What do you think of this damaged XK8 as a rebuild prospect?

[SimonR]

Hello everyone,

I'm in uncharted territory as I'm an XJ-S owner, however I do love the XK8 as well and I've been helping my dad maintain his for several years now so I'm not entirely a stranger. Kudos on your beautiful Jags

I've got a ibt of time to spare this spring and I've got an itch I want to scratch - namely to see if I can buy an accident damaged car, rebuild it to as good as it was pre accident, and then sell it, obviously being completely honest about its history and what's been done to it. Having an XK for the summer months would also be very agreeable.

My daily driver (a then-low mileage Rover 75 tourer) was one such car - I bought it from a salvage yard for about £1000 many years ago, put a new front end on it and it's been a faithful workhorse for the last 70k miles and owes me absolutely nothing. Doing the remedial work to it enabled me to fit several factory options that were not originally specified and also rust-proof and clean everything that went back on so it actually ended up better than it was before the accident. I've done similar with another car in the distant past and know it to be a way to get a bargain. But only if you buy wisely!

I saw this advertised on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195352934361

Looks like a beautiful Jag prior to its unfortunate run in with something solid. It looks to me like it's mainly bolt-on panels that are needed, with only a minor bit of deformation in the headlamp area that will need straightening.

Please could I ask anybody who knows the XK better than me to cast their eyes over the pictures and give me their opinion? There are several donor vehicles in the correct colour so if it's thought to be a fairly easy job I may well take the gamble! Clearly I know that you can only be sure when you see it in person and view from all angles, make sure that the wheels all point the right direction and check for any bent items that mean it's beyond economic repair - but I'm wondering if anybody can spot any red flags that mean it's definitely not ripe for a rebuild.

Many thanks,

Simon.

[mike020150]

As you hinted, only a proper inspection will tell you if it's worth buying. There are two major issues to consider. Has the deformable chassis leg done precisely that, i.e. deformed? If so, the repair won't be a simple one. And secondly, has the car any rust, particularly in the hard to see area of the front inner wings/suspension turret? XK8s hide rust well. Most of it occurs out of sight, leaving the outer panels still looking good. Mike.

[steve_m]

Another thing to check are the bonnet hinges and mountings; make sure the bulkhead hasn't deformed.

[poprivet]

It looks to have a write off catagory, if so that will always stay on it.
Not much info to go on, no reg number, tyres, MOT history, servicing,fault codes, both keys etc.

If you are looking to sell it on I'm not sure if it's worth it financially.

[Dave Eynon]

If you have the skills to undertake what is required and its only superficial damage then you would end up with a very smart low mileage example.
If the car was much younger I would think its repair was a certainty purely on economic grounds. If you, through your own abilities, can make the finances work in your favour then you may have your car, your project, and save another XK8 from scrappage.
Just do your thorough homework on the cars structure as already mentioned.
It does look tempting I must say.

[SimonR]

Thank you very much for your input gents - very useful to gain your insight.

With regard to the deformable chassis leg, what would I be looking for to check for this - would a simple check of wheel alignment at that corner tell me?

I know quite a lot about the rust traps on the XK8 and this car's low mileage may help to minimise those, but it won't take long to find out the worst of it! As an XJ-S owner I'm fairly attuned to signs of devastating structural corrosion!

Good point about the bulkhead - I also know from seeing the effects of XJ-S front corner impacts that it can affect the alignment of the entire front of the vehicle so the panel gap between the back of the passenger side wing and door is a critical measurement.

True about the write-off category being a permanent thing. This will be an N or an S, I suspect S because of the rippled panel I can see under the headlamp area. I don't care too much about this as I'd be recording all the work done to the car to demonstrate that all damaged parts were rectified.

It's also very annoying when sellers obscure the reg numbers of cars they're selling - I'd need to know this before I travelled to see it to check the MoT history and perhaps do a history check.

The reason it is economically viable for someone such as me to rebuild a car like this when an insurance company has already declined to do so is that I can use second hand panels from a donor vehicle which is great because they're a lot cheaper but also because they're the right colour... It definitely is very tempting.

It'd be nice to make a bit of cash in doing something like this but also very rewarding to keep another XK out of the scrapper and also enjoy driving a car that I wouldn't normally think of buying.

Anyway, I'll think on! Cheers for now....

[P700DEE]

Nice looking car with low mileage. You are probably right in that it needs a headlight , front wing and bumper, bumper bar, damage to undertray? Is it a no washer headlight they are cheaper? To be worth £4500 it would need to be rust free and there is no way of knowing. It's an XK8, rebuilt it won't be worth more than £6K IMO due to the CAT rating. Might be worth getting a good one (?) for you but not as a money maker

[SimonR]

Thanks again to all who responded.

I was interested enough to contact the company offering it for sale, who were very helpful. I asked for the registration number as I'd decided that if its MoT history was relatively clean I'd make the journey to take a look at the car in person.

The reg number is: S462DNH

You can see the MoT history here: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/re ... on=S462dnh

It's a very good lesson in knowing what you may be getting yourself into as this didn't turn out to be an immaculate pampered car prior to the accident and I'm therefore giving it a miss.

There were first mentions of underbody corrosion at 33k miles in 2011, followed by an MoT failure for floor corrosion at 41k miles in 2017. Subsequent MoTs refer to new and thick underseal which is a bit of a red flag for me.

So sadly, my plan to rebuild and save this car have been shelved, but I'll keep looking and see what other projects crop up.

[mike020150]

Being someone with an almost morbid fear of rust, it sounds like you may have made the right decision! Mike.

[poprivet]

I like a few rust holes in the floor. It lets the water out from the holes in the roof

[Thixendale]

Buy an old Land Rover then.

[SimonR]

When that first car fell through, I didn't stop looking, and have spotted this XK:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266165373336

It's got less damage and is only a Cat N, I checked the MoT history and it's pretty clean, with only mentions of floor corrosion some way back that I need to investigate.

It's a later car than the other one, and has the 4.2L engine. It looks fairly well looked after and those rear arches don't seem to have any obvious corrosion either.

I'm off to look at it tomorrow and if it's any good will probably purchase it.

Wish me luck!

[andypryce]

Good luck yes looks reasonably fixable keep us posted

[SimonR]

Cheers Andy - Will do.

I've just done an RAC vehicle history check on it and thankfully that's not thrown up any nasty surprises. It's a 2-owner car with only one Cat N insurance loss recorded against it in Nov 2022, which is why it's for sale now. It's still MoT'ed and taxed!

It'll possibly make an interesting feature for the magazine if I do end up purchasing it....

[mike020150]

Enjoy the chase even if you don't buy! Mike.