Buying an early XKR - a bit of help
Discussion
As a favour to a friend I'm helping him find an early XKR. He is looking upto £12k but is hoping that budget will include his insurance, any necessary repairs and a service. The ones I've found whilst searching seem to have intergalactic mileage or a have problems.
Can anyone advise me on what we need to be looking for?
- Problems that may arise from higher mileage examples
- Known voulnerable weak points
- Essential kit
- Colours and interiors to buy, and equally which to avoid.
Also, is the XKR worth the extra money over a standard XK? I'm adamant it is, but my mate isn't sure and is willing to look elsewhere in order to save a bit of cash.
Any help, advice, website links or links to past threads would be a superb help as he plans on making a purchase before Sunday.
Can anyone advise me on what we need to be looking for?
- Problems that may arise from higher mileage examples
- Known voulnerable weak points
- Essential kit
- Colours and interiors to buy, and equally which to avoid.
Also, is the XKR worth the extra money over a standard XK? I'm adamant it is, but my mate isn't sure and is willing to look elsewhere in order to save a bit of cash.
Any help, advice, website links or links to past threads would be a superb help as he plans on making a purchase before Sunday.
Yes the R is worth the extra over an 8 
consider joining the xkec
For 8s and Rs , tensioners, gearbox oil.
Expect all cars to need suspension bushes etc.
No major age related issues and what do you call high miles ?
Mine has done 107K miles and has just sprung a leak on the water pipes to the heater (supercharger removal required
) but still drives like new
100K miles is nothing for a well maintained Nikasil engine and any car 10 years old should be around that mileage.
consider joining the xkec
For 8s and Rs , tensioners, gearbox oil.
Expect all cars to need suspension bushes etc.
No major age related issues and what do you call high miles ?
Mine has done 107K miles and has just sprung a leak on the water pipes to the heater (supercharger removal required
) but still drives like new100K miles is nothing for a well maintained Nikasil engine and any car 10 years old should be around that mileage.
The cheaper ones. £7k - £9k are all over 100k miles. Which I'd consider high mileage. We've even found one with 158,000 miles on the clock for a touch of £6000.
He seems keen and is genuinely excited by the prospect of it, I'm the one using my head and researching so he doesn't catch a cold.
He seems keen and is genuinely excited by the prospect of it, I'm the one using my head and researching so he doesn't catch a cold.
I get the impression you may be in the Manchester area.
If your mate wants one checking out or any work done, I can highly recommend my mechanic, he's a Jaguar specialist and looked after my XJR-S. He will save you a fortune over main dealers and he may even know of some good ones for sale.
Steven Heywood Auto Engineers (Based in Rochdale) Tel: 01706 719111
He's a great bloke, but if you want a car checking out, you'll have to take it to him, he doesn't have time to travel.
Hope this helps.
Bob.
If your mate wants one checking out or any work done, I can highly recommend my mechanic, he's a Jaguar specialist and looked after my XJR-S. He will save you a fortune over main dealers and he may even know of some good ones for sale.
Steven Heywood Auto Engineers (Based in Rochdale) Tel: 01706 719111
He's a great bloke, but if you want a car checking out, you'll have to take it to him, he doesn't have time to travel.
Hope this helps.
Bob.
Republik said:
Cheers Bob. I am in Manchester. My mate lives south of Manchester in Knutsford, Cheshire, its a bit of a hike to Rochdale but I'll pass on his details and see what he thinks. I know if it was me I would be prepared to travel if I was parting with that much cash.If nothing else, get it thoroughly checked out there and make a yearly pilgrimage to have it serviced. That little investment of extra time could save you £1000's in the long run.
Let me know if you come across anyone selling an XKR who wants a Boxster. I quite fancy going back to Jags again.
Bob.
bobfrance said:
Republik said:
Cheers Bob. I am in Manchester. My mate lives south of Manchester in Knutsford, Cheshire, its a bit of a hike to Rochdale but I'll pass on his details and see what he thinks. I know if it was me I would be prepared to travel if I was parting with that much cash.If nothing else, get it thoroughly checked out there and make a yearly pilgrimage to have it serviced. That little investment of extra time could save you £1000's in the long run.
Let me know if you come across anyone selling an XKR who wants a Boxster. I quite fancy going back to Jags again.
Bob.
Can't fault the Boxster, best all-round convertible you can buy IMHO.
I've had it about 4 years and ran it it all weathers. It's now done 100k and still doesn't use/lose even a drop of oil between services. It's not great in snow, but neither are BMW or Mercs
I'm only thinking of changing because I'm a bit bored of convertibles and fancy a bit of Jag comfort and waft.
I've had it about 4 years and ran it it all weathers. It's now done 100k and still doesn't use/lose even a drop of oil between services. It's not great in snow, but neither are BMW or Mercs
I'm only thinking of changing because I'm a bit bored of convertibles and fancy a bit of Jag comfort and waft.
Unless I have misunderstand what you mean...
Read here: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/nikasil.htm
it's about BMW but it applies.
All early V8 Jaguar engines (pre 2001? of and the '250 was a Turner engine, before anyone puts their anorak on!) suffered.
A steel lined engine is a good thing, unless you are brave (Nikasil engines are better but may cause problems)
Read here: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/nikasil.htm
it's about BMW but it applies.
All early V8 Jaguar engines (pre 2001? of and the '250 was a Turner engine, before anyone puts their anorak on!) suffered.
A steel lined engine is a good thing, unless you are brave (Nikasil engines are better but may cause problems)
bobfrance said:
I believe the general consensus to be that if a Nikasil engined car is achieving good compression then it should be fine. Apparently the problems were caused by a fuel mixture that is no longer sold.
It's caused by a combination of slow running and high sulpher fuel (I believe you need both to cause the sulphuric acid that eats the coating away to form). High sulpher fuel is no longer available, so any Nickasil engine that is OK now should be OK forever (in theory!), but you'd want to have a compression/leak down test done before you brought it.Oh, also don't think it's been mentioned....early XK's had plastic water pumps (as did so many cars of the time) which are problematic.
Edited by varsas on Friday 22 May 13:13
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