Used 1997 Jaguar XK-Series Consumer Reviews
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Jaguar XK-8 Coupe Saphire Blue
When critiquing a vehicle like this you must look at the unique elements of the piece. This piece is nothing less than STUNNING. I bought my Jag used. I LOVE it! The original owner paid 80K for it. I paid 14K. I did the valve cover gaskets and the top tensioners and that cost me 900 bucks. So far knock on wood, the car has been great! I would recommend this car to anyone. I am tired of looking at vettes and porsches, nothing personal of course. My car is one of 40 to come to the US in Sapphire Blue! Now that is rare, coupled with the fact that only 1129 coupes were made for America that year!
Stunning cat
This car is a sheer rush to drive. I have five other cars that all look great but this car is a stunner, stunner, stunner. The coupe is what makes it so different compared to today's vehicles that resemble soap bars. I have been taking care of some basic areas of maintenance, the tranny needed a fluid change. I put new platinum plugs in. Fixed the rear deck brake lamp. Now I am contemplating the engine timing tensioners which are said to be a weak point in the 4.0 motor. Mine is not showing any indication of ticking or jumped timing on cold start-up. I will look into this further. I still love the car, even if someday I put a ford 351 motor in it.
Worth more to me than it's resale value!
My car has been great to own! It has been both fun to drive, reliable and reasonably inexpensive to service, less its gas mileage, which is 11-12 in town (on the good stuff, of course!). Really, my only problems have been with trim pieces; gear shift surround replaced because "S" mode switch got stuck in "S", both visors had mirrors that flopped open (replaced at about $375 ea), headlight assembly which fogs up (still not replaced), lumbar support (which inflates, then slowly deflates...) and the radio backlight is not lit...not bad for a nearly 10 year old car with 48k miles. I still love it and will probably replace it with a used XKR when I find a color I like for the right $. Thanks.
New owner
Set out to find a fun but cheaper car for the summer. It needed to do a few things...open air car, T top or rag, some power and must carry 2 sets of golf clubs. Looked at Trans Ams, Regal turbos, Corvettes, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche etc. A Jag had never even crossed my mind. Came across an ad for a 1997 xk8 in Alberta where I live, about 4 hrs away. Long story short, bought it and love it! 16 yrs old 80k, 50,000 miles and mint! British racing green, green rag and tan int. The car has 2 mods, cold air intake and a stainless exhaust that runs under the rear axles. Not sure what it does for power but milage is great! Drove it home at 130kph, 80mph and got 28 mpg!!
Great car IF you can afford maintenance
It's a great car, and a lot of fun to drive. The exterior design is timeless and really does turn heads. But despite its exterior beauty and superior performance, it has drawbacks. The interior is cramped, and the back seats are laughably small - only small children or people with no legs could comfortably fit. My particular XK8 was fairly reliable until about a year ago, but now it's killing me with maintenance costs. When something does go wrong or require maintenance, expect to pay significantly more than you'd pay for a GM or Toyota.