XJ8 Known Problems

For starters, make sure you have records of when the engine was changed. Nikasil problem, I'm sure you heard of Also fully check the operation of the transmission, IIRC those are sealed units and will cost plenty to replace.

The shop that cares for my old XJ40 tells me the early V8's (thru mid

2001) commonly have problems with the timing chain that can trash the engine if not caught early... there is a relatively inexpensive upgrade, but the labor cost to install that upgrade is NOT inexpensive; I'm told all those early V8's will need the upgrade at some point (I was quoted US$1700). I recently looked at a 45k-mile 99 XJ8 that turned out to have bad A-arm bushings ($500), which caused serious (uneven) wear across the face of the tires ($600+), so look for that. It also had bad oil leaks around the valve cover gaskets ($450 quoted). The cost of the combination of those things would be enough to bust my already strained budget, so I didn't buy the car.