Faults:

Nothing.

Just set a few cosmetic things right.

Replaced all fluids and oils.

Replaced front disks and pads.

Replaced boot lid (old one rusted through).

Performed ECU reset.

New, decent tyres.

Nothing has actually stopped working.

All that I have done has been preventative, except brakes and boot lid.

General Comments:

Bought the car quite cheaply.

Was attracted by the low km, and by the way the thing drove.

Heaps of lazy effortless power, and great economy on the highway.

Very comfortable and quiet.

Handles great for a big car with a long wheelbase, but the old school live rear axle can get unsettled over bumpy corners. Especially if I am a bit careless with power delivery.

The interior is big and wide, and I prefer the darker grey interior. Much better than the insipid light grey or beige interiors in a lot of cars. The dash is easy to read and all the controls are in easy reach. Except for the central locking button on the dash, and the pwr/eco switch for the auto trans.

Faults:

Replaced the battery June 2011.

Previous owner stated nothing of any significance - car has had all services

General Comments:

Bought it in Brisbane Boxing Day 2010. As a result of floods, had to return to Darwin via Syd/Cnb/Adel/Asp, an extra 5000kms.

The car performed faultlessly with absolutely no problems.

Fuel range was just under 800 kms per tank (approx 65 litres).

Comfort and handling were superb.

Power was just a twitch of the right foot away.

The Black interior makes reading the dash hard through the day - easy at night.

Faults:

Driver's power window stopped working at 185,000km ($100).

Rear muffler blew up at and left about 1 metre of exhaust bouncing down the highway at 195,000km ($80 for to replace with a 3" pipe).

Water pump died at 200,000km ($200).

Idler pulleys needed replacing at 200,000km ($80).

Both rear power windows stopped working at 210,000km (still haven't bothered to fix them).

L/H cat rattles at 2000rpm at 230,000km (still not fixed).

Front rotors and pads needed replacing at 230,000km ($380).

Front muffler blew up and has a huge hole in it at 230,000km (still not fixed, it sounds like a truck now).

General Comments:

I've owned the car for nearly three years now, and it's never stopped on me. It uses next to no oil, and the engine and transmission still work great.

I bought the car in Brisbane, and have since driven all over the country in it, mainly in WA. It is an awesome cruiser, and even rides great for a sports oriented car. Overtaking is a pleasure, and it dispatches with B-triples easily and quickly. Only problem is it demands 95ron, which can be hard to find in the outback sometimes.

However, I've never been a big fan of the way it handles. While the suspension seems well sorted, the heavy all-iron V8 is all to obvious when hustled; it has too much understeer. The only way to solve this is to stomp on the throttle, and then the car will adopt a wild oversteer attitude. Balancing the two is difficult (especially in an auto).

The interior and paint are still in good nick, but a rattle has developed in the dash just under the windscreen.

It's had a few minor problems, but recently it seems like they might be getting out of hand. The air con has failed to work a couple of times in the last month for some reason, and the rear rotors need doing soon.

Overall, owning my XR8 220 has been a good experience, it's a very comfy (and fast) way to cover big distances, and handles the daily commute too.