Hello Ladies & Gents,

Ninety-eight percent certain I will soon be the owner of a new-to-me XK8. It's an '02 convertible with approximately 65k miles from a non-Jaguar dealership. I've read through most of the XK8 forum to be briefed up on Jaguar ownership and I appreciate all the information that has been available. No worries, this WILL NOT be a "tell me all I should know before I purchase" post. I'm just looking forward to the new experience.

I am curious, however, to know whether a Jaguar dealership would be receptive to looking up the vehicle's history if I provided the VIN number. I suspect most service departments associated under a single manufacturer are all linked to a central/national database. I once had an Acura which was serviced at a Massachusetts dealership who was able to see all the work that had done previously by Acura dealerships in New York. Such info, if any, would be far more valuable than what's viewable on CarFax.

Even though I would only be inquiring about the vehicle's mechanical history, I can understand privacy concerns would be the main hesitation for a dealer to provide background of a particular XK8 to someone other than the current owner (that, and there's no benefit to the dealer to disclose the info).

At over 65k miles, it would be nice to know, at least, whether the last major service was completed. I reviewed the CarFax report on the XK8 and it shows that it's never reportedly been in an accident. It has been serviced somewhat regularly but CarFax neither details nor itemizes what such services entailed.

If anyone can comment whether it's acceptable to call the dealer on a VIN check, I'd appreciate your input. Of course, I suppose I can just give a dealer a call and see; the worse that can happen is I get a "no." Yes, I know, I just answered my own question.

Anywho, looking forward to a future evening out with the wife when I will be able to turn to her and nonchalantly utter, "Honey, shall we take the Jag tonight?"

 

There's a few techs on here that may volunteer to look up your dealer history if they have some time. There isn't a whole lot of 'major' service items, but one of the techs with access to jad databases gave me my recall service history, TSB completions, a few repairs made at the dealership, etc. It was nice to know some, though not all of the maintenance history. Wait for one to drop by and ask for a PM, then sit back and enjoy ownership. A dealer will be less likely to just 'look it up' for you, unless you've dropped by for an alignment, or other 'reasonably' priced visit. Establish a good relationship with your service tech and take care of the mechanics working on your ride when she's there, and you'll be reaping the benefits for years. I personally can email my service advisor and he gives me advice, price quotes, alternate solutions, references for outside parts sales, etc. Its really good to know I can fall back on that if I ever really need him in a pinch. good luckw / the new car.

 

The dealer can, very easily, produce a DIRECT DEALER WARRANTY - CLAIM HISTORY LIST which is a printout of all of the repairs performed under the origninal warranty and and other factory warranty including the Select Edition Warranty. That report only displays the date, mileage andpart numbers of warranty repairs and therefore should not be subject to the privacy issues of a invoice that contains name and address of previous owners. You will have to identify the principal part number to understand the warranty repair performed.

They can also produce the entire dealer repair history based on the VIN but that produces previous owner's private information. If you can find that owner and get a release you can get complete DEALER repair history.

I would suggest that CarFax only reports what is reported to them. I inspected a XK8 with a CarFax report that showed no repairs but it was obvious that the entire rear end had been rebuilt. I declared BS and walked away. CarFax has little value, in my opinion, beyond reporting what is obvious.

 

I asked for my cars history from my local Jag dealer and was given it with no hesitation...doesn't hurt to ask. The worst they can say is "no".

 

That car is an 02 MY, so find out if at least the upper tensioners have been replaced, considering the mileage.

 

A dealer will be reluctant to disclose the information based on the fact that you are not the owner and have absolutely no legal right to it. On the other hand, if you own the car any dealer worth a crap will give you the information. A cold call with just a VIN number will most likely get you nowhere.

 

Sorry for the delayed reply. I had some issues with trying to post a response. Apparently, I have to cut up my response, the post was too long[&o].

Thanks for all the input. Yeop, CarFax does have its shortcomings. I wonder whether the local shop I have my oil changes done ever report to CarFax.

 

I will call the nearby Jaguar dealer to see if they're willing to pass along any information by VIN number. I'll say it's for peace of mind and that my purchase is forthcoming. Even if they ask for a slight fee, I think it would be worthwhile. My two main concerns are the tensioners and the major components for the convertible top. It would be nice to know whether any replacement or repair has been done to these items. I won't seek a release from the prior owner. If I was in his/her shoes, I probably would not want an absolute stranger calling me at home and asking for disclosure. It may appear a bit odd.

 

I have checked out the car. To my layman's eye, the car does not appear to have ever experience any crash damage (CarFax did not report any either). All the body panels appear to meet nicely and there are neither dents nor dings. I did not notice any respray on the inside of the bumpers or within the engine bay (there was respray on the outside of the front bumper, but this is to be expected for an used car on sale). The engine started up fine with no tell-tale clunks noticed. The convertible top, as well as the latch, worked fine. I did not feel any moisture in the carpets to evidence a leaky top. It was surprisingly quiet inside the car during the roadtest on the highway, with no draft or audible wisps of wind entering into the cabin. All the lights worked and the heater warmed up the inside nicely. and the rims looked to be in good shape. The car didn't track left or right on the highway.

I forgot to test the radio or the wipers, though. And I didn't get the chance to try out the reversing sensors. No sweat, though.

