I came across this well written and well thought out assessment of our cars in a previous issue of Classic Motoring magazine. I thought it might be of interest (especially those of you thinking about buying an XK8/XKR).
http://www.classiccars4sale.net/clas.../aa-jaguar-xk8

 

From 2011 but good stuff- agreed with a lot of what's in there. The appreciation I have for mine grows by the day.

Still want a coupe...

 

Hadn't seen that particular review. Thanks for posting. I am ever more convinced that we are sitting on a future classic here.

 

I agree but it's going to take a high rate of attrition to get there because of the large number built.

Graham

 

I think that, as Moderator, you should lead by example and have yours crushed so the value of everyone else's goes up a bit

 

Interesting comparison between an XKR and a DB7 in this months Jaguar World Monthly (nice to see you in there too the other month Frog!).

Also notice that a new series of Wheeler Dealers starts soon with a DB7.

 

At last, somebody noticed me

Looking forward to the new series of WD. There are some good British classics on the list this time, not like when they got carried away with themselves a few months ago and went all American.

 

Exactly right I think- the market is still too flooded with these. If it's anything like the Porsche 944 (Turbo) market I came out of last year and into this one, it may take another ten years for all the bad/excess examples to clear the market before values have a chance of going up. The XK100 will have achieved official classic status at that point (the psychological '25 years' mark) which should also help. Now is still the time to buy, but I wonder if the next several years will also still be 'the time to buy'.

If there are any insurance folks in here, start totalling any XK100 that crosses your desk, and for the rest of us, buy another one! Accellerate the process!

And thanks to tberg indeed for posting!

 

Good day! I am not replying to anything, simply happy to have found a site that I may be able to get some honest feedback and answers about my new (to me) Jag. I love, love my 1997 XK8 convertible and yes, it is cheaper than therapy and if I have to work I feel I should at least enjoy the journey there. I have had it to the local Jag dealer in Victoria and she is in great shape. That said I did not get a manual, handbook, anything with it so I am looking to purchase this. I know a fuse is gone and I really don't want to be that helpless woman that has to drive down to Victoria when this happens. It would be cool to be able to change it myself. That said, I don't know where the fuse box is let alone which fuse! LOL, yes I know.......however if someone can tell me a reliable site to go to where I can acquire such a manual it would be greatly appreciated! I need to abide by rules with posting and I am new to this site aside from reading a lot of posts. Thanks everyone!

 

How do you know you need a fuse? There are many fuse blocks on your car. The most important thing you should do, is have your timing chain tensioners checked. Your model came with inferior tensioners, made of plastic which will eventually break down, with can cause a catastrophic event destroying your engine. As far as the manuals they are available at this forum, look above at the stickies. You may need ten posts to down load them. Have fun with your new purchase, these XK's are very sexy cars.

 

Welcome to the family Merriemelody! I have no doubt this forum will be a great help.

 

I have read all of the posts about the classic status of our cars, but I think there needs to be a distinction made between appreciation (as in prices rising) and classic. Many cars are considered classic but have had little if any appreciation because there might have been too many of a particular model produced or maybe there were many service problems so that their desirability was compromised. In my humble opinion, it does not make those cars any less "classic," just less valuable. The fact is that no one is rushing to spend money restoring 17 year old Toyota Camrys or for that matter 17 year old Lincoln Town Cars or Cadillac Coupe de Villes. But thousands of us have purchased XK8/XKR first series automobiles and have put boatloads of dollars into keeping them in nearly new condition. My definition states that whether or not a car increases in value, cars that look contemporary and beautiful in any generation, cars that have owners willing to put more into their cars than the potential value would warrant, cars that have a certain quality that constantly elicit comments and stir emotional responses, cars whose shape or look or interior seems to stay fresher, richer, more sensual and sumptuous than its other competitors, all of these qualities define a "classic." I think these XK8/XKR's qualify under that definition, easily! I think the original 240-280Z body is a classic under the same rules even though they are not worth much more than they were originally. There are many such examples, it's what has guided me to purchase the few cars in my stable, classic--yes, expensive--not necessarily. I just don't think huge appreciation needs to be an element of the "classic" definition. I don't think any of us bought these cars feeling we would make a windfall by selling them some day. I think we all loved the concept, loved the fact that they were affordable (at least for those of us who purchased them used), loved the undeniable beauty, and loved the fact that we could drive the daylights out of them. Now that's a classic!

 

Agreed. I have no idea how long we'll keep my wife's XK8 - she loves it far more than I do and would probably be happy with it forever if it could hold up without breaking the bank. But when we do sell it, I certainly do not expect to make a profit from doing so....

And I do miss my 1974 Datsun 260Z. First new car I ever owned, and still my favorite. Sold it in 1987 when it was pushing 250,000 miles. I'm sure it long ago rusted away....

