If I said I was tempted to buy a 2009 XKR 5.0 cabrio with 116,000 miles on it, would you say I was out of my mind? It's fairly cheap, as you'd expect. I would probably buy an N/A car with this sort of mileage (I've run several V8 XJs over the years with higher miles than this) but I have no experience with superchargers, other than having learned recently how extremely expensive they are to replace. I'm thinking this (and the e-diff I guess) is the only major failure area unique to the R?

 

Everyone will say Water Pump, as they are known fail points.
Me, I'll say Direct Injectors. Once in awhile one will stick open and flood a cylinder and cause lean in the other three on that bank.
Find out first what, if anything, has been serviced. Trans, Diff, Power Steering, etc. ALL should have been 50k miles ago.

 

Thanks!

So what do you think about the supercharger? People have told me 100k is about as far as they go without major issues...

 

With all the cars that are out there, why take a chance with a high maintenance car that is already know for pricey upkeep. Regardless of the price, certain costs for repairs can be prohibitive regardless if DIY or independent shop. Chances are any high mileage purchase puts you into a situation of it either being a wash or a loss after all repairs are sorted out. My suggestion... get a car with service records, even with acceptable miles for the year, and you'll be a happier camper after. No shortcuts with owning a high mileage British car.

 

I hear you!

I didn't set out looking for an XKR. I'm looking for a 5.0 portfolio cabrio within a given budget and was surprised to find this XKR come up in the search. I'm learning that good portfolio cabrios with reasonable mileage are more expensive than I'd hoped.

The XKR ticked all the boxes, even colour scheme. Everything except being about twice the miles I wanted... The "dealer" says it has a full service history but unless I drive the 5 hour round trip to view the car I can't really know what "service history" actually means.

 

The mileage isn't horrible for a 2009 -- mine has ~75k miles on it, and some folks on the forum have even more. As with any car it's a bit of a crapshoot if it's been taken care of until you get the service records. And even then, with a 15 year old car you're assuming a higher level of risk.

The supercharger is expensive, but not out of proportion to the rest of the car. It's US$4500 from SNG Barrett. My understanding is that the most common SC problem is a lot of play in the pulley, which can be fixed with a US$700 kit. The thing that would require replacement of the entire SC would be a failure of the vanes. That's something you'll never know until it happens, as the car could have been treated right or have been driven by The Little Old Lady From Pasedena.

The best course of action would be to take the car to a Jag specialist and get a laundry list of things to have fixed. From the dealer being unwilling to share the maintenance history except in person (bit of a red flag there) I'd doubt they'll give you the leeway. Barring that, you'll have to make sure that you've budgeted into the price of the car the costs for doing the types of maintenances that CeeJay mentioned above and then budget for repairs until you're comfortable with the mechanicals of the car.

 

The thing about a high mileage car is that it has WORKED for those miles. A low mileage car may be low mileage because it's either so unreliable that it is rarely driven or that it's been in the shop so often that it isn't available TO drive.
I used to work on F-16s (among others) and if they were down for any amount of time they'd just break for no reason. They had to keep flying to stay in one piece.

 

Condition, mechanically and cosmetically will tell you a lot, I think. There's a very active member here who's done over 200K miles. Land Rovers and other JLR models use teh same engine so don't limit your research to the X150. How many miles per year do you intend?

 

This is not high mileage, the thing with cars is the more miles they do the more they will do, if you get what i mean. short runs, cold starts are far more hazardous to engines than lots of miles, i have had more issues on cars with lower mileages than ones with high mileage, buy based on condition, price and evidence of servicing (oil changes are a must and preferable at less than the 15k interval) higher miles may mean more cosmetic issues, age is another thing, a high mile newer car is better than and older one that is average or low miles, we've seen rep cars with 180000miles 4yrs old in almost perfect condition and drive as new, buying low mileage isn't really a guarantee nothing will go wrong, same that higher miles isn't a guarantee it will break! I have a Mercedes Viano had done 313000miles at 5yrs old, we've had it 4yrs and hardly any issues (now on 343000). I took the risk, it was very cheap! it has paid off and now owes me nothing and i could probably sell for more than i paid, The Jaguar XK has 118000miles and is a 2011, and yes I have had some issues, failed oil cooler and failed injector (injector possibly as a result of being stood in bits waiting for oil cooler to be replaced, possibly some debris or just because the system was opened up) just accept that you need to have a small contingency fund to put right any issues after buying (i suggest about £2-3K) unless really well looked after you may want to have the water pump and associated pipework replaced, you may find flat spotted wheels. check the a/c works and hasn't had to be re-gassed (if it has it will be leaking) make sure everything electrical works, things like brakes aren't an issue as they are reasonably cheap to replace, but worn ones may point to a less well cared for example (some people like to polish and clean but forget the mechanical side of things) check for signs of accident damage. and accept if it has higher miles when it comes to sell your price may be lower, but there again if you look after it you can use this to really sell it, most of my vehicles are better when i sell that they were when i bought them, even when i had them 8yrs, i usually end up fixing all the niggles, fit some quality tyres and brakes etc. and then i keep it well maintained, and I always think when I sell, "if i were buying this is the one i would want to buy" as for superchargers, I believed the coupling can be noisy but there are repair options, other than that you don't hear of big problems.

 

It will be a "daily driver" but I work from home and only do around 5,000 miles a year these days.

I'm actually warming to the car (scarily). The dealer has promised me a return phone call when he has the history file in front of him, and he's boasted of lots of good history to talk about.

