2000 Jaguar XK8 - New Year's Resolution

One of our New Year's Resolutions this year was to blog about vehicles as though we were working for an auto rag and having to arduously plow through numbers and facts on vehicles that were as interesting as dishwashers; the occasional red crayon the exception rather the norm. We believe we started the year off splendidly discussing Chevrolet's new Traverse but then again, we more than like that thing so that doesn't count. So, like a last slice of pie, drag on a cigarette, shot of whiskey or curse word dropped, let's do one last vehicle we adore before we dive into our New Years Resolution head first and "do one" that we're surprised we hadn't "done" before, a first generation Jaguar XK8 convertible. Perhaps, the most beautiful car to come out of the 1990's here or there.
 

As the proud owners now of identical 1996 Chevrolet Camaros not to mention a 1977 Chevrolet Corvette, there are few people who know of the ups and downs of old car ownership better than we do. Still, we should know better than to get all misty-eyed "what if" over a ticking time bomb like this 2000 Jaguar XK8 convertible for sale just down the road in lovely Columbus with an asking price a mere $5,300. What could go wrong?

Well, plenty but not nearly as much as what could go wrong if this were an older Jaguar. These big, bold and beautiful 1996-2006 XK's with a smattering of Ford DNA in their bones were known to be somewhat more reliable than Coventry Cats of yore. We'll never know for sure but if we had five grand burning a hole in our pocket we'd be hard pressed not to lay it down on this versus a "C5" Corvette of similar vintage.

 

 

Introduced for 1996, these early XK8's were a stunner. They still are. That's saying a lot too considering they're convertibles - usually not our favorite vehicle type but there's something particularly alluring about these cars with the top up versus down. We love the coupes too but not nearly as much. Part of the cache of the design of these cars came from the very subtle retro touches that transcend time and place. Note the front grill and huge bulge - pure XKE. A what? Exactly.



 

Despite using a considerable amount of bits and pieces underneath of the then current XJ sedan, the XK was a remarkable departure and upgrade from the car it replaced, the XJS. One of the most radical changes was Jaguar's first ever V-8 engine. Only the fourth "clean sheet" engine design in Jaguar's history, this engine, known internally at Jaguar as the "AJ-V8", would eventually replace all six and twelve cylinder Jaguar engines. Engineered and designed by Jaguar, with considerable oversight and input from then parent company Ford, it shares  nothing with any Ford engine despite being assembled in a Ford factory. Suffice to say Ford didn't trust Jaguar to build their own engine properly.

 

 

 

So, what could go wrong with an automobile so beautifully designed, assembled and with regards to this one down in Columbus, seemingly so well maintained? It has only 64,421 miles on her. Again, for $5,300 what could possibly go wrong?

 

 

 

This car reminds us of our late friend Dan's "$2,000, $1,000 1984 BMW 528". Years ago a friend of his sold him an '84 528 for $1,000. It looked perfect but mechanically it needed some attention. Every time Dan took it to the local BMW dealership for service he got a bill for at least $2,000, hence his $2,000, $1,000 car. His ownership experience with that BMW wasn't the only story we've heard about how expensive BMW's can be to maintain when they're out of warranty. Dan wasn't above doing work on his car himself but with foreign cars, many times what's straight forward on an American car can be vexing. Also, the price of parts can be out of this world expensive. We shudder to think what it would cost for a new canvas top on our XK8 here. Good thing the current owner has done it for us already. Question though, no pictures of the car in the ad with the top down.  The mechanical mechanisms for these tops are notorious for breaking down. Quite the oversight considering the attention to detail the owner put into posing the car for pictures. Who knows if they did or not. Columbus is lovely so maybe it's their backyard. Does make us wonder though.

 

 

Well, let's just assume that it was an oversight as opposed to a bargaining chip to get the price down lower. This car is priced appropriately - Jaguars have always been good bargains compared to what they're targeted at and that exacerbates depreciation. Enlightened buyers are also fearful of maintenance costs like we are. Let us know what you think of this big old Cat if you're so inclined to take a traipse to bucolic mid-Ohio and take it for a spin or more. If it works out for you with nary a problem and you got it for less than the asking price we'll be purr-fectly green with jealousy. Happy New Year.