The darndest things cross your path at the junkyard and while Jaguars are not uncommon (shocking, I know), this is the first used up XK8 I’ve come across here in Northern Colorado. X-Types are the most commonly junked Jags by far, then probably the XJ40 followed by the XJ X300/308 series cars from the mid-90’s to 2003 and then the XJ-S, usually the V12 models, with an occasional XJ6 mixed in as well every now and again.
We might as well go straight to the money shot, that long, low prow couldn’t belong to anything but a Jaguar and still looks good. I don’t think I was completely taken by the overall shape when this was released back in 1996, but time has softened that stance and I find them mostly quite alluring from the majority of angles these days.
Styled by Fergus Pollock under Geoff Lawson’s direction I don’t know if it could have actually ended up looking any different than it did. This was of course in the middle of the Ford era and knowing that, some things actually look sort of Ford-ish, led by the rear taillights and the side markers along with the bumper shapes. Somehow I’m seeing Ford Contour the longer I look at this, hmm, that’s getting awkward. Better look away then, I suppose.
The XK series of cars (XK8 and the supercharged XKR) ended up being a pretty good success for Jaguar with just over 90,000 produced over about a decade. Convertible XK8s accounted for just over half that figure, XK8 coupes another almost 20,000, then almost 10,000 XKR coupes and just under 14,000 XKR convertibles made up the mix. So this one here is one of the most common variants, common being a relative term of course.
Under that long bonnet lies Jaguar’s AJ-V8 4.0-litre V8, this 32-valve engine was new at the time the XK was introduced and produced 290hp as well as 290lb-ft of torque routed through a ZF five-speed automatic box. Early models were produced with troublesome Nikasil bore liners but this was eventually corrected. Apparently to save time and money, the floorpan is actually a carryover from the old XJS, but everything attached to it was new.
The folding top was designed by Karmann and included a heated rear window. This one looks to be in fine condition for a car that’s had a few little scrapes here and there. I suppose at the time a Mercedes SL would have been the obvious competitor, by then Jaguars were certainly better than their earned reputation but it’d be a difficult decision I think if money weren’t a significant issue – and it probably wasn’t for those considering these cars when new.
Boot space is actually fairly enormous, with plenty of room for a couple of people’s worth of luggage for the journey from Coventry down to Provence or perhaps Boston to Miami.
Inside is typical 90’s-2000’s Jaguar with a wide slab of walnut, that J-gate shifter, and lots of soft leather and carpets to match in a greige color motif here. The wood on this one was delaminating under the glossy finish somehow, making for a somewhat different textural effect than originally intended.
The way that cushion in the rear is scrunched up is probably a pretty good approximation of how any passengers back here would look as well, it’s tight. No, that isn’t oodles of legroom, for some reason the front seatbacks were locked into a fully upright position with the seats all the way forward.
Twenty years ago you’d have felt like MONEY behind the wheel of this particular car, twenty weeks ago probably not so much. Nothing seems to age faster than light-colored leather on a steering wheel and this one is no exception. I tend to try to stop breathing when leaning into these cars, but I doubt the original rich leather smell remains without being inclined to verify for myself.
This was no garage queen either, knocking on 140k miles as of a few years ago is a pretty good result for what was a somewhat sensitive engine as far as coolant and maintenance were concerned. I’m sure the boys at Jiffy-Lube can usually do a good job, but I wouldn’t take my Toyota to them, let alone a Jaguar.
The big and shiny sill plates still look like they’d polish up nicely too.
But this Kitty probably peed on the carpet one too many times, so it was time to go. Even the flyest rides come back to earth eventually and this one’s time had apparently come.
I ran an all-makes shop for a couple years and had a customer who had no financial concerns. Most of his cars were of the sort that one might expect smart people to own, but he had an XKR convertible that he brought in for state inspections. The odometer showed that the inspections were its only outings. You’d be amazed what failed on that car while it sat in a garage for a year.
I’m not surprised that items would break down on a car that sits most of the time.
