2000 Jaguar XK8 - my first V8 and first Jag
Discussion
Having fancied a cheap(ish) XK8 for a long time, I finally got brave enough to buy one. I have mostly owned newish four cylinder Jap and German saloons/hatches up until now, so this is quite a departure for me. It will be a second car in our household, having an easy life while our 2013 CRV does all the hard work.
Although a lot of people see the XK8 (and Jags in general) as old man's cars, I've had very positive comments about this car from friends and neighbours, most of whom are fans of modern Audis/BMWs/Mercs
First impressions are:
There are a ton of scare stories about the XK8 on the internet regarding Nikasil engine wear, timing chain tensioner failure, gearbox problems, and rust. I hope I've bought a good one, but I am expecting the maintenance regime to be a bit more demanding than my CRV.
Although a lot of people see the XK8 (and Jags in general) as old man's cars, I've had very positive comments about this car from friends and neighbours, most of whom are fans of modern Audis/BMWs/Mercs
First impressions are:
- The engine sounds nice and the car is an excellent motorway cruiser.
- The 20" Perseus wheels look great but they tramline badly on poorly surfaced roads.
- I can (just) fit my kids car seats in the back - they are 2 and 5. It should be easier in a few years time when they no longer need bulky car seats and just need booster cushions.
- Room in the front is OK - I am 6ft and can get comfortable but I don't think this car would suit tall drivers.
- The integrated Motorola StarTac phone in the centre armrest still works, and is a source of retro amusement to everyone who sees it.
- On the drive home after buying the car I got mpg in the high 20s while taking it steady on the motorway. Since then, doing mostly town driving, it has been around 18mpg.
- A service and MOT - it has done 124,000 miles and has a good service history and I intend to continue that.
- New tyres.
- Attention to one of the headlights which has a small amount of condensation on the inside of the glass.
- A transmission fluid change, as it doesn't appear to have been changed yet.
There are a ton of scare stories about the XK8 on the internet regarding Nikasil engine wear, timing chain tensioner failure, gearbox problems, and rust. I hope I've bought a good one, but I am expecting the maintenance regime to be a bit more demanding than my CRV.
TR4man said:
I think the Nikasil problem would have manifested itself by now and it was only a problem on the earlier 4.0 litre cars (not sure of you car's age or whether it's a 4.2).
Mine's a 4.0, but as a 2000 car it should not suffer the Nikasil problems, as the sulphur content of unleaded was significantly reduced from 2000 onwards. At this point the big issue with them is rust, although the 5 speed ZF gearbox in the non R cars has it's problems too.
Beautiful looking car though, and it will drive a *lot* better on the original 17" wheels. You should be able to sell those 20" wagon wheels for a fair whack, as you say. To my eye these earlier cars look better than the later facelifts, particularly at the end where they'd put really cheap looking plastic arch lip extensions on them to fit massive wheels.
Beautiful looking car though, and it will drive a *lot* better on the original 17" wheels. You should be able to sell those 20" wagon wheels for a fair whack, as you say. To my eye these earlier cars look better than the later facelifts, particularly at the end where they'd put really cheap looking plastic arch lip extensions on them to fit massive wheels.
Edited by dme123 on Thursday 7th April 16:20
dme123 said:
At this point the big issue with them is rust, although the 5 speed ZF gearbox in the non R cars has it's problems too.
Yes, I saw quite a few sad rusty cars while looking for this one. On mine, I can't see any rust in the obvious places like the sills or arches, but I'll reserve judgement until the car has had a service and been up on the ramps. I don't have a garage to keep it in, and am not looking forward to leaving out in all weathers in the winter, but I'll just have to keep the paintwork well waxed and possibly invest in treating the underbody to keep the rust monster at bay.Regarding the automatic box, I'm planning to get a transmission fluid change at the next service in a month or so. The car has done 124k miles and has a fairly detailed service history, mostly main dealer, but I can't see any evidence of the transmission fluid being changed. There is a school of thought that at this mileage it might be better not to risk dislodging any crud in the transmission by changing the fluid, but I'm going to take my chances and get it changed.
dme123 said:
Beautiful looking car though, and it will drive a *lot* better on the original 17" wheels. You should be able to sell those 20" wagon wheels for a fair whack, as you say.
Haven't uncovered any further nasties with the car in the couple of weeks I've owned it. Have managed to reprogram the central locking remotes (thanks to Jaguar Steve on the Jag forums on PH for posting instructions), and have got the StarTac phone set up and working as well. Am still getting used to riding so low, having mainly owned estates and crossovers since I sold my MX5 in 2002. Even something like a Fiesta seems massively tall when you're alongside it at traffic lights.
Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Wednesday 11th May 14:21
Life got a bit more eventful with the Jag in the last couple of weeks. Since getting it serviced, I've been seeing the "Coolant Low" warning light intermittently. Nothing wrong with the coolant level (I check it regularly) so most likely a dodgy float/sensor in the coolant tank.
Even though I knew the coolant was fine, I couldn't relax while driving with a warning light glaring at me, so to preserve my sanity I used a Wifi OBD2 dongle together with the Four Stroke app on my iPhone to give me an accurate reading of the coolant temperature. It cycles within a range of about 88-96C depending on speed and traffic conditions. The car has since been back to Surrey Jag Centre for a new expansion tank (with sensor included) and the problem has been fixed.
To add to the fun, after leaving the car undriven for about a fortnight, the battery drained itself sufficiently for the car not to start. I solved this by hooking the car up to a mains battery charger (after being told that jump starting from another car would cause potentially damaging spikes in current) and then disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to reset the car's electrical brain. The car started after this, and then I just had to re-enter the radio code and reprogram the electric windows to re-learn their range of travel.
