My "affair" is with a '97 XK8 that I found much in the same condition my Lincoln was in when I first saw her. Under a carport, silently rusting in the Canadian winter with seven year old tags. But, it had a timing belt guide upgrade and only 70k miles so I threw the dice. I was lucky in that all rust was confined to the side near the road and all suspension mounts were sound. It isn't the prettiest girl at the prom, but it sounds great and runs smooth. I keep a battery tender on it and have not encountered any of those glitches that can happen to any car with OBD II. I have yet to surpass my budget and have been pleased with the smiles per hour it gives, especially with the top down. The XK is a much more refined car that they upgraded in almost every department, but it also will never be a bargain basement as-is back row item. I certainly wouldn't discourage you from the Jaguar, but the car is an entirely different idea of automobile than our Lincolns. For one, the back seat actually will hold humans - the XK will not, even if there are seat belts back there. Power and weight about the same, equal accessibility for V8 engines of very similar design. The XK is much lower and reclined in driving position but I'm guessing the Lincoln much less fatiguing on long trips, but I haven't taken the XK8 any farther than 40 miles so far. I think both are viewed as less than desirable by many and I love that fact as we know what the dynamics of the car can be and enjoy our benefits without the inflated price of automotive stardom. Good luck. Its a good time to look as the Jaguar is under-valued right now, at least in my book. There is also a forum for the marque that compares to LVC back in its heyday. When I go there it almost always shows 400+ people looking in and the stickies and other resources are top notch.
