Jaguar XK8s for Toyota Camry Money - or Less

I'm lusting in my heart

Way back in 1996 Jaguar introduced the replacement for the venerable XJS - the stunning XK8. I can recall the first time I clapped eyes on the new sporty cat at one of my early British Car Festivals at Bellingrath Gardens. Joe Bullard's  Jaguar of the Gulf Coast was a major sponsor of the event and used it to introduce the new Jag to the Mobile area. It pushed all the right buttons for me - except in the ready cash department.

Fast forward a few years and the XK8 is in its second generation and called simply XK. Now toting a window sticker with a total price that can exceed $100,000, I began to look into the value of older XKs - just lookin', not buyin'.

A quick visit to Hemmings Motor News' web site found these loverly cats:

• 1997 XK8 convertible - 48K miles. Garage kept, full Jaguar service history. Dark blue metallic -$12,900.00

• 2000 XK8 convertible - 52K miles. Three owners from new. White with navy top - $13,900.00

• 1997 XK8 coupe - 63K miles. All service records. garage kept. Maroon metallic - $12,500.00

• 2003 XK8 convertible - 66K miles. Full dealer service. Black on black on black - $19,000.00

If you like a little more competition in your life, you can take your chances with Ebay. I recently heard about a locally-owned 2006 XK convertible with less than 25K miles on the clock for an opening bid of less than $19,000.00 - American!

For the same (or less) money that a Japanese beigebox costs, you could be driving an honest-to-goodness grand touring machine.