Advice needed on XKR purchase please…

[KevinM2]

Hello,

I am new on here and hope it’s OK to ask for some advice on a car (which is listed in the PH buy section)…

I am on the lookout for a Jaguar XKR and this one looked interesting to me

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12505414

Can I ask if you knowledgable people have any thoughts on it please?

It’s slightly higher mileage than I was hoping for (looking ideally for sub 50,000), but the spec does seem high…

Also, it has a pleasing colour combo, as I am not keen on black interiors…

It’s quite far away from me, otherwise I would just pop in and give it a look over (it’s a shame that I don’t know any PH members in the Bradford area that could take a look for me, but that’s an unfortunate consequence of being a new member)…

I just wanted some knowledgeable opinions before I considered paying for a pre purchase inspection to be done…

The company does seem to be OK, and has quite a few high performance/high price prestige cars listed, so I am assuming that they are genuine…

Anyway, any thoughts and assistance would be most gratefully accepted…

Many thanks,
Kevin

[Jamescrs]

I know the area fairly well where the car is for sale, it's not really Bradford although not too far away, I don't know the business selling the car but I do know that Bradford Road which the garage in question is off is well populated with car dealers who have put a portacabin on rough land and set up their own car lot type of businesses.

I've looked at car's for sale in that area before and never bought anything and knowing the area as I do I would tread carefully with any purchase from there. It's about an hour from where I live and work or I would have gone to have a look for you, if I happen to get sent that way for work in the next week i'll drop in and update the thread but there may be someone else who is closer or has more knowledge.

[KevinM2]

That’s so kind of you James, thank you very much…

Appreciate the help!

Cheers,
Kevin

[ChasW]

Jamescrs said:

I know the area fairly well where the car is for sale, it's not really Bradford although not too far away, I don't know the business selling the car but I do know that Bradford Road which the garage in question is off is well populated with car dealers who have put a portacabin on rough land and set up their own car lot type of businesses.

I've looked at car's for sale in that area before and never bought anything and knowing the area as I do I would tread carefully with any purchase from there. It's about an hour from where I live and work or I would have gone to have a look for you, if I happen to get sent that way for work in the next week i'll drop in and update the thread but there may be someone else who is closer or has more knowledge.

Having lived near there once I would apply similar caution. In circumstances like this I often take a look on Companies House to get a sense of the credibility of the business. In this instance the seller has been in business since 2017. The sole director is involved in a number of other businesses registered at the same address. A snapshot from Google maps suggest it's not a portacabin but a reasonably tidy trading estate.

[KevinM2]

Hmmm, interesting...has made me think twice, especially as it is higher mileage than I was really looking for.

I have a budget of £27000, so I would need them to be a bit flexible anyway (but Autotrader has it listed, saying it is £1500 above market, so I was hopeful that there would be some wiggle room)...maybe I will hang back and see what else appears...there are bound to be more in my price range...

Thanks for the local knowledge!

[georgeyboy12345]

Give the dealer a ring and see if they will give you the reg of the car. Do an MOT history search and if that seems to check out, buy a VCheck to more thoroughly check the cars history. If the dealer is unwilling to give you the reg or something looks amiss with the MOT history or Vcheck, I’d look elsewhere.

[KevinM2]

georgeyboy12345 said:

Give the dealer a ring and see if they will give you the reg of the car. Do an MOT history search and if that seems to check out, buy a VCheck to more thoroughly check the cars history. If the dealer is unwilling to give you the reg or something looks amiss with the MOT history or Vcheck, I’d look elsewhere.

Thanks...I've got the reg already, as it is also advertised on cargurus which actually lists the reg...

Thant's a good idea doing a check...I was going to splash out £250 to get a full PPI done on the car, which I believe would include a full service history and MOT log, but it can't do any harm doing one myself...

Would an MOT history check list things like advisories and can I do a service history check that would show things like what work had been carried out etc? and would a check of the current reg also give the history of the car for its previous registrations? it has a private plate on at the mo...

Thanks

[joropug]

Google mot history check and the government page is very straight forward to use and free.

You’ll need to see the servicing documents to get a feel for those.

As a rule I have always avoided buying from areas known to be high risk but that looks like a lovely car. Is it lowered?

Also vcheck shows you more than HPi but not sure if it offers the same protection. They scour salvage sites too as sometimes cars are damaged unrecorded etc.

[KevinM2]

joropug said:

Google mot history check and the government page is very straight forward to use and free.

You’ll need to see the servicing documents to get a feel for those.

