New member from Bavaria

[JimmyZ]

I just joined the club because I am seeking an xk8 or xkr. It will be one built between 1997 and 2003 as I like the shape of these the most plus it will meet my budget of 5 to 8 k£. I do own one British car already, it is a 2002 TVR Tuscan. You may deduct by this that a fair amount of car madness is present here.
One of the Jags that rang my bell was this one on pistonheads http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... ed/1150243. Maybe somebody knows the car and provide some information or if the owner reads this please get in touch with me.
I live in southern Bavaria and if any of you ever comes over and needs some assistence please dop me a line!

Thank you all in advance for your future help and advice!

Jimmy

[GEOFFL]

Welcome to the Club JimmyZ and good luck with your search Are you looking to buy a car in Britain or in Bavaria? In Britain AutoTrader is not a bad place to start looking to get a idea of what is available in your budget range, and is easy to use on line.

[JimmyZ]

Thank you for your welcome GeoffL.
I do not care wether to buy in Gemany or Britain or somewhere else. Also it is not important to me if it is a LHD or RHD.
I have used Autotrader before but not yet to find a XK. I'll give it a try today. Reading you signature, the colour combination of your XKR sounds very appealing, are there any pictures somewhere?

Cheers Jimmy

[GEOFFL]

Hi Jimmy, good luck with AutoTrader, I've found it pretty informative. I have a few pictures of "The Dragon" in the Photo Gallery on this site which is worth looking at for ideas. ( I mean the whole gallery, not just my little contribution!)

Geoff

[mike020150]

Welcome Jimmy and good luck with your search for a car. As an occasional visitor to Munich to visit one of my daughters who lives there, you never know when you might see a JEC member's XK prowling the roads of Bavaria and I know I'm not the only one! Mike.

[JimmyZ]

@Geoff:about a minute after I wrote my post I found your gallery. What a beauty! I am sure you enjoy every minute in and around it!
Gave Autotrader a try and already found one that raised my interest http://goo.gl/HPJZl
Sounds good. Low miles, new engine and drivetrain. Would you have a go or rather look for an XKR?

@Mike: next time you go to Munich don't forget to drop me a line. As I am only a 30 minutes drive away from there I would love to meet you in person!

Thank you both for your kind words

[MyQuest]

JimmyZ

My buddy, Roger - in Holland (a JEC member) has a '99 XK8 coupe for sale.He cannot drive it now due to medical reasons.
It's in Phoenix red (similar to GEOFFL's) with a steel-linered AJ27 engine and the usual upgrades - tensioners/gearbox re-filled/suspension/wheel bearing etc, and is in very good condition - I know - as it used to be my car for 6 years..!
Although R.H. drive, you may be interested in it; drop him a line on rojread@wxs.nl
Good luck!
Michael

[GEOFFL]

xk8 OR xkr ......... It's purely a matter of your own personal choice, whichever gives you what YOU want. From a cost point of view R's are generally more expensive than 8's to buy so you could get a newer 8 on your budget or a slightly older R. I don't know what the difference is in insurance between the two. I believe the difference in fuel consumption is marginal ( both absolutely horrendous but that's to be expected!!) I believe servicing and repairs are very very similar.
My R was bought in December last year and cost GBP 7000 with 63000 on the clock. Now I have had an R I wouldn't like to "drop" to an 8, but I'm sure if I had bought an 8 originally I would be just as happy as I am now. However, I always tend to go for the top end of the model I'm buying, my Fiesta was an ST, My X Type was a 3.0lt Sport, so if I had got an 8 in all probability in a few months I would be looking to "upgrade" to an R but that's just me. I always prefer to drop a model rather and buy the basic level of a higher model, if that makes sense!!

There are plenty of far more experienced owners on this site than I am and I know they will be more than happy to share their experience and advice. All I can say is take your time, don't rush, and definitely look deeper into the car mentioned in the above post because that has something rare - someone who knows it's history personally - not just a paper history.

Good luck, and happy hunting (it's all part of the fun )

[JimmyZ]

Thank you Michael and again thank you Geoff

I have written an email to Roger and hope to get response soon. Sad to hear that he cannot enjoy his lovely Jaguar any longer and if it meets my taste I would be more than happy and proud to take care of her in the future.
And one thing - Geoff, you are right - the hunting and anticipation are very much part of the pleasure! In my opinion you are perfectly right, rather choose the top performer than anything else. But I have to admit that my beloved wife who is - thank god - as much a petrolhead as I am, will drive the Jag most of the time. So I will leave the final decision to her, I will just check the basics and as soon as it is up to exterior and beauty she makes the choice.
She just looked over my shoulder and gave this text her "OK"
Thank you guys for your help. Can't repeat that often enough

Jimmy
c/o Jutta

[JimmyZ]

Hello folks
another one on Autotrader http://goo.gl/jxGTK
new engine 5k miles ago. Sounds interesting methinks

[GrandTourer]

Hello and a warm welcome to the JEC Club and this XK8 BB.
You are obviously a man with good taste hence your search for an XK8/R, good luck with that. Since your options re sourcing location and right hand/left hand drive configuration are pretty wide, you should be able to find the ideal car for you (and your wife), given a bit of time.

I have owned my XK8 MY2000 Pacific Blue Coupe for more than 9 years now and are still smiling. During that time I have made at least 10 trips to southern Bavaria and the car has proven itself an ideal Grand Tourer (which made me choose my aka name).

As a matter of fact, I am travelling to Munich, Ingolstadt and Immenstadt/Allgau in about 2 weeks time for a family reunion celebration, but flying this time rather than driving.

Well, good luck in your search and as you said yourself, that is all part of the pleasure of eventual ownership.
Let us know how you get on.

Karl.

[dhdove]

IS IT JUST ME OR IS THE FORMAT ON THIS THREAD ALL WRONG?
TEXT IS TINY!
(READING ON IPAD)
TonyS

[GordonJ]

Tony
I noticed this last night and it seems to be only on this thread.

[JimmyZ]

I have the sentiment it was my ...

[JimmyZ]

IS IT JUST ME OR IS THE FORMAT ON THIS THREAD ALL WRONG?
TEXT IS TINY!
(READING ON IPAD)
TonyS

...yes it was me.
Sorry Tony
It was my fault. I shortened the links and now it looks better.