XK8 - seriously considering buying.
Discussion
Having sold my Integra Type R and simultaneously managing to get my 205 GTi back on the road, I am in the market for a weekend / long trips car. The XK8 pretty much ticks all my boxes, its classy, refined, beautiful, powerful, rear wheel drive and. . . . reliable?
The 205 is gonna be my daily commuter, so I was hoping that any owners could answer me some questions:
My budget is at the top of the bottom end, circa £7.5 - 8.5k. I figure I can get a 60k 99 coupe or a 75k 97 convertible for this money - is that about right?
How much will it cost me / the person I am buying it from to get a compression test done? Am I right to consider a compression test / blow by as a deal breaker when buying any pre 99 XK?
Am I right in thinking that the 17" tyres are virtually impossible to source?
What gets done at the 60k expensive service - just so I can check that it hasn't merely had a 'major' service, but not the proper thorough 60k service?
Has anyone bought from Country Life Specialist Cars in Harrogate? What did you get / think of the service?
I am looking at two cars tomorrow - a 96 BRG convertible with 78k for £8995 - he said he would take £8400 - does that sound reasonable? And a coupe with 56k for £7995 on a T plate - again, sound decent?
Any other sage advice would be much appreciated.
Also, at 29, am I too young????
The 205 is gonna be my daily commuter, so I was hoping that any owners could answer me some questions:
My budget is at the top of the bottom end, circa £7.5 - 8.5k. I figure I can get a 60k 99 coupe or a 75k 97 convertible for this money - is that about right?
How much will it cost me / the person I am buying it from to get a compression test done? Am I right to consider a compression test / blow by as a deal breaker when buying any pre 99 XK?
Am I right in thinking that the 17" tyres are virtually impossible to source?
What gets done at the 60k expensive service - just so I can check that it hasn't merely had a 'major' service, but not the proper thorough 60k service?
Has anyone bought from Country Life Specialist Cars in Harrogate? What did you get / think of the service?
I am looking at two cars tomorrow - a 96 BRG convertible with 78k for £8995 - he said he would take £8400 - does that sound reasonable? And a coupe with 56k for £7995 on a T plate - again, sound decent?
Any other sage advice would be much appreciated.
Also, at 29, am I too young????
Avoid the convertable, old ones are a PITA and overpriced IMO. Check the front for stonechips- higher mileage cars all have them, if not chances are it's been resprayed.
Budget means you are buying right at the bottom of the food chain XK wise. Find Broardbean747s post on here before you buy - it's packed with all you'll need to know about the XJ/K8.
Briefly, buy on condition and history. It's essential the car has been looked after all it's life. With care modern Jaguars will do space shuttle mileage - if abused and neglected you'll be lucky to get one past 80k or so without majour problems.
You refer to a Blow by test which will show if there is any errosion of the Nicasil plating on the bores. Should be cheap and quick to do at a Jaguar dealer - don't trust the vendor to do it. Car may have a replacement engine fitted which dealer should have on record. Later cars are less of a worry and no problem after 2000 model year when high sulphur petrol was phased out and steel lined bores introduced.
Essesntal to ensure the car has latest metal bodied timing chain tensioners fitted. Plastic mk1 and 2 types fail without warning and do considerable engine damage. £400 fitted.
Pre 2000 waterpumps and thermoststs fail. Correct reading on temperature gauge is not always indication all's well in the cooling system.
Cars are heavy on suspension components. Check tyres very carefully for odd wear patterns.
Gearbox and 'diff "sealed for life" units must have oil changes to avoid premature failure at max 50k intervals. 10k service intervals are way too long if the car is subjected to lots of short trips and cold starts.
Tyres are available but expensive, and there's not much choice of brands in the XK sizes.
Try and find an enthusiasts car - not some some shagged out, px crap some independent trader has picked up at auction or from a main dealer.
Try jagads or PH classifieds.
Budget means you are buying right at the bottom of the food chain XK wise. Find Broardbean747s post on here before you buy - it's packed with all you'll need to know about the XJ/K8.
Briefly, buy on condition and history. It's essential the car has been looked after all it's life. With care modern Jaguars will do space shuttle mileage - if abused and neglected you'll be lucky to get one past 80k or so without majour problems.