 

Of course, there were a few niggles, but none were deal breakers from my standpoint or price point. There's a high pitch emanating from the engine bay which sounds like a belt needs to be replaced soon. The rubber caps on top of the shock towers were missing but from photos I have seen of other XK8 engine bays, this is not a big deal. Both power seats, oddly, have the same malfunction. Pressing the same button on each respective seat, I can hear a motor running (sounds more like straining) but no movement at all. I suspect it's to raise/lower the headrest. At least the forward/reverse and recline functions work. I did not test the lumbar.

The top looks to be in pretty good condition, except for one thing which is just me me being picky. On both sides of the car, at the very edge of each canvas corner where they cup over the side windows and are juuuuust about to meet the A-pillars, there's a gap of about a centimeter. This gap is normal. But, on the driver's side, I can put my pinky within the gap, while on the passenger side, I can put a pinky and a half. Not a big deal, I do not expect a seven year old car to still meet all its tolerances.

 

I did inquire about purchasing a warranty from the dealer. They offered a national warranty, not Jaguar specific. An one year/12k mile warranty with a $250 deductible covering most repairs, including the top, costs about $2,500. Same warranty for two years came to about $3,750. Both costs seem a bit much. Even if both the tensioners and the top need to be replaced, it's not more, or much more, than $2,500, I think.

If the car comes home with me, I will take it to a Jaguar dealer to run a diagnostic. I may be deceiving myself, but despite any faults that the test may reveal, I cannot foresee spending more than $2,500 on repairs within one year.

 

Check the manufacture date on the label on the 'B' pillar, driver side. Jaguar converted to aluminum, 3rd generation tensioners for engine production beginning in August '01 for the '02 MY. There may haveinstalled pre-conversion engines for a short period of time beyond that time but if you are a couple months out you should be ok. Still wouldn't hurt to check. Third gen are ok long term.

Seat headrests are a simple fix with instructions available on the forum.

Whine in engine bay might be the belt tensioner. No big deal DIY repair.

You didn't mention A/C. Hard to check in cold weather by feel but does the compressor clutch engage? Pressure test quick, easy.

 

On the head rest issue, motors running and not moving, this is very common. There is a TSB on it. The sheath on the cable is too long. To repair it, they cut 10mm out of the sheath and close it with heat shrink tubing. This allows the cable to penetrate the motor and the gear mechanism.

 

What does anyone think about the warranty that's offered? I'm leaning towards $2,500 for one year or $3,750 for two is a bit too much. I've never had a car that needed that much in repair within a one or two year period. I understand things go wrong, but to ever reach that much in such short amount of time, I'm skeptical.

 

I'd at least get one year of coverage, that way you can sleep at night. Drive it alot that first 365 days and be observant of everything. Read and re-read all of the details of the warranty, make sure the most occurring items for these cars are covered. There's lots of fine print that will exclude some major components if you aren't careful. That's what I like about the jag select...almost everything is covered. Remember, if convertible, don't get a warranty unless it covers hydraulic lines on that top. That's a biggie.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your input; they are much appreciated.

Well, my wife and I picked up the XK8 this weekend (well, she drove it home while I drove the "chase" stationwagon). It looks fantastic. It's still hard to believe it's now in our garage. Driving it still needs a little getting used to, particularly it's wickedly long hood; we've only owned compact cars.

Originally, I was looking for a well-aged roadster, thinking to spend no more than $5k. I was originally looking at Miatas and MG Bs before the interest went to Fiat Spiders. Then with the pending tax refund check, I started looking at Honda S2000's. Although I always thought the XK8 was a beautiful car, it was never on my radar because I didn't believe it was within my budget.

But then I saw this XK8 at a price that was way too good to pass up, perhaps due to the frigid temperatures and, of course, the economy. The price was comparable to a S2000. So I went from my original idea of fixing up a neat tidy roadster to owning a GT car. Really, never thought it would happen, particularly knowing my place in the social strata.

Anywho, the XK8 does have a few issues. It shakes at low speeds and around bends which I attribute to the car needing either a tire balance or an alignment. I'm crossing my fingers that it's not suspension. Also, when the top is down, the soft fabric lining flaps in the wind, which I don't think there's a fix except to put the cover on. I'm surprised it flaps so much out of the factory. I expect all that turbulence would eventually rip the lining. I'll be scheduling a diagnostic with the local Jaguar dealer to have the car checked out for any other issues. Hopefully, there won't be too much to fix. The prior owner did have the Select Warranty up to December 2007. Hopefully, certain major repairs were done prior to the warranty's expiration.

 

Looks just like mine...

Yep, the headliner does flap a bit in the wind. No big deal.

Congrats.

 

Congratulations on your new baby. The $2,500 warranty for a single year sounds very steep. There are a number of aftermarket warranties that will cover two or three years for that price so shop around. The headrest fix should probably be done for free by the dealer but, if not, it ends up being a fairly easy do it yourself fix.

Doug

 

I'm glad I currently live in a state that doesn't require a front license plate. The XK8 looks much better without one and has the chance to show off those "canines".

 

Hmmmm.... I think I see a problem with your new car. Depending on the angle... I think I see a smile on the driver that doesn't seem like it will be going away anytime soon. You may end up driving the wagon....


Nice car!!!