Really have a personal dilemna, looking for some form of reality check.

I run an SV8, have done so for many years, the car's clattered some on startup all the time I have owned it - NO it is not timing chains, it is believed to be a broken VVT return spring. The car has also started to puff some smoke out the B bank exhaust so valve stem seals potentially, compression is fine on all 8. Beyond that the car is 95% - the 5% loss is down to paintwork I had to rush during the heatwave (was treating blistering caused by the materials used for killing vibration in door panels - I did post about this). I am also sick and tired of its battery habit - I am so sick of the low battery BS this car throws, I can't leave the car anyplace unless I carry a booster just in case. Before those comments roll in the battery was replaced, everything was checked out, all modules are at the last available release - and still this thing has an appetite for power that I am really paranoid over. I can leave our old Passat 3 months on the driveway and it will run first turn of the key and it is a Diesel !! - two weeks on the SV8 and you're pushing your luck whether you can open the car or not without the 'real' key. In hot weather the alarm also triggers for no reason whatsoever - always hot weather despite a sun shield being used. If there is one thing that has me saying "I have had enough of this" it is the cars propensity for flattening batteries for no good reason - simply opening a door has it pulling almost 8 amps .... I have battery anxiety and I don't even drive an EV !!!

Then I found this ...






I have now fixed it as per the last image but what else is lurking .... (yes it does have a Spires exhaust)

So I'm kind of at a crossroads here - do I really want to put the money in that this is going to require despite all the faults I do like this car but is that rational - hell I'm not scared of rust I have an XJS - just didn't care to deal with it on a 'modern car' and I've already had to deal with all 4 doors (my XJS doors are in better shape and those aren't galvanised.

I really don't know if I have the desire to pull the heads or do the work to replace the chains, anything that relates to the engine on the SV8 is a death sentence for the car - the cost for a secondhand engine in unknown condition IF you can find one is £3k+, a rebuilt engine £6k and over, rebuilding is something that Jaguar say is not possible - the crank cannot be ground due to how it is made, it won't last long if it is ground, nor is there anything other than standard size for pistons for the AJ34S and they are not available anyway there were so few AJ34S erngines produced that most repair parts for major defects are unobtanium, the original bearings I'm told were specially selected / sized during assembly. The embedded 'Le Man' start of the engine I have never liked - cold engine and instant high RPM nobody will ever convince me is good - yes I'm old school and time served.

So I am very much of the mindset at the moment to cut and run and buy a different old classic Jag - or something similarly interesting - an old Rolls / Bentley / Posche 928 / XJS Convertible to go with my Coupe? - I think I'd really like to be stupid and buy an old Rolls Silver Spirit II - guess I'm from the generation that knew a Rolls was out of my league except it isn't any more.

But I bailed out and got rid of cars that many would love to see in the garage now, a Mk1 Escort van, a Mk3 2 litre GT Cortina, a Toyota Celica 1600ST, a 2 door Range Rover, a BMW 2500, a Lotus Esprit, Series 1 XJ6 Manual, Daimler Sovereign 2.8 - also series 1, Vauxhall Ventora ... see a picture here - anything I give up on seems to bite me in the ***

Is if likely that the SV8 is going to hit the desireable list - given that I think the X250 SV8 and XFR are the last of the 'real' Jaguars - no offence to those that like the facelift later stuff under Tata's ownership is just another plastic monstrosity wouldn't have one gift wrapped, rep mobile standards for prestige prices.

Part of me says that there will come a time that prices for the SV8 start to rise yet part of me says those days are just a fantasy, it is going to take too much to keep this car fully functional given that many parts are already unavailable OEM - hell the XJS is easier and doesn't have the 'computer BS' to contend with..

 

Yes - the classic dilemma of the older car. I'm sure you'll get biased views on here (mine included). Couple of thoughts
- I would not swap it for another classic jag, rolls, Porsche etc. Any luxury classic is going to face those same sort of issues and costly repairs. So if you'd prefer a rolls that's one thing. But I wouldn't swap to solve your current issues as you'll just get a different set of similarly expensive ones
- the rust is of course an issue on any car over time. That does look particularly bad. I'm surprised - I run mine year round in the frigid north east USA and heavily salted roads for 10+ years and I've not had that sort of issue. (Yet?).
- the battery issue is odd. Mine is a 2010 XF SC and I can leave it 3-4 weeks unused (a frequent occurrence during covid) and it fires up every time. Sounds like you've tried to diagnose but there is for sure an issue that a skilled car electrical expert could fix. That one's a shame as it's unnecessarily spoiling your experience
- the engine ones are more serious. And yes could lead to costly repairs

If it were me and you love the car I'd try and resolve the electrical issue, keep on driving it until one day when the engine really fails. And at that point it's prob time to move on if the cost of repair is too great
But that's just my take

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Always tough choices.

 

Even 2 Jaguar specialists and Jaguar themselves can find no issue with the battery nonsense - been fighting it since I bought the car, had every module involved reprogrammed - media system (wasn't reliably shutting down), new battery check module, replaced door modules (key detection), it can take 4 hours for the car to decide to actually shut down electrically after door locking, even Jaguar say that's wrong yet they can't fix it - I've a whole folder of pain on it.

The corrosion took me by surprise too - although as posted elsewhere I found a lot of corrosion in the doors - all of them - bought other doors and they had the same issue so anyone with an X250 will encounter this if they don't get the vibration damping removed and the doors treated.

