Jaguar XK8 - money pit or future classic ?

Moltisanti

You can pick up an XK8 from around £4,000 - £12,000 depending on age and condition - which I think is insane.

This is a beautiful car to my eyes and a future classic.

Has anyone got any horror stories about owning one (apart from the fuel costs) ?

Gassage

I think the answer to both questions is yes.

Jags and old sports cars are always a pain.

The XKR in green would win my vote.

guitarfishbay

A mate of mine has an older XK, but he lives in London and only drives on weekends anyway.  It's not cost him anything unexpected in about a year IIRC but he does a few hundred miles a month.  It's nice...

sgosden

next door neighbour had one. whilst I'm not sure on the condition he bought it in, it spent more time being fixed than it did being driven.

gubble

As @gassage states the answer is yes to both questions.

Any classic car is a money pit even if you don't use it as you have to store the thing properly and maintain it properly.

People who make any money on classic cares are lucky and a rarity. Yes it can be done but for the majority of owners you have to accept you own them to enjoy them rather than as an investment.

Philly_Q

I'm not sure if it's an XK8 - I know absolutely fuck all about cars - but a friend of mine bought something very similar recently, I saw it just last weekend.

His is a 1997 model, automatic, looks a lot like that - to my eye anyway - and is kind of a Shoreline Gold colour.  It cost him about £9k I think.  It's in amazing condition, looks almost brand new and only has about 40,000 miles on the clock.  It seemed very quiet and very fast...

Fretwired

A friend of mine has a few classic Jags including an XK8 - he posts lots on Facebook. Pretty reliable, but parts aren't cheap. He drives all over the UK in his and loves it.

TTony

It is a thing of beauty.

To my way of thinking, it's just old enough to be close to classic status, yet new enough to be potentially reliable.

Plus, it from the era when cars were properly made without being full of unfixable electrickery.  If you know a good mechanic, then they should be able to fix it, as opposed to needing to plug in a laptop to discover which (expensive) bit has failed and has to be replaced.

Service History will be key.  I always look at tyres too as a simple indicator of level of care.  If it's got 4 (ideally 5) matching and decent-brand tyres, then it's been looked after.  If it's got different no-name rubber on each corner, then it's been kept on the road by cheapest means possible.

Alterlifeson

Isn't the XK8 from the 'Ford Era' of Jags, I don't imagine they will be highly desirable in the future, but still a nice enough car.

digitalscream

TTony said:

It is a thing of beauty.

Exactly. It's probably the best-looking Jag since the E-Type.

I'd imagine that you'd have to properly commit to keeping it in tip-top shape, though. Another decent indicator of how well it's been looked after is the MOT history you can get here:

http://check-mot.service.gov.uk

Danny1969

It's not a money pit, they are actually very reliable cars. Some early ones had a problem with the bore lining of the cylinders and some  had new engines under warranty. That aside the engines are very reliable as is the ZF gearbox in the XK8 and the Mercedes gearbox in the XKR. 
On a run they aren't that juicy and if your sensible it will average 25mpg or so, round town they aren't as frugal. The normal aspirated one is quite quick but the XKR supercharged one is very quick .... 0 to 60 in 5 seconds sort of quick

The most reliable car I ever owned was a Jag XJR, in 6 years of owning it all I did was put petrol in it and polished it. Nothing ever went wrong and it sailed through every MOT. 
The 9mpg around town was a bit of a problem though

Fretwired

Alterlifeson said:

Isn't the XK8 from the 'Ford Era' of Jags, I don't imagine they will be highly desirable in the future, but still a nice enough car.

They are reliable - Mondeo chassis and Ford's 'world engine' .. my wife's old Mondeo had the 2.5V6 engine and gearbox. Very reliable, quiet and smooth. Ford spent a fortune designing it and it went into Ford cars all over the world. Even TVR and Caterham used it.

Sporky

The XKs aren't based on the Mondeo - that was the X-type.

octatonic

Gassage said:

I think the answer to both questions is yes.

... is the correct answer.

rlw

Its a Jaguar, made in England by the same company that made the unreliable and rust prone XJ series.  It might be progress but it would still be best to walk away.  Think of it as a marginally better built Alfa if you need more help.  That should put you off.