Few junkyard finds have left me as nonplussed as this one. Suuuuuuper depressing – but worth sharing with us! Thanks.
I’m surprised there isn’t a Jaguar logo on the steering wheel.
Not really sure what to say about this car, but I am curious about the origin of the bondo applications. The curvy looks are very much of their time and I almost never see these Jaguars in person. Was this car that much more fun to drive than a Toyota Solara Convertible?
I’m surprised there isn’t a piece of tape over a Ford logo on the steering wheel.
It’s actually it’s own design AFAIK, but perhaps the frame and airbag internals are shared. Despite the similar 4 spoke/large airbag shape of it it’s not the same, like the square ones in slightly older Aston Martins. The Ford wheel frankly looks better.
“I did tell you all those years ago, my dear, that if you’re going to make your debutante in your much older half-sister’s under-drawers, then I suppose it’s an inevitability people are going to comment upon the slightly misshapen dress you’ve worn over them, didn’t I?
And I didn’t mean to be rude to your late father, dear, but I did say if you add in some distinctly lower-orders breeding in the three marriages on from when your sister last wore them – I mean really, that Ford, or whatever she was called! – well, I did warn that you couldn’t really expect to win the belle of the ball, now didn’t I, hmm?
And here we are, twenty-some years on from then, I’ve got to say it seems quite sensible to sit out the reunion ball with your shoes off and having a snooze. Anyway, it’s been years since you’ve put on any make-up, and besides, you don’t look 100% to me. A bit peaky round the leather. And the paint. And no doubt you’ve got smoky liners again?
Anyway, I mean dear, last thing you’d want is to go out be mistaken for old Korean mash-up of a Jaguar at your age, surely?”
For me it is especially sad to see luxury cars in the junkyard because they had so much farther to fall than more plebian transportation like a Focus or Civic. Those cars were never as special as this car when they were all new. Driving it home from the dealer, the original owner must have felt special, particularly with a car like this Jaguar. It is not a car someone buys just to get from A to B.
Thanks for sharing, there was just a video about this car by the Car Wizard, so I learned more about those engines than I did before.
I will stick with 06 Solara convertible, 203,000 miles and still runs great – I have to be careful I don’t try to restart it when it is already running, it is so quiet. But that was peak Toyota too.
I actually kind of find it the opposite. Luxury cars tend to have fickle buyers, always with their finger on the trigger ready to discard their symbol of success like this for the next trend. Then because other luxury buyers seek out the same there’s way less demand for a 5-10 year old Jag than new models, and values plummet them into the price ranges of peasants like me who will drive them into the ground until something major fails and the cost to repair is insane.
I actually find it more sad when I see a 25 year old regular car in crazy good condition at a junkyard, it always strikes me as someone truly cared for that car and made the best of what they could afford for most of those years. When you see them on blocks with the only damage from being from the junkyard activity, that care just seems so futile in the end. I’ve pulled parts off of other MN12 Tbirds and Cougars and I’ll actually feel guilty realizing the doner cars are even nicer than mine!
This car probably started out life as a vehicle for a trophy wife or a prize in an expensive divorce, got traded in after a couple of years to someone who wanted something more aspirational than a camry solara, said person quickly blanched at the first non camry solara like repair bill, and it got auctioned to a succession of buy here pay here lots until it could no longer be patched up enough to keep on the road. I bet this car got an incredible number of half ass botched cheap repair jobs to keep it halfway running.
Still a beauty, and this one has a good body and even convertible top! Cosmetically it looks like a car that could have been cleaned up and could be detailed out into fine shape. Besides the Nikasil liners the major problem is upper cam chain tensioner failure. The pre 2001 V8s came with a plastic bodied tensioner. This could fail without warning and result in catastrophic engine damage. The engine is an interference design and the valves will hit pistons with obvious results. The thermostat housing and many cooling lines are hard plastic that fail over time. These engines will not survive overheating and will blow a head gasket and warp the head and possibly even the block. The transmissions sustain failure of the internal A drum assembly. If caught in time complete failure of the transmission can sometimes be be avoided.
