Goodbye to my old friend-
Well, the regrettably inevitable happened. My 2003 XK8 convertible lost (totaled) to a traffic accident. I had it since new- May 29, 2003. I bought it a few months before I got married, and kept it in purrrfect condition until this past May 8, 2014. Almost 11 years!
It had a total of 34k miles, no scratches, dents, etc., and everything was working. I had just performed my first repair myself replacing the coolant header tank.
It was a nice day, and I was taking my 5 year old son early to his preschool graduation. He was seated in back on the base from his Britax booster seat. My wife and 2 other children were to meet us an hour later at the school.
As I approached an intersection, a gap in the long line of cars in the lane to my left opened up, and a pickup truck from the opposing lane zipped through in front of me as I was traveling about 40 mph. I think I had maybe just enough time to press the brake for about 1/2 a second when I impacted the right rear wheel of the truck. My jag spun about 100?? to the right as the pickup spun 180?? the opposite direction.
It did not happen in slow motion as I thought somehow these things do. I had just enough time to think Oh- look at that hood as it crumpled upwards before me. The interior was immediately filled with the haze from the deflating drivers side airbag. I noticed that the airbag seemed smaller than I imagined it would have been, and with both hands firmly grasping the steering wheel, none of the airbag ever touched my arms. I also must have been pressing pretty hard on the brake pushing myself firmly into the seat, because my face never hit the airbag either.
Once at rest, the scene became eerily quiet for a split second until my son began screaming.
My son was expectedly scared- but not hurt. The booster seat base kept him restrained. He did get a bruise on his neck from the seatbelt, since he was leaning forward playing with his iPad when it happened.
My wife arrived and had our nice camera with her for the graduation, so I was able to get some great pics. My wife later commented,ÔÇØI guess it was a safe car.ÔÇØ
After getting the check from the insurance company I decided to hold off on replacing the car. It was a great 2 person car, but for transporting even 1 child was tedious. The child seats really only fit well in the front seat, which is not recommended for children under 12 years of age. I had a Recaro Young Sport child seat custom recovered with matching leather (Dove Gray?), and the Jaguar Leaper logo stitched into its headrest made for our oldest to use on his 4th birthday. It was a great looking seat! But once the second and third kids arrive, the jag was relegated for use only when I was running an errand by myself.
Eventually IÔÇÖll replace the jag when the kids can begin to ride next to me in front, but IÔÇÖm considering something Italian and a little more exotic at that point.
I am beginning to sell off some of the remaining items I still have- I listed my Carcraft cover on eBay. A spare key fob, convertible boot cover, and the leather child seat upholstery will be available soon. I do miss driving it, and IÔÇÖd sure gotten used to seeing it parked in my garage.
