I've finally laid eyes on "the one". The problem is, she's 800 miles away, at a reputable Jaguar dealer. The vehicle has 34k miles and a CPO warranty starting in July. I plan on having the vehicle shipped to my driveway with their carrier. Being raised in a shop, I've always been a "car guy", and like to inspect my vehicles meticulously before purchasing them, but when buying a vehicle of this caliber, and with my work schedule, that isn't an option.

Is it a terrible choice to pull the trigger on a $66k car, without ever seeing it?

I plan on driving her straight to a local Jag dealer for a quick up and down.
Here she is

 

Was very recently in your shoes and you have a few options:
1. Fly out and drive it home.
2. Rent a car one-way, drive out, and drive it home.
3. Have it moved on a car carrier (roughly $1.5 per mile)
4. Wait for something closer.

Since it's a Jag dealer and is a CPO car, you don't gain anything by another Jag dealer doing a PPI, since it's a very abbreviated subset of a CPO inspection. Regardless, you and the seller need some sort of arrangement such that if you discover something bad, it can somehow be returned, but you'll probably get stuck paying for return shipping.

 

I bought my F-Type sight unseen from a used car dealer in Sydney almost exactly 800 miles away so same as you, and had it trucked to me with the trucking cost thrown into the deal (maybe you could try that as well?).
I took a chance as it was not CPO and the used car yard was not a JLR dealership but it turned out to be almost perfect and virtually as new even though it was 20 months old and with 27,000 km on it, so you could say I got lucky.
That said if I were you I would get someone to have a good look at it first, a virtual PPI, I am sure if you asked nicely a forum member here who is reasonably nearby would be happy to oblige. That is what I did with my two previous Jags also bought sight unseen (by me) from interstate, but I didn't do that with the F-Type mainly because it was going at a bargain price (the car yard was new to the game, this was their first ever Jag let alone F-Type, and they obviously had little idea what it was really worth) so I jumped all over it before they sold it to someone else and/or increased the price.

 

Thank you for the input. I was considering all of those options, but paying for delivery seems to be the best idea shall I decide to move forward.

 

Now that it has been posted....It may disappear VERY QUICKLY! LOL! Good Luck.

 

It may depend on how picky you are also. Same as you I purchased my 17 Jag with only 12,000 miles that was more than 800 miles away. The Jag salesman told me it was a one owner and in perfect like new condition. I also was getting a CPO warranty. He took pictures of the car and sent them to me. I also asked the finance manager to inspect the car without the saleman knowing it and was told the same. I was able to contact the original owner and he claimed it was fine and no problems or damage. I had the car shipped. When it arrived the first thing I saw was a huge door ding in the front fender. Now how could 3 people not see this! The underneath engine cover and spoiler were destroyed from the previous owner not being able to get up his driveway properly. The wheels had been repainted poorly from where there was previous curb damage. All of this was noted by the carrier who delivered it. He saw all these things but no one else did! Amazing! BUT, this is the exact car that I wanted. SO I had the dent removed, ordered a new spoiler and shield, had the wheels refurbished, and went over and detailed the car myself. I'm happy now as I have yet to find another car that met my specs like this one did. SO be prepared for dealer not telling you everything as they probably think it's a cream puff. Good Luck.

 

In my case, the Jag tech failed to notice the witness marks on the engine cover that matched perfectly to marks on the underside of the hood. Turns out that the car had a broken engine mount, so point being, just because it's had a PPI doesn't mean a lot. A CPO on the other hand is a lot better because it's on them to fix stuff.

 

Gee, I hope it's not a mistake, since that's almost exactly what I did when I bought my F-Type 7 years ago :-}

The main difference was that in my case the car was only 250 miles away, so I elected to take the train up and drive it home. (It was the perfect trip to actually read the owner's manual on the way up.) Ironically, when I got there, the car had a minor fault - a bad sensor caused the hood to show as open. Obviously, it was a new problem, or the dealer would have already replaced it. The only problem was that I went up on Friday after the shop was closed, so I had to either bail out, wait around for Monday, or take it, as is. I opted for the latter, but is WAS a bit disconcerting to have that "hood not latched" warning as I roared down I-95. Plus, with the fault, the car would not lock. Anyway, with that complication aside, all was good.

Meanwhile, this was not my only long distance transaction where the buyer never saw the car in advance:
- Bought the 911 from an investment banker in CT. My wife flew up and drove it around for a week while she was rehearsing for a concert before bringing it home.
- Bought the VR4 on e-bay from a guy in MD. Flew up and drove it back.
- Sold one to a guy in BC who had it trucked across the country/border.
- Sold a E320 to a guy from Arkansas for his daughter to pick up and drive to Notre Dame.
- Sold a TL-S to a lawyer who had it trucked out to LA.
- Sold a 4-Runner to an off-roader from Ohio who drove down with a buddy to pick it up.

