All depends on what you're into, I guess. I'm a licensed architect and necessarily something of an aesthetician, so looks are very important to me. Stunning looks can make up for a lot of sins (although this very same outlook can get you into serious trouble with humans).

Anyway, Jaguar has had a possibly-unmatched record of producing extraordinarily beautiful motorcars. The SS100, Mark V through IX; XK120, 140, 150; XKSS; E-Type; Mk2, XJ6, XJ8, XK8, and on and on. Moreover, every one offers a real 'sense of occasion' to driver and passenger alike.

My XK8 is hardly the most modern car on the road--that's not its appeal. But when you catch one of its good angles--and they are nearly all good angles--it's so beautiful that it nearly defies belief. I cannot say that about very many cars, and the others which come to mind are concours-type classics which cannot practicably be driven in contemporary traffic.

 

And separately, while I do not wish to start an argument, the remark upthread that the XK8 "was the quirkiest car Jaguar has ever made" fraught with "timebombs" could only have come from someone who has never heard of British Leyland.

 

Growing up my Dad would share stories with me about an airman he was stationed with who had an XK 150, and how he loved riding in and the sound of that car.

The XK E type is the first Jag I was exposed to, I can remember for Father's Day one year buying my Dad a model of one, for me to admire.

When I decided to grow up in the mid eighties I loved the lines of the XJ 6 of that era, went to the dealer on my way take my securities exam as motivation.

Recently, the kids have moved on, the Lexus, while a very fine automobile, was not scratching my "passion" itch. Entered a convertible, under $15,000 into a local classified website and after weeding through so many Mustangs, Vettes and the like, low and behold JAGUARS!!! I could not believe they were that inexpensive. So here I am, scratching that itch on a regular and frequent basis, I have had the car a little over 3 weeks now............and over 2000 miles!!! LOL 6 tanks of fuel and a smile on my face everytime I gas it up.

 

Visited Browns Lane Factory in 2001 and saw them made. Fell in love with looks and quality of interior. Bought 2004 model last year when I could finally afford the second-hand price.
Graham Barker

 

Dear 2ndXK8,
Since I own both an 2002 XKR and the 1972 Pantera that you used to like to park "a little further back," I can tell you without any hesitation that I get a hell of a lot more compliments on my Carnival red XKR than I do on my Ferrari red/black Pantera. Now, don't get me wrong, car guys are always giving me thumbs up when I pass them in the Pantera, and at car shows, people are intrigued because most have no idea of what the Pantera is, but everytime I park the XKR in a parking lot or at an event, at the market or the gas station, I am almost daily bombarded with passerby's comments about how beautiful my "new" car is. And I have had many attractive cars and sports cars, but never one that receives as many compliments. As most of the others, I just love the look, great from any angle, classic from every angle.
Ted

 

Jaguars used to be known as the poor man's Rolls Royce, especially in terms of ride comfort and quietness.
I think with the launch of the XK8 they also doubled up as the poor man's DB7.
Before posting this i've come straight from a search on a 1995 DB7, and the styling is so similar it's spooky.

The only thing that lets the Jag down is the back end, but if it had a back end more like a DB7 then the whole car would look more like a DB7.
Personally i think Jaguar were aware of this, and in trying to be different took a step backwards in Aesthetics. It's the angled rear bumper that makes it look a little odd to me. And the ride height too, they always looked a little high.
In the flesh my car doesn't look like it's sitting high, though it definitely sits an inch or so lower at both ends than my neighbour's 99 XK8. I don't know if it's had shorter springs fitted or not, but it looks "right".

Rumour has it that the Jag and Aston Martin share the same chassis too, but i don't know if this is true.

Having said all that, from many angles the 97-05 XK's are still one of the most visually pleasing cars to look at, although beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

The common theme in so many of these posts is value for money, and when i went to buy mine i could hardly believe i could own so much car for so little money.
Even with the repair bills for the "time bombs" previously mentioned, which in my case all need attending to at once, i figure i could have done a lot worse with other makes of car for the money i expect this car to cost me once sorted.
And on the subject of time bombs, a thermostat housing and water pump will cost about £50 ($65) each, secondary tensioners and cam gaskets about £110($140-150), and for coupe owners the hood problems don't apply.
If you are prepared to get your hands dirty these are not big jobs.
Would i let the prospect of having to shell out for these bits put me off buying this much car?
In my case - hell no.
On the plus side the parts for these cars are no more than one can expect to be paid for many other types of car, and in fact are less than many.
So in terms of purchase price and repair costs, versus styling, comfort and pure driving pleasure, what else can equal it?
If there is anything, i haven't found it yet.

