XK8/XKR Reviews and Real World Fuel Consuption

[Scriv]

Hi there.

I joined JEC a few weeks ago hoping to find some info that might help me choose what to buy. (Target would be late 4.0 early 4.2 coupe 8 or R) In particular what are the costs of ownership. It's a bit off-putting when Parkers Online Summary says Points For: "Filmstar Looks.." and then Points Against "Need Filmstar Money to run one".

The review of the new model XKR in this months mag. gets close to the type of info - although as I am not familiar with the routes or congestion in those areas, then difficult to make a judgement on that car. Also was the car driven with the enthusiasm given to a new toy? I will be getting rid of a Discovery TD5 which manages about 25mpg at any speed, any conditions - although everything you ever read says 31mpg. So if I buy something that says 22mpg and it really only does 17mpg; I would really appreciate knowing so as not to be dissapointed.

Can anyone help please?
thanks

Charles Scrivener

[Bassman]

Hi Charles and welcome

I have had my 98 XK coupe since August last year and done over 6,000 mile so far and have found it pretty reasonable to run cost wise.
I had the VVT unit go but they fixed that under warranty and while they were at it they changed the cam chains, tensioners and guides for the cost of the parts which was £388, there wasn't anything drastically wrong (slight cracking of the tensioner bodies but while it was apart it seemed wise to have them done )

Just had the water pump and thermostat changed (again preventative maintenance ) and along with a new boot light switch that cost the grand sum of £200 which I regard as pretty damn cheap

Fuel consumption averages out at around 24-25 mpg, on a long run it's up 31mpg and around town down to 17-18 mpg which I think is impressive for a 4.0 V8 Jag

Hope this helps mate

[WULLIE4567]

Hi Charles welcome

Good info from bassman, parkers online author is just jealous he cant have one. I have had lot's of jags since I was 19 yrs old, now 52. My last jag was a 1992 XJS 4.0 ltr sport I loved that.
Well, now she's sold' yesterday'

Now I have bought an XK8 4.0 ltr, V8 290 bhp, what a machine I will never part with her, well unless I can afford a much newer one. I get about the same as Bassman fuel wise. my insurance costs around £350 fully comp, the XKR will be a wee bit more expensive to run but a bit faster, 390 bhp, You should go for the XK8 at first then when you fall in love with that you cant go back.

Be carefull the are some very ruff mistreated xk's out there so if you are not buying from a garage get the club guy's to check it out for you, it might cost you a couple of hundred pounds but it's well worth it.

As Bassman say's the things to watch for are - 1= rear bumper mounting brackets, 2 = ask if timing chains and tensioners both primary and secondary have been done ask for proof, 3 = water pump and thermostat have been done.
These are the main things with XK8's / R's. unless it's a 4.2 ltr engine don't think they have the same bother with the above.

hope this is of some help to you but don't be shy, ask away Im sure all the guy's on this forum will help you all they can.

cheers Wullie.

[Scriv]

Some good info there. Thanks guys. Sounds really cheap for the work Bassman got done. The Discovery just cost me £500.00 for an MOT and a 12K mile service (actual milage 84,000!). Anti roll bar bushes (rubbers) changed. The XK costs seem pretty good.

Took a Merc SL500 (2002), current shape for a test drive yesterday. Didn't make me feel special to drive and doesn't look "Wow" like the XK. They said a major service cost £800!!! They also feined disbelief when I said I preferred the XK

I had assumed I would buy an Approved XK from a Main Dealer for peace of mind. Also, based on what I've read on this forum, a 4.2 would be better than a 4.0. But so many choices I love to get stuck in with a spanner but don't want to become a slave to keeping it going. Just want to drive it. (but won't be buying until end of june when I've had the gates widened and front garden modified to park the thing. No one bothers with the Disco - but an XK will attract attention ).

Most of the 15K per year mileage would be 75 mile each way trips on fast A-roads M6 and Dual Carriageway. And the main roads and M6 in South Cumbria and North Lancashire are quiet enough to maintain your speed without constant slowing down. So sounds like I should not be worried about mpg.

[Bassman]

I bought mine from Arun Independant in Sussex and take it back to them for any work, the tensioners etc. would probably have been around £1200 if they hadn't had the car apart already but that's still not bad for what's invoved TBH, I just leapt at their offer

My insurance is about the same as Wullie's at £350 F/C at 50 yo and only 3 years NCB on that policy as my full ncb is used on my other car .