As a rule I have always avoided buying from areas known to be high risk but that looks like a lovely car. Is it lowered?

Also vcheck shows you more than HPi but not sure if it offers the same protection. They scour salvage sites too as sometimes cars are damaged unrecorded etc.

Yes, it has (I think it's the XKR-S) Speed pack which (amongst other things) lowers it by 10mm...and one thing I noticed on the back was the 550 'badge', which has presumably been added by a previous owner, as no XKR has that on it, so I am assuming it has been remapped aswell...(aswell a performance exhaust added too)...

A lot to consider, as it seems to have had a lot of additions/mods...but sometimes that just means there's more to go wrong...

One concern I have (without yet seeing it or having it checked) is that if it was remapped to 550 bhp, then that might well mean it was done by someone who likes to hammer their cars, and with the high mileage, that's a bit of a concern...

[joropug]

KevinM2 said:

Yes, it has (I think it's the XKR-S) Speed pack which (amongst other things) lowers it by 10mm...and one thing I noticed on the back was the 550 'badge', which has presumably been added by a previous owner, as no XKR has that on it, so I am assuming it has been remapped aswell...(aswell a performance exhaust added too)...

A lot to consider, as it seems to have had a lot of additions/mods...but sometimes that just means there's more to go wrong...

One concern I have (without yet seeing it or having it checked) is that if it was remapped to 550 bhp, then that might well mean it was done by someone who likes to hammer their cars, and with the high mileage, that's a bit of a concern...

Yes and no with a remap, it only really makes a difference on full throttle for wear and tear - Full throttle on something like that is not going to happen often due to its size and gearing etc. But it would put me off personally, as the value I think in cars like that is from being original.

It's the kind of car I'd forgo a warranty on (hear me out)....if it meant you could meet the previous owner and get a feel for them. A cherished garaged 1 owner car that's hard to let go versus one that's parked half on the kerb, full of rubbish and running on fumes.

[samoht]

Have a read of this readers' car thread, quite a bit of XKR discussion/info here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[BlackStang5point0]

Budget for the cam chain tensioners to be replaced on the 5.0 SC lump if no history of it already being done. They let go on my XFR shortly after I sold it at c.75k miles and lunched the engine and that was a pampered full Jag SH vehicle that had always been under manuf warranty (until I sold it)

[ChasW]

Jamescrs said:

I know the area fairly well where the car is for sale, it's not really Bradford although not too far away, I don't know the business selling the car but I do know that Bradford Road which the garage in question is off is well populated with car dealers who have put a portacabin on rough land and set up their own car lot type of businesses.

I've looked at car's for sale in that area before and never bought anything and knowing the area as I do I would tread carefully with any purchase from there. It's about an hour from where I live and work or I would have gone to have a look for you, if I happen to get sent that way for work in the next week i'll drop in and update the thread but there may be someone else who is closer or has more knowledge.

Having lived near there once I would apply similar caution. In circumstances like this I often take a look on Companies House to get a sense of the credibility of the business. In this instance the seller has been in business since 2017. The sole director is involved in a number of other businesses registered at the same address. A snapshot from Google maps suggest it's not a portacabin but a reasonably tidy trading estate.

[samoht]

KevinM2 said:

Yes, it has (I think it's the XKR-S) Speed pack which (amongst other things) lowers it by 10mm...and one thing I noticed on the back was the 550 'badge', which has presumably been added by a previous owner, as no XKR has that on it, so I am assuming it has been remapped aswell...(aswell a performance exhaust added too)...

A lot to consider, as it seems to have had a lot of additions/mods...but sometimes that just means there's more to go wrong...

One concern I have (without yet seeing it or having it checked) is that if it was remapped to 550 bhp, then that might well mean it was done by someone who likes to hammer their cars, and with the high mileage, that's a bit of a concern...

I guess the question back would be, is there any particular reason that you're looking at a car that's at the other end of the country, in a disreputable area, with a bodykit, wheels and lowered and possibly other mods ?
Searching for XKRs with engine size >= 5.0 (to select the facelift) and max £27k or so, there seem to be a few dozen for sale, mostly looking un-messed-with:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/search?M=1037&...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price...

