Hi,

I'm new here and first of alI let me just say what an amazing source of information this forum is, thank you for sharing your knowledge!

I'm about to buy my first Jag (08 XKR 4.2, ~97k miles), and I really need your help in assessing the severity of the problems that I've found when inspecting the car. It would help me a great deal to see what sort of price reduction I could get and if buying it make sense altogether.

First is an oil leak at the rear of the car (photos attached). After reading through this forum, I think it's the diff. The car had an MOT advisory on a small diff leak two years ago, but nothing last year. The owner didn't repair that back then, as far as I know. I went on a test drive and didn't hear any noticable whine. How severe could it be? How much could this cost to repair?

Secondly, the left headlight is loose because two plastic mountings are broken (please see the photos). The owner didn't notice it before and swears the car was never in an accident. All other panel gaps are matching and I guess it would be strange to repair the panels but not the obvious headlight. My bet it that somebody sat on it and it snapped. I've also found a small spider inside the headlight, so it might not be sealed properly, but doesn't appear to be broken on the front or on the sides.
I looked up the price of the new lamp, and it's crazy expensive, £1800 for a new OEM part! Is there a way to repair it, e.g. drilling some holes and joining it with some metal piece? What sort of cost could that entail?

Third is the rust on the underside elements as seen in the photos. I know it's hard to judge just by looking at it, but with your experience I'm super curious to hear if that's a reasonable amount for a 16yo car.

I'd really appreciate your help!

Thanks

 

Wow, that's a lot of rust...everywhere! Spent its life on a coast or lots of salt roads? Certainly NOT normal for a 16 year old car. You might be able to plastic weld the headlamp tabs. Yes, that's the diff leaking. Common for the seals to fail and need replacing.

 

Yikes - the rust, my eyes. It's not a keeper. I wouldn't buy it. What's the chappie asking for it?

 

Looks like it was parked in a wet or damp area for a long time, like maybe a swamp? Notice how the rust is working its way up the green dampers. Seems like a lot to deal with, I’d pass on this one, unless you’re getting it for like, free.

 

Thanks guys, theoretically the car spent its last 8 years on the outskirts of London, but who knows! The owner wants £12k ($15k), but that was when he thought the car was in an immaculate condition..

How strong are these subframes? I'm not sure what would be a fair price for it, if it's still worth considering at all.

 

A few of those pictures appear to have layered metal loss in the rust. That's when the steel loses some of the surface because rust got on bot sides of bits of steel. Sort of like an onion peeling. That's not a good thing at all. I'd suggest getting the car on a lift and taking a pick hammer after all of the rust areas to see how deep it actually goes. There are some really good rust-stoppers out there, but the steel that's gone can't be replaced, and the rusty parts will always be weak.

 

Check out autotrader in the UK lots of good condition XK's available:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/cars/used/jaguar/xk/2008

Don't buy a rust bucket.

 

Something doesn't add up. Unless it's spent most of its time IN the Thames, a London car shouldn't be in such disarray. Run.....

 

Seen similarly bad rusting on a car that always parked outside on a gravel and dirt driveway. (Body was falling off the frame.)

 

I bought my '08 XKR Portfolio coupe in March, 48K miles, no rust whatsoever, no apparent major problems other than the dash leather and some curb rash, $23,000 US. I know you can't easily find California cars there, but I would keep looking for one in better condition. Good luck.

 

The rear x-frame might be available from a breaker. The axle seals are easy. But, the cost if you don't do it yourself, would be too much to justify. I'd pass and find another without these issues.

 

:-(. Sorry friends.
I’m in Canada. I do drive her year round. And our roads are a mess with salt and sand. I’m also not afraid of gravel roads…
And at 160,000 kms…. mine doesn’t look anything like that. I wouldn’t touch it unless I had full restoration in mind.