Faults:

Minor electrical fault - passenger window would roll down and inch or two on its own during heavy rainfall. Fixed under warranty (leaking weather-strip in door, and window motor damaged by water).

Headlight bulbs failed with unexpected regularity. Easy to self-replace, and spare bulbs provided free by dealer after I said I didn't need a service tech do the work.

Water pump failure at 24K. Replaced under warranty. Excellent prompt and attentive service including all transportation costs covered by Jag (including a $200 ferry fare - round trip - to get to/from the dealer).

General Comments:

Elegant, sophisticated, comfortable, beautiful and powerful.

The seats on the early XK8 models, with the fixed headrest, were not perfect. A fully adjustable headrest would have been perfect.

Faults:

The main gasket to seal the convertible roof leaked, however Jaguar replaced it with a very professional service at the Jaguar dealer in Cincinnati.

General Comments:

The Jaguar XK8 convertible is a superb blend of design and engineering.

The handling of the car is excellent, and is peerless on a long run. It is a real pleasure to drive and exhilarating from start to finish.

The finish internally is excellent, and the outside shape constantly attracts favourable comments from passers by.

Faults:

Leather seats wear prematurely.

Needed belt idler pulley.

Left headlamp unit leaks water.

Poor traction in snow.

General Comments:

Incredibly fun to drive.

All the power and speed my driver's liscense can tolerate.

Suspension handles bad Michigan roads just fine.

Turns a lot of heads due to styling.

Interior layout predictable and elegant.

Faults:

-The cruise control required a vacuum line repair, which my dad performed at home in about 2 minutes, saving lots of money.

-We had preventive work done on the engine to avoid timing chain failure. This work included all new tensioners, guide rails, chains, water pump, etc. This work is about $3,000 vs. $12,000 for an engine replacement if you wait for the timing components to fail. This seemed fairly cheap considering what a bargain the car was.

-Other than these two items, the car has been excellent.

General Comments:

This is my grandfather's car. My grandmother has a 1999 XK8 convertible (See review: "It's a keeper"). She had the timing chains fail on hers, which was still covered under warranty. This prompted us to go ahead with the preventive parts replacement on the coupe since it was out of warranty.

The new parts are far superior to the old parts because they are made almost entirely of metal instead of using large amounts of plastic like the original parts.

This car has been totally reliable. Everything on it works properly and it was showroom new when my granddad got it at 31,000 miles.

This car is a blast to drive. It handles beautifully and will go as fast as you want it to. The ride is comfortable, but still sporty. It's a good car to travel in. And talk about a show-stopper! It turns heads everywhere.

The coupe has a back seat that is borderline inhabitable when compared to the back "shelf" in the convertible. The Harman/Kardon sound system is incredible, and rare. H/K was only offered on the early XK8s.

The dealer service has been terrific, though it can be expensive if you use them for every little thing, which we don't. The only work that had to be done at the dealer was the engine work due to VVT programming. Plus, that kind of work is expensive no matter where you go.

They do use the dealer for oil changes and such, which is practical because it shows continuity in the records and the dealer will throw in little extras such as software updates and loaners at no charge. The oil changes really aren't much more expensive at the dealer, especially considering the great service.