The clatter has never got better nor worse and I'm obsessive when it comes to the maintenance stuff - use only Castrol, change more often than necessary, the noise is an annoyance but I have bought two brand new VVT units - better part of £1000 by the time the government take their slice, I even bought a bunch of tools to do the work so I'm 80% committed to fixing, even but £1000 worth of tyres on it just last year- but it is going to cost another 1k at least and to be honest I don't know if it is a job I want to attempt, the puffs of smoke on starting give me the 'here we go' thoughts I am pretty obsessive about maintenance as mentioned - it is either right or it isn't - perhaps I'm averse to the commitment to get stuck in (I started a weekend job on the XJS and it took 2 years ...) - the workshop manual isn't the best I've ever seen, it doesn't cover the botheration tasks like removing the front of the car and all the radiators - there is so much stuff that you need to do because but none of it is clear. Sure I guess somebody experienced wouldn't remove the radiators etc but despite being time served I don't feel that confident and access in that area isn't great.

I agree with everything you say - and of all the cars I've owned it is the only one that I use as the yardstick - and nothing else gets close, it is refined, insanely fast, has every extra known except heated steering wheel, it has triggered my OCD and I need to manage that.

 

Where in the hell do you live that rust can get that bad? Atlantis? I'm only joking because it hurts my heart to be serious. That looks terrible and I hate it for you. Maybe I'm completely missing the point, but my thinking is, if there's that much rust in those areas, I don't know if I'd hold out much hope for anything else staying well intact.

 

Live in UK, the repair part I bought in from Texas - UK vehicle dismantlers are pretty creative when it comes to pricing in fact think of a phrase to replace 'urine extractors' - it seems to elude them that the part is cheaper new from the OEM but many don't check - in this case though I wanted it sorted quick and didn't want to wait on Jaguar, it was cheaper to import from Texas even with the import duties - I've also bought stuff for the XJS from California etc.

Here in the UK the salt they use in winter is blended with Molasses (or so I'm told) so that it sticks. I actually only found this when I was crawling from under the XJS, I saw something resting on the exhaust on the left side - knew it had to be from the car and removing the cover revealed what you see in the images.

Your observation was also mine - what the hell else is lurking waiting to mess up my day - and why the 'do I move on' has come to the surface -> see this thread too Thread one and this one as I had the same problem My own experiences

Theres a lot of stuff will show up on Google, rear subframes too. Now I'm not afraid of rust, I have an XJS, but that isn't a daily driver, but to have it on the SV8 has really been a blow. I grew up in the 60/70's era when cars rotted overnight and once the rust got set in motion any repair only delayed the inevitable. I have addressed 90% of the rust on the XJS but it's taken two years, I don't have 20k to drop on a vehicle restorer.

I think the reasoning I have right now is really down to values - if I take on a Porsche for instance sure it will be expensive to fix, same for an XJS convertible (I've spent a five figure sum on my XJS) but in those cases there is still a resale potential that the XF currently does not command, the prices I've been offered are pretty damn offensive, a much older XK8 is worth more on the open market - one dealer offered only £3700 on a trade in and a replacement engine from a vehicle dismantler will cost about that assuming you can find one and it would likely need the chains etc doing too - plus you don't know its history - wheras I've owned the SV8 for nigh 10 years and am the second owner.

 

More info on this? I just had to replace my passenger DCM this spring after the car sat over winter. Dealer cited a corroded module but no visible water intrusion in the door. Im skeptical and Im worried more of that type of thing is in my future. Would love to address it proactively if possible. I am terrified to turn the key over every time, but the reward of driving this car always makes up for it.

Is your XF Green?

At the end of the day its up to you and what you want to deal with/enjoy. Sometimes a new car/project can be refreshing even if the likelihood of similar repairs are the same between old and new.

 

My XF is indeed Green - Emerald Fire Pearl - code HHP.

I find it unlikely that the door module would corrode - they're plastic, they are on the inside of the car and not in the door itself but on the plastic cover that seals it up.

That said I think the decision is really based on the poor values currently presenting by the XF - £3700 trade makes what 6k private hell the catalytic converters were 2800 and the tyres the best part of 1000 with barely 1000 miles on them so it will rot before it goes for 3700. To get the best price I have no choice but fix the VVT unit and that's a £2k bill by the time I am done without paying somebody else to perform the work, typical quotes exceed 3100 and that isn't local - most specialists have declined to quote. I'm caught between a rock and a hardplace, a buyer will hear that clatter and won't be able to depart fast enough so I'm committed albeit reluctantly to the repair, there is supposedly a TSB about the potential for VVT noise that explains it isn't a big deal but I can't find a copy.

I guess the question is will the SV8 ever achieve a status that warrants hanging on after all not many were made but that adds to the problems and when the computers start to go pear shaped (and sooner or later they will) plus you can't diagnose **** without SDD and Jaguar charge stupid money for access to that, it is a whole string of things that says better off with a much older project. I really do like the car, I'd like to keep the car but I really don't know what its future holds, I'm committed to the repair but will likely cut my losses once done. I know something like a 928 will probably cost a shed load of money but the resale values aren't in the toilet, my XJS is worth 5 times what the XF is - hell I have a Reliant Kitten worth near as much. As I mentioned the value I was offered 'trade' is less than you would pay for an engine from a breakers yard.

 

All that rot in the back really bothers me!!
I'm sorry, but I think you have to cut your losses. The thing could be (already is ...) a money pit.

There be alligators waiting there. Save the money for the XJS
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Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 Jaguar XF (X250) Portfolio AWD
Jaguar - making mechanics out of customers since 1935