With the obvious difference in purchase price noted, is the supercharged version of the 4.2 any more expensive in upkeep?

 

I don't believe there is a significant difference in basic routine upkeep other than the brakes being more expensive.

Doug

 

Search the threads here PLENTY of SC threads.

 

A little extra for rear tires and you have to budget for donations to the policeman's retirement fund.

 

We all know power corrupts, but horse power corrupts absolutely.
If you have them, you WILL use them.
Aside from the costs for tires, fuel, and brakes being higher, fines for 'civil disobedience', will follow.
But then again, there is no substitute for living in the moment, and one MUST LIVE!
Lead or follow, your choice...
White Bear.

 

If you get a convertible, women won't care if it is an XK8 or XKR. The XKR is FASTER than the XK8, but there are a lot of faster cars out there, including many Japanese shitboxes, that have humiliated me in ALL my other cars, including a bunch of Mopars, a number of Corvettes, etc. All except my Porsche 930, and 928S Factory Special. Subarus and Mitsubishis are especially known for humiliating me from light to light.

Both Jaguar models have plenty of power, but if you are looking for real European performance, from this vintage, pick up an AWD Audi TT turbo convertible with a manual trans, but don't expect any kind of respect, because nobody knows what an AUDI TT is. There isn't much that can beat it in this price range, and the parts aren't as obscene as Jaguar parts are(we fill up an entire computer on Ebay, for just used parts.

If you are looking at XK8s and XKRs you are looking for luxurious rolling art, and not a race car. Jaguars are the most beautiful cars in the world, and always have been. You always pay more for style. If you want to go fast, buy a Mustang. If you want to be one of the few people in Portland with a beautiful Jaguar, buy an XK8 or XKR.

I live around Chicago, and I have only seen one other car like mine, and it is a hundredth anniversary convertible XKR. We visit with each other, every Wednesday in a parking lot about 15 miles from our homes, along with a last year MGA special.

We have even traded cars for a week, because he likes my car's style a bit more, and the 3 extra gauges in the center of my dash, that is eaten up by a screen on his. Don't question his logic. All guys like needles in round dials. He can't change anything on his car, or it would plummet in value. Almost anything I do to my car increases it's value.

Parked with us are a Porsche Boxter, about five 57 Chevys, a row of Mustangs, a row of Camaros, some drag cars, a lot of muscle cars, and about 50 Harley Davidson motorcycles. We are almost the only ones, who get their cars photographed, especially by women, and it ain't because of our old a$$ looks. They are even so forward as to ask to sit in our cars, pass me a phone number, ask for a ride, and even one who asked if I like kids.....I don't....except 3 grandsons.

You are buying exclusivity, and beauty, on various levels of speed. An XK8 will still scare you at the speeds it is capable of. An XKR will get you there faster....Good luck on either of your choices.....Be cool....Mike

 

I agree much with the above post.
This car is about LOOKS, they are timeless.
I still maintain that the XKR is more costly to own. Other will disagree but it is jsut more Jag parts to go bad and that can be a lot just on an XK8. I would forgo the extra power and get a niiiiice Xk8. If you want power and reliability look elsewhere.

 

Over here the Audi TT has more than one (very very negative) epithet...

 

There are several diffs between them, the biggest you'd be concerned about is the suspension part replacement, most of our cars at 10+ yrs old are in need of replacement, the xkr utilized active suspension which the shock are pricey (350 ea) vs $100 or so for standard xk8 replacements. You can put XK* shocks on the XKR and disable the AS but you may feel a handling difference depending on your driving style. Outside of that there hasn't been many SC related issues, you may have to have a rebuild around 100-120k mi of the SC bearings but hey that's alot of miles.

You get a bunch more HP and kick if that's what your looking for but as stated above these are not 1/4 mi burners they are Sports Tourer. So you may consider using the xkr $ on a newer model xk8. When looking become familiar with the various packages and options the car has, not all xk8/xkr are created equal (ie come with brembo brakes others stock, some with leveling headlights others not etc). these may affect price point.

I can say from experience if at a car gathering and a xk8 and xkr are side by side and you lift the hoods, one will get a whole lot more attention.

 

Thanks for the fab feedback. Right now I'm convinced I need to own a 03+ XKR Coupe. Plus it cracks me up to have more hp than an Aston Vantage V8
I just cant get over those beautiful roof lines.....