Bit of a PITA, and not what I'm used to having mostly owned newer cars than this, but I guess flaky electrics are part of the joys of older car (and particularly older Jag) ownership. Still love the car
Even though I knew the coolant was fine, I couldn't relax while driving with a warning light glaring at me, so to preserve my sanity I used a Wifi OBD2 dongle together with the Four Stroke app on my iPhone to give me an accurate reading of the coolant temperature. It cycles within a range of about 88-96C depending on speed and traffic conditions. The car has since been back to Surrey Jag Centre for a new expansion tank (with sensor included) and the problem has been fixed.
To add to the fun, after leaving the car undriven for about a fortnight, the battery drained itself sufficiently for the car not to start. I solved this by hooking the car up to a mains battery charger (after being told that jump starting from another car would cause potentially damaging spikes in current) and then disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to reset the car's electrical brain. The car started after this, and then I just had to re-enter the radio code and reprogram the electric windows to re-learn their range of travel.
Bit of a PITA, and not what I'm used to having mostly owned newer cars than this, but I guess flaky electrics are part of the joys of older car (and particularly older Jag) ownership. Still love the car
Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Tuesday 14th June 21:31
Lovely looking car - absolutely agree that it has aged beautifully.
I remember sitting (diagonally) in the back of an XKR when my old man test drove one back in 1999; it was raining and I still remember the Jag salesman's reaction when the back stepped out (he was a fairly inexperienced car salesman!!)
I remember sitting (diagonally) in the back of an XKR when my old man test drove one back in 1999; it was raining and I still remember the Jag salesman's reaction when the back stepped out (he was a fairly inexperienced car salesman!!)
olliete said:
Lovely looking car - absolutely agree that it has aged beautifully.
Thanks for the comments. I get a lot of positive comments from friends and family, even people who aren't really into cars.olliete said:
I remember sitting (diagonally) in the back of an XKR when my old man test drove one back in 1999
No surprise you were sitting diagonally - there's not much room in the back! I can just about fit my two sons aged 2 and 5 in the back, but in a couple of years I they'll be too big to be comfortable back there.Four months into ownership, and all good. No more false warning lights or electrical gremlins.
Got the automatic transmission fluid changed at Hardy Engineering in Leatherhead. Doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, but still good to get it done.
It polishes up nicely, and I'm enjoying driving it.
Doing a few longer journeys in the car has definitely helped me appreciate it more. Nothing massive, just a couple of 100+ mile round trips. This car is an excellent GT car and I'd like to do some longer runs in the future. Long gearing (just over 2000 rpm at an indicated 70mph), quiet and powerful engine, and excellent stereo are all a welcome change from our diesel CRV. Having said that, I do feel quite low down and vulnerable on the motorway, and am conscious that I could easily be lost in the blind spots of a big 4x4.
I still feel a slight sense of nervousness with a relatively high mileage Jag that anything could go wrong at any time. Driving on the M25, I feel vibrations through the steering wheel, panic that a suspension component is knackered, then I remember its just the badly surfaced patch around junction 11. Hear a rumbling sound, wonder what it is, then realise its just the lorry I overtook a few seconds ago. Maybe I should get off the internet and stop reading Jag horror stories. Or maybe I just need to own it for a bit longer and learn to trust it!
The longer journeys have helped the fuel economy (roughly 26mpg on the two motorway runs compared to high teens on my normal suburban short journeys)
Went to Classics on the Common in Harpenden a week or so ago. Great event, my 5 year old son loved the variety of cars there, and was comfortable enough in the back seat to fall asleep on the way home. Lots of nice E-types and XJSs there, but no XK8s as they don't quite meet the minimum age criteria. Maybe in a couple of years...
Classics on the Common by chdphd, on Flickr
Got the automatic transmission fluid changed at Hardy Engineering in Leatherhead. Doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, but still good to get it done.
It polishes up nicely, and I'm enjoying driving it.
Doing a few longer journeys in the car has definitely helped me appreciate it more. Nothing massive, just a couple of 100+ mile round trips. This car is an excellent GT car and I'd like to do some longer runs in the future. Long gearing (just over 2000 rpm at an indicated 70mph), quiet and powerful engine, and excellent stereo are all a welcome change from our diesel CRV. Having said that, I do feel quite low down and vulnerable on the motorway, and am conscious that I could easily be lost in the blind spots of a big 4x4.
I still feel a slight sense of nervousness with a relatively high mileage Jag that anything could go wrong at any time. Driving on the M25, I feel vibrations through the steering wheel, panic that a suspension component is knackered, then I remember its just the badly surfaced patch around junction 11. Hear a rumbling sound, wonder what it is, then realise its just the lorry I overtook a few seconds ago. Maybe I should get off the internet and stop reading Jag horror stories. Or maybe I just need to own it for a bit longer and learn to trust it!
The longer journeys have helped the fuel economy (roughly 26mpg on the two motorway runs compared to high teens on my normal suburban short journeys)
Went to Classics on the Common in Harpenden a week or so ago. Great event, my 5 year old son loved the variety of cars there, and was comfortable enough in the back seat to fall asleep on the way home. Lots of nice E-types and XJSs there, but no XK8s as they don't quite meet the minimum age criteria. Maybe in a couple of years...
Classics on the Common by chdphd, on Flickrdme123 said:
Riccardino said:
very nice and love the dash with the three circuilar instruments (not a fan of the GPS version)
I'd forgotten that god awful GPS installation in the later ones. Some Alpine system that they orphaned almost as soon as the cars were sold. 
Others pay for replacement gauge clusters to replace their satnav panel with the three gauge cluster. I'm happy with the cluster of instruments in the dash, even though the oil pressure is an idiot gauge and not a real reading. It suits the retro look of the interior and the car as a whole.
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