Jaguar XJ8 - The newest arrival

[Rover414]

I'm sure everyone has a 'bucket list' of cars they would like to own or at least have a go of. One of these has always been a Jaguar of some description and in more recent years a X308 shaped XJ8 or XJR have been a real possibility in terms of price and so on. Spent months looking at them on the internet and last week decided to bite the bullet and go to view one that was for sale locally, saw it, tested it and decided just had to have it.

 

So the basics are it's a 1998 XJ8 3.2 V8 LWB, it has done 92,000 miles but had a Jaguar factory recall for a new engine at around 65k. No rot in any of the usual spots for these and is solid underneath. The main issue it has is the roof lining needs replacing, this is currently held up with drawing pins so is something for down the line. Other than that it seems pretty nice all over, had 3 owners and the last one had spent a fair bit on it. Another small issue is there is a scrape on the front bumper as you can see below but pretty small jobs for what they are. It has only cost £1450 so not too bad for what it is. Obviously not an every day driver but it is a real grin inducing machine when it is being driven. Onto the pics:

 

 

 

 

[HMC]

Looks lovely ! Plus doing the engine recall math makes this a 30k miler! The interior looks mega comfy.

[brickwall]

That car has one of my favourite interiors. classy, without clutter or tackyness.

[320touring]

winning!

[Timewaster]

Me likey very much.

[DVee8]

Everyone needs to own a Jaguar at some point

well done

[barefoot]

I didn't know you could get a 3.2 V8.

[Partridge]

^^Yup! They were done with the fleet market and retirees in mind IIRC. 

[michael1703]

Beware the thermostat housing, they crack and leak, you can get aluminium replacements for about £30

 

My back bumper has fell off, they've got a weird aluminium bush holding them on,only other faults have been iffy alarm fob and there's a bush that wears in the rear hub housing

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

It looks a lovely old Jag!

[barefoot]

^^Yup! They were done with the fleet market and retirees in mind IIRC.

 

Are they any good?

Brisk?

Smooth?

Quiet?

Sip fuel?

 

If so, I may have to revise my long term plans.

[Rover414]

Cheers. The alarm fob doesn't work at present but the reprogramming is straight forward enough but might require another fob to be sourced. This was new to a fleet too, can't quite remember the name off the top of my head but it's all there. In the past 10 years it seems to have only done about 12,000 miles including a lofty 14 miles in the years 2010-11. The A/C drain pipe is blocked at the moment too, another common thing with these it seems but a straight forward fix, just need to get it over the pits and sorted.

[HillmanImp]

All the post 97 XJs were V8s and most of them that sold in the UK were 3.2's. From my experience of looking for my one, most of them that you will find for sale in the UK are this size.

[Rusty Pelican]

Stunning , thats a shit load of quality for 1500 notes , having a a pair of seats redone in peeled cow would cost more 

[Cavcraft]

Looks ace that and a very nice colour.

[JohnK]

Very nice motor.. I've always been a fan of Jaguar's and had a brief spell with an XJ40. Think I might need to revisit the Jag thing again at some point though.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

All the post 97 XJs were V8s and most of them that sold in the UK were 3.2's. From my experience of looking for my one, most of them that you will find for sale in the UK are this size.

 

Most X300s seem to be 3.2s as well. It's only the XJ40 which sold predominantly with the 4 litre engine. The great majority of XJ40s sold were in Sovereign trim too, whereas the later X300 and X308 sold were mostly the lower spec models such as 'XJ Sport' 'XJ Executive' or XJ8.

 

The V8 isn't quite so unburstable as the old six, but it is quite a bit more powerful and a very smooth engine.