2009 Jaguar XK
Discussion
I usually drive classic cars as dailies, but even I have to succumb to practicality sometime, and over the next year or so I expect to be doing a lot of to and froing between London and Norfolk, so I decided to buy something cruisy and comfortable that will probably start more often than not.
I am now old enough to have Jaaaaaags, and I had enjoyed owning a rusty XJS for a while a few years ago. I found this normally aspirated Jaguar XK at a bargain price at a generalist forecourt dealer who had it on his hands and wanted rid of it. It had done 70,000 miles and appeared to have been well looked after. It has a 5 litre V8 engine, a six speed autobox with paddles (but the S setting drives it better than I can), an aluminium body, and toys. It does about 25 mpg if you don't go nuts, a lot less if you go nuts.
I really like it. It's fast, it makes a good noise, it handles fine for a big and heavy car, you can see out of it, and it has proper British rubbishness such as a crap demister and a comedy parking radar.
The first photo shows the car as it now is, with grey 18 inch Cromadora Venus wheels. They are there because I found that the originally fitted 20 inch Kalimnos wheels are rare and expensive after one of them was written off when a tyre blew out at speed on the M25 a week or so ago. The tyre shredded and I was down to the rim before I could stop on the hard shoulder to fit the space saver spare. Searches on eBay and with suppliers and scrappers failed to produce a front wheel (the rear ones were available, but they are wider). I found a set of four wheels with unused tyres on them and bought those. I shall try to sell the three undamaged wheels.
I think that the car looks better with the smaller wheels and more sidewall, and it rides better as well. The other photos show the car with its old wheels.
It needs a wash.
I am now old enough to have Jaaaaaags, and I had enjoyed owning a rusty XJS for a while a few years ago. I found this normally aspirated Jaguar XK at a bargain price at a generalist forecourt dealer who had it on his hands and wanted rid of it. It had done 70,000 miles and appeared to have been well looked after. It has a 5 litre V8 engine, a six speed autobox with paddles (but the S setting drives it better than I can), an aluminium body, and toys. It does about 25 mpg if you don't go nuts, a lot less if you go nuts.
I really like it. It's fast, it makes a good noise, it handles fine for a big and heavy car, you can see out of it, and it has proper British rubbishness such as a crap demister and a comedy parking radar.
The first photo shows the car as it now is, with grey 18 inch Cromadora Venus wheels. They are there because I found that the originally fitted 20 inch Kalimnos wheels are rare and expensive after one of them was written off when a tyre blew out at speed on the M25 a week or so ago. The tyre shredded and I was down to the rim before I could stop on the hard shoulder to fit the space saver spare. Searches on eBay and with suppliers and scrappers failed to produce a front wheel (the rear ones were available, but they are wider). I found a set of four wheels with unused tyres on them and bought those. I shall try to sell the three undamaged wheels.
I think that the car looks better with the smaller wheels and more sidewall, and it rides better as well. The other photos show the car with its old wheels.
It needs a wash.
I do too. More tyre sidewall is better, I think, and the ride is a bit better. The bigger wheels are a bit factory-Barry, I think.
I will have to check the colour - it's a sort of gunmetal grey. I usually do not like cars with black interiors, but it works on this one, and the windows let in enough light for it not to be gloomy inside.
I quite lack the abandonment of wood and the adoption of moderny interior surfaces. The headlining is posh, and the car feels well built, by Britheap standards.
The touch screen has a million useless features and is there mainly to encourage you to crash. The car also has heated seats and steering wheel, things that I thought were utterly stupid until I had them.
The round thing that you use to select the autogears rises up when you start the car, in a sort of Thunderbirds way. This entertains me as I am easily entertained.
I will have to check the colour - it's a sort of gunmetal grey. I usually do not like cars with black interiors, but it works on this one, and the windows let in enough light for it not to be gloomy inside.
I quite lack the abandonment of wood and the adoption of moderny interior surfaces. The headlining is posh, and the car feels well built, by Britheap standards.
The touch screen has a million useless features and is there mainly to encourage you to crash. The car also has heated seats and steering wheel, things that I thought were utterly stupid until I had them.
The round thing that you use to select the autogears rises up when you start the car, in a sort of Thunderbirds way. This entertains me as I am easily entertained.
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 4th May 21:49
powerstruggle said:
What colour is that? (Official name?)
Pearl grey. I had an XF-S in the same colour.Re weight, they're not heavy at all compared to their German competition (excl. 911,obvs, which are light). I saw my XK 5.0 on the scales at mot time and it was just under 1800kg with mot tester on board/3rd of a tank of fuel. Think the official weight is 1690kg IIRC.
Enjoy it, OP!
Edit: Pic of mine.
Edited by Hammerhead on Monday 4th May 23:50
Cheers all. I actually went to the forecourt intending to buy a late XK8, which was half the price, but although that was in good nick and had a lovely blue colour and the pale interior that I usually prefer, my eye was drawn to the XK, which has a better engine and is more modern whilst still retaining some ye olde Jaggishness. Also most of my cars are rustheaps, so it made a pleasant change to buy something where rust isn't a thing.