I’ll bet that this example is at least twenty years old and it looks to have been well taken care of and probably garaged for most of it’s life. It’s lived a long life at 140K, longer than most. I am a unapologetic Jaguar fan but acknowledge that the harsh economic realities will ensure that most of these will end up in “breakers” sooner than later. My two old Jaguars are awaiting major suspension refreshing, but are running and looking fine.
Always a good idea to have engine item subject to heat and
/load in plastic!. BmW, an other culprit. So stupid.
It has the look and feel of a late 90s Chrysler product. Aptly, sitting in a junkyard. I find the general styling is in fact, more generic, than what Chrysler was doing at the time. The tall, and visually heavy-looking dashboard, appears out of place for that era.
Would it be controversial of me to say the XJ/S was the superior design to these? The XK8 came out when I was at an age this kind of car should have appealed to me, like many other sports/luxury cars of the time did, yet it’s styling didn’t register with me then and still doesn’t now. The front end looks like an ant eater and the rear end looks like puckered lips, it really is reminiscent of ovoid era Ford products.
I’m also going to take this opportunity to go to bat for fake wood. If real wood veneer is covered by a 1/16” layer of gloss it may as well be fake, it looks exactly the same. Difference is the fake stuff doesn’t look like this after 10 years with exposure to the elements.
I really want to know what that cassette is that’s peaking out of the stereo. Might tell us a lot about it’s final owner.
Call in the forensic casettologist!
‘Money’ by The Flying Lizards.
A perfect choice. I would have also said their cover of Sex Machine would be appropriate, as well.
The Flying Lizards truly made their covers pop with 80s new wave synth and a sensibility that few others tried. Art of Noise comes close, and they get points for not doing covers.
I say this EVERY time you make these posts – but why would anyone send it to the scrapyard?!?
They must have different standards as to what constitutes a junk car in CO – here in Michigan, that Jag would’ve been painted, had issues fixed, and been sold for probably a lot more than the auto dismantlers paid for it.
You know how it is…you leave a car outside, it gets a little dust on it, and, well, what are you supposed to do? 🙂
Hello northern Colorado neighbor.
Where did you see this car at? When I need something, I usually go to the usual larger Denver yards but would like to know of something closer
This was at Andersen’s in Greeley (right near the Greeley Airport). It’s a little smaller than the Denver yards but still pretty sizable as you can see…
This car is long gone though. Denver had one recently-ish but it’s probably gone by now as well.
I’m interested in how different it is in Michigan. Here in PA, most cars at 10-12 years are rusty enough to not warrant a $1000+ repair. I would estimate the average age of cars in my 4 most frequently visited U Pull Its is around 14 years, with maybe 20-30% having obvious major cosmetic damage. Salt/brine is hell.
I have visited yards in North Carolina, and the average age is easily 10+ years older, with more major damage and insanely higher mileage (most PA cars are 130-150k, NC cars are usually well over 200k). And of course, the cars in NC yards are lacking rot holes in their bodies and frames. But the majority of cars in both states appear to have lots of life left to me, of course depending on the final big reason (engine or transmission replacement probably doesn’t make sense).
Repair costs really pile up and exceed the value. Here in the Bay Area, older ’97 and ’98 models in fair cosmetic and running condition go for between 1,500- 3,500 bucks. A cam chain tensioner replacement is around 2,000 dollars, ditto for a transmission rebuild. A engine rebuilding can cost between 5-7,000 dollars, a new top with headliner, is at least 2,000 dollars.
There are a lot of dedicated fans on the Jaguar forums who do a lot of DIY and take a long view to owning one of these cars. Just adding up all these numbers, is around 15,000 dollars. Not that you could buy any other timelessly beautiful luxury GT for that kind of money. You have to really love a car to invest four or five times the current value into a car. These aren’t the kind of cars that you can “flip” and make a quick profit.
