I've had my 08 Jag for 6 months now and haven't had any issues. Go for it. Sounds like your mind is already made up so follow your heart. You won't be disappointed. I have a convertible and it's definitely a head turner.

 

What is the 4 hour software upgrade mentioned by TFlan in his post under this topic? Does this upgrade add any features of just fix gremlins? So far, I haven't seen any gremlins (other than my windows phone not synching properly).

 

Since buying my 08 portfolio edition XKR about 3 months ago I drive it every day. I've already put about 2500 miles on it, 500 of which were just this weekend. Its behaviour has always been flawless. My old 2000 XKR would probably have had several issues in the same time period, although I think that car was a particularly 'troubled' example.

That said, since having driven a 2012 XKR, if I was to do it again I'd probably try and stretch to one with a 5.0 engine. The performance difference is not massive enough to make you regret getting a 4.2, but its certainly noticeable enough that you should get a 5.0 if your finances can possibly stretch that far.

The only real downsides I've found with the 08 year/model are:
1) The lack of built-in support for iPod/USB sticks. You can get an ipod/aux/USB kit fitted (about $350 for parts and maybe $400 labour if you dont want to do it yourself) but it doesn't use the touchscreen so you can't choose from or even see a file list, so its almost impossible to find individual tracks you want to play. Properly integrated USB MP3 comes as standard with 1 or 2 year newer cars, meaning you can properly see/select from the list of MP3s on the USB stick using the touchscreen.

2) I have heated seats but I believe 1 or 2 year newer cars get seats that are both heated and cooled (vented) as standard. Living in Phoenix AZ, I really do miss the vented option. I've asked 2 different Jag dealers about retrofitting it, and they both said its pretty much impossible.

3) My car being a portfolio ed. gets the Bowers and Wilkins system. I don't think standard 08 XKRs get it, but around 2009/2010's do. I can say from the heart that that the B&W system is fantastic, certainly the best sound system I've ever owned (including the one in the house) and possibly the best sound system I've ever heard. Sometimes I sneak out to the garage just to listen to CDs in the car.

That said, it appears that 2008 was about the best year for reliability by a significant margin, if you believe the stats. I guess the decision between getting a 2008 or paying a lot more for a newer XKR with more performance and features but less MPG and possibly less reliability comes down to your own finances and priorities.

PS: one other piece of buying advice: Try and find a car that has the adaptive cruise control. When new its about a $2500 option but it doesn't seem to increase the used sale price. Its a fun toy and makes long trips even more of a pleasure. For some reason hardly anyone who bought a pre-2007 XKR seemed to go for it, so it was really rare, but it seems many 2007+ XKR buyers opted for it. Its not often explicitly listed but you can easily see if the car has it or not just from pics of the steering wheel. Those with it have two thumb dials on the right.

 

My touchscreen functions on initial start about 80% of the time. The other 20% it stays locked on the leaper logo until I drive for a bit then shut the car off for a while. Next start it usually works.

The software upgrade to supposedly fix this little irritation takes over three hours to download by the dealer. Still not fixed. Taking it back this week for round two. Luckily it's CPO.

Best,

 

Good advice, but I'm curious what stats you're referring to for reliability. I suspect they may be for Jaguar overall, which doesn't necessarily seem to be the case with the XKR particularly.

Bruce

 

Ahh good point. I was referring to stats that were just Jag overall. I haven't seen numbers that are XK-specific.

 

Keep in mind that customer... competence has a lot to do with the 'reliability' ratings for MFGs. Witness the total plunge Ford took over the last couple of years due to how complicated Sync was. I actually really liked the system, and didn't find it hard. But customers dinged Ford on the reliability ratings because they had to go back to the dealership for further instructions. 'Reliability' doesn't mean just broken parts. Just a grain of salt for the ratings, what they sample, and what the sample set means.

 

Bought our CPO '07 XKR convertible in Feb. And like others who were a little nervous, we also got 2 years worth of warrentee. We've has no issues at all. We love it! Plenty of performance and it gets tons of looks.
Good luck!