 

I agree with you that the angled rear bumper is one of the few negatives on this car. Besides the strange visual appearance, that angled seam between the bumper and the body is by far the worst dirt-and-grime trap on the vehicle....

I've also read that the XK and the Aston Martin share the same chassis. I have no idea, but I'd like to believe it is true....

After 9,000 miles of driving in less than six months of ownership, my wife remains very much in love with her XK8. It continues to prove that it was indeed a great bang-for-the-buck addition to our stable....

 

Here is about all anyone would need to know regarding the Aston Martin and the XK8/R

http://www.astonmartinlife.com/forums/db-7-vs-t13.html?

 

We all agree on something! When I wrote "almost all the angles are good ones" above, the angled bumper is exactly what I had in mind. However, it's so low to the ground that no one ever really notices it. Unless they're laying in the gutter.

 

'I tested this out the last year I owned my XK8 the ultimate way through a group of car valet guys I know. They work in an upscale area where, routinely, any exotic or luxury car you can name parks in their lot. Like all valet stations, they have a "top lot" that shows off three cars. They personally make choices which three cars get shown on the top lot. XK8s always were relegated to the back lot. Of course, so did all X308s, S-Types, X-Types, XFs and even X350s.

The only Jags that were appreciated enough to enjoy the esteem of the top lot were a few rare newest XKrs, typically with the right color and wheels and the very newest XJs seemed to really impress the valets a lot.'

YOU SEEM LIKE A SMART GUY --- BUT YOU LEAVE IT UP TO VALET GUYS TO DETERMINE WHAT YOUR CAR IS OR WHAT IT IS WORTH OR HOW IT IS OR SHOULD BE VIEWED....I was a valet in 1992.....CAN ANYONE SAY IROC Z.....Or tune port injection Corvette over any classic.....

Sad......Because you have looked in the wrong places for affirmation....

Phil

 

Well, here's hoping that I can enjoy your former vehicle without any time bombs going off on my watch! She's a beauty - in my eyes - so thanks for taking such good care of her.

 

Trust me, she's a beauty in everyone's eyes. And welcome to the forum!

 

Frankly, I think the time bomb list is really a pretty short one. All are known "quirks" and once tended to are no longer concerns. I'd rather know what problems to expect than to constantly be surprised by new ones. It would take a lot more than those issues to put me off the XKs.

 

I guess like many I am somewhat confused by what steve11 had to to say in his post. If a person is a Jaguar mechanic then by all means he should be aware of any "quirks" in the automobile. Hence, if they are as bad as he seems to believe, then why would you buy one in the first place?

As far as valets are concerned I suppose my question is "what makes them experts"? The fact that they know how to put a car in gear and drive it from point "A" to point "B" within a confined area? It would be like me saying I took a survey among people who watch a lot of TV and 10 to 1 they chose the XK8 over what some consider to be top lot.

There is more to this than we are being told.

 

Plastic . . . . Water pumps, thermostat housings and top tensioners, probably born out of the dilemma of not being certain of the effects of newer types of antifreeze on aluminium parts at the time.

Of course the antifreeze confusion doesn't cover the top tensioners and throttle bodies, the latter two being just plain design mistakes.

I'm another that wouldn't take much notice of what valet guys think. They probably pick cars to put on the front lot to promote their business, so they pick the newest, flashiest or rarest.

I valeted cars for 4 years as my first job when i left school, (was meant to be a six month tide me over job) and there was a substantial difference between the ones i looked at most and the choices i'd have made to pick one to own.

I'm not attacking or defending anyone.
One man's sweet is another man's poison, and maybe steve you've just had a skinful of Jags, having worked on them for so long.

What did you replace the XK8 with steve11?

 

Consider the r230 Mercedes SL or w215 CL. Both came standard with ABC, a hydraulic suspension system. The shocks are $800 a piece for rebuilt units, the ABC pump is $450-650 new, and the valve as well as the lines add expense too. These are not dealer but independent parts COSTS; when you consider what an independent upcharges on the parts and what they have to charge in labor; it is very easy to have suspension problems cost thousands at a time, and doing that stuff at the dealer will be 50% more than the indy. I do all my own work and don't like how much work and expense I would have with just parts. It is a system that also will continue to have issues the life of the vehicle. It provides handling that a car as heavy as the CL and SL normally wouldn't be capable of, but will cost big money long term to maintain.

