I have been wondering about this topic for a while now. How can a 65k luxury European vehicle depriciate SO much in a few years, especially when they are pretty rare. Its almost unheard of. Getting an 05 for the average price of 20k! Here is my list and I am curious to know everyones opinion on the major contributors.

1) Discountinued model (Stype is now XF)
2) 8cyl, with the world going green and gas prices sky high, not many people are buying 8cyl vehicles.
3) "Myth" of Jaguar reliabilty (whether substantiated or not)
4) THE ECONOMY (enough said)

If #2 and #4 were not a concern do people think the depreciation would be this much!?

 

People generally seem to choose Lexus, BMW or Audi.

(Some of those lose value quickly... the RS6?)

 

#3 is the primary reason, but #4 is also a contributing factor.

It's not just the STR taking a beating - all high-end luxury cars have been feeling the economic squeeze for the past year or more. But I think the STR's reputation of needing more frequent high-dollar repairs will always hurt it as well.

Jaguar unfortunately still suffers from the stigma of "If you drive a Jaguar, you'd better hire a tow truck to follow you around." Quality and reliability have both improved dramatically over the past five years or so, and perhaps one day that will be reflected in a lower rate of depreciation across the product line. But for now, it still has a significant impact. I would never purchase a brand-new Jaguar - my economics background would always step in to prevent me from doing so....

 

Im glad they went down im finally buying one in a couple months selling my 03 v8 which ive had for 4years and love it what other 400hp luxury car can i get for round 15k...none i love str's

 

I agree with all points its not only Jags, but Lexus and BMW's have taken a hit, all luxury cars that 3-6 years old have depreciated greatly bcuz right now it's a buyers market along with these Million dollar homes u can get for 3-400k, its just how things are.Trust me on that one I bought my 03 STR for 10,000 flat with 75000 on the dash. Your not going 2 find a better car loaded with 400 horses coming out the gate. My father bought a 07 Lexus 460..the car was $68,000 two years ago, he picked it up for $46,000 with 13,000 miles on it. I believe its horsepower is less than 400 and it weighs a whopping 5,500 pound and gets 17 street 22 highway. The STR gets me abt 24 on the highway. For me the price I paid and what I got suits me the car is loaded, it costs me a litttle bit maintainance wise, but I luv the ride.

 

Given this example, seeing as the MSRP on both the STR and 460 are pretty similar, what would the Lexus be selling for if it were an 03 or 05. Not anywhere near 10K and 20k respectively as the STR's seem to be going for.

 

True. Lexus is perceived as holding much more of its value as the years go by, and the used car market rewards the Lexus brand as a result. My wife's previous 2000 Lexus RX300 AWD was a dog, requiring more than $9,000 worth of warranty work in the 4 years we owned it. Her current 2004 RX330 AWD is a much, much better vehicle, recently crossing the 90,000-mile threshold and never needing anything more than routine maintenance thus far. So is the Lexus reliability reputation deserved? I'm not sure, but Lexus went well above and beyond the warranty for us with the 2000 RX300. They covered major problems for us more than 20,000 miles after the warranty ran out primarily because they realized what a problem that vehicle had been for our household. They told me it was called their "goodwill warranty". No other manufacturer has ever come close to doing that for us before. My wife maintains her love for Lexus because of the way they treated her and covered all issues without any resistance at all. Always taking her vehicle into the shop immediately whenever a problem occured, giving her a loaner vehicle for as long as she needed it, even coming to our home or her office to pick up or drop off her vehicle at her convenience....

That is why your #3 reason (reliability) is the biggest factor as far as escalating Jaguar's depreciation is concerned. It may or may not be fair, but that's life in the real world right now....

 

Now that I think of it, Im curious what would a reasonable price be for an 07 STR with 13k on it (direct comparison to the Mark's dads Lex)? Can anyone find one floating around?

