As far as pricing, keep in mind parts cost for a new top is around $3K, brakes and tires possibly another $1200 plus the labor to do the work. I checked recent Manheim auctions and found this from the Palm Beach auction here in Florida, just a few days ago:


2007 JAGUAR XK CONVERTIBLE 05/12/16 - PALM BCH - sold for $25,600 - Odometer 22,145 - Above Average Condition - Color BLACK - Engine / Transmission 8G / A


KBB actually says the "fair" trade on value for this car is from $19200-$22200 and good bumps it to $23600, so I am not sure where you got $17K from.

Regardless black book auction is what most dealers use as a guide.

 

Actually I bought my Jaguar from Wilde Jaguar and as far as I am concerned...they are gold. I got a mint condition Jag from them at a great price. They shipped it to me in NJ and I have been very happy since.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you. I have tried to buy cars from them in the past, but they have never been willing to negotiate. I bought all of my Jags from Crown (they move more Jaguars than any other dealer in central Florida) and Jaguar Orlando, saving tens of thousands from MSRP.

 

Black Book Trade in valve that I saw was $15k. I bumped it up to 17 for good measure.

 

Looks like they have dropped the price again, it's been there for a month...$26,884

By the way, looking at the pricing history, it was also listed at $28,793

 

How does one reveal the pricing history - on AutoTrader or somewhere else? CarGurus only show a $100 price drop.

This is interesting - does it hold absolutely true industry wide? That's a great trick to be aware of if so!

Just to use the example - So $28,793 was the third price drop - then $26,884 is the 4th drop in price... all this would have had to happen since 03/10/2016 - the last time registration was issued. But it wasn't offered for sale until 05/07/2016 according to the CarFax. 4 price drops in just over 2 weeks? hmmmm

 

Posting this for the benefit of all- perhaps something valuable can be learned from this exercise.

Yes the Merc dealer is a corporate shiester and unbecoming of a Jaguar. This morning I had visited my local dealer on behalf of Koko. Surprise of surprises, this very morning they were replacing a black dash of a 2011 Jaguar. Pictures below. Apparently small ethical dealers do believe in giving consumers a car that is perfect AND they dont tell them a little bit of glue will fix that.

There is more tidbits for some of you others. I noticed that removing the glass was the least invasive surgery in the hands of the right artisan.

BTW those curious about the price, he was keeping a fraction of the profit what this corporate glue-it-yourself dealer was charging.

 

Koko, I have a policy when it comes to dealers that's the opposite of Regan's.
Distrust and apologize when proven wrong.

 

Sorry, but I see 2 huge problems with those pictures you posted. First, the new leather shows all sorts of unacceptable flaws such as unevenness and seams that are raised up. This is why I said the dash can not be repaired, it must be replaced. I have seen a number of recovered XK & XF dashes and none have looked as good as an OEM one. Also the airbag comes out of the top of the dash from underneath the leather, not from the front behind the trim, so you need to make certain the airbag will be able to burst through the leather.

The second issue is removing the windshield. This is not how Jaguar advises replacing the dash, it must be removed from the car through the door and is not that difficult and in the case of a convertible as discussed in this thread, the dash just lifts right out of the car while the top is down. Removing the windshield introduces other potential failures such as water leaks and wind noise unless in the hands of a well polished expert.

If I was buying a pre-owned car, I would not buy one that had the windshield replaced.

Put the top down and the dash just lifts right out of the car, it is not that heavy or large.

 

Its better than what your mates are doing- telling people a little bit of glue will fix that. Which is basically lying- because why dont they use a little bit of glue to fix that themselves? Yes I know the answer: they dont believe its even their responsibility to do so. Thats the difference.

Thats not an installed dash yet- they are only starting.

 

I agree with you 100%! Another member here commented he had his reglued a couple of years ago and hasn't had a problem since and I said he was lucky. It should be replaced with a new dash.

 

You missed my slant- I should be direct.
The Problem is that your dealer chose to slip a bad dash past the buyer who they were charging handsomely. Heck they dont even have an upholstery department.

And the small independent was proactively replacing the dash- without glue- and has an in-house upholstery dept.

 

No I got that the first time, sorry for being so blunt in my post.

I can't speak for why or how the Mercedes dealer did not notice the dash, maybe they did and hoped no one else would and perhaps the sales guy was trying to defend his margin or just make the deal as easy for him as he could. Fortunately the buyer was astute enough to not take it as-is and sought out our help.

But none of this matters. What matters is the buyer finding a good car at the correct market price. It seems many posting here fail to understand that you get what you pay for, if you know what you are doing. Anyone heard of Off Lease Only? They are huge in Florida and turn over a great number of cars, especially Jaguar, Rover and Mercedes, faster and cheaper than most dealerships by thousands of dollars, but they are no frills, their cars are not reconditioned for resale and are often filthy and rough and may have poor car fax histories and sold AS-IS.

The buyer here has VERY specific criteria. I just did a quick search across the US for convertible '07 & '08 X150s with less than 30K miles and they are all priced between $30K and $35K with many of these dealers being small non-franchise operations.

I will be very surprised if a super low mileage, 10 year old car completely refurbished to new condition could be had for less than market price, let alone the mid $20K price discussed in this thread.

 

Yes as I mentioned above, the dash is available for around $3K. I just put one in my car. I have an account with Jaguar and can get you a discount if you need it.

And is this the XKR you mentioned? Also looks like a good car from a Jaguar dealer I have done a lot of business with, only 18K miles for under $30K

https://www.autonation.com/tampa-st-...WA44C679B19913

 

I can't speak for other dealers, but that is how AutoNation does it. The car may not have been on the lot the whole, as you said they did a bit of work to it and that probably took time. The price drops are based on how long the car has been in that lot's inventory, not how long it has been for sale.

 

My two cents. The car was largely serviced @ Wilde Jaguar. Give them the VIN and they will send you all of the repair records including customer complaints. You'll get more insight than the carfax. (My experiences have yielded such records as quickly as while I'm on the phone with them to as long as one day)

The records will include the service manager name and usually the mechanic(s).

Ask them why they sold it at auction vs on their lot. They should be forthright. It's worth a shot

 

So add $3K for the dash and another $500+ labor and another $700 dealer fees and $275 taxes on just these items - we're over $31K for the original $26,884 car and a handful of problems instead of delivering a good car from the onset. It becomes MORE $$$ than driving off in the lower mileage XKR mentioned here -

Yes. This particular car is the one they tried to switch my husband into by "transferring" his deposit to "allow" it to be brought over to Sarasota. We may theoretically see it in the next day or two but we are already looking at other options - further away, more miles, newer years, and/or higher price - but possibly more negotiability - where AutoNation/Sarasota Mercedes has none - not to mention they have firmly proven themselves to be bad news in my book. The only way could change that would be to make some major price concessions and other acts of contrition.

 

That XKR could be a really good deal and better than the first one they had you look at. Also wouldn't hurt to ask to speak with the sales manager and or general manager.

If you are changing your criteria, I would recommend looking at a 2010 or newer as well. Many changes were made starting with that year.

Good luck!

 

As you described - low prices, crap cars. I've seen so many horrific CarFax from them I click on their listings with great apprehension. But some buyers might like the fixers. Each to their own.

Well, there's nothing wrong with being specific, but if one raises the prices to $35K nationwide there are not just '07/'08 but up to '10s out there... so YES we're looking at '10s closely.

As far as super low mileage - well fate has landed us in one of the most popular elephant graveyards in the US. Old people, old cars, + very little driving = low mileage, nice condition cars. It's very common around here. Refurbished to new was never a request FWIW. Just nice cosmetic and mechanical condition and not literally falling apart. And no one said cars can only be bought from dealers. I would much rather work with private parties. :-)

 

Very true. While I wasn't saying you were expecting a "new" car and I agree you should have the car in tip top condition, it seemed you were expecting them to do about $10K worth of work (including what had already been done - top, tires, brakes) and still only pay $27K. That's not realistic based on market nor reasonable. No doubt they will have to either drop the price a little and sell it as-is o they will have to do the work and raise the price. Since they are corporate run, my guess is they will do nothing until the point of having to do something or flip it at auction.

Anyhow, you certainly will find newer, better cars for a higher price.

Check this one in Miami, a 2010 XKR convertible, 27K miles, black on black for $35K https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...2392/overview/