In your case, with a dealer and CPO, I'd just ask for lots of close, hi-res pictures (inside/outside/engine/wheels/etc) to avoided surprises like some of those mentioned above. They'll also come in handy when the car get shipped. Truckers (understandably) notate every stinking thing on their collection sheet so they don't get blamed as the cause. But, a diagram with crib notes doesn't show how big a problem it is, so you might wonder about the scratch. That's where you need "before" pictures.

 

Thank you all, especially for sharing your personal experiences. I've asked the dealer for a few dozen high res photos, and had them change the front bumper deflector for scratches from "normal road wear." The dealer did indicate one clear area of scratches on the front bumper, which I'm ok with, considering the price (see pic). They are covering shipping and the cost of the deflector in the "out the door" price. I'm hoping for a delivery next week.

 

Those scratches on the front bumper look very minor and way well buff out.

 

They said that their "waxing guy is on it", and will attempt to fix it...I figured that was slick talk, since the car is already sitting on the showroom floor.

 

I had the exact same issue and had mine shipped no issues what so ever. Well one issue, dealers are moving, buying used cars all over the country so demand is high and cost to ship with gas prices is up there but that is just what worked for me. Needless to say I am so happy with my R it puts a smile on your face and that is priceless

 

I bought my SVR sight unseen other than lots of dealer photos and videos. It was in New York and had it shipped to me in Kentucky. This is COMMON these days. Just make sure that your contract gives you the right to return it if it does not meet your requirements. You may out some shipping cost if you ship it back, but it beats the hell out of driving or flying up there in my opinion. It seems crazy as I grew up in the 1980's and 1990's and no one did this kind of stuff then but that is the power of the internet. Hell, carvana, vroom, and several other companies sell 90% of their cars this way. Shipping a car has become relatively cheap. For example, I had my Redeye Hellcat shipped from Ky to freaking Delaware by itself in a 1 car trailer and it cost me less than 2000 bucks total. If i had been willing to let it ride on a car carrier it would have been less than 1000 round trip. And thats with fuel prices out of control high (thanks Brandon!). I say go for it man, chances are you wont regret it!

 

A few things... one, I noticed that it appears like the hood/bonnet fits well... none of the 'overhang' that is on many Fs... including my 2017. Have all the electronics been tested? Some report blown out speakers (and the 770 meridian system in these cars is NOTHING to write home about, my 2013 Golf has a better system). Does the spoiler go up at 70 and down at 50? Does the spoiler switch work, even though I'm the second owner, it never worked even prior to my ownership.

What condition are the tires in? My 2017 was on its second set of tires and those (at 24K miles) were ready to be replaced..

What condition are the headlight lenses in? There is a TSB about 'crackling' that shows up. The headlights are, IIRC $3200 each.

Are you getting 2 fobs? An owner's manual?

Does the rear camera work?

Can you get a CarFAx on it? all you need is the VIN.

Sounds like a good suggestion to get a money back guarantee if it's shipped to you and turns out to be a POS.

IMO, for $66,000, I'd go in person. There is so much to this car, that relying on others is not what I would do. I was prepared to walk away if it wasn't exactly as described, but once I sat in it... that wasn't going to happen.

BTW, mine is exactly like yours except it's not an R and the wheels are different. Let us know how it goes!!

 

I have bought a few vehicles remotely with no issues. A few things to do:

• Have them provide a video walk around the car as a close enough distance you can get a look at the paint and seems. Not so close you cannot tell where they are at with the walk around.
• Also have the video get you a better indication of the interior wear and tear
• See if they offer a 30-day no questions asked return policy

At the end of the day, it just depends on how much you want the car. Buying a used car is a risk whether you can see it in person or not. There is only so much you can inspect yourself even if the car is directly in front of you. Cars which are lower in numbers, you won't be able to just buy around the corner (unless you like in Los Angeles or Miami).

 

It's a beautiful car!
I suggest you talk with your local JLR dealer and make certain they will agree to service it. At least one dealer in my area will not service Jaguars unless they were purchased from them, despite what corporate says they should be doing. Their excuse is they are backed up 6-8 weeks for their own customers, and also their own customer's vehicle purchases fund the loaner program.

 

I've experienced that with my Ram. The dealer said that they will do my oil change, but not any of the warranty work. I was perplexed. I never thought JLR would be allowed to stoop so low, but now I will check. Thank you.

 

I did this and noticed some uneven lines in the front wheel panels, but nothing major. Thank you!