For that money you could buy a CLK55AMG which is German, better built and a lot more reliable.  It might never be a future classic but at least it will have a future.

Moltisanti

true, but a CLK55AMG wouldn't make me smile every time i saw it on the drive

i saw one on the road in front of me the other day and i had forgotten what a fantastic looking car they are.

There are very few cars from my lifetime that will age well, but the XK8 (and Ferrari 355) is one

This is a serious vehicle for 4 grand!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201709089109504?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&sort=price-asc&radius=1501&postcode=wa160az&model=XK8&advertising-location=at_cars&make=JAGUAR&page=1

57Deluxe

can it be converted to electric?

Evilmags

One of those is four grand for a reason. Budget at least 2 grand for engine work and another grand for tyres. V8s are not cheap to run and a car with that sort of grunt needs pricey tyres. 

bazxkr

I've had 1999 XKR convertible for last 14 years. 2nd car so only do low miles in it. Yes, expensive to run. Been thinking of moving it on for last 6 years but can't get anything better for the same money. But not silly expensive to run providing you don't do big miles and spend a fortune on gas and wearing bits out. Getting a good one to start with is a must. FSH is a must preferably with a low mileage. Get a Jag independent to do a check on any vehicle you think to buy. Plenty of Jag independents to service it too for sensible money rather than Jag MD. They are a peach to drive....especially the XKR with all that power. TBH you could put a 2.5L straight six in these and they would go bloody well. 400bhp V8 twin supercharging is fantastic but not really needed but it does put a smile on your face. Watch 20" wheels. Tyres are megabucks. I'd stick with 18"...don't look as good as 20" but better ride and much more sensible tyre costs. Floor plans rot where the factory jig attached. 10 yr old cars will maybe need fixing if not already done. Timing chains/water pump/ on XKR always need keeping an eye on too.

Only broke down once in 14 years and that was fuel pump dying. Luckily outside my house.

You can pick one up for £4k yes, but you may have to spend £4k on it ! Be very careful. No different to any high performance or classic car.

Very heavy car so keep eye on suspension bushes etc too.

Check out the XKEC ...usually one of the members is selling a well looked after baby....worth paying more for a sorted one with history than touching a potential money pit.

Blaendulais

Just sold mine from 2001.  Ffs get someone to look at sills and wheelarches as they rust like 1973 triumph spitfires.  

LoFi

I ran one for a couple of years. Paid just over £5K, which was mid-market at the time, but it had a good service history, and relatively low mileage (98K for a then 12yo car).

It's a beautiful thing, but given it's basically got the same dimensions as an XJ, it's pretty cramped inside (I'm 6'2, and with the seat set right there's literally no legroom for anyone behind me). Rear visibility isn't great, and even with parking sensors (audio only), it's a ballache to park. It's probably not as thirsty as you might think - could manage 36mpg at a steady 60 (dreadful round town). Finally, bear in mind it's definitely a GT, not a sports car - it's quick enough in a straight line (the XKR is very quick), but it's a barge in the corners.

I had two major issues with it:
- The cup at the bottom of the front shock had rusted to the point that it collapsed when I went (very slowly) over a speed bump. Massive bang, wheel arch now resting on off-site front tyre. That was about £750 to fix (though in fairness to other XK8s, the specialist said he'd never seen that happen before).
- Leaking rocker/valve cover (I think) started dripping oil onto the exhaust manifold (resulting in seriously alarming smoke pouring out from the bonnet). GIven that they were going to have to take part of the engine apart to replace this, I had them do the top chain tensioners at the same time. This is essential by 100k miles - the original ones were made of plastic (replacements were metal) and if they failed, your engine was lunched. With this added on, the work came to around £600, but that was with a very cheap indy (£50/hr) - they were really a classic garage where the head mechanic knew about jag engines and I knew the owner, so mates rates.


In the end, I sold it as I just didn't need a car - I only put 4k miles on it in the 2 years I owned it. So I guess I probably paid more for the repairs/maintenance than I did for petrol over that period.