xk would cost you more than the car itself,thats if you could get a insurance company to insure her,as for getting my daughter a xk in the first place i think a would rather take a bone off a pitbull than know a 16year old was driveing my xk,i love my daughter to much risk her life with such a powerfull car so young,kids need to learn respect for such a motor,but as thay say each to there own,(good luck)

 

Ah, I love all these guys but don't let them rain on your parade. She'll look great it in it, and it will look great on her. You'll be taking care of it...not her...and you'll be giving her something unique that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Cheers to you and I hope she enjoys the car as much as you'll enjoy giving it to her.

I do have to say I'm jealous of the full respray, though. My car desperately needs a full and high-quality paint job. It will happen eventually. If you don't mind my asking, how much are you paying for your paint job?

 

a arm and a leg is just what it may cost in the end

 

Dad? Dad? It's me...your long lost son...Beep777...

Let's see...all those birthdays of mine that you missed...

B

 

Seriously! Kids are kids. My daughter at 16-17 was as responsible as it gets, and we needed her to be self-mobile.....but did I give her an exotic attention-craving car to scoot about in? No way. I gave her my perfect condition '87 Lincoln Town car. She could transport her friends and athletic/orchestra stuff if necessary, was very protected in her tortoise shell, had reasonable insurance, and never put a scratch on the car. It was kind of a joke, and her friends joined in but loved the comfort when they rode, but most of all I know it saved her life......and she really appreciated getting her own new car when she graduated from college.

I'd reallllly think this over David...without emotion or wanting to give your daughter her heart's desire. It's not only about what she is ready to be responsible for, it's about what others in her peer group and beyond will think of her. Too much really CAN be too much in high school. Unless you live in Beverly Hills, Balboa (Newport Beach), or Miami Beach where it's "expected" I'd look to something more appropriate for a newby 16 yr-old driver.

 

I'm guessing this isn't the first time Daddy's Girl is getting something nice, and probably won't be the last time. I didn't see a question there or a request for advice, so I'm going with The Coupe on this.

Thanks for sharing your joy,David. Hope she loves it.

 

I'm with the Coupe as well. I was 22 (young,dumb, and full of **m) when I bought my XKE roadster. I'm still here 43 years later.

 

she won't be able to get in trouble in the back seat! There's a plus for you.

 

I would definatly go with something more practical and less attention getting.
More useable seats and doors for taking friends along would better socially (kids like to move in groups), and remove temptation for someone to sit sideways in the back w/no seatbelt on.
Jags have more than their fair share of breakdowns and other episodes. Something mechanicly simpler and more easily repairable (parts, expertise, etc) would be more prudent in the event the car gives trouble at an awkward time or location.
And I hate to bring this up, but a lower profile vehicle like a sedan would attract less attention from certian elements that might see an opportunity in one or more teen girls in a status symbol like a Jag. Jags project affluence by design.

 

Geez, whatta bunch of Buzzkills.

David, if all of this has you second-guessing yourself you might consider sending her to Skip Barber for a day or two. In fact, you could join her and make it a father/daughter thing. It certainly would give her more skills than driving circles in a parking lot during H.S. driver's ed. It might even result in insurance discounts as some companies consider it advanced defensive driver's training.

Wish I could be there to see the big smiles on both your faces when you give it to her.

 

Buzzkills? No way. Experienced parents is a much better definition....

Not a weekend goes by in our general area without at least two wrecks occuring because inexperienced, self-invincible kids are out joyriding in high-powered sports cars that they have no business driving. These stories lead off the weekend local newscasts when they involve fatalities, always showing the inevitable candlelight vigil and teenagers leaving teddy bears and other stuffed animals at the accident site. Like I said, we see this nearly every weekend and it is always 16 and 17-year-old drivers (both boys and girls) with cars far too powerful and way beyond their abilities....

This stuff is on the news so often around here, you almost become immune to it. More parents would suffer fewer tragedies in their lives if they would pay a bit more attention....

 

well said jon 89

 

I'm a father of two girls, who are the sun and moon to me, ages 14 and 17. This discussion is quite relevant to me, as I am spending several hours per week coaching my 17 year old as she drives around town.

I think everything the cautious guys have said here is correct, however, it all comes down to the caution and coaching of the father, the responsibility and caution of the daughter, and that's really it.

After all, we're talking an XK8 here...not a 500 horsepower mustang, or an $80,000 Mercedes. The power she's got can just as easily get her OUT of a bad situation as IN one, and the responsiveness of the car may help her avoid a sudden emergency as well.

In my opinion, we need to stay out of this father's relationship with his daughter, and know that in the end only HE can adequately judge HIS daughter's readiness for such a beautiful car.

Go daddy-o!

 

I agree with The Coupe and beg3yrs. I'd be more worried about the trouble she could get in in the back seat than the front seat.

Mark

 

you also have to consider the 16/17year old boyfrend who will no dought want a drive of the xk and to showoff to his mates, the cats away the mice will play, moste dads as teens have been there done that worne the t shurt as thay say,thats me done with this subject,on your head be it but hope all works out well.

 

Thinking back not all that long ago to my #5 son's driving experiences: he was a very cautious driver so we had no problem letting take the extra car (mom's impeccable Buick Regal) to school. His after school activities made it almost a necessity. One fine morning, as he was pulling into his student parking space, one of his "friends" thought it would be fun to jump out in front of him. He reacted by turning quickly to avoid the idiot, but hit another car in the next space. Not really his fault, but another expensive lesson in why kids and cars don't mix very well. Had it been my Jaguar the damages would have been 4-5X as expensive.

The point is that kids do stupid things...even if yours is trying to be careful or attentive.