XK8/XKR buyers advice

[Idiustidius]

Hi

I am considering buying a non-nikasil XK8 or XKR. I am looking to spend 5-7k and am wondering what advice you may have. Is the XKR alot better? or is there little difference, are they expensive to run? how much do they generally sell for?

I think they are very beautiful cars and it's mainly the appearence that I like so far as I am yet to test drive one.

[NormanD]

I can't see you getting an XKR for that money, you could get an XK8 but be prepaired to have to spend another 1-2K

There is an XK8/R Club, best to join and then you can get into their Forum www.xkec.co.uk
You will get a lot of advice there

[P700DEE]

Why restrict your choice to non Nikasil ?? To be certain you need to buy a car post 2001 or with a replacement engine post 2001, however you will not even get an 8 for £5-7K Nikasil engines that are still OK should out last Steel, do some more research, join us in the xkec You can get a great car (XK8 Coupe) for your budget but remember it will be 10+ years old and not cheap to fix if you buy a duff one.

[Jaguar steve]

P700DEE said:

Why restrict your choice to non Nikasil ?? To be certain you need to buy a car post 2001 or with a replacement engine post 2001, however you will not even get an 8 for £5-7K Nikasil engines that are still OK should out last Steel, do some more research, join us in the xkec You can get a great car (XK8 Coupe) for your budget but remember it will be 10+ years old and not cheap to fix if you buy a duff one.

..remember it will be 10+ years old and not cheap to fix if you buy a duff one..

Absolutely the right advice IMO.

Quality and condition of older Jaguars varies so much your only sensible option if you are constrained by budget is to read every bit of info you can and drive several before you purchase one. If you do this you'll know when the right car comes up and you'll be able to make a decision there and then before somebody else buys it. There are more dogs then gems in your budget so beware.

I'd suggest you look in the PH classifieds, other forums or on jagads for a treasured example. I can't emphasise enough how important it is to buy the very best example you can get your hands on, even it it means compromising on spec. or colour. Even a pristine one will be expensive to run and maintain but a poor one will almost certainly ruin you.

Briefly you need to be aware - but not necessarily concerned - about Nikasil lining errosion and water pump failure on any pre August 2000 XK or J. Any V8 should start instantly from cold and settle into a smooth idle straight away. If not suspect it's lost compression either because it's flooded (easy to do) or the Nikasil coating has erroded. Quick check is to remove the air intake trunking from the throttle body and look for evidence of oil contamination - heavy build up suggests a blow by test at a Jaguar stealer or indy is a good idea before you buy.

Any 4.0 V8 must have the secondary timing chain tensioners changed to the third generation metal bodied type. The earlier plastic bodied tensioners can fail sometimes without any warning and if you're unlucky will result in exhaust valve to piston contact. Allow a minimum of £400 for tensioners alone - or around £1200 if your mechanic insists all the timing gear has to be replaced. Secondary tensioners alone can be easy DIY. Parts for that only are about £100 - Tool hire £40

"Sealed for life" gearbox oil must be changed. This is not in the service schedule but can and must be done. The alternative is almost certainly premature gearbox failure due to lubrication breakdown. Any car over 50 - 60k is on borrowed time. Cost around £200. Tricky but possible DIY. Easier however on XKR which has different and stronger MB box.
Same applies to 'diff. No drain plug - oil must be sucked out of the filler hole - and changes cannot be ignored

Check front tyres for uneven wear. Some light feathering is OK but heavy wear on the inside edge is usually a symptom of wishbone bush failure, which has the potential to turn into a full front suspension rebuild. Bushes alone are cheap - labour is not. Allow £1000 or £300 for parts and tool hire if you're brave enough to DIY.

Some XKs are suffering from major floorpan corrosion. Check for evidence of stonechips - front panel is suceptable - if there are none chances are it's been painted. FSH is essential. And lastly make sure absolutely everything works.

[Idiustidius]

Right then

Lots to consider. When I say non-Nikasil, I mean including replacement steel lined engines in cars with original Nikasil ones. Do I still need to worry about the Nikasil related compression problems even if the engine has been replaced?

Is the XK8 even wise on my budget, or would it be wiser to just get an XJR, as it seems wonderful examples can be found for what I have. I don't mind setting aside money for servicing but nobody wants a bottomless pit swallowing up all the money.

[Jaguar steve]

Idiustidius said:

Right then

Lots to consider. When I say non-Nikasil, I mean including replacement steel lined engines in cars with original Nikasil ones. Do I still need to worry about the Nikasil related compression problems even if the engine has been replaced?

Is the XK8 even wise on my budget, or would it be wiser to just get an XJR, as it seems wonderful examples can be found for what I have. I don't mind setting aside money for servicing but nobody wants a bottomless pit swallowing up all the money.

If the engine has been replaced then you have no need for concern. This should be detailed in the service book and IIRC will show up on the Jaguar diagnostics too - but I think you'd be unlucky to have Nikasil problems now. Your actual date to be concerned with is Jan 2000 - that's when high sulphur content fuel was phased out in the UK which was the source of coating errosion problems and any Nikasil lined engine that's never been exposed to it will, all other things being equal, be more durable than a steel lined one.