You refer to a Blow by test which will show if there is any errosion of the Nicasil plating on the bores. Should be cheap and quick to do at a Jaguar dealer - don't trust the vendor to do it. Car may have a replacement engine fitted which dealer should have on record. Later cars are less of a worry and no problem after 2000 model year when high sulphur petrol was phased out and steel lined bores introduced.
Essesntal to ensure the car has latest metal bodied timing chain tensioners fitted. Plastic mk1 and 2 types fail without warning and do considerable engine damage. £400 fitted.
Pre 2000 waterpumps and thermoststs fail. Correct reading on temperature gauge is not always indication all's well in the cooling system.
Cars are heavy on suspension components. Check tyres very carefully for odd wear patterns.
Gearbox and 'diff "sealed for life" units must have oil changes to avoid premature failure at max 50k intervals. 10k service intervals are way too long if the car is subjected to lots of short trips and cold starts.
Tyres are available but expensive, and there's not much choice of brands in the XK sizes.
Try and find an enthusiasts car - not some some shagged out, px crap some independent trader has picked up at auction or from a main dealer.
Try jagads or PH classifieds.
Both cars look a little expensive compared to the current market. OK if they are the very best and have already had tensioners changed etc. I know that an xkec member paid just £4K for a Coupe and spent under £1000 getting it just right. Avoid the 17" wheels , 18s were fitted to most cars and are often availible on e-bay etc. Cheaper than buying tyres for the 17". Buy 20" for looks etc. but the tyre price rises ! Have to say for me convertible every time, those that have had Coupes and convertibles mainly prefered the convertibles even though they do not look as good. In addition to the above check for rust under the footwells the plate under there rusts very easily. Also check all the wheel arches as the lack of protection means that unless treated they will be rusty
I have to agree both cars are expensive compared to the current market.
Best bet is to join the XK8/R Club www.xkec.co.uk
Loads of advice on the members only Forum
Best bet is to join the XK8/R Club www.xkec.co.uk
Loads of advice on the members only Forum
Where in West Yorkshire are you?
My mechanic is a Jag specialist whom I highly recommend if you want a car checking out and for future repairs. He does a brilliant job and will save you £££s over a main stealer.
He's based in Rochdale (East Lancashire) and is called Steve Heywood, Tel: 01706 719111
No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.
Bob.
My mechanic is a Jag specialist whom I highly recommend if you want a car checking out and for future repairs. He does a brilliant job and will save you £££s over a main stealer.
He's based in Rochdale (East Lancashire) and is called Steve Heywood, Tel: 01706 719111
No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.
Bob.
I was a little underwhelmed by both cars I saw today. The converible was in far better condition than the coupe, but it didn't feel quite right when I was driving it, felt like it was pitching into the corners a lot more than the coupe. It had the 60k service somewhere random too, which put me off. Both had fully stamped up service books, but nothing much in the way of records. Also the coupe had a lot of rust bubbing through. Behind the front wheels, inside the rear arches, on both seams where the rear wing joins the bottom of the bumper and at the top of the windscreen pillar. It had a few scratches too.
Neither had any compression test results.
So overall not impressed.
It seems there are good cars about, but I keep missing them. A black coupe for £8500 with 60k on a 51 plate and a 2000 silver coupe with 39k for £8800 were sold before I could see them. I'm guessing they must have been nicer examples than the ones I saw.
I am in Leeds btw and I will definitely give your mechanic a ring.
Thanks for the very useful advice.
Is there much of a noticable handling difference between the coupe and convertible, or does it suggest worn out suspension components on the convertible I drove today?
Also, where abouts is the cam chain tensioner? Do I need to take a plastic cover off or anything to have a look at it?
Neither had any compression test results.
So overall not impressed.
It seems there are good cars about, but I keep missing them. A black coupe for £8500 with 60k on a 51 plate and a 2000 silver coupe with 39k for £8800 were sold before I could see them. I'm guessing they must have been nicer examples than the ones I saw.
I am in Leeds btw and I will definitely give your mechanic a ring.
Thanks for the very useful advice.
Is there much of a noticable handling difference between the coupe and convertible, or does it suggest worn out suspension components on the convertible I drove today?
Also, where abouts is the cam chain tensioner? Do I need to take a plastic cover off or anything to have a look at it?
Edited by mainline on Friday 20th February 18:45
Already done it, saved for later... Looks very in depth. Cheers nige.
