What do I look for when buying a used Jaguar xk8?

Should probably go for the 26 point $100 inspection to look for 1. safety concerns such as tie rod ends and brake rotor thickness, pad wear....the state of the hydraulics...burned bulbs ....26 areas of concern, mostly suspension wear and mounts...all will be inspected and reported as to their condition....hey used to inspect the used cars for a hundred bucks...diggin' deep for the problems~.....as they all have problems of some or other limited scope~

just assuring that the "regular maintenance" schedule has been checked off with regard to repacking the front bearings, changing ALL filters timing belt or chain? many considerations here~ hopefully will be religiously checked off on their maintenance log~

A cracked frame from a prior accident is easily overlooked, such things such as reclaimed from a "total" (which does happen) can only be noted from a road test, seeing how it tracks down the road and swims one way or the other in a panic stop situation~

look at the underside of the hood for a prior overheat.~

of course compression test, smell and level of the transmission fluid, coolant free of oil...oil free of any coolant~general health of the engine.~

Your smog inspection guys will run it on a dynamometer, to measure engine performance under varying conditions to find out how efficient the motor still is~

Simple , get a code reader from online less than 50 ( best investment fr any driver) , get all the codes out , look for bad catalyst , p0420 , p0740 vacuum leaks, throttle body malfunction, transmission code p0229 bad tranny/ tranny ecu or that needs new oil as previous owner did not maintain well etc ,If in a case if the seller cleared the codes you will see p1000 code which means it has been cleared recently a definate red flag.Most important but but easy to figure out is the alternator one the most expensive parts on the car , test it out by multimeter on the battery terminals once car is started and every electrical component turned on like ac, stereoo, headlights , see if voltage is less thean 14-12.8 , if its less than 12.5 its a goner.Suspension check the inside fender side of the the tire if they have uneven wear due to bad camber , as most jaguar suspensions are not adjustable will eat through tires like crazy.Anyway these are from my exerience as Jaguar owner to how to find problems on a jag, regardless of what people say jaguars are reliable if u do preventive maintenance , they do give years of satisfaction of driving and put a smile on your face every time you see it on your drive way and take it for a spin. Good luck on your new purchase .

wow. wasn't sure that this one had an obd-II connector within three feet of the ignition~

It's located near the driver side near hood latch , every car from 1994 onward has obd

maybe this OBD-II code reader would connect?

All OBD II readers connect. Just update it so it has the latest code reader software. I agree maintenance records are helpful.

Here's the checklist http://www.jaguarusa.com/assets/JaguarSelectCertified-InspectionChecklist.pdf

- Drive it and make sure you don't get rattling from the front end. You may have to replace some bushings. - Check tranny fluid and smell it. Take some new tranny fluid with you to compare. - Check the brakes and shake the wheels/rock them. - Stand by because the fuel pump goes out about 55-65K miles, but a Ford ranger pick up truck pump is a drop in and costs about $50.00.

Have a Jag specialist check it out.

those are great responses. thanks guys

I sold my 2000 mint XK8 with 53,000 miles on it. I demonstrated the car every possible way to the buyer. He bought it and the next day he put the convertible top down and pressure hose burst covering him in green hydraulic fluid. Fortunately, I had warned him about the famous "green shower" problem (not if, but when) and timing tensioner problems on pre-2001 cars.

Look for a gun and shoot yourself! I love Jaguars but almost every one of them has some kind of buzzar issue. Some kind of a ghost thing.

type in xk8 and transmission problems (known issues ) its not jags fault its the zf transmission that tends to have parts fly apart at about 100K miles..right at the point that the car becomes affordable. also 15 mpg in town... not fabulous