At $15,000, Is This 2003 Jaguar XKR The Cat's Pajamas?

With its supercharged V8 engine and super-sexy styling, today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Jaguar XKR has got it going on. Let's see if its price makes it a super-good deal as well.

Based on the comments, yesterday's 1993 Chevy S10 Blazer invoked a flood of fond memories amongst many of you. It apparently will be the source of some new memories for someone else as well, seeing as its ad has been pulled by the seller. That indicates that a deal has gone down and with its $2,500 asking price earning a solid 83 percent Nice Price win, those memories will start off on a positive note.

Do you know how many cars Jaguar sold in the U.S. last year? No, I don't mean vehicles overall, I mean just their cars—the F-Type, XE, XF, and XJ. Jaguar moved just 8,138 cars in 2019. That's out of 31,005 vehicles in total for the year. Suffice to say, like many manufacturers, Jag isn't selling a lot of "capital C" cars these days.

Then again, they never really did. Jags have always been priced above the mainstream, and the company's reputation for frustratingly questionable reliability has kept less adventurous members of the upper crust away too.

Take for example, this 2003 Jaguar XKR. It's a car that you just don't see every day and that the seller even notes is one of only 936 cars the company sold over the course of the 2003 model year. And that's globally.

Is that uncommonness a result of it being a bad car? Oh hell no. These are wonderful cars when taken for what they are—long-distance tourers. They're also not quite as finicky as Jags of old, either.

The car presents in Quartz Metallic over a Dove Grey leather and burlwood interior. The ad notes the addition of 18-inch Coventry wheels and what is described as "the rarely seen rear fender flaps" if you're into such things.

The coupé bodywork, of course, harkens back to that of the legendary XKE although it eschews that predecessor's rear hatch in favor of a fixed backlight and a separate boot. It looks good from every angle and doesn't appear to exhibit even a single noticeable flaw. Those Coventry wheels are likewise in excellent shape and wear new Westlake tires which honestly... huh? Westlake?

If there's one thing Jag does well it's English Drawing Rooms, and this XKR's interior is a fine example of that style.

It's not all Peaches & Herb in here, however. That dove grey upholstery looks as-new but it will be a chore to keep that light-colored leather clean. Also, you are stuck here with last decade's tiny nav screen and some clever interpretation of the concept of ergonomics. And yes, that glove box door fit is truly atrocious.

Power is provided by Jag's AJ34S engine. That's a 4.2-litre DOHC all-alloy V8 upon which has been plopped an Eaton twin-scroll supercharger. They band together to make 400 horsepower and 408 lb-ft of torque. Behind that sits the standard ZF six-speed automatic that feeds the independently-sprung rear end through a two-piece driveshaft.

The AJ engine earned a reputation early on for unreliability. This was owed to its use of a Nikasil bore lining which broke down when used with high sulfur content fuel. That has somewhat tainted the engine as a whole, but it only affects the 1999 and earlier versions. In 2000, Jag modified the AJ block to take steel liners and that at least seemed to solve the problem.

This XKR seems to present no problems at all. It's clean, drop-dead sexy, and comes with a clear title and just 86,000 miles on the sundial. The ad seems to present the car fairly and calls out all its notable high points. What more could one want? Well, one thing you could ask for from this cat is a purr-fect price tag.

Jag's legendary reliability issues have resulted in the brand's models seeing precipitous depreciation in the perilous period between warranty expiration and anointment with classic car status. When new, this Jag asked over eighty-grand to drive off the lot. Today, at 17-years of age, it takes a mere fraction of that—$15,000, to be precise—to bring it home.

What do you think about that? Is $15,000 a fair price for a 400-horse grand tourer like this? Or, does that price seem, you know, just a little too grand?

You decide!

Los Angeles, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to twowheelsev for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Hit me up at rob@jalopnik.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.