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Funny, when I was looking at cars when I bought my XK I was kind of looking for a bit of a "fixer." I wanted the "project" aspect of it with the associated "look at this beauty I "saved." (Har har) So far... just regular maintenance stuff. But she was also barely used, just 49k mi so those 50k service items I've taken care of. The picture of the OP's car makes it look pretty nice. I'm drawn to it just looking at it too. I just would have to make sure in person it was in good condition. I can't imagine myself buying an XKR sight unseen with over 100k mi, that R means "romp on me" to some people. Thats just a lot of miles for potential abuse.
I, in fact, did travel to my car when buying it and had a plane ticket home which I used. 1) I didn't want any pressure or feel forced to buy it because the car was my ride home. 2) I had them ship it anyway because there was no way I was going to road-trip an unproven car from San Fran to Seattle until she and I had an understanding of how things were going to go. I'm not paranoid, I just try to avoid putting myself in situations where I make questionable decisions. Sometimes that costs a little extra money on the front side but ... well, you know how it went doing it the other way.
Last edited by NorthwestXK; 08-22-2021 at 09:42 PM.
That being said, German cars are great! I have had many trouble free, enthusiastic drives in the many I have owned or driven. Germans know how to build great machines, no doubt.
Jags are just different ... good in a different way.
That being said, German cars are great! I have had many trouble free, enthusiastic drives in the many I have owned or driven. Germans know how to build great machines, no doubt.
Jags are just different ... good in a different way.
German cars are GREAT, until the warranty period is over. Once the owner has to start paying for the repairs, they get sold QUICK. It's always the next owner who ends up paying triple on "A great deal".
Never again will I own a Bimmer or MB. Especially never ever ever any Audi ever.
I purchased my XKR without a test drive or PPI. I studied the pictures closely, asked some questions of the dealer, and put aside a budget of $5k to sort it out. At this point, I have pretty well used up the $5k. I also feel like I have a pretty well-sorted XKR with new suspension rubbers, new hoses, fluids, tires, etc. I am currently enjoying driving the hell out of it for around 20% of the cost to buy it new. In retrospect, I may have done things slightly differently, but I am happy with it overall.
This thread is kinda dumb...
A guy buys a POS and gets mad when it doesn't work very well, then condemns the make and model, but sells it for an overall profit. If it WAS sorted correctly, the next guy got one hell of a car and probably appreciates it greatly without disparaging words.
It's especially weird because evidently German cars were the norm, and they are actual money pits in their out-of-warranty periods and also inferior to the XKR in many ways. Don't bother disputing this, it is correct.
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!
it be like that from my own experience as well cause it seems like every person able to afford to buy a Jaguar XKR when it's new,DO NOT TAKE CARE OF THEM no matter how very expensive and gorgeous this car is.I find myself fixing a MILLION things on them when the previous owners are done with them.Dude,I had CHEAPER cars that are like BRAND NEW under $20,000 that's not even a top tier luxury brand that comes in FAR BETTER SHAPE than when these owners put their jags up for sale when they trade them in for something else.I would understand them doing a cheap car this way like what i mentioned before,but NOT no car that cost $100,000 msrp new!I can understand a car getting dirty where it just needs some TLC cleaning,but not an expensive car with a broken dashboard on it,dents and dings and missing paint,parking sensors missing,and other type of uncalled for stuff that you can name that shouldn't be missing or messed up on a car this expensive.The way they take care of a car with this price tag,I think all who ever owned a jaguar that don't know how to take care of it and keep it the same way it was when they bought it shouldn't drive a car that cost over $15,000 dollars cause that's exactly how much they make it work when they finished with it smh
Last edited by Barry Leftwich; 08-24-2021 at 07:04 AM.
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!
Most of these problems could have been detected in a test drive and in-person inspection. Or even just hiring someone as mentioned above.
I said it before and I'll say it again... how can anyone buy a used car without seeing it in person or test driving it? Makes no sense to me.
I said it before and I'll say it again... how can anyone buy a used car without seeing it in person or test driving it? Makes no sense to me.
My last two cars (XK and Lexus IS) were purchased sight unseen, and shipped to me. I have no regrets on either one. Plenty of pictures on both, and the second one (Lexus), the seller offered a 10 day ‘try out’ period, and if I didn’t like it, they’d ship it back on their dime.
My last two cars (XK and Lexus IS) were purchased sight unseen, and shipped to me. I have no regrets on either one. Plenty of pictures on both, and the second one (Lexus), the seller offered a 10 day ‘try out’ period, and if I didn’t like it, they’d ship it back on their dime.
