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How to get back an old car?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 5:02 am
by gnat
Any of you tracked down the current owner of an old car before? If so, how does one go about it?

I'd like to try to reaquire my PITA XK8 that I sold back in 04. I know from CarFax that it was titled in Delaware in Dec of last year and is on its 3rd title change since me. Until this title change it lived its post-me life in Maryland. The 3rd owner apparently loved it as they kept it for 10 years. Can't find any for sale ads by the VIN so I don't know if the DE title is a new owner or a relocation.

It was more akin to its pre-Ford brethren than its more reliable kin, but it was my first luxury car and taught me that (contrary to how my dad raised me) that there was more to cars than getting from A to B. Out of the 5years I had it, it spent at least 3 in either the body shop or dealer. I paid a ridiculous amount for a BBK and 20" wheels for it straight from Coventry only for Jag USA to start selling them significantly cheaper (import taxes and shipping) before they made it out of customs :( It was a pain in my ass, but I still think fondly of it (sold it after its 2nd throttle body and CarFax said it got 3 more in the following 10k).

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 5:35 am
by DTMiller
ThePhoenix_GunAndSkiMasks.jpg
ThePhoenix_GunAndSkiMasks.jpg (28.48 KiB) Viewed 3220 times

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 7:51 am
by 32wildbilly
gnat wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 5:02 am Any of you tracked down the current owner of an old car before? If so, how does one go about it?

I'd like to try to reaquire my PITA XK8 that I sold back in 04. I know from CarFax that it was titled in Delaware in Dec of last year and is on its 3rd title change since me. Until this title change it lived its post-me life in Maryland. The 3rd owner apparently loved it as they kept it for 10 years. Can't find any for sale ads by the VIN so I don't know if the DE title is a new owner or a relocation.

It was more akin to its pre-Ford brethren than its more reliable kin, but it was my first luxury car and taught me that (contrary to how my dad raised me) that there was more to cars than getting from A to B. Out of the 5years I had it, it spent at least 3 in either the body shop or dealer. I paid a ridiculous amount for a BBK and 20" wheels for it straight from Coventry only for Jag USA to start selling them significantly cheaper (import taxes and shipping) before they made it out of customs :( It was a pain in my ass, but I still think fondly of it (sold it after its 2nd throttle body and CarFax said it got 3 more in the following 10k).
So sleep deprivation little does make people do irrational things after all!

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 9:59 am
by FRUNKenstein
If you squint real hard, my A8L looks like an XK8.

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 10:19 am
by Dr_Strangelove
Honest answer... my first guess would be Deleware area social media & craigslist. Along with the VIN, post of pictures of the car from when you owned it and hope that someone who knows the owner will find them, even better maybe the owner will see it. Occasionally these things pick up steam and blogs like Jalopnik pick them up on slow news days. (Based on their non-car content this is every day. *rimshot*.) Further long shot maybe post a thread like this on a XK8 Jaguar forum.

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 4:53 pm
by Kalashnikov
Are you a masochist? That 99 XK8 is now probably completely wrecked. I would venture a guess that it is worth under $5k. Find a newer XKR and enjoy it instead.

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 7:06 am
by gnat
Kalashnikov wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 4:53 pm Are you a masochist? That 99 XK8 is now probably completely wrecked. I would venture a guess that it is worth under $5k. Find a newer XKR and enjoy it instead.
Meh. I don't like the 2nd gen and later XKs and I never liked the stuff they did to the XKR to make it look different from the 8. The original XK8 was a work of art (though it has not aged well :( ) and the R body bits just ruined the lines in my opinion.

Even though the things are dirt cheap I wouldn't consider any other car but that one. I like them, but I don't lust after them (that's saved for the C, D, and E types which are all out of my price range :lol: ).

No accidents listed on the CarFax report, but they say the same about our 996 too and I know better. Still, it'd be worth 20k to get it back up to snuff if it wasn't in unreasonable condition (frame damage, flood, etc..).
32wildbilly wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 7:51 am So sleep deprivation little does make people do irrational things after all!
Nah, been thinking about it for a long time, but it just occurred to me to burn a free CarFax on it to see where it was.

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 10:59 am
by Kalashnikov
Different tastes brother. I only liked the R models from the first generation of the XKs. I had an XJR from 1995 (the straight 6 supercharged one), and other than the exterior looks the Jaguar mystique was lost on me. For being such a huge car, the back seat room was atrocious (size 4 girl could not change in there and had to use a public bathroom), trunk was tiny, and interior proportions in general were a joke.

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Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 11:07 am
by gnat
Kalashnikov wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 10:59 am Different tastes brother. I only liked the R models from the first generation of the XKs. I had an XJR from 1995 (the straight 6 supercharged one), and other than the exterior looks the Jaguar mystique was lost on me. For being such a huge car, the back seat room was atrocious (size 4 girl could not change in there and had to use a public bathroom), trunk was tiny, and interior proportions in general were a joke.
I wouldn't mind picking up a late 90s XKR. Always liked those.

Modern (since the E) Jags have been all about style and opulence more than practicality or performance. The XJR and XKR from the turn of the century were the first nods back to their performance heritage in a long time.

It always amazed me that for almost $40k less, my XK8 had a far superior interior (wood and leather) than the 996 that we added every leather option possible to. That Jag's interior is still what I judge all luxury car interiors by to this day...
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Lose the stupid mesh grill and hood vents and add a hard top and that is exactly what mine looked like. I had those wheels (and the backing Brembo BBK) shipped from the UK just in time for them to start selling them here in the states after the release of the XKR Silverstone edition (same wheels, but all silver). Damn fine looking car :mrgreen:

Re: How to get back an old car?

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 5:33 pm
by Kalashnikov
Jag man you are. Watch the Grand Tour episode about Jaguars, you'll love it.