I have found ebay pretty usefull for a few bit's and pieces I have done to upgrade/modify the car a bit. e.g. got a brand new set of Centaur 18" wheels for £300 a set of overmats for £12.99 and TBH the are as good as a set of genuine Jag ones I bought

We travel over to Brittany about once a month and last time I filled up just after leaving the house and when I got to St.Malo (about 120 miles) it had done 30mpg at an average of 72mph

My brother has a couple of Mercs and I go out in them and just think " yeah it's a car" the XK is an experience

[Sharfrs2]

Welcome Charles. I've had a XK8 for just over two years now and I still love the feeling I get when driving her. Get about the same MPG as Bassman even though I've modified the car quite heavily including a complete custom remap of the ECU. As Wullie has said ask lots of questions including those on Wullies list. Once the known faults have been rectified these cars are not that expensive to run.

[WULLIE4567]

Charles
Bassman's right Merc' just another car, Sharfrs2 right as well you will never get fed up driving the XK8, always grinning, and don't be affriad of the 4.0 ltr just make sure you check it out. Best of luck in your hunt.

Have a wee look at our photo's in the NEW-XK8 GALLERY at the top of the bulletin board
Wullie.

[mike020150]

Hi Charles, To help you make a decision between a 4.0 and a 4.2 litre, I can say that my experience of each, used in a not dissimilar way to your description, gave me a 2 mpg boost when moving to a 4.2 litre. The 4.0 gave 25mpg over a long period. My current long term average for the 4.2 exceeds 27mpg. Almost unbelieveably, gentle continental cruising can send that figure to just over 30mpg but you do want to enjoy the performance some of the time! At the other end of the scale, consistent heavy traffic in town results in 18/20mpg. The supercharged cars seem to operate in a narrower range and on my type of driving my usual 27mpg hovers around 24/25mpg at best. Don't forget to budget for tyres in your calculations. 20" ZR rated tyres are not cheap wherever you buy them! 18s and 19s are only slightly better. As ever, the best advice is to buy carefully, get a good'un and you'll never stop smiling. Mike.

[Scriv]

Could I appologise to you all for taking so long to acknowledge the info you all posted on the fuel consumption subject. Thanks to everybody who provided info. I shall now not be scared of fuel consumption.

I'm up to my neck in house improvements (following divorce) with a target completion for end of may - but working very late every night and can't get too distracted.

My idea for early june, is to look at as many XK's as I can over a weekend. All models and ages. Probably even stay in a hotel somewhere near a big concentration of adverts (manchester/cheshire?). There are none for sale in my part of the world (south cumbria), they are rarer than rocking horse muck on the road and it's 100 miles to manchester.

By the way, I enjoyed looking at the pictures as suggested by Wullie. The cars look fab

[Steve]

HI Scriv and belated welcome. The other guys have given you all the warnings about getting hooked on these cars (I have been approached by small boys and attractive women saying they love it - the car, not me). One little additional point on fuel consumption for you. Mine is a late 4.0 model and in normal trafficy commuting I get around 22-23 mpg, but this increases to 27 on long distance fairly high speed motorway runs. Something that adds 2-3 mpg to the economy is to set the tyre pressures to the higher speed rather than the 'comfort' setting. The pressures are listed under the cover of the cubby hole between the seats where you can't read it if you have bifocals.
I guess that increases the rolling radius a little. Happy hunting.

[MarkyM]

I use my 96 P plate for mainly motorway miles and prior to the LPG conversion done last month I was achieving

Motorway = 33-34 MPG (I either travel really early/really late)
Around town = 23

I've managed to squeeze 500 miles out of a tank. Don't let anyone fool you, if you've a car with full history the running costs are ridiculously low indeed it costs me more to get my Citroen C3 serviced at a main dealer than my XK8!

Worthwhile though on big services (60k miles) to get your coolant emptied/flushed and refilled with something like Halfords Premium as it has the same specs as the Jag coolant. I also provide my main dealer with my own wiper blades & oil and since I've just switched to iridium plugs (due to the LPG conversion) it will be one less thing the dealer can't sting me for when it has it's 120k mile service at the years end.

Surpisingly when I wanted a new stainless steel grills 2 indpendant jaguar specialists quoted me 2-3 hours labout to remove the front bumper and fit it. My Jag main dealer had a set price of 30 mins labout which worked out considerable cheaper!

On LPG i get around 350 motorway miles out of a £23 fill up

Regs

Mark