A quick search seems to indicate these cars are worth about $5-15k depending on condition and mileage. With 140k+ miles on the odometer (which is actually a pretty good run for these), it’s probably going to be on the lower end of the scale. Throw in an expensive repair with the cosmetic work that someone looks to have started on, plus possibly dealing with new issues from it having been sitting for a couple of years and I can see someone deciding to throw in the towel.
Right now, it looks pretty complete. The big question will be whether it’ll stay that way, or if it’s going to be picked clean.
There’s one more or less near me in a pretty blue over tan combination that looks well taken care of with about 119k miles on it being advertised for $8250 with a bunch of recent work done to it, down from $8950.
https://denver.craigslist.org/cto/d/littleton-price-reduced-beautiful-1997/7153656807.html
Based on that ad alone, it doesn’t surprise me this one’s here. Zero rust though. At $8k for a decent looking one, not worth taking any kind of chance on this one when it was still on the streets.
The xk8 jag had a design with art in mind. If someone cant see that. Cars designs were pretty boring around that.
time. Still a cool car to be on the streets with. Have put money into mine but if you like the car you drive, keep driving it.
Some interesting facts on the XK8…..
…the dash shape was known internally as the Spitfire wing for its profile…..
….Ford insisted on a big boot, to take 2 sets of golf clubs….
…the J gate gear selector was also known as the Randle Handle, after Jim Randle, Jaguars’s Head of Engineering at the time.
Yes, it was based on the XJ-S floorpan. The earlier Jag F Type proposal, known as XJ41, became the Aston Martin DB7
From the front view it looks like this kitty has a bad eye infection. Either that or it’s going cross-eyed.
I always feel sad when what was a high-priced prestige car winds up in the scrapyard. Especially in a general wrecking yard like this. You sort of feel that a prestige car, if being parted out, ought to be accorded some respect in death, to be dismantled indoors or behind a solid fence – not out in the open for all the masses to see. Mind you, being next to a Subaru isn’t so bad. It could have been a Ssangyong. Oh that’s right – you don’t have them in your country.
Seriously though, what a wasteful society we are, and so fickle in our affections. From glamourous showroom hero to used-up wrecking-yard zero in twenty-one years. What a life.
Somebody at Chrysler loved that snout:
That steering wheel aged much like the one in a friend’s Volvo C70 convertible – it turned black and yucky and forced him to find a cheap cover.
That contrasts with the light gray leather-covered wheel in my 93 Crown Vic – it kept its color and condition right to the end.
The original grey wheel in my Cougar was turning black almost as bad as the Jag when I got it but it wasn’t actually the leather that it happened to but from what I deduced a thin layer of dried oil and gunk from the hands of previous owner over the course of 10 years. I managed to rub it all off to almost new condition with bug and tar remover and leather conditioner. If I rescued this Jag I’d try the same thing before mitigating it with a cover or even a replacement steering wheel, I bet it will clean up. The leather anyway, the wood sections look kinda rough
Pretty Jags, Mercedes, and BMWs in the yards don’t usually surprise or bother me, as they’re well known money-pits.
I’m more often frustrated to see decent daily-driver cars like Accords or Camrys in the yards, with shiny, pristine bodies, compared to the beat-up, crap ones I often see for sale!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Count me in as a fan of these cars, so it’s a bit tough to see one in the junkyard (though I’ve never seen one in a junkyard around here). Getting 290 hp out of 4 litres back then was very impressive, so getting that amount of mileage out of it……that’s a fair amount of longevity, though who knows what needed to be repaired on it through the years.
A guy around here has a few derelict luxury cars–a Lexus, Mercedes and a Caddy (with the famed Northstar engine). I always joke that he tells all the ladies that he’s got a Lexus, Caddy and Mercedes….because technically, he does! Isn’t that a great pickup line? 🙂
Just like us, we once celebrated and beautiful, but when gets older, like a piece of junk.