The thing about Sight Unseen is it should be done with a 100% reputable dealer, and with some sort of guarantee. I also bought mine sort of sight-unseen, as my brother lived near it (he doesn't know anything about cars) and told me it looked okay and seemed to be a good car. If he'd not done that, I'd not have bought it until I saw it myself.
Well sight-unseen is the thing of the future, for sure. I know two people (both in their 30's) who have purchased cars through Carvana and are happy with the purchase. If you spend time on their site, it's interesting - if there's a little scratch or ding on the car, they include a close-up photo of it, and are as honest as they can be about any possible defects. And they have a 7-day, no questions asked return policy. (And a 100-day limited warranty) Still don't know if it's for me but it is interesting...
A 2010 with a reverse camera..... someone knows some tricks!
Also, $30k makes me happy! Maybe these things are turning around, value-wise. Increases are much better than constant depreciation.
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!
If it's your first British Car, maybe you should have asked a seasoned owner to look at it before you bought it. Every British Car owner I know, me included, started with Triumph, MG, Austin Healey etc...Working their way up to a Jaguar. They are magnificent cars ...if you understand them.
Last edited by Anglicomarine0326; 08-26-2021 at 09:21 AM.
Not sure if you are serious or not, but any car bought in such horrible condition, regardless of the make or model, is going to be a POS LOL "most of the suspension joints were split" would be your first indicator. I purchased my car sight unseen, but it was from a reputable dealer. The issue is that when people try to shave corners and save money, they somehow rationalize that the brand is the problem. I have had 3 jags consistently over almost 20 years and while they have their own sorts of issues, they are still great cars. Ancient Chinese proverb: If you buy a wilted egg role down a dark alley, it will be a wilted egg role in the sunlight. Or something like that
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
gbmarc
If you are in Chantilly Virginia, let me know.
I'll pick you up in my 2006 XKR and we'll go to a local car show.
We'll see a range of Jaguars: Coventry, Ford and Tata.
You can calibrate your aesthetic choice by comparing the lines.
My choice was influenced by the J K Ryder assessment that the 2006 Jaguar line was the most reliable domestic import.
German car-drivers cannot believe that, but I do.
I think that you, and the 2007 XKR, were just unlucky.
yea 30k seems steep but the used car market is insane right now.
NAVTV is probably the answer. Would I like a backup camera in my 2011 XKR, yes. The NAVTV version, I'm not sure. You do have to put the screen in Navigation mode for it to work and the videos I've seen, it looks to slow down the Jaguar interface a bit. https://navtv.com/
I have a convertible so when the top's down, I really don't need it which is most of the time.
You bought a higher mileage lemon. The dealer screwed you. I bought a 2008 with 31k miles, drove it for 21k more miles, and loved the hell out of it. Cross country trips, envious looks from everyone on the road, and sold it for only $6K less than I bought it. I loved it so much, after I sold it to buy my Ferrari I've been looking for another one. They're just magical when you get a good one. I'm sorry about your bad experience and the sour taste it gave you.
Those Alcon brakes were not after-market painted. They were originally yellow.
My first British car was a Triumph 1300 TC 4-door saloon. I grew up in the UK, so there was plenty of choices. From there I moved to VW Beetles and then on to Porsches. When family came along I had a string of Audi Quattros.
I'm not angry at Jaguar or anything like that as someone suggested, I'm simply trying to get a feel for how the Jaguar XKR really should have felt like.
I observe that there often is a reluctance among more exotic car buyers to confess to any disappointment. After all, who wants to feel stupid that they wasted $100K on the Ferrari in their driveway that really isn't fun to drive?
My summary from the posts, is that if I had continued "sorting out" the car, I probably would have reached a point where the car would have been pleasant to drive.
I didn't find the car that hard to work on (apart from the P/S pump and compressor removal). I could get the hood off in 3 minutes by the time I finished with it. The underside of mine was very clean and not at all corroded in any way. Once the front timing chain covers were off, the heads came off pretty easily and the exhaust/cats were easy to access. Parts weren't that expensive either as long you avoided the dealer and some bits were common with the LIncoln 3.9L engine and various other Fords.
The workshop manual is comprehensive and quite good (apart from not clearly stating that the timing needs to be set to 45 ATDC!!) And the car will run at 0 degrees TDC. Just not very smoothly!!
08-22-2021, 09:25 PM