Over the past 10 years I've had a habit of buying cheap high mileage Jags and squeezing the last life out of them. My last old darling was an X350 4.2, bought at 181,000 and disposed of at 230,000 when the air dampers started leaking too much to live with. The difference here is that this isn't a "cheap" car by my usual standards and I'm hoping to keep it in good nick rather than supervise a 'managed decline'. I can't afford to write off a £16,000 spend.

 

Update - fairly reassuring call with the dealer. All services done on time; all Jaguar main dealer except two Jaguar independents and the latest, which has just been done by the people selling the car (who are not Jag specialists). This was an oil service using Jag branded filters and Shell full synthetic 5W20, plus new front discs and pads. The Kalimnos 20" alloys have just been reconditioned (shame they're not Nevis). I'm waiting to hear back about the tyre condition but they look reasonable in the pictures. The last three MOTs have had no advisories (for what little that's worth). And they insist that all the toys are working...

Work in the past few years includes a water pump, belts and an a/c condenser. Also minor welding three years ago to front suspension subframe and then treated. No word on transmission or e-diff oil changes.

The deal on the table is £16,884 or £17,033 including a 6 months nationwide parts and labour warranty. A nice cherished reg number is included in the price. Returnable £500 deposit takes it off the website and I'm tempted to do that... So I actually am mad, aren't I?

 

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Keep a contingency fund available between 2,000 and maybe (up to) 5,000$. Even if you need to spend it, just compare it to the depreciation you’d experience with a newer model… Of course, I am assuming no major hidden issues. A PPI should help you finding some peace of mind.

 

Minor welding on the front suspension? I'd suggest get more details.

 

I purchased a 2008 XKR with 112,000 miles in August 2021, sight unseen for $13K. It now has 118k on the clock. It has been one of the best car purchase ever. There is a slight learning curve with the XKR's mainly the need to have a battery maintainer. Other than a few gremlins taken care of before inspection
car passed the Jaguar dealer's free 100+ point inspection with flying colors. I would recommend reviewing all service records and if possible talk to the previous owner an more importantly find a independent Jaguar repair shop.

 

I done similar, last was a Jaguar XJ8 3.5SE bought for 3k plus an old diesel Golf in 2013 and used for 7years, car was still in great shape and cost next to nothing to look after, the XK is an expensive car, but they all are, you can't but a 9yr old XJ for 4k anymore, and the XJ6 I had previously was only £2500 and that was only 9yrs old at the time, so I paid the most i have ever paid for the XK at 11k for a 11yr old car, and its cost me £2500 in repairs already in 6 months, but it is an amazing car, put it in sport and it goes and sounds great, looked after it shouldn't loose too much and maybe if kept long enough will go up in value, i'm a tight **** when it comes to cars, I like to get my money's worth but also they have to be right and everything working.
Perhaps you could consider a private purchase and haggle a deal as they don't sell quickly, dealers warranty is not worth much and the warranty they sell you will have limits well below what's needed if something goes wrong, I bought an R Class from a dealer in Chesham and the way I was treated afterwards was appalling, when i rang the boss was never in and the sales guy couldn't deal with my complaints, ended up giving honest review which prompted an aggressive call within minutes from the boss, faults were still present form my test drive which they said they had sorted out (didn't show until I had passenger in) his attitude was that the car was a good price so you should expect to have a few things to fix? It had just had an mot and had two items that should have failed it, headlight aim and one seat belt broken, also had fault with restraint system and fault thermostat along with ear hatch that didn't shut via power close and unlock button on drivers door that didn't work, slight air leak on front suspension, I fixed most at my cost and did the work myself, kept it 3yrs and sold it as a better car than when i bought it (as i normally do) but i i did get what i paid for it due to the crazy 2nd car market.

 

My car clicked over 100K a few months back. Car runs so well, I can't believe I haven't had any major issues.

That said, I prefer the bargain of higher mileage cars. I bought my 2012 well below 20K and it looked nearly mint when I bought it at 90K or so.

Buy your car right (get your deal on the purchase), maintain it and post updates as you enjoy driving it.

Best of luck.

 

I will! I've paid a holding deposit and I'll be inspecting and hopefully buying in a week's time. I'll try and chip away at the price as much as I can when I get there.

The car's registration is V8 CYJ. I'd love to hear from anyone who recognises that plate and knows the car. Here's a picture of the car in case anyone recognises it. It's not a great pic as the dealer has photoshopped it to remove background. And yes, I know the centre part of the front spoiler is missing...

 

While I hope someone here does recognize yours and you can have a fun chat about it -- I know I'd enjoy that about mine, too -- there's also vinwiki, you could sign up there. Have you heard of it? I think they got that site bootstrapped on this specific idea; of connecting the various owners of vehicles they cherish, by VIN number. More oriented towards exotics and such but I imagine some XKRs are on there too.

 

Thanks for the tip - I'd never heard of vinwiki and I will check it out. As noted above, I haven't actually bought the car yet (just put a holding deposit down) and putting it out there now was a shot in the dark hoping that a previous owner might give me some more info than I've been able to glean from the dealer - about stuff like transmission fluid changes for example. MOT and number plate change history suggest there was a particular owner who had the car for a little over 6 years, ending two years ago, and did extremely low miles during that time. If fate is on my side it could have been an enthusiast who did lots of good maintenance but the successor owner didn't preserve the paperwork when they part-exed the car into the dealer who has it now.