You can expect to spend more on a Jaguar than a Ford, both parts and labor. Well maintained and with no issues upon a thorough inspection sounds OK.

Fords may cost less but they aren't as pretty.

Perhaps you could read through the 'I’m buying a used XK8/XKR, what should I look for' at this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=29800

 

$8000 seems a lot for a 12 year old, high mileage vehicle. Remember, just because the previous owner spent a lot of money on it, does not mean this increases the value of the vehicle by the amount spent. I assume it is an XJ8 with the V8 engine, so care is needed as there is the Nikasil issue for engines of this year, and also the camchain tensioner issue. Check whether it has had new camchain tensioners fitted, and whether the engine is original.

Clearly it has managed to get to 2010 and do 97k miles without the Nikasil bores failing, so this is probably OK, or it might have had an early engine swap under warranty. The plastic thermostat housing cracks and fails, and early water pumps lost their vanes, but this would surely have been fixed by now. The throttle housing and butterfly can clog up and needs regular cleaning.

It would help if you can tell us what work the owner has done for the $2376 he spent.

In answer to your question, these cars can do big mileages provided they are properly maintained, but the 3rd, 4th, and subsequent owners tend to be much poorer than owners 1 & 2, so jobs can get skipped. Wear-and-tear items will include brake discs and pads, and shock absorbers, plus suspension bushes and ball joints. They last a long time, but not for ever.

 

That price is quite a bit too much, in my opinion. I just had my 2000 XJ8 totaled, so I have been recently looking at value and fighting an insurance company for that car. $6,000 or $7,000 would probably be tops on a 2000, and the one you are looking at is two years older. The transmission rebuild is a good thing, as that is a known problem on the X308s around 100K miles. I also would want to make sure the other things mentioned in this thread have already been taken care of, or you will be looking at another $1,000 on repairs shortly (give or take $2,000 ). The engine cylinders would be a BIG concern to me, although I did not have that problem on mine in 120,000 miles. There are plenty of bricked pre-2002 X308s sitting around with zero compression!

I think you should be able to find a nice 2002 or 2003 for the money being asked for that 1998, and that would remove the nickasil engine and chain guides as major problems. Whatever you decide, mace darn sure you take it to a good independent Jag mechanic to have it thoroughly checked out BEFORE you fork over the money! Good luck,
Goose

 

I have a 98 VDP with 168k, I love it. That being said, maintenance is expensive even when doing most of the stuff myself. Recently, I had a bunch of wear and tear issues. Replaced the ball joints, all the heater and coolant hoses, auxillary heater motor, and the drive screw for the reach motor. I still have a few other issues to take care of like the wheel bearings, replacing the rotors, throttle body, and maybe the transmission pan gasket and fluid.

Two issues that have been perplexing me for a while was the mysterious loss of coolant for over a year and the damn rattling of the dash. The coolant leak was finally fixed when I replaced all the hoses. Apparently, the hoses under the intake manifold was leaking as well as the heater hose connection that was near the firewall next to the coolant reservior tank. I am still trying to locate the damn rattling from inside the dash.

I bought the car three years ago for $7000. They have 2nd generation tensioners and the engine is still running strong.

Just be aware you are going to be facing wear and tear issues soon. If you can do most of them yourself, then go for it. I still get a lot of complements on my VDP and I like the drive a lot more than my 07 Lexus 350.

 

if you like i can sell you my 2002 vdp with 84k on it for $10,000 just had the timing chains and tensioners done as maintenance new front shocks ,4 Pirelli tires new front pads ,updated water pump and new t-stat tower complete,car needs nothing.also has a motorola bluetooth integrated with the factory harness no no loose wire running round the car

its been a california car since day 1