The CL/SL 55/600/65 are also incredibly expensive for when there are engine related issues. The Supercharger on the 55 models may have clutch issues costing a boatload to fix just in parts. The V12 in pre-03 600s has been known to have expensive hard to fix leaks, and with 03+ 600/65 units there is pricey expense when anything needs to be fixed. It is very easy to have engine repairs run 5 figures on the 12 cars. I've been around those cars and find the performance and driving experience amazing, but it's like being with a violently bipolar supermodel.

That is a flawed car platform because the issues that are known with those models are issues that when they pop up, are repaired to a state where they can occur again. I consider the X100 platform needing timing chain components(pre-03), water pumps, thermostat housings(8 only), A Drums (pre-03 8s), and top hydraulics not that bad. I have upgraded my timing chain tensioners to the 03+ metal design, my water pump has been replaced with a unit with a metal impeller , I already have a metal thermostat housing, and my Mercedes transmission doesn't have the ZF A Drum issue. My convertible top pump does have the resistor in line and if I were to have issues, it would likely be old hydraulic hoses (which can wreak havoc on any aged hydraulic system). Parts are inexpensive too. I really was surprised how many parts are just really inexpensive for what was an $85k car.

The issues I addressed above are fixes, not repairs. They resolve the underlying engineering issue rather than just restart the clock on that part's like on the Mercedes I listed.

I just do routine maintenance and drive the car. I have enjoyed the car greatly and plan to buy an identical car if something bad happens to this one (collision, theft, fire, etc); a Carnival Red 00-02 XKR Convertible. I imagine many X100 owners are like this.

 

Getting back to the original topic. I saw my first Jag in person in the 70s when my boss showed me the used XJ6 he bought for his wife. He was going on about what a great value it was for the money; just a few years old and already hugely depreciated. Back then I couldn't afford gas, much less a Jag, so I really didn't think much about Jags for many years, except when visiting the Museum of Modern Art in NYC where they have an XK-E in the collection. Fast forward to about 2001. I am looking for a car but don't want what everyone else has. I remember my boss's Jag and decide for the hell of it to check out eBay. Next thing I knew I'd bought an immaculate 1990 Regency Red Majestic. Not content to stop there, we went and bought a 1995 XJ-S 6.0 "for my wife." Loved both cars enormously and both treated me very well. One night in an ice storm, the Majestic started sliding back and forth, left to right going downhill at less than walking speed. The brakes were worse than useless so I was merely along for the ride as the car left the road and ran up and over some nasty and pointy big damn rocks. Drove the couple of miles home in the snow and ice and the car seemed fine for the experience. Next morning when I could check her I was shocked to find the floor pan severely damaged and pushed up. Totaled. Soon thereafter I found myself having to sell the 6.0 (for a song) to help pay my daughter's college tuition. A few years earlier I had seen an XK8 in a parking lot near my home and was dumbstruck by how beautiful it was. But I was aware of the prices and sort of chuckled at the thought of ever owning one. Fast forward to 2010. I'm reading a 2003 Jaguar World Monthly and come across an article on the XK8, which mentions what a bargain they'd already become. And that was in a seven-year-old magazine! Started checking on eBay and was floored by how inexpensive the XKs were. Just about 12 months later, after reading everything I could and checking out dozens and dozens of cars online, I found my 2005 Carbon Fiber edition close to home. Went and saw it and closed the deal on the spot. I'd be happy if I never owned another car again, unless perhaps an XKR or E-type to keep the 8 company. I wonder if Jags were similar used-car bargains when they were a few years old in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

 

The styling, the color, the "R" power and finally the price vs a Scion FRS that I was waiting for, that may happen in a couple years. But for now I'll enjoy just looking at the car and admiring its sensuous beauty! I've also got a 1960 Lotus Elite that I want to detail a bit and then take a pix of these 2 classic British cars together, albeit ~ 38 years apart.

 

I actually went to a high end exotic dealer near my house to purchase another porsche. While looking i saw the best looking car ever and said thats what i want. Found out it was the owners friends car, purchased car with a 4 year extended warranty that covers the hydralic roof and any engine problems if the tensioners go, covers everything for less than half of what the porsche would of cost. I love this car.

 

I really really really wanted a Ferrari, I could afford a cheaper one without problem. So I investigated ownership and maintenance costs. Holy greenbacks Batman, the maintenance alone cost more than the car is worth! I then looked at Porches, Lotus, and others, no love there. Then it hit me, a Jag u ar! Arguably the most beautiful car that has ever existed. I started looking on the net and found and missed some, my wife finally found our car hundreds of miles away on a sports car dealers website. I fell in love with it just looking at it's photos. We traveled in a rental car with a check in hand, we knew if everything was all right we would be coming home in our "new" XKR. We did!