2000 Jaguar XK8

This lovely XK8 convertible is currently owned by an enthusiast who bought it with a special trip in mind, one that he’s now very sadly unable to take.

‘I have been a member of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club for 26 years and owned seven Jaguars during that period of time. I bought this car from a member of the Enthusiasts Club and I planned to use it for a last road trip to Portugal, a trip which we have done on two previous occasions, once in a lovely XJS V12, secondly in an XJ8 .

‘But the covid pandemic has ruined the last two summers, and now my insurers tell me I would struggle for trip and health cover, as I am now 78 years of age. Hence the reluctant sale. What a Shame!

‘I had the car checked over mechanically by an ex-Jaguar/Landrover engineer before I bought it. The history shows it has been serviced by Jaguar specialists all of its life.

‘The Early satnav system works well and the eight disc CD sound system is excellent. This is a top specification car. The all weather car cover is included in the sale, and has a value of £560 when new. The hood cover is as new.’

With just 69,000 miles on the clock this is a rare opportunity to acquire a low mileage XK8 in beautiful condition throughout. These cars are fast appreciating classics – and rightly so – and don’t often come up in such original condition. This car has been cosseted by people who loved it, rather than just used as a commodity.

As we’ve mentioned, the XK8 shares parts with the Aston Martin DB7. Some contemporary road tests maintain the Coventry product is the better of the two cars.

This big convertible has the feel of a car owned by enthusiasts and the metallic paintwork is in fine condition, with only a few very small cosmetic blemishes to note. On the body panels themselves, we spotted a slight paint fault on the nearside front wing on the rubbing strip. And on the black trim at the top of the doors the paint is starting to lift slightly, with a similar situation on the black windscreen surround.

These are minor faults that are easily sorted, and the overall condition of the bodywork, wheels and trim is excellent. The dark green hood is as good as we’ve seen and appears to be immaculate.

Under the bonnet the beautiful 4-litre Jaguar AJ26 V8 fills the bay very satisfyingly and looks largely untroubled by its 22 years, with the vast majority of the fit and finish looking as it did when it left Jaguar’s iconic Coventry factory. Fire it up and it idles quietly and smoothly – blip the throttle and it’s eager to rev. This is no lumpen iron V8, but an all alloy masterpiece befitting of a car with the XK’s heritage.

Enthusiast owned cars are always a good bet and this one has spent its most recent history owned by two Jaguar Enthusiast Club members. This is reflected in its superb presentation.

With fewer than 70,000 miles on the clock you’d expect the interior to look good – but it’s better than that. It looks superb and we’ll get the tiny defects out of the way first. The plastic gearstick surround is cracked in a couple of places and needs replacing as it’s letting the side down.

The driver’s seat bolster shows slight signs of wear and could probably do with a clean and maybe a touch of recolouring, but this is down to personal taste as, unlike modern plastic sealed leathers, this leather ages gracefully. We’d be happy to leave it as is.

Apart from these two minor infractions the sumptuous cream leather and walnut interior is in absolutely gorgeous condition, and the owner reports no faults with any of the switch gear or the electronic functions.

Thanks to repeated Waxoyling rust proofing this XK8 has survived very well. We found a slight area of corrosion near the front of the passenger side sill, which we’d want to clean up and apply some more rustproofing to, but other than that we couldn’t find anything of concern.

This XK8 has always been serviced and maintained by Jaguar specialists, and there’s a fully stamped service history record and a stack of old bills to prove it, highlights of which include:

2005. New cam cover gaskets – £141.

2007. Major service – £1207

2007. Accident repair on front wing – £517.

2007. New rear shock absorber – £268.

2009. New rear shock absorber – £262.

2010. Servicing and Waxoyling – £237.

2012 New screen washer pump– £168.

2012. New water pump – £434.

2013. Servicing – £185.

2014 New rear shock absorber £295.

2014. New mirror switch – £113.

2014. New front brakes – £239.

2014. New indicator – £23.

2014. New rear brakes – £232

2015. Servicing – £400.

2015. New suspension bush – £60.

2015. New ignition coil £69.

2015. New shock absorbers – £248.

2016 New lambda sensors – £923.

2016. New door mirror – £126.

2016. New wheel bearing – £323

2016. New subframe mounts – £325.

2016. Suspension work and welding – £1500.

2017. New wheel bearing – £257.

2017. Replace alternator – £511.

2018. New suspension bushes – £640.

2019. New ignition coil and washer jets – £332.

2019. New Steering rack – £409.

2019. New power steering pump – £592.

2019. New reservoir – £55.

2020. New battery – £111.

2020. New ABS sensor – £256.

2020. Welding work – £50.

2020. Coolant system repair – £391.

2020. Refit top hose and bleed cooling system – £184.

This is a stunning example of a Jaguar sports car whose star is set to rise dramatically in the coming years. Classic Jags only go up in value so if you snooze you could well lose. Remember that E-Type you wished you’d bought while you still could? Don’t miss out again.

Our estimate for this car Is £11,000 - £14,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.