This one's a private sale at a good price with under 50k miles (unless it's cheap for a reason?)
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12690286

and a few others in budget under 50k miles on AT too

[P700DEE]

I can't comment on this actual car nor the dealer, but 61K miles in not high for a 10 year old car and Jaguars take mileage well. The XK-RS had 550 BHP as standard so if this car has been "mapped" or modded they haven't done much nore than Jaguar did themselves and the lowering could be OEM.
The 5.0 V8 is generally considered bullet proof although with any high performance engine tensioner/chain failings can happen, it is only the original 4.0 V8 that has to have upgraded tensioners. Failing and noise seem common around the aux and supercharger tensioners and failing of the supercharger front coupling. Best head over to the Jaguar section for a better insight into reliabilty

[KevinM2]

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone for their comments and advice yesterday…

I hadn’t ignored everyone, but as I am new here, the system doesn’t let me post any more than 5 posts in any 24 hours, it seems, so I couldn’t reply…but I did read all of your comments, and appreciated them!

I think I have decided against the silver dropped/modded XKR in Bradford as there are just too many flags hanging over it, so I will keep looking…I’m sure there is something out there!

Cheers,
Kevin

[KevinM2]

samoht said:

I guess the question back would be, is there any particular reason that you're looking at a car that's at the other end of the country, in a disreputable area, with a bodykit, wheels and lowered and possibly other mods ?
Searching for XKRs with engine size >= 5.0 (to select the facelift) and max £27k or so, there seem to be a few dozen for sale, mostly looking un-messed-with:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/search?M=1037&...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price...

This one's a private sale at a good price with under 50k miles (unless it's cheap for a reason?)
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12690286

and a few others in budget under 50k miles on AT too

Hi,

I’m not quite sure what parameters you are putting in to the PH car buying engine, or if it’s just me not using it correctly, but if I put £27,000 budget, 2009 and later (to get the 5L V8 engine) and a max of 50,000 miles, then it only comes up with 3 XKRs…2 of which are over 300 miles away, and the other is 180 miles away…

Certainly not dozens…

[KevinM2]

I have found a nice looking XKR (2009) fairly local to me (about 200 miles away) and the price and mileage are looking good...can anyone give me their opinion on this please, as I am going to take a train trip down to see it...

Maybe someone has used these guys before, but it seems to be a small family run car business...the main guy, Chris, sounds very nice, and was helpful last night and sent over a walkthrough video of the car...

https://www.wilsonsmotorcompany.co.uk/used-jaguar-...

Many thanks!
Kevin

[samoht]

KevinM2 said:

samoht said:

I guess the question back would be, is there any particular reason that you're looking at a car that's at the other end of the country, in a disreputable area, with a bodykit, wheels and lowered and possibly other mods ?
Searching for XKRs with engine size >= 5.0 (to select the facelift) and max £27k or so, there seem to be a few dozen for sale, mostly looking un-messed-with:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/search?M=1037&...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price...

This one's a private sale at a good price with under 50k miles (unless it's cheap for a reason?)
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/12690286

and a few others in budget under 50k miles on AT too

Hi,

I’m not quite sure what parameters you are putting in to the PH car buying engine, or if it’s just me not using it correctly, but if I put £27,000 budget, 2009 and later (to get the 5L V8 engine) and a max of 50,000 miles, then it only comes up with 3 XKRs…2 of which are over 300 miles away, and the other is 180 miles away…

Certainly not dozens…

What happens if you click the first two links in my original message? Those links should have the search parameters set in them, so if you just click it should show the cars that meet your criteria, I think - unless I'm missing something?


The latest car you found looks decent to me, at least it's well presented in the pics and the MoT history looks clean, dealer reviews look positive. But will defer to those with experience of the XKR. Unless you can find something else significantly closer than 200 miles away, I don't see any reason not to go look at the black car.

[KevinM2]

samoht said:

What happens if you click the first two links in my original message? Those links should have the search parameters set in them, so if you just click it should show the cars that meet your criteria, I think - unless I'm missing something?


The latest car you found looks decent to me, at least it's well presented in the pics and the MoT history looks clean, dealer reviews look positive. But will defer to those with experience of the XKR. Unless you can find something else significantly closer than 200 miles away, I don't see any reason not to go look at the black car.

Thanks mate...I have decided that the black car is too good a price to turn down, and I have gone ahead and purchased it...Paid my £500 deposit, and will go down next Monday or Tuesday to give it the once over and collect it...

The guy was very helpful on the phone and answered all of my questions, no problem...the total, including the 12 months full warranty (parts and labour for the entire car, except wear and tear items, obviously) was £23,000...a steal in my book, and I am looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.

Thanks for all of the help to everyone...I wouldn't have found this car without you all, and might even have ended up with a bit of a pig in a poke!

Cheers,
Kevin