The car doesn't handle as well as a Porsche or Lotus would, but it's fine by Grand Tourer standards, and I have a couple of noisy little classic buzzboxes for handly thrills. I think that this Jag may be one of the best cars I've ever bought, and at a price much lower than a Porsche or Lotus of the same age, and much, much lower than an Aston, it struck me as a good deal. I've had it serviced by a mobile mechanic and he has replaced the worn brake pads on the rear wheels. Having to change the wheels and tyres has been the only big expense so far (I bought the car at Christmas), and that wasn't the car's fault.
The car doesn't handle as well as a Porsche or Lotus would, but it's fine by Grand Tourer standards, and I have a couple of noisy little classic buzzboxes for handly thrills. I think that this Jag may be one of the best cars I've ever bought, and at a price much lower than a Porsche or Lotus of the same age, and much, much lower than an Aston, it struck me as a good deal. I've had it serviced by a mobile mechanic and he has replaced the worn brake pads on the rear wheels. Having to change the wheels and tyres has been the only big expense so far (I bought the car at Christmas), and that wasn't the car's fault.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 5th May 05:10
Cheers, he had a look already when servicing the heap the other week.
I will ask him if can do mobile aircon gassing. I assume that if the aircon issue was just a fuse the stupid computer would tell me, but maybe not, as the computer seems to be mostly about enabling you to listen to bangin' choonze and telling you that you aren't in Kansas, and I have ranted in a separate thread about the car's lack of a temperature gauge and other useful things.
If this car is anything like the XJS (I gather that underneath it lurks a sort of XJS platform), it will have a kabillion fuses in several different inaccessible fuse boxes.
I will ask him if can do mobile aircon gassing. I assume that if the aircon issue was just a fuse the stupid computer would tell me, but maybe not, as the computer seems to be mostly about enabling you to listen to bangin' choonze and telling you that you aren't in Kansas, and I have ranted in a separate thread about the car's lack of a temperature gauge and other useful things.
If this car is anything like the XJS (I gather that underneath it lurks a sort of XJS platform), it will have a kabillion fuses in several different inaccessible fuse boxes.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th May 08:17
A fine motorcar indeed. I worked at Jaguar when these were launched as was responsible for the A3 size launch brochure. I think they are based on an aluminium platform - which probably has some connection to the x350 aluminium XJ. Assuming this is the case your free of XJS bits and bobs, though of course the XJS is a lovely machine .....
Breadvan72 said:
Cheers, he had a look already when servicing the heap the other week.
I will ask him if can do mobile aircon gassing. I assume that if the aircon issue was just a fuse the stupid computer would tell me, but maybe not, as the computer seems to be mostly about enabling you to listen to bangin' choonze and telling you that you aren't in Kansas, and I have ranted in a separate thread about the cars lack of a temperature gauge and other useful things.
If this car is anything like the XJS (I gather that underneath it lurks a sort of XJS platform, it will have a kabillion fuses in several different inaccessible fuse boxes.
I've got a 2010 convertible XKR. There is not one item even remotely related to the XJS on these, completely different generation, design and manufacturing methods. These really are superb cars. As were the XJSs back in the day mind, I had one of those as well and loved it.I will ask him if can do mobile aircon gassing. I assume that if the aircon issue was just a fuse the stupid computer would tell me, but maybe not, as the computer seems to be mostly about enabling you to listen to bangin' choonze and telling you that you aren't in Kansas, and I have ranted in a separate thread about the cars lack of a temperature gauge and other useful things.
If this car is anything like the XJS (I gather that underneath it lurks a sort of XJS platform, it will have a kabillion fuses in several different inaccessible fuse boxes.
When I got mine the air con was also duff. Seems no one else in the world ever gets their air con fixed as I'm on a run of the last 5 or so cars I've bought for me or my kids has had duff aircon. I've started assuming that any car for sale will have broken air con!
I had my local mobile air con man sort it by fitting a new condensor.Oh, and by the way, I have one of those wheels in my garden shed, fully refurbed, as a spare. Both my front wheels were buckled when I bought the XKR, I assume the PO had driven up a sharp kerb or similar. So in the process of getting both front wheels straightened and refurbed I ended up with a spare somehow. It's been there over 3 years now!
I loved my XJS , although it was mega rusty. It was a 1992 model with that lovely straight six engine, Brooklands Green with a pale interior and a J-gate gear selector, and cross-spoke alloys.
The XK has indeed got four pages of fuses listed in the manual, and the fuses are located in various annoying places all over the car.
Today's excitement has been finding the battery in the boot, so that the XK can jump start my ex's 2004 X Type Estate, which is on its arse outside her flat.
The XK has indeed got four pages of fuses listed in the manual, and the fuses are located in various annoying places all over the car.
Today's excitement has been finding the battery in the boot, so that the XK can jump start my ex's 2004 X Type Estate, which is on its arse outside her flat.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th May 08:14
Breadvan72 said:
Also most of my cars are rustheaps, so it made a pleasant change to buy something where rust isn't a thing.
Maybe not on the body but there’s still quite a bit of steel in the car that does and the body itself suffers from filiform corrosion that you need to keep an eye out for PS: I think that it may have been the XK8 that had some XJS underpinnings (just as a DB7 has). I like the elegant shape of the XK8, but if I am going to battle rust I would rather do it on something that has a proper Jaaaaaag straight six rather than a somewhat Fordy V8. I shun V12s because they have twice the hassles of sixes. But a good XK8 is now 5K, whereas a good XJS is 15K or more.
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