www.jec.org.uk

Looking for lowish milage 2000 car which has been well cared for. I have to keep telling myself not to rush into anything!!

Welcome to the Forum
I can only recommend you do exactly what you keep telling yourself. There are lots of cars about, although, I guess the really good ones are a bit more difficult to find.
Good luck in your search

Do remember that you get what you pay for when all is said and done.
Experience shows the the Main Dealers retail the best cars because of the tight spec. for the Jaguar Approved warranty.
A private purchase is the highest risk option,the trade knows very well what these cars are worth,and what seems to be a bargain can result in severe "pain in the wallet" later.
The Club can arrange for an experienced vehicle Inspector to provide a written technical and commercial assessment on your prospective purchase and JEC are cheaper than the AA. Well worth considering for a 10 year old car in my view.
Good luck !!

Hi Hoges,

Welcome to the forum, I have found it really helpful and friendly since I joined. Apart from the normal things you would look at on any secondhand car I think there are 3 main things you need to check on a XK8;

1. Water pump - has it been changed to a more modern one or not? If not you should do it once purchased
2. Thermostat - same as above
3. Chain and tensioners - loads of info on this site about this issue written by people far more knowledgeable than me. But if you have no record of it having been done budget for it.

Hope that helps!

p.s. of course don't rush in to a purchase, but don't forget the old adage about buying a car either - if it looks and feels right, it probably is right!

The best buying advice I have seen is in "You and your XK8" by our Magazine Editor Nigel Thorley. Its usually available from the Club Shop but is a Haynes publication and can be obtained from a Haynes manual stockist.
It has been my XK8 "bible" and IMHO is essential reading for any prospective XK8 purchaser.

Well,

it's a 2000 XK8. The owner has a concours V12 "E" type and 2 other concours cars!! so I guess he has looked after the XK8. A new water pump has been bought but not fitted' no record of the timing chain being done so that's another job for me, I like to fiddle with engines so that will be no hardship.

Thanks to 3.4XJ6series2 and others for the comments. I am only up the road from you in Oxfordshire so we may well meet at some point.

Hoges.

Hi Hoges

Checking what secondary tensioners you have is a relevilely easy job

My XK is one of the last 4.0's & I found on checking it had the 4.2 set up from new (has a morse chain - if you know what an ordinary chain looks like then this stands out!). The engine bay / front suspension has differed over the years so I found the LH Bank easier to do but they say the RH Bank is easier on earlier XK's.

The guide on the JTIS Disk is helpful

A few things to keep in mind

Make sure you get a complete set of gaskets & seals for your engine (quote your VIN No & engine No if you had a Nicasil engine that's been changed) Don't forget the tube of sealer for the 5mm beads for the engine casing joints

Be careful of all the plastic pipes - the engine bay gets v hot & they become brittle

On my engine one of the cam cover bolts on each bank is not 'captive' in the sleaves & I lost one (I know it never went into the engine but I never found it)

I used a 1/4 inch drive socket set & some of the cam cover bolts are difficult to get at & I therefore used a short piece of 1/4 bar in the socket & used a 1/4 AF spanner to undo & tighten

The LH Bank requires the dip stick to be released from one of the Cam Cover Bolts (Do not follow the JTIS instructions for this as you will have great difficulties in replacing the dipstick tube onto the engine - instead get your Dremel (or similar) out and cut a slot in the bracket (remember to clean away all the swarf as you don't want it to get into the engine) holding the dip stick tube to the engine and fold back the end to release - use a washer over the folded back bracket when replacing on completing the work

Hope this helps

Regards

Allan

Drove her home today!! Excellent now I know I bought the right car.

Thanks to Allan for the detail on changing out the cam chains and tensioners.

So far all in my little world is rosy, wy wife even likes the colour!!

Thanks to all for the info.

Regards

Hoges.