 

JagV8......What are the negatives on the Audi TTs over there, other than a race car driver dying in one, when they first came out. The early ones killed a few people, until they put the spoiler on the rear, and sealed under the drivetrain, but the later ones seem to be quicker than an untrained driver can control if they push it, because they rocket up to speed before you know it. We had no engine, turbo, trans, and transfer case problems, at the end of their run. Once they got them to stay on the ground, it was up to the driver's skill, to keep himself alive. The same thing applies to all high performance short wheelbase cars, including Porsches, the Lotus Elise, a TVR, and even the latest rendition of the Corvette. Of all German car hating people, even Jeremy Clarkson said it was a small car others should be measured by. We don't hear all the information over here, especially if you work in a VW, Porsche, Audi dealer. Not being a jerk, but just for information, please fill me in on what has given them such a bad reputation across the pond.....Thanks in advance.....Mike

 

1. The supercharger will need a rebuild or a replace before the engine will. That is not a game changer but expect to need to rebuild it by 100k miles.

2. The tires on some year XKRs are lower profile and wider compared to a similar XK8, on some XKRs they are also different sizes front and rear That hits you twice; the tires cost more because they have a lower profile and they wear out faster because you can't rotate them as they are different sizes.

3. On the plus side the Chrysler transmission on the 4.0 XKRs is more reliable than the ZF unit on the 4.0 XK8s. On the 4.2s they use the same transmission.

I have a 2001 XKR and I think it is worth the extra $$$. Honestly if I had an XK8 I would be looking at a power adder or engine swap and that would cost substantially more than the price difference in the two vehicles, meaning you could get an XKR and have years of $$$ for maintenance. I will also add though that I can do the vast majority of work myself which means I only typically pay for parts.

 

Ahem - emphasis on "epithet"

Known as a **** car because every c*nt has one. (No offence intended.)

 

The supercharged cars don't have variable valve timing, so that is one less set of complicated bits to offset the added complexity of the supercharger.

As already mentioned, the 4.0 XKR uses a Mercedes gearbox rather than the ZF unit on the XK8, so in that respect the supercharged 4 litre car has a big advantage over the non-supercharged version. Just search for XKR gearbox problems on this forum.

 

No offense taken. I still have all my male parts, and will not be voting for Hillary Clinton(Monica Lewinski's boyfriend's wife)

I can understand that. That is what we think of the Porsche Boxter, The last 2 generations of the VW Bug, BMW two seaters, Mercedes sports roadsters, yes Audi TT convertibles, Triumph Spitfires, MGBs, and some of the unwashed droolers even think about most Jaguar convertibles. For some reason TR4s have escaped the list. It must be the red stripes on the tires.....

I try to avoid gatherings of lifted pickup trucks, especially ones that try to MAKE COAL. Which is where they put something in the harness to create massive amounts of black smoke, that you cannot even see through.

I went to a truck show at a local dealer, because some of these trucks are show quality, and quite beautiful(for a truck). It was suggested by some members of the crowd, that they could drive over my XK8 convertible.

Most of these truck owners are under the age of 30, and fly confederate flags in their truck beds. In consequence to that, there are very few black people at these events, or driving these type of trucks. I have found that these people are full of hate against those who are different than them.

Thank you for explaining......Mike

 

If you want ***** and thrills pick up a 05/06 manual Pontiac GTO. Get one with a fresh suspension (same crap issues Jags have). This car is a BLAST to drive.

 

Now..you need to indulge us with some pictures of the 928s!!

 

If you are buying a coupe in the states and want one that is local enough to inspect you will not be spoiled for choice, especially if you have a color preference.

I looked at two older xkr's, one that was in poor driving condition and another that was in poor cosmetic condition before I went with the XK8. Both appeared to have been kept outdoors judging by their condition. Something that is far more common with the coupes. I am very glad I went with better condition Xk8 because it has been incredibly reliable with little cost for over four years now.

I would take an Excellent condition XKR over an excellent condition XK8 even if the price were a few thousand more. But I would choose an excellent condition XK8 over a good condition XKR even if the price was the same. Like any car in which the purchase price is far lower than the cost of repair you should choose the one that is in the best possible starting condition for your budget

 

No comparison. Get the xkr. My 2000 has a 3psi upper,E3 spark plugs, and exhaust dumped before rear axle. Disable traction control ,It stays neck to neck with newer mustangs and camaroes. I've raced both at a private road. Imports are easily passed by.the trick is to push the gas down slow,let up completely, and immediately floor it and hold on. If you don,t do that,you start off slow.A master jaguar tech showed me how to do this to bypass the factory initial acceleration programming protocol strategy.search my post,watch ,like me on youtube ,this is hard work,new vids very soon.

 

The computer got me. I put the pictures in my next post