 

Having owned a few "classics" over the years and always being in the hobby I have found that the classic market can be a bit fickle in terms of what defines value.

There was a time that modifications were a huge no no in terms of a cars value. While some safety mods were "allowed" doing things as modest as swapping out a grill to the more extreme of swapping out drive train components, suspension,electrical (resto modding) were seen as a travesty that took the car out of the collector category and put it in the modification category which was always seen as a money loser. Then restomods started gaining in value (although to find one that was properly done is always a challenge) but today they seem to have fallen out of favor. Sad to say the vast majority of resto mods are not high quality.

There was also a time where full "concourse correct" restorations were the money items. Cars brought back to original exacting factory detail in better than showroom condition. The right car with the right restoration still commands the big dollar.

Today the big buzz comes from original un-restored cars. The correct car with original paint (even faded) original untouched interior (even tired) can fetch some pretty big dollars. There is some disagreement about these cars some call it patina some call it unrepaired but there is no denying the market for them.

What I have learned (the hard way) is to be very very careful with any modifications. Now if you love doing mods and the future value of the car is not on your radar then by all means enjoy the hobby. But if you see yourself touting all the great modification work you have done to the next owner and recouping your investment I would warn you that you may be disappointed.

 

I think that both of mine are classics but you could barely buy any new car for the combined value of both of them, and it is likely to stay that way in my lifetime due to the huge numbers of both models still on the road.

However that suits me just fine, otherwise I would not have been able to buy them in the first place.

 

Something lorwood wrote resonated with me. A "collector" car which seems to imply a valuable car or a car that because of its collector desirability appreciates can be quite different than a "classic" car which has an image of or a quality which makes it stand out as a desirable but not necessarily appreciable automobile. Racediagnostics believes his Mercedes SL and his XK8 are both classic automobiles (and I agree) even though they have not become extremely valuable. American 60's muscle cars outside of a very few select models can be bought very inexpensively. For example, I have a 1968 Pontiac GTO that I bought several years ago in very nice driver condition for about $15k. Only rare Judge models (which I hate the stupid looking graphics that identify that model) bring high value prices. It's essentially the same classic car but has significant differences in collector status. A few years ago 1970 Hemi Cudas or Challengers brought unbelievable prices (in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) at auction while the same cars with 440 or 383 Chrysler engines were very reasonably priced. They were the same bodies, same classic muscle car, just different collectability.

I don't know if the XK8/XKR series will ever have collector status, but I already know it has classic status.

 

Agreed, tberg. Ultimately (me as well), we buy these cars for the love of what they are, not the odds to turn a dime on them at a later date. Even if mine continued depreciating in value, it wouldn't matter. It certainly didn't for those who bought them new...

I just love walking up to mine in the lot. In a sea of common appliances, a masterpiece.

 

These XKs were produced in small enough numbers that some time in the next 10 years, they very well could start appreciating.

In 1969, they made almost 16,000 convertible V8 Cameros with a total of about 211,000 for that year. Compare XK production numbers to any collectable classic and you'll notice far higher production numbers.

While I'm not sure these vehicles will ever be worth a whole lot of money, I don't think anyone would argue that the body style isn't already a classic. You can spit shine a 97 XK8 and average motorists have no idea that it's a 16 year old design. It is really a timeless beauty and even owning them for a couple of years now, I still stare at my XK's as I walk up to or away from them. My honeymoon period is still going strong.

 

In the 10 years that they made the x100 style XKs, only 9600 XKR coups were made, with approximately 5000 of these shipped to the US. This makes it a pretty rare car but I was still able to buy my '02 XKR a little less than two years ago, with only 33k miles, for just $20k.

I agree with everyone else here that these cars are already classics and, IMHO, one of the most beautiful cars ever made. As for whether they will be worth money in the future is any one's guess. I have never been able to figure out what makes one thing valuable and another thing worthless so I'll just repeat my first lesson in economics, taught to me by my father when I was about 10 and wanted to know how much a buffalo nickel I had found was worth. He told me "it's worth what ever you can get someone to pay for it". Which, in the case of my XKR, means priceless, as I would not take any amount of money for it.

Mark

 

I agree that the production numbers are in the cars favor. Ford made millions of Mustangs. Camaro's Corvettes etc. where (and still are) true mass production cars.

The other thing to consider in the collector market is the "sweet" years. Every car has those years which are considered the best in overall performance and styling (1969 Camaro, 1968 Shelby Mustang etc.) I would estimate that for the XK8 those years are 2003-2006 with the XKR coupe being at the top of the list.

I think, given Jaguars horrible reputation for mechanical (and especially electrical) reliability, the XK has to stand the test of time for a little longer. Once the rest of the "world" realizes what we already know, that these cars are just as reliable as any other luxury GT built during the period, the appreciation will begin.