I drive my baby up and down all day long, 165k miles and the only problem is leaving her alone for a few days (I'm a pilot).

 

Thanks again guys for your input. I think I'm going to wait a 2 or so more pay checks just to do all of those fluid changes/service as soon as I get the car just to be on the safe side.

Am wondering as well - did the 2003 XKR have any common issues like the 97's with their plastic temperature gauge or timing tensionors?

 

Most of the major mechanical issues had been resolved but there are two potential weak spots.

Neither are something you need to fix preemptively like the tensioners but they are expensive if you do ever have a problem.


1)
The early 6spd transmissions have a tendency for the torque converter clutch seal to get weak, which causes the clutch to cycle on and off when the transmission is cold or worse, stop engaging entirely. Later transmissions (and rebuilt torque converters) have a revised design.

Expensive to fix, because most shops will also do a transmission rebuild at the same time. That said, it may never be a failure you have to fix. My car has done the cycling when cold thing for 30k miles, and I just baby it until the transmission warm up.

2)
The fuel pump. Again, you may never see this failure, but the assembly is some special to Jaguar thing and is insanely expensive for what it is. Having a shop change it (tank has to come out) will run you about $1500.

 

I had to replace the octopus at around 80K miles.

The tranny is a "lifetime" fluid sealed unit. "Lifetime" is defined as "when the transmission fails." :P Have the fluid replaced every 60K miles.

 

Is that right? The car I'm looking at was salvaged - was maintained but had a front rear hit.

The only other one I'm looking at is this one: 1997 Jaguar XK8 in Excellent Condition For Sale

But this is moving into the 97 territory - which means I'll have to be on the look out for all the common problems. What makes it worse is that the current owner says those common problems haven't happened or been an issue.

 

I've put 55,000 on the my '03 XKR in the little over three years she's been mine (157,000 total). I'm either driving from Maryland to Florida for a long weekend (2,000 RT) or Michgan (1,400 RT). For the most part, things that were starting to go bad gave me enough warning to get home, and fix it there. It is the best GT I have ever owned. Which is a good thing, because that's exactly what I bought her for. I do keep a pretty good eye (and ear) on her. When there's a hiccup, it gets fixed.

BTW: She is an absolute dream at 90mph. The road just effortlessly disappears behind you. Granted, that "is" also a function of your suspension, tires and Coupe vs. Conv. It's just so unfortunate that the cops don't understand how "important" that speed is!

Get in, buckle up, and DRIVE!

 

747 miles? 5k $?? Buy it! It looks awesome.

 

Don't forget we are talking about a car that is over 15 years old and very complex. What concerns me at this price point is that the repairs, if anything goes wrong, can be very expensive if you can't do them yourself and often you can't drive the car while the repair is ongoing.


Back when I was younger, over 30 years younger, I bought an XK-E for cheap and I could do a lot of the work myself. It had low millage but the prior owner had run it really hard. I ended up having to go to work for a Jaguar shop on weekends to pay for parts and so I could use the service bays to keep it running. It was one of the most stressful times in my life and there was a long time before I'd buy a Jaguar again but it wasn't the car's fault. I should have bought a Honda or Toyota because that was the kind of car that better fit my budget.


At 15 years a lot of the parts, mostly robber and plastic parts, start to age out, rust likely has taken hold someplace, and your water system is at increasing risk (radiator, heater core, pumps etc.). At 75K miles you are talking plugs, transmission oil (which isn't a cheap date), belts etc.


Now as a weekend car or a if you are a reasonable mechanic and have a backup car using this as a daily driver would be fine but if this is your only car and you depend on it for work and don't have a lot of spare cash I think any car in this class is a bad choice but a car this old can be a money hole and the first years of any car have the biggest list of ongoing problems. There were a massive number of changes between the first and last series (2004) which is why I sold my 2008 and got a 2004 (that and I wanted a blower).


Before you buy this have a mechanic who works for you look at it and then just plan on putting aside some money every month for contingencies because you'll have them. In the end, if you want low stress, you'll likely be better off with a newer simpler car at the same price point if you need something that just gets you to and from work more than you need to look cool while doing it.


I know I'm being a heretic all of a sudden but this is the advice I wish someone had given me when I bought that damned XKE and while the electrics on an XK8 are night and day better than what I had, an XK-E is drop dead simple to work on compared to the XK8 and still it nearly broke me.

 

as long as you don't have to site in the back seat i find these cars easy on me for any drive time, short or long.

 

THIS!!!

Bad comparison, this isn't an XKE. The 2003+ XK8/R are very reliable cars (if the previous owners haven't thrashed the cars or failed to do proper maintenance).

Mine had 40K miles when I bought it; it is now at 99K miles with two uneventful cross-country tours (Washington, D.C.-->LA-->WDC and WDC-->Tucson-->Las Vegas-->WDC).

My car still gets admiring glances and people coming up and asking me about the car. But, of course, it's the best color combination for a convertible, so it isn't that surprising :P

 

But I'll bet you can afford to keep it up. Agree in the last generation which is what I have as well but I've also had the leaky fuel rail problem ($1,500), a failed intercooler pump ($600 with labor and the cost to figure out the problem), I didn't have to replace the bushings (but did) and did have to replace all of the shock mounts ($800). Speakers were all rotted out (paper after all) and that isn't a cheap date. Then lets talk about all the aging hoses that should be replaced. Rubber really doesn't hold up that well after a decade and a lot of the plastic parts get brittle. Now to me this is no big deal but then I tend to buy new and can afford to pay cash, when I was younger that wasn't the case and recall he is looking to buy the car for under $10K. If he just got a little bit unlucky he could have a repair bill that is over 20%, way over, what he paid for the car.


These are great project cars and weekend drivers. And likely no worse than any Italian car as a daily commuter. But if I was having trouble coming up with $10K to buy the car I doubt I could afford to keep it running and, if my job depended on it, I'm taking a pretty big risk.


In any case, looking back, I wish someone had sat me down and walked me through all of the costs of a luxury car bought at bargain prices and I'd likely have bought something else, and I wouldn't have lost my job and my girl friend over the decision. (Both on the same weekend my car blew an oil cooler hose).