Affording to buy an XK or XJR is obviously not the same as affording to run it. With either an XK or XJR if you absolutely max out your budget on purchase then you'll not be able to spend the few hundred quid any older car would benefit from once you've got it home. If you bought the "wrong" car you could quite easily spend £1000 or more by the time you'd had the tensioners done, maybe put a couple of tyres on it and had the gearbox oil and all the rest of the fluids changed - hence my comment about buying one from an enthusiast source such as PH or jagads, chances are you'll find a car that has already had the essentials done. Don't underestimate the importance of this - there's lots of tales of woe on here about lunched gearboxes and broken tensioners.

I changed the tensioners within a week of purchase at just 62k on my pristine, FJSH XJ8 - both had cracked and the only thing holding one of them together was the chain tension itself I did the gearbox oil at the same time and fluid I drained out was was filthy.

Personally given a limited budget I'd choose the XJ over the XK everytime. Only for the reason that you'll almost certainly get a much lower mileage and newer example of XJ or XJR than XK for the same money that, all other things being equal, is less likley to have a nasty surprise waiting to ambush your wallet. An XK may be marginaly better on fuel than an XJ, but otherwise running costs with the exception of replacement tyres will be almost the same. The other advantage of buying a lower mileage example is that Jaguar's servicing schedule under some operating conditions is inadequate to say the least and with a lower mileage example you'll have the opportunity to do more regular oil and other fluid changes before chronic wear starts to take place as the miles pile on.

Previous comments about the oily bits still apply - both cars are almost identical mechanicaly, but if you go for an XJ have a careful look behind both front shocks as well as checking out everything else, some are corroding badly where the V mount reinforcing plate joins the body.

[X100]

A Good place to start is examining the service record. Most good examples are usually main dealer maintained up to around 100k miles, and then by local independent specialists. If this is not the case, or the service record is incomplete it would be advisable to look elsewhere.
Regular service is important, the recommended 10k mile is an absolute maximum.
If a vehicle has gone significantly beyond this mark, without service, it would be best to avoid at all cost. More frequent service intervals are highly advisable, say 5-6k miles to ensure future reliability, particularly for cars that are mainly used for shorter journeys.
The AJV8 engine is very reliable providing that it has been properly cared for, but if neglected can be damaged beyond economical repair. There is no reason why these units cannot reach 200k miles and still perform as they should, provided a few component parts are maintained.
Most importantly, the timing chain tensioners, water pump and thermostat. These items account for the vast majority of failed engines, but are easily and cheaply replaced with improved parts to ensure best reliability. Around £500 for secondary tensioners water pump and thermostat.
Cars produced between 1996- 2000 had a cylinder lining which could be damaged by the sulphur in fuel of that period. Today’s fuel is not an issue, so an early engine that is functioning well today is likely to never have problems with cylinder linings, as they are harder wearing than the later unlined engines.

Other areas which suffer premature failure are the front suspension ,transmissions and convertible top hydraulic lines.
1999 model years and later models have up-rated front wheel bearings, which will be more reliable than the previous units, which needed renewing around 30k miles.
Front wishbone bushes are another weaker point, that need inspecting around the same mileage. Keeping these components serviced will save expensive tyre scrubbing, and improve handling. A good specialist garage can replace bearings and bushes for around £500

Transmissions are sealed units, but will eventually fail due to oil degrading. It is possible to get the oil and filter renewed for around £200+ which will extend service life greatly.

Convertible hood hydraulic fluid can be replaced with an improved version which improves operation if the hood operates slowly.

Occasional electrical issues can be a problem, mainly poor connections, but are usually easily remedied. A regular failure is the automatically adjusted steering column, which can be expensive, but not essential to fix.

Overall, there are few other problems that would cause concern when looking to purchase a well cared for example. As with any other make the general condition is a good indication of a cars future reliability.

[Idiustidius]

So realistically, a side of say 1-2k is vital to ensure the timing chains are new steel ones, and the oil in the gearbox is renewed and some of the other little jobs?

[Jaguar steve]

Idiustidius said:

So realistically, a side of say 1-2k is vital to ensure the timing chains are new steel ones, and the oil in the gearbox is renewed and some of the other little jobs?

Or find one that's already sorted. Don't just buy any stone rashed example and think spending a couple of grand automaticaly makes it a good one. Most people tend to sell older Jaguars because either there's something gone or going wrong with it or they can't afford to keep it. Or they are a Jaguar "specalist" flogging a px the main dealer wouldn't touch with a bargepole - either way that's very bad news for the next owner.

Much of what you'll find at the bottom of the market is crap and simply not worth the risk - especially if money is stretched to buy it. TBH you'd be better off going without any Jaguar at all rather then buying a dud one.

Enthusiasts on the other hand usually look after their cars and get all the nescessary done and then may just get bored with it or fancy a change, and a perfectly good, well sorted and maintained car appears in the more specalist classifieds - that's always the one to go for even if it's maybe not quite the spec. you really want.

Yes £2k, maybe quite a bit less will sort out all the known issues.

[Idiustidius]

Thank you for your replies and efforts, sound advice and very much appreciated!

I will bare all of this in mind