XK-R 4.2 Supercharged buying advice please !

[GS-XKR]

Hi I'm new on here, hopefully I've found the right place ?

I'm looking to buy a late, but pre-grill redesign, (98-06) XK-R 4.2 Supercharged Coupe, I have around £10k to spend give or take, and I'd like to get one that is mechanically sound (Engine, Gearbox, Supercharger), rust free and has no serious paint issues. I'm prepared for a bit a of TLC if required, but nothing major.

Firstly, is that reasonable, and if so what should I be looking out for and walking away from ?

I looked at one the other day, exterior door and screen trims need a bit of tidying, and the split rims need a full strip and refurb, only sign of mild rust was on the front inner edge of the rear arches at the bottom, is that normal? also the sills had anti-chip treatment - sort of rippled effect - under the paint, was that done at the factory or has it been applied later ?

Any tips, advice, pointers gratefully received !!!

Graham 

[frankc]

Hi Graham. 

These cars are prone to rust in all sorts of odd places.  

The best advice I can give you is take a XK8/R owner with you or at least show them the advert.   We can often spot things wrong before you do with "I want one eyes".  Any in the Worcestershire, Glos or Hereford areas Id be happy to take a look for you.

If you pop onto my topic and have a browse it will give you some ideas of what to look for.  Any questions do not hesitate to contact me on "Franks Story" as I do not come on here very often.  Here you go........... click me to read................  May take you a few days to read all of it!!

[GS-XKR]

Thanks for the advice Frank, I did speak to a few people locally who are classic Jag owners, and went through a few adverts and MOT History's with them and discarded several which seemed to have had too much work done. Subsequently bought what I think is a pretty honest one last weekend; She's done 110k, so now booked in for Transmission Fluid/Filter change and flush next week, there's no evidence in the Service History that it has ever been done and the 5 to 4 downshift is hard, which this may fix apparently. Everything else is fine, and I have 12 months warranty on major mechanical bits. Next is a thorough going over by my local garage to get a proper assessment of what needs doing and in what order, she's one of the last, a 2005 4.2 - S XKR.