That kind of selfless spreading of knowledge is everything that I think is great about the internet.
Also, thanks for the Jagads headsup. Found this...
1997, 30,000 miles, £8,000. Metallic Jaguar Green, FJSH, unmarked Magnolia leather interior, superb condition throughout.
And this:
Conertible FJSH 55k miles.3 owners. Recently spent £3k keeping in A+ condition. Garaged. XKR Alloys with new tyres. Sherwood Green with black hood. Offers around £7500
Sounds worth a look? You guys are seriously legends Thanks so much!
That kind of selfless spreading of knowledge is everything that I think is great about the internet.
Also, thanks for the Jagads headsup. Found this...
1997, 30,000 miles, £8,000. Metallic Jaguar Green, FJSH, unmarked Magnolia leather interior, superb condition throughout.
And this:
Conertible FJSH 55k miles.3 owners. Recently spent £3k keeping in A+ condition. Garaged. XKR Alloys with new tyres. Sherwood Green with black hood. Offers around £7500
Sounds worth a look?
You guys are seriously legends Thanks so much!Edited by mainline on Saturday 21st February 00:05
Edited by mainline on Saturday 21st February 00:12
The secondary tensioners are on the top of the engine at the front under the cam covers. Take the right hand one off for a quick look - you don't have to struggle with the dipstick tube retaining lug on that side.
You'll need to remove the coils - take care with the leads and connectors, they get brittle with age and are fragile.
If you don't know what the secondary tensioner looks like have a look at the British Car Parts site. There's pictures of the metal bodied type on there.
The type of tensioner you are looking for has a dull silver metal body, with a clean, cream coloured slipper that the chain rides on. If you have an dirty brown, orange or cream plastic bodied one then they'll need changing. While the cover is off shine a torch inside and have a careful look at the primary chains, cam sprockets guides and tensioners. The chains should feel bar tight and have no bright spots on the links or groves on the rollers and there should be no groves or wear on the guides and tensioner slippers. Run your finger up and down the chains feeling for directional wear. Compare how the primary and secondary chains feel and appear. The secondary chain carries half the load of the primary one and is less likley to have worn, so if they do feel or appear different then you have some wear. The teeth on the cam sprockets should feel smooth on both the drive and idle sides and again there should be no bright spots.
Chain wear can be subtle and the only real way of assessing it is to compare a new one with the old one. Put one end of the new and old chains side by side into a vice and see how much more sideways deflection you can achieve with the old one compared to the new. Anything more than tiny fractions of an inch extra deflection per foot of chain length means it's knackered. Another useful indication is looking at the tensioner pistons and seeing how far they have had to come out of the tensioner body in order to maintain chain tension. Extension of more than two thirds of total piston travel, especially on the secondaries, is cause for concern.
Give the gaskets and mating faces a wipe and put it all back together.
You'll need to remove the coils - take care with the leads and connectors, they get brittle with age and are fragile.
If you don't know what the secondary tensioner looks like have a look at the British Car Parts site. There's pictures of the metal bodied type on there.
The type of tensioner you are looking for has a dull silver metal body, with a clean, cream coloured slipper that the chain rides on. If you have an dirty brown, orange or cream plastic bodied one then they'll need changing. While the cover is off shine a torch inside and have a careful look at the primary chains, cam sprockets guides and tensioners. The chains should feel bar tight and have no bright spots on the links or groves on the rollers and there should be no groves or wear on the guides and tensioner slippers. Run your finger up and down the chains feeling for directional wear. Compare how the primary and secondary chains feel and appear. The secondary chain carries half the load of the primary one and is less likley to have worn, so if they do feel or appear different then you have some wear. The teeth on the cam sprockets should feel smooth on both the drive and idle sides and again there should be no bright spots.
Chain wear can be subtle and the only real way of assessing it is to compare a new one with the old one. Put one end of the new and old chains side by side into a vice and see how much more sideways deflection you can achieve with the old one compared to the new. Anything more than tiny fractions of an inch extra deflection per foot of chain length means it's knackered. Another useful indication is looking at the tensioner pistons and seeing how far they have had to come out of the tensioner body in order to maintain chain tension. Extension of more than two thirds of total piston travel, especially on the secondaries, is cause for concern.
Give the gaskets and mating faces a wipe and put it all back together.
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