 

Another factor is that the dealers heavily discounted these cars to get them off the lot new. Jag was constantly running incentives. For example - I bought 2 X-Types new. I got $6 - 8K off sticker on both of them. Actual depreciation when I traded them in wasn't that bad. While shopping for the second X, the dealer offered me a new S-Type at a huge discount, but, it was still too expensive for my wallet at the time.

Regards:
Oldengineer

 

Don't forget that there are so many middle men that want a cut before the car finally gets to the first buyer!
Importer, government, dealer, salesman etc. etc.
Hence the main drop.
Don't feel too bad boys; the bigger the prices are the harder they fall.

Er.. except for say a $16 million dollar recently sold Ferrari or two!

Also there is a great reason for greed to run rampant amoungst all premium car importers in small population markets like here in Australia..
For example in 2003 a new STR cost $170,000 here! In the US you would have paid half that. Merc. BMW Audi Porsche, all use the same ploy!

 

I do agree with you, I also think that people seem to look for the one which is best within their capacity like the latest 2010 audi a4.

 

After over $8,000 worth of maintenance/repairs in the past 15 months on an '03 STR with only 50K miles on it, I would say my STR deserves to sell for the price of a used Ford.

I wouldn't wish this money pit and headache on anyone but my worst enemy. Still love it though.

 

I sympathize with how you feel. We had the same experience with my wife's previous 2000 Lexus RX300 AWD. It required more than $9,000 worth of warranty work during the four years we owned it. Worst dog of a vehicle that I've ever had to deal with. I'm just glad that all of that work took place under the factory warranty and that my wife had nice loaner cars every single time for as long as she needed them. Once we finally got everything fixed, it was fairly trouble-free for the last 50,000 miles that we owned it. Sold it, fully disclosed with all service records, at just under 130,000 miles to the first couple who rang our doorbell to look at it. Felt very fortunate to get $11,500 for it....

When I was doing my research on the S-Type line-up back in mid-December, everything I read told me to steer clear of the STR due to high repair bills and excessive maintenance requirements. Everyone said that the STR was great fun to drive but far too expensive to maintain. Reviews were much more positive on the 2005-and-newer 4.2 and even moreso on the 3.0. The reviews also made it clear that this is a highway cruiser, not a racecar. Knowing I could practically steal one coming off a corporate lease in very dreary economic conditions, that's exactly what I did. Since I bought it, my dealer has had to put a little over $3,000 worth of work into it under the remainder of my factory warranty. I finally have the car where I want it from a maintenance perspective, and my timing is right on the money since my factory warranty expires this coming Saturday. As long as I only have to deal with little nagging annoyances like the stupid fuel filler lid plastic latch pin and the chintzy Bluetooth microphone for the next couple of years, I'll be happy. Rather than purchase a third-party extended warranty, I opted to piggyback a couple of grand away into a money market account to deal with whatever comes up. I've found and visited a couple of local independent Jaguar service shops so I should be able to avoid the high cost of my dealer for the most part. I bought a JTIS CD off ebay as recommended by a couple of guys here on the forum and have spent some time reading up on the systems most likely to cause expensive problems (such as the electronic modules). I think I'm ready, but only time will tell....

 

Guys, I'm in the car business, I run the used car department at a large Toyota store and used to sell boatloads of used Jags at my own lot. Any high end car is going to have heavy depreciation, any of them. A number of things are working against S-Type Rs, and S-Types in general. Before I get flamed, I love Jaguars and would take an STR over most anything else in the car's class.

1) It hasn't been "new and hot" for 8 years. The car went out of production a year ago and the world first saw it 11 years ago. That is a VERY long life for a car in this class.

2) Jaguars have a horrible reputation, albeit largely undeserved these days, but people think that they are nightmares to own. Reality is the German cars are generally far more trouble. Regardless, people think Mercedes-Benzes are bulletproof and that Jags live in service bays. Truth or not, it's perception and perception is often stronger than fact.

3) The S-Type was, by 2004, not competitive in the face of its' rivals and this damaged its' image badly, this is why sales dropped off and Jaguar had to rely on huge incentives to sell these cars.

 

I agree, the clk, amg, apaareently is a night mare to maintain, and is NOT trouble free, from what i've heard, it just hass too much power. You can get one with 900 hp, and almost 1100 foot pounds of torque, and when you floor it, thats cars computers get fired, youtube it lol. MY jaguar x type, has lasted long, without any problems. ( Some minor glitchs, but what car dosen't have any). another thing is, jaguar isn't exactly full of the smartest engineers. They designed the transfer case for the x type to handle i think close to 230 hp, the x type 3.0 puts out 230hp, and thats where many of the issues come in. I went with a 2.5, even though low ont he power side, haven't had any tras fer case issues. Just goes to show, power isn't everything.

 

True, power isn't everything. But it is nice when I'm the only car on a steep Pass that's able to make it around all of the Semi's and 4-bangers putzing their way up and slowing traffic down.

Driving a car with 390bhp certainly makes a nice case against the statement "power isn't everything"....that much acceleration has an intoxicatingly positive effect on one's opinion of power.

Maintenance bills aside, I don't think I would go back to a car less powerful than my STR in the future. If I did, it would be a difficult adjustment to make.

But to get back on topic...the funny part about luxury cars is that they are the worst thing to spend money on because they all depreciate so heavily in a small window of time, yet often times they are some of the most enjoyable toys a grown up gets to play with on a regular basis.

I guess what I'm saying is...if you own a Jag, depreciation shouldn't really even be a concern. That's what Honda owners are for.

 

If your brain is wired from an economics standpoint like mine is, you allow depreciation to work in your favor by always buying 3 or 4 model years back. Let the first owner be the sap who has to swallow the lion's share of the depreciation. I haven't purchased a brand-new vehicle for our household in more than 15 years and can't imagine a situation where I would ever do so again....

 

Hey now, I traded a Honda for my Jag.....

Oh wait, that's the point....

 

The real problem is you purchased a 2003. First year car is always more trouble. I have 2005 S Type R with almost 50K. Very little problems of any kind. Mostly cosmetic things because I am picky!!

Problems included were:
Reprogram transmission/engine software-The Lurch!!
New under hood pad-old one shrunk
Interior ashtray-the door got sticky-Replaced
Driver’s side lumbar support would leak down-Replace lumbar support
Both R badges on side of car started peeling-replace both
Steering wheel squeak-additive to P/S fluid fixed it
One of the horns failed-replaced
Replaced headliner-rear view mirror came off windshield and put a kink in the headliner up front from the mirror hanging by the wires- I was OK with it (Did not show unless you knew where to look) but the dealer went ahead and changed it. Reglue the mirror to windshield.
One rear tie rod end replaced
Squeaking belt-Tensioner and belt replaced

Problems not covered by Jaguar:
Headlamps were yellowed. Had them polished at the dealer-$150. Price too high but they did a great job.
Brakes shuddering from warped rotors-I had the front discs turned against the advice of the dealer. Brakes are perfect now!! I was NOT going to pay $700 or more for a pair of rotors when it cost $24 to turn the old ones! Even if it does not last I will be money ahead. So far it's been 5K miles and all is well. Plus I found the driver’s side Brembo pads were installed backwards!!!

I do all my own maintenance. Change oil and filter, Cabin filter, Engine air filter, change coolant, fuel filter, flush brake fluid, change P/s fluid before they put the special additive in it.

Drives like a dream and I am completely happy with 390HP!! I just want more HP that's all!! Car is a Hi-Po bargain used. Very expensive to purchase new.
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Like several others, I bought my 05 S-Type used. I made the depreciation factor work for me in that I could get mine a lot cheaper than what an equivalent German or Japanese competitor would sell for. The differences ran about 3-4 thousand dollars. My car doesn't have all the equipment that a typical STR would have so there is less to go wrong. Since my car is still under warranty until 2010, I have had to pay only for gas and normal maintenance. I am looking at getting my differential replaced under warranty at the end of the month when the part(s) come in from back order.

Mike