Yesterday morning was the first time I noticed an XF on the road (as opposed to being parked on the dealership lot for sale). It was silver. While I can appreciate the clean, modern lines, seeing this car in motion even more strongly influenced my opinion that the XF looks like a Volvo to me. I much prefer our S-Type, especially when I think about the cost differential....

 

Jon,

I would have to agree with you on the looks of the S-Type vs the XF when both are sedans. The S-Type is a lot more distinctive and overall, I think has better lines. I have seen some renderings of the XF as a coupe and they are rather mouth-watering. I think Jaguar needs to produce a coupe version of the XF, but will likely be some years in the future.

Mike

 

S Type for purists
XF for new customers

I must admit when I first saw the XF I was not caught by its lines but in a matter of time I find XF pretty attractive and eye catching

 

I happen to disagree. I think the XF is a distinctive and timeless design. I can see the "Aston" influence in the tail. Some accuse it of being too "bland" but the same was said of the pre-Bangle BMW's yet they still look good after over a decade. Don't get me wrong, I like the S. I just think it is novel as a "retro" car but really had no styling direction to go, kind of like other "retro" cars out there like the last Thunderbird or the VW Bug.

 

Will you be willing to pay for one whenever you decide that your S-Type has served its purpose in your household? I doubt if a pre-owned XF three model years ago will be nearly the financial bargain that an S-Type was or is under the same set of circumstances....

 

The S isn't the bargain it was twelve months ago either. The price of used cars has gone up drastically over the past year. Remember, they didn't move the "new" price point very much on the XF from the S. I'm already seeing 09's drift onto the market at around 39 to 42. I guess a 3 year old XF will be trading around 25k when they get that old. That is pretty close to the asking price I see now for 07 S Types.

 

Yes, used car prices have increased from their late 2008/early 2009 bottoms but I wouldn't say they have done so "drastically". Just "noticeably". I also believe that 3-year-old XFs will typically cost a good bit more than 3-year-old S-Types for the simple reason that they won't be facing the end of their production run unless they prove to be market failures for Jaguar (the jury will remain out on that subject for at least another year or two)....

 

I just checked Autotrader and 2005 S-Types are between $3K and $6K more than what I paid a year ago. Those were asking prices, but I'm not sure what the negotiating window is now.

Mike

 

I just did a search for 06 through 07 S Types, 500 mile radius, with less than 45k miles on autotrader. I got 184 listings with an average price of $23,540.00. That same search in September of 08 for 04/05 S types resulted in a average price of just around 21,000. A price jump of 10% plus is pretty significant in the realm of automobiles.

 

Jeff, Does that average price include STR's as well?
Thanks.

 

funny thing is when my insurance company was looking at my car, they came up with a value of over 26k on my vehicle. I wish i could easily sell it for that......id be ahead of the game for once.....lol

 

Yes it did. Since the R was very limited the numbers that came back in the search were very low. The range was also very broad. The high point in the low 30's and the low point around 14. I use the broad search a lot when looking to see what a car is trading at.

 

Thanks for the info.
I guess like Jon89 I bought my STR 06 at the peak of the decline one year ago. The prices I see now are higher with more miles than a year ago.

 

More Used Car Data:
This is copied directly from Automotive News. I couldn't link to it since it is a subscriber service that I get at work.....But this explains a bit why prices are shooting up for used cars in general.