Having owned a 2008 XKR for most of this year, I thought I might add my impressions, quite disappointing I might add. Maybe it was just me and my particular car or maybe not.
I'm usually a German car enthusiast but on investigating the beautiful XKR from the late 2000's I found that it was affordable and had a decent reliability rating.
A lot of owners spoke highly of their ownership and I didn't need to be convinced of how gorgeous it looked.
In January I bought one remotely from a classic car dealer in another state for a great price and flew down to pick it up.
That's where the illusion was shattered. The car was no where near fit to be sold. It certainly wouldn't have passed any safety inspection in my state.
Wheel nuts were missing, headlamps pointing only 5 feet in front of the car, and I later found out that most of the suspension joints were split. OK, so the dealer later paid out for some of these repairs but it left a bad taste in my mouth for remote purchases.
The first thing I noticed was the horrible resonant booming that began after 1000rpm. It never went away, making long journeys incredibly tiring. I never was able to fix it in all the 8 months I had the car. People who came to buy it off me never noticed it, but everyone in my family would say "What on earth is that noise?"
On the way home the check engine light came on. Then I had misfires from cold. Then the top-hose burst before I diagnosed a blown head gasket. I though the car was supposed to be fairly reliable so I'm not sure what the previous owner did to cause a blown gasket at only 105K. The supercharger, sounded like marbles rattling around and even after I rebuilt it with new bearings, it was only marginally improved.
After a couple of months when the head gasket was finally fixed and the heads rebuilt, I though I would finally enjoy driving it. But the suspension and tire combination was pretty awful. The car would jiggle around like there really wasn't much of a suspension. On a perfectly smooth road at 70mph it just about OK. But from cold in the morning it was pretty obnoxious. And I'm not a Cadillac driver! I'm comparing it to some of the other cars I've had, Porsche 911, 924 turbo, BMW M6, Audi S8 which were all ten times better.
Fortunately, it looked fantastic on the driveway, so when buyers came to look at it, I think they had already made their purchasing decision before putting it into gear.
I wanted to like the car but the driving experience was very unpleasant. The adaptive cruise control and paddle shifters were fun but a great car makes you smile often in simple regular driving. I smiled often looking at it from my window and especially when a buyer finally reversed it down my driveway and left me with quite a bit more than I paid for it!

 

From your description, I think the dealer put one over on you. Your experience speaks to the value of a PPI by a Jaguar dealer. That way, at least you know what you are buying. Sorry that you have had such a rotten experience. I am now on my 3rd XK in the last 13 years and each one has been better than the last. In sum total I have put 150+k miles on them. I have replaced one water pump each on the two 5.0L I have owned.

 

What do you mean by "... maybe I got a bad one."? Is there any doubt?

 

Did you really purchase it sight unseen? you did not even hire an inspection before plunking your hard earned money down? I say don't blame the car. Not even a test drive, kick the tires. You can hire companies that will go and inspect the car remotely, even overseas. Sounds like you purchased a very used vehicle and the dealer either did not bother to tell you or you failed to notice some of the things wrong. I would have unwound the deal if it looked as bad as you say it did. Sorry don't mean to rag on you, I think you needed to get some pro advice before spending your cash.

 

I’m sorry you got an awful Jaguar I have a 2010 XKR that I’ve had for 10 years the XKR is the most amazing vehicle I’ve ever owned. I’ve owned AMG MERCEDES, Porsh 911, Volvo, and Fararri and Driven Ashton Martin, Lambo and Masaratti. Hands down I choose the XKR. The only vehicle I would trade for is a XKR-S just because I want more HP. I love European cars but my Jag is at the top of the list

ps my spelling is horrible

 

I would buy another one in a heartbeat. Most likely will keep this one when I do.
You bought a 13 year old Jag R sight unseen with 105,000 miles and it had some issues... weird.

 

Well that's what inspections are for... Why would you purchase it in such condition should be the question...
In comparison my 2008 xkr is in mint condition even though it has near 100k mi. Very happy with it! one owner car, even the headlights are like brand new still, entire front end; fenders, mirrors, bumper, hood , headlights has clear protective film.

 

At that point the next vehicle should have been a taxi back to the airport.

You purchased the vehicle from a dealer who was less than honest. I have no doubt the current owner knows exactly how you felt.

Graham

 

Hello if I may bring my little contribution ... I bought my XKR 2007 with 10 years of age and 127000 kms. The professional salesman had told me that the engine noise I heard at startup was not serious... in fact I had to change by a competent professional all the distribution and to review the engine: cost 4000 euros! But that's all! the base is the Mercedes V8, rather reliable. The tires: Continental or Pirelli, nothing else! a friend of mine bought a Porsche 996, 5000 kms later engine out of order, not repairable, the problem of the screw at the bottom of the engine very well known ... 14500 euros !
Over 5 years this repair, water pump, a set of tires, a battery ... I hope the engine will hold until 250000 kms, if so a very good investment.

Good continuation to you!

 

I would very much like to try these wonderful XKR's you are all talking about. I'm just a little cynical that they would be so much better.
OK, I'll take all the abuse, directed at the idiot buyer who still went ahead with the remote deal. I checked over the car, and kept on telling myself, "Well I could fix that" and "I could fix this". Having never driven a "good one" before I had nothing to compare it with. The bad booming resonance I only noticed as we hit the highway on the way home. I did learn that it's not a good situation to invest in a plane ticket and then have to decide between buying another home again or pressing ahead with a doubtful car. Fortunately I got a low price and fortunately the dealer did pay for all the suspension fixes but yes, I wouldn't do it again. I came to the conclusion that the bad resonance booming sound was probably the cheap "Nankang Nobel Sport NS-20" tires fitted at the rear. But I wasn't going to invest another $700 just to find out. Maybe that's why it also felt like you were like a puppet on a string being jerked around the car just driving around the neighborhood.
The paintwork was immaculate but I still don't care much for the frameless doors and that kind of tinny feel you get when closing. Of course, mine could have had a lot of padding and deadening missing because , heaven knows, there was a ton of other things missing. There was also some extras, like the mouse nest in the left front fender, for no extra charge.
I'm now quite skilled at stripping the car down to the timing chains, but I never want to take out the compressor and P/S pump again, and it's probably a skill that will never get used.
I have a used P/S pump and a camshaft locking tool set if anyone wants to make me an offer. Maybe it will help pay for the head gasket!!

 

THAT would be weird, since the entire body isn't 'tin', but a deadened aluminum alloy. Nothing on these cars should feel or sound tinny at all, but dead solid and quiet.
I think you have way more problems than you think you do.

 

My 2010 XKR has now passed 187000 miles and is still a pleasure to drive and far and away the best automobile I have ever owned from more than 30. Hard to imagine how yours is so different.

 

I tend not to add to the pile-ons that sometimes occur on these threads, but personally I cannot imagine buying a car that I'd not driven myself - especially if the dealer is more than a reasonable drive away (and the car is 12 years old). Your story illustrates why. I know others have had success with it, it's just nothing I could do-- especially if I'm driving a high-performance car where the feel, sound, and handling at high speed makes a difference.
In your case, it sounds like one extended test-drive, really pushing the car around and getting it up to highway speeds, would have revealed most of the issues you discuss. And I think what you learned is that it's actually better to be in a situation where at least you'd have the choice of investing in a return plane ticket or "investing in a doubtful car," an option you did not leave yourself.

Also, considering that it sounds like you're just not that into the car in general (beyond appearance), maybe next time find a version of a car you like in your area and drive it just to see if you like the car? (Which is exactly what happened to me, by the way-- I was at a friggin CarMax with my stepfather and saw this one convertible and was like "what is THAT?" While it wasn't the car I ended up buying, I did test-drive it. that was it for me. I was all in. Still am.)

Anyway, given your experience, I imagine this is a "hello-and-goodbye" meeting of you on this forum. I gotta admit I'm curious: do you have a photo of the car you could post? And approximately what did you pay for it?

 

Before I bought my XK8 years ago, I went to look at a different one for a couple grand lower price than the one I ended up buying...
Check Engine Light
Hood unlatched warning
Boot open warning
NAV inop
Cruise inop
Seats torn to shreds
Interior dirty, even on the ceiling
Windows sounded like the tracks were full of sand
Tires unevenly worn and very bald
Paint peeling

It was a total POS, beyond anything I'd ever think. I did notice about a week later that the ad for it was marked SOLD. Evidently he found someone sucker enough to unload it on. It was barely worth scrap. Seriously.

 

I guess it all depends on what you want to pay . Pay less you buy less . Once again it all lies in the investigation. I went shopping in 2014 for a low mileage 2010 t0 2014 XKR convert is red or blue. Found a 2012 red xkr convert with 6666 miles on it as a trade to a dealer for a new F-type. Got some 30 to 40 pictures and the CPO checklist. Paid $75 K for the car and had it shipped to my house. First saw it when the truck pulled up to my house. The car was 95% perfect and I dealer serviced it until I sold it at 24,000 miles in 2019 for $30K to a person in Cal. who bought it over a few phone conversations. Other the oil changes I didn't spend a dime on it. Great car.

 

Don't get the idea I'm some kind of Jag hater. I'm not. I'm just recounting my experience. I worked hard to try and make the car run like it should. I would have been overjoyed to have a solid, smooth and quiet ride. If the dynamic experience had matched the looks, it would have been superb. From the responses here, everyone else's cars sound like they are quite marvelous, so that's great. Maybe, once I had it all running properly, the poor tires just killed it but those were some pretty influential tires.
$12K

 

Jagtoes, that sounds like seller's remorse to me. Ask me how I know.

I miss my 1960 Corvette, bought new and sold after 42 years. Yes, gorgeous but ... I didn't want my son to have it because it was too quick, dangerous and unsafe.



Would I prefer to have it today, instead of my XKR? Absolutely no way!

 

Looks great, and a very interesting XKR. I noticed the Alcon brakes, which were standard equipment on the 2008 XKR Portfolio and optional on the standard XKR. Your car doesn't appear to be a Portfolio because it's not Celestial Black or have Cremona wheels. So I presume it's a standard XKR with optional Alcons.

Were those calipers repainted yellow? All the Alcon calipers I've seen were red.

 

Nothing you've described in your experience will be changed by switching to an XKR. Speed was not your issue. Bottom line, you liked the look, you wanted it to work for you, both you and the dealer made questionable choices, etc... You fixed most things I believe/hope and still felt relief after selling. XK is not for you. German cars seem to be in your wheelhouse. Nothing wrong with that. Stick with them.

 

Deferred maintenance is a killer. These cars can be 13 years old and expensive to maintain. The more maintenance is deferred or avoided, the car starts to go downhill fast. This is not a Jaguar issue, but any luxury car that is starting to age and owners are not keeping up